United Nations Security Council
Chair: Zhouyu Wu (wuz@uchicago.edu)
Crisis Directors: Aashirwad Viswanathan Anand (aashirward@uchicago.edu) and Aliya Bagewadi (aliya@uchicago.edu)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is often recognized as one of the most expedient and powerful principal organs in United Nations. Regarding issues of international security and peacekeeping, it has no rival. Its primary purpose is to mediate international altercations and advocate universal human rights. In the face of a disruption to global peace, the Council’s first objective is to alleviate tensions and encourage agreement among states.
This Council is a continuous committee, in which all active Member States must have a representative at the headquarters at all times. As such, the UNSC deals with both immediate and ongoing issues, and counters them with effective, diplomatic resolutions. Current international crises that are of concern for the body include the tensions among African states; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the North Korean nuclear testing program; the situation in Afghanistan, in addition to others. The ongoing issues that the Council must solve include the trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW), drugs, as well as humans. Simultaneously, the Council will address and debate concerns such as weapons of mass destruction, border conflicts, and the propagation and maintenance of human rights.