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Opening of UNCTAD XI	Informal Security Council consultations	Handing out of certificates

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UPMUNC 2004 was the second annual University for Peace Model UN Conference, which was held at the University headquarters in Costa Rica on Friday, 19 March and Saturday, 20 March 2004.The Conference provided participants with the opportunity to simulate actual bodies of the UN System as realistically as possible, using UN rules of procedure and format of meetings, and producing documents by the end of the simulation, which were equivalent to resolutions of the Security Council (SC) and the eleventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XI, Sao Paulo, June 2004), a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly (GA)

Simulating negotiations on a "Sao Paulo Consensus" (declaration of UNCTAD XI) and a resolution on the implementation of UNCTAD's "Bangkok Plan of Action" meant that participants had to deal with an issue-area most had not been very familiar with: the link between trade and development. But the guidance of our Model UN Secretary-General Eduardo Gutierrez, who has rich personal experience with development issues in the UN system, helped delegates to focus on and learn about fundamental issues. At the end, the Delegates were able to adopt the two documents we had aimed for. While most delegates were more familiar with the legal underpinnings of the situation in Iraq, the Security Council negotiations on a resolution to mandate and regulate the handover of power, to set up an electoral framework and provide foreign troops in Iraq with a new mandate, proved hard and did not end with a positive result in the short time we had available in the simulation.

After some initial scepticism with respect to the role-playing part and panic with respect to what to do when the instructions were handed out, most Delegates really got into their roles rather quickly. They met in caucusing blocs, primarily the G77, EU and the industrialized states (Western Group), drafted working papers and resolutions (the EU had an easy job because they could work with the official non-paper); they went through some basic formalities at the beginning of UNCTAD XI, listened to the opening speeches of the Brazilian President of the Conference, Veronica Sepulveda (who happens to be from Sao Paulo in real life!), Model UN Secretary-General Eduardo Gutierrez (the Academic Supervisor of the simulation), and Model UNCTAD Secretary-General Rolain Borel (the Director of UPEACE's Department of Natural Resources and Peace); they delivered formal statements in the general debate of UNCTAD XI; they listened to an open briefing on Iraq in the Security Council; they worked in Committees and Working Groups, and had informal consultations in the corridors and elsewhere; they gave some press interviews and enjoyed a diplomatic reception hosted by our Secretary-General. We also had a few Delegates who were observers from international organizations and they found it hard to lobby for their cause. But our journalists definitively had the hardest job in the news and press centre. They faced a lack of some technical resources and enormous time pressure, which made it difficult for them to get hold of state representatives. They were also handicapped by a lack of a NGO-section, which we could not include this time because of the limited number of participants.

Addressing such issues in the context of our simulation allowed students to gain some first hand insight into the operation of the UN System and the actual mechanisms and processes it uses for the maintenance of international peace and security. UPMUNC 2004 was only the second time that UPEACE organized this simulation and the aim was to set up a basic structure and gain experience for the further development of the Model UN as a UPEACE programme. Although students suffered from a lack of time because it was squeezed into their busy academic schedule at UPEACE, the participating UPEACE Faculty and students expressed great satisfaction with what they had learned in the simulation.

The UPMUNC 2004 included the simulation of more than 19 states, roughly following the typical regional balance in the UN System. Further, 3 international organizations (as observers) and the UN press corps (half a dozen journalists) were included as well. There were 46 students participating as Delegates and 7 faculty members as part of the Model UN Secretariat. In total, participants came from more than 25 countries. The majority of participants were students and faculty of the University for Peace, however, we also had more than 10 Delegates coming from other institutions.The academic supervision of the simulation lay with Eduardo Gutierrez (Uruguay), the Special Advisor of the Rector on the development and implementation of the UPEACE regional programme on Latin America and the Caribbean. His long-time professional experience within the UN system includes various high-ranking positions within UNDP and the UN Secretariat in New York.

List of Participants of the UPMUNC 2004

Students, Interns and Young Professionals

Angela Rossini (Philippines, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Anna Kirey (Ukraine, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Catherine Akumu (Uganda, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Chris Laughlin (United States, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Christine Guitar (United States, UPEACE Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)
Claire Reid (Canada, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Clara Solon (Brazil, Interamerican Court of Human Rights)
Claudia de la Fuente (Mexico, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Craig Brannagan (Canada, Universidad Interamericana)
Cyprian Vimba (South Africa, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Daniel McLane (United States, UPEACE Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)
Dominic Volonnino (United States, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Drew Cardell (United States, UPEACE Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)
Eric Rubin (United States, Universidad Interamericana)
Ferdinand Katendeko (Uganda, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Francela Davila (Costa Rica, Universidad Internacional de las Americas)
Gal Harmat (Israel, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Gregory Barnett (United States, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Gretchen Conti (Canada, Universidad Interamericana)
Gudrun Gudmundsdottir (Iceland, UPEACE Department ILHR)
Hovig Etyemezian (Lebanon, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Jan Kozak (Czech Republic, UPEACE International Peace Studies)
Jeff Senne (United States, UPEACE International Peace Studies)
Jennifer Falk (Canada, Colegio Internacional SOS)
Joseph Schumacher (New Zealand, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Katharina Röhl (Germany, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Katie Bollie (United States, UPEACE Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)
Marcia Aguiluz (Costa Rica, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Margina Cocozza Bendaña (Costa Rica, Colegio Internacional SOS)
Mariamalia Jiménez Coto (Costa Rica, Universidad Internacional de las Americas)
Mariana Jimenez Gamboa (Costa Rica, Colegio Internacional SOS)
Nelson Bosch (Canada, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Pam Steager (United States, UPEACE Gender and Peace Building)
Patricia Pacheco (Spain, Interamerican Court of Human Rights)
Pauline Farges (France, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Pearl Jumo (Zimbabwe, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Rafael Velasquez (Peru, UPEACE International Peace Studies)
Raymond Rinkel (United States, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Rosalina Cermeno (Costa Rica/Venezuela, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Samuel Pacheco (BR, UPEACE Natural Resources and Sustainable Development)
Simon Hacker (Canada, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Stephanie Gliege (United States, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Tatiana Serrano (Costa Rica, Interamerican Institute of Human Rights)
Tattvamasi Mahapatra (India, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)
Telma Halldorsdottir (Iceland, UPEACE International Law and Settlement of Disputes)
Veronica Sepulveda (Uruguay, UPEACE International Law and Human Rights)

UPEACE Faculty

Abelardo Brenes (Costa Rica, Professor in Peace Education)
Christian Dorsch (Germany, Programme Officer, Department of International Peace Studies)
Eduardo Gutierrez (Uruguay, Special Advisor to the Rector)
Fayen D'Evie (New Zealand, Special Assistant to the Rector for Programme Development University)
Juan Amaya Castro (Colombia, Co-Director of the Department of International Law and Human Rights)
Matthew Norton (United States, Coordinator for the Department of International Peace Studies)
Rolain Borel (Switzerland, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Peace)