Stopping the genocide of the Cambodian people
"Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."[1]
Our Historical Security Council is set in 1978. The brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge under the Marxist leadership of Pol Pot is ruling over Cambodia and has largely isolated the country from any foreign influences. Cambodia, which is now called Kampuchea, is going through radical changes as the regime under Pol Pot is forcibly resettling thousands of Cambodians from the cities to the countryside, where they are supposed to live in self-sustaining communes. The ownership of private property as well as the practice of religion has been outlawed. The Khmer Rouge regime is highly autocratic, violent, paranoid, xenophobic and repressive. And as the Khmer Rouge further enforces their social engineering policies, there are more and more reports of people dying due to a widespread famine, diseases and overwork. Pol Pot`s regime is also torturing and executing thousands of people they have deemed as "enemies of the state".
General Overview and Historical Context
The United Nations Historical Security Council aims to find possible means to stop the ongoing genocide in Cambodia. Diplomatic relationships have to be reestablished with Cambodia or otherwise Pol Pot and his brutal regime have to be deprived of their power in order to save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children, who are dying in labor camps or a being tortured to death.
Historical Context: The roots of the Khmer Rouge can be traced back to the 1960s, when they were the armed wing of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge did not have widespread support across Cambodia. However, after a military coup in 1970 had led to the ouster of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge formed an alliance with the deposed leader. For the next five years, a civil war between the military and Khmer Rouge (who were supporting the Prince) broke out. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge invaded the capital Phnom Penh whereby they won the civil war. Prince Norodom was not granted his promised throne and Pol Pot, as the leader of the Khmer Rouge, seized control over the country. Dreaming of a communist-style, agricultural utopia the Khmer Rouge started their genocide of the Cambodian people...
Keep in mind
1. The political position of your country and the state of the world as a whole in the 1970s is very different than the current political situation today
2. We are aiming to achieve different political outcomes than the ones that have actually occurred in our real timeline
It is absolutely necessary that you are familiar with the details and deeper underlying causes of the Cambodian genocide, so it would be appreciated if you would read through the following article: http://www.history.com/topics/the-khmer-rouge
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10684399
https://unchronicle.un.org/article/spectre-khmer-rouge-over-cambodia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge
http://www.history.com/topics/the-khmer-rouge
