ILMUNC - United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

Welcome to United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the UN Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC)! My name is Grant Dubler, and as your Chair, it is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the 27th Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. In addition to writing your background guide and answering any questions you may have, I am here to provide you with your greatest (and first!) Model UN experience ever. This committee may be for novice delegates, but we will not fail to impress. During the four days of this conference, you will develop solutions to international challenges, gain a command of parliamentary procedure and the rules of the UN, and make lasting friendships while debating topics and collaborating on resolutions.

A little about me: I am currently a senior studying Political Science and Diplomatic History at Penn. I am active in student government, have served in several leadership positions in my fraternity. In my spare time, I enjoy tracking Congressional races, playing basketball, and watching reruns of The West Wing. My future plans include law school and an eventual run for the House of Representatives from Florida. This is my fourth year working at ILMUNC, and I am excited to be serving as the chair of UNPBC for the second time. In past years I have been an Assistant Secretary General and Vice Chair of SPECPOL.

It is my hope that your experience in this committee inspires you the way my experience as a delegate at ILMUNC in high school inspired me. In 2007, my friends and I were motivated to take action against the genocide in Darfur as a result of a committee that one of us had served on at ILMUNC. Since that conference in 2007, our non-profit organization (For Darfur, Inc.) has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of aid packages for refugees in Sudan and Chad through our partnership with Doctors Without Borders. You never know what can happen due to ILMUNC!

Please let me know if you have any questions about the background guides, the conference, or college life in general (I will try my hardest to get you into Penn, but I have absolutely no connections in the Admissions Office). I am looking forward to a fun and productive weekend and to meeting all of you in person. Get ready for some diplomacy!

All the best,

Grant Dubler

Chair, United Nations Peacebuilding Commission

Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVII

Topic Summary

Topic A: Israel-Palestine Conflict

Relations in the Middle East have been tense for over half a century. Countries disagree over borders, sovereignty, security, and refugees' right of return. In this committee, you will attempt to solve as many of these concerns as possible, with a focus on Palestine. Although Israeli troops have been out of the country since the United Nations and much of the West suggested a two-state solution, Palestine is still very unstable. Politically, the state suffers from internal conflicts that prevent the government from taking care of its citizens. This committee needs to be very creative when coming up with solutions to make the two-state solution a viable and functional option for the Middle East.