The

Olive Branch
THE
SECOND
ISSUE
|
10.10.14

The
Humans
of
MUNQSMUN
'So I submitted the MUNQS form for every successive year from class 9 to class 11.
One day, I decided to sit in one of the mock sessions being held in *coughs*
legitimately *coughs* seized classroom.
Jibraan called me on the side and told me to speak up. And so I did. Well, the rest is
history. Best Delegate Zeste, Best Delegate RISMUN...don't mention TIS, though.'

'My sir is looking at me'

'So at this *name removed* MUN, I encountered this little girl of about my age.
Well, she insisted on dragging me to the darkest corners of her school,
basement and all. And I ceded. In retrospect, people might just have gotten the
wrong impression'

'How heavy is a polar bear?'

*desperately waits for reaction*
'Heavy enough to break the ice'
*clicks suggestively*
'What impact do you think the IP has
on an MUN?'
'
Well we shift around like b*****s'
*5 seconds later*
'No, seriously.'

The
Olive Branch

-Shubhangi
Kashyap

-Ayush
Chauhan
UNITED
NATIONS
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
(PLENARY)
"Where everything is an opinion, unless stated otherwise..."
By Radhika Joshi & Banipreet Kaur
The committee started off with chaos of doubts and clarifications, which seemed to end when the executive board stated that
even songs wil be entertained as a General Speaker's List (GSL) speech. The first speaker in the GSL, the delegate of India,
started giving solutions right away, followed by the delegate of Germany, who was extremely passionate about the idea of merely
sitting in the committee. The next in line was the delegate of Canada, who believed that the United Nations had come a "long
way" since its creation. He stated that that the committee was gathered today to "decide the fate of these territories which are
under administration of other independent nations."
An interesting discussion was initiated regarding the status of Quebec, which confused the poor delegate as to the status of his
country. Then, as the floor was opened for motions, the committee saw a peculiar mathematical error by the delegate of Spain,
who wanted each speaker's time to be two minutes, yet the total time of the moderated caucus to be twenty seconds. The
committee proceeded to a more substantial discussion in the moderated caucus, in which the delegate of India raised points on
the social involvement, opening up to different cultures, and said that a country needs to be a good democracy.
Everything, from the geographical factors to the political factors of Non-Self Governing Territories were debated upon, yelled upon,
Eve
shrieked upon and howled upon. (We understand your plight, our dear first timers!)
Now let's hope that the heated debate continues, directing the committee to a substantial debate hereinafter.

The
Olive Branch

Pillars
of
Justice

By Anjali Bhavan and Pritika Sharma

As nascent and novel as the rays of dawning sun, the committee commenced its session with new-fangled vistas and
pumped-up anticipation. The executive board humbly entertained the incessant queries of the delegates and efficaciously
elucidated on the basic rules of procedures.
Nonetheless, after getting past the minor disruptions, the committee convened with a General Speaker's List. It progressed
p
unostentatiously, quietly, with no major controversies acting as speed bumps in the flow of debate.
The debate observed many delegates passionately speaking about the requirement of an international agency for
overlooking the matter of prosecution. In the course of debate, some delegates got off-handed and a bit emphatic, while
some levied serious allegations on other countries by quoting unaccountable reports.
While the United Kingdom consistently blamed the Sudanese government
gove
for supporting the militia in their nation, the
United States of America blatantly raised numerous points of order that questioned the integrity of countries like Germany
and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the delegate of France to some extent provided substantial topics that
contributed to the flow of debate.
The committee caught a glimpse of frequent
f
usage of articles and conventions of the United Nations Charter. Attempts to
move to conduct a moderated caucus proved to be futile as the committee failed to agree unequivocally on one course of
action. While most of the delegates were busy defending their countrys stand on the issue arduously, not one of them
proffered a comprehensive solution to the issue.

Photos by Mahima Naik

The
Olive Branch

Cartoon by Anushka Kapoor.

Photos by Madhav Bagai.

The
Lost
Wanderers
By Devyani Mahajan and Rhea Datta
The committed witnessed its commencement in a rather slothful manner. However, the zeal to break the agenda down
and formulate solutions was crystal clear in their voices, chits and laptop screens.
With each country focussing on the luxuries provided by their respective governments to the prisoners of wars, the
road to the resolution seemed to be extremely foggy. Like every debate, the first few words spoken explained the
agenda in a layman language. Hysterics reached their peaks when the comprehension of the word detainees took
the spotlight. However, the points of order proclaimed their existence as the delegate of Germany stated how Nazi
regime died with Hitler in 1945 itself thence not holding the present system guilty for the genocides. Repetition of the
agenda without actual deliberation forced the Executive Board to directly encourage the delegates to move into an
unmoderated caucus, keeping aside the fact that the committee had already
al
entertained one, minutes before. Lack of
individualism prevailed in some of the diplomats. The delegate of Belgium followed the ideologies of Obama while
countries like the USA and UK voiced indifferent debates.
An abundance of unmoderated caucuses and bewildered delegates was all that comprised the first half of the days
conference. On the crayoned side of the page, the members did not lose hopes and came up with better issues in the
following hours.

The
Olive Branch
-Vibhana
Kanwar

Chasing
Tail
Ends
of
Technicalities
By Harsh Sinha and Vidushi Rijuta

The debate gained momentum slowly, preceding which, the executive board deflected questions about the marking
scheme by not acknowledging its existence, setting off the highly technical committee in motion. Even before formally
initiating debate on the required agenda, the committee took some time to debate what agenda was to be adopted
first.
The delegation of Nigeria emphasized the difference
di
between non-international armed conflict and international armed
conflict. This was followed by a spat between the delegation of Belgium and France, with regards to the presence of
American troops in Afghanistan.
Under humanitarian law,
la law of armed conflict has come to stalemate as most wars are held in guise of international
conflicts and covert operation., the lone delegate of Belgium stated, providing an example of Afghanistan, where the
United States of America and NATO intervened without UN consent. While France claimed that the American troops
had only begun their attacks after it had been cleared with the Security Council, Belgium remained adamant that not
only had the American troops been present in Afghanistan, but had been committing war crimes long before any kind
of acknowledgment from the Security Council.
Delegations provided
p
their definitions of international armed conflict, ranging from vague terminology of similar to war
to being in reference only to internal hostilities or conflicts between two countries, and not a country and a rebellion
group. The delegation of the USA stated their belief that when two countries are at war it is termed an international
armed conflict. However, when the situation comprises of allied countries against the rebellion group, this definition is
considered invalid. Proclaiming that having a Big Brother role obligated them to help little nations in dire needs, the
delegation was subject to heavy criticism from the fellow delegations.
The committee holds expectations of a more
mo concise direction of debate for the rest of the conference, where the delegates finally let go off the tail ends of technicalities.

The
Olive Branch

The
Olive Branch

The
Olive Branch
The
Conference
Staff:
Now
with
an
integrated
invisibility
cloak!
A hypothetical and hopefully accurate account

So I look in your direction,

But you pay me no attention, do you?
I know you don't listen to me.
'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you?
-Coldplay
This rather romanticized (and completely out of context, mind you) verse from Shiver manages to sum up everything I, as the
one who lurks in the deep murky swamps of chit passing, have ever felt. I am a shadow, a specter; a supposedly mere and
insignificant mediator of the conference. My names vary from conference staff to oye to even just a more rigorous shaking
of the chit. I feel that this loss of identity in being lumped with the others is perhaps the worst part. It would be nice to be
called by name just once in every while. The ruthless delegates look at me, but do they really? Am I not as integral to the
conference as they are? Then why do I feel like the confines of a committee hall have descended into a hierarchy, of which I
confe
form the lowest rung?
I frantically run about the committee room passing chits as frivolous as OMG what are you wearing tomorrow? to Kuch nayi
pata mujhe yaar, vots goin on whilst the delegates continue to play Angry Birds/Flappy Bird/New Addictive Birdie Trash with
that Im all business faade of a face, because obviously the EB marks you on how serious you look in committee.
Although a brilliant learning experience that I have the immense privilege of being a part of, a little gratitude wont hurt.
And you? PLEASE stop shaking that chit. I dont appreciate the vibrate mode setting youre perpetually stuck on. Also, here's
your extra chitpad. And pendrive. And report. And water bottle. And laptop. Oh, I forgot the charger is it? How very
incompetent of me.
-
Surbhi
Sachdeva

Lament
of
a
Chit
By: Kartik Maini

I am a chit, irrevocably so. Albeit just a piece of paper, my journey spans several hands, few minds and careless glances.
My birth is from intellect, and so I lay, with spurring vanity and blistering intellect. I wear my descent like a crown. Lying dazed
in my humble meditation, the transfer is stirringly perturbing. What must the fault of a little piece of paper be to be tossed
around, lain in several hands, and not even find careful minds at receipt?
The other day,
da the delegate I was in possession of, in his unbecoming fury and vanity, hurried a contentious message to
another. Does he not know how must the sharp end of a pen he holds ever so carelessly hurt my insides, especially when
he is audacious enough to be as ruthless as he can? Human relations shall always be an ever illusive mystery to me, for I'd
rather confront than vent my fury on a defenseless piece of paper. Thereon I was handed to a logistic who had his hands
already full, and I was carelessly dropped on the floor! I lay, silent, eyeing the careless nut with a reproaching glance. I was
al
not seen! Can you believe it? And then came the stodgy footstep, slamming me till the depths of my existence. Just as I
was about to endeavor to clean myself, I met a rough hand and so I was handed, to another delegate just as cruel and
careless. When life comes to me, I shall take the sharpest of pens, etch the most ruthless of strokes and stomp with the
dirtiest of feet on this puny species! This shall be my vengeance.
Having given them the liberty
libe of my handling, it was so foolish of me to read what was written. Theretofore, my life was a
complacent dream of meaningful existence of transferring wisps of intellects from one mind to another. What agony I
endured for this! And the chits just smashed my dream. On my body, there lay the flirtiest of pickup lines, the raunchiest of
flirts, and the most useless of conversations. I am made from the severing of countless trees, and they deem it fit to waste
me. What fools!
I don't think I should feel for my preposterous
p
circumstances, for I function regardless. I shall be etched with the worst of
things in the worst of ways whilst being handled in the worst of manners to be received in the most careless of ways. How
underrated verbal communication is!