United Nations Security Council
Topic Summary
The 2003 Iraq intervention was a major inflection point in both Iraq and Middle Eastern politics at large. The rise and fall of Saddam Hussein, as well as the nature of the American invasion and subsequent occupation have created fault lines in the Middle East that are fracturing to date. The legacy of foreign intervention and the UNSC’s role in this conflict is also particularly important — marked for instance by the 16 UNSC resolutions on WMDs that Saddam openly defied between 1991 and 2002 or UNSC resolutions 1453 and 1511 which helped shape the post-Saddam transition in American-occupied Iraq. Through this committee, we hope to give you the opportunity to revisit these moments in history and rewrite them to do better justice to the people, the region, and the national interests at stake in this conflict. This is a particular instance from recent history where the consensus of the international community and the UNSC altered the course of events on the ground. We hope this empowers all member states, from small non-aligned states to P5 nations, to play a major role in shaping this committee.
In reality, the dominant role played by the United States in restructuring Iraq has permanently changed the security architecture of the Middle East and majorly influenced many of the biggest conflicts in the region today. As one of the three major balancing entities in the pre-9/11 US strategy with Saudi Arabia and Iran, Iraq’s position relative to these two other powers determines a great deal about many regional proxy conflicts. Looking back at Iraq’s collapse at the hand of extremist organizations, we can further see the relevance of the legacy of the American occupation in Iraq, and examine the ways in which the US weakened Iraq’s indigenous capacity to exert power over its sovereign territory, indicative of greater signs in American neo colonial foreign policy. In committee, you will have the chance to use the power of foresight to right these wrongs and more effectively achieve the foreign policy objectives of each state through this conflict.
Ved is a junior at Harvard concentrating in Applied Maths. He was born and raised in Mumbai, where he first discovered my love for Model UN. MUN was a large and special part of his experience in high school and he has been very passionate about bringing this experience to others through the platforms awarded to him at Harvard. He serves as the Secretary-General for HMUN India, and staffs Model UN conferences in Boston and Dubai (formerly serving in the latter as the USG of Operations). At Harvard, he is also a part of our Intercollegiate Model UN Team, a team that competes at conferences in the North American circuit. He spent the last two summers working in political science and international relations research, academic experiences that have helped shape the way he views — and given him an even greater conviction in — the transformative power of youth platforms such as MUN. Outside MUN, he enjoys football, music, and the occasional (yet less frequent than he ought to) book.
Condoleezza Dwuye is a sophomore at Harvard concentrating in Social Studies, with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. She is from Taunton, Massachusetts, a first-generation Liberian-American, and she is extremely passionate about international justice and the intersection of race, class, and power. She has been involved in MUN since high school and served as an Assistant Director for a crisis committee at HNMUN Boston 2025. She will be directing at HMUN and HNMUN Boston 2026. This is her inaugural experience serving as a director for HMUN Africa. Outside of MUN, she is the Political Action Chair for the Harvard Africans’ Students Association, an associate for Global Research Consulting, writer for the Harvard Political Review, and a Section Leader, Historian and on the social committee for the Harvard University Band (#clarinet player). In her free time, she loves watching Gilmore Girls and Abbott Elementary, baking with family and friends, reading and crocheting.
She looks forward to meeting you!