APQUAR

Advisory Panel

by: Liske Bruinsma

This year's Advisory Panel on the Question of the Arctic Region (APQAR) consists of 28 experts; their task is to provide the Security Council (SC) with a final proposal to rectify the problems concerning the Arctic region after their discussion on the topic.

According to Laure Joumier, Deputy President of the APQAR, the "world's attention must be focused on the Arctic Region" to prevent the effects of global warming from expanding. The international community "must take action", as explained by Raheem Abid, the other Deputy President of the APQAR, "if we solve the question of the Arctic region this can be the first step to solving global warming,". The experts showed their "deep concern" on the "dreadful situation" of the Arctic region in their "passionate opening speeches", and are extremely motivated to create an effective proposal for the Security Council, Joumier confirmed enthusiastically.

Each of the five issues is of either political or humanitarian concern, and will be addressed over the course of the week. Therefore the panel will be divided into two different groups who will be debating in a clause-by-clause format during the first days of the conference. By discussing each clause in an Ad-Hoc debate, all experts can show their concern and interests for each clause. Later on in the week, the entire APQAR will come together to discuss the proposal as a whole, before presenting it to the Security Council. Afterwards, the Panel will meet once again with the SC to receive feedback in respect to the individual clauses compiled in the proposal.

The issues to be discussed in the panel regard the primary issues that must be dealt with when trying to solve the question at hand. Principally the experts must work together to discuss the issues concerning the claim to and ownership of the waters between the neighboring countries. Other issues to be discussed include the access and ownership of the Arctic seabed resources, and the development of maritime and commercial routes from/to the Atlantic Ocean to/from the Pacific Ocean to ensure that transportation in the Arctic region evolves in a sustainable way. While effectively discussing the aforementioned topics, the protection of the fauna and flora in the Arctic Area must be adhered to, as well as the place and role of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Area.

After a morning of getting used to the rules and procedures that must be adhered to during the conference, the experts actively came together to discuss their clauses and improve them in all ways possible. While in session the experts believed that through "direct negotiations" present organizations must coordinate and organize an improvement in seabed mapping. Furthermore, the Exxon Mobile Group continues to "fight for the rights of indigenous people" to prevent any "exploitation" that may arise.

The experts form an intimate, and smaller group within the conference; thus undeniably, by the end of it all, the experts will develop a lasting friendship.