GIMUN 2007

The GIMUN 2007 set new records on many levels. An unprecedented degree of diversity was reached at the annual conference with 200 participants from 60 countries and 76 universities making their way to Geneva in order to debate current international issues. Aimed at being "one step ahead" of reality, we were able to include new features into our conference. For example, we decided to re-simulate a Security Council with an enlarged membership and improved transparency, after the previous annual conference had proven that such a Council could indeed work efficiently. Our Human Rights Council already put its new mechanisms into practice, notably the new Universal Periodic Review. Finally, for the first time in the history of the GIMUN, we were going to simulate the International Court of Justice and the newly established Peacebuilding Commission.

In prospect of the GIMUN’s possible election as an NGO in special consultative status with the UN ECOSOC, our team was also the first one to expand the organisation’s range of activities besides the annual conference. A highlight in this regard was Prof. W. Kälin’s exclusive guest speech on the current challenges of the Human Rights Council in late November 2006.
In January 2007, the GIMUN was indeed recommended for special consultative status by the UN Committee on NGOs. We went on to introduce new features in the simulation at the annual conference. Most prominently, we organized a so called think tank session, where we encouraged participants, in a more informal setting, to share their personal views on the current international system as it stands and to formulate suggestions for reform. Divided into groups, participants engaged in active discussions and exchanged different ideas, for once without being bound to a country-specific position but making proposals of their own. This experiment was perceived as an outright success and lead to a stimulating outcome: Proposals were made with regards to a greater involvement of civil society into the work of the UN and a closer collaboration with regional organizations. A vast majority of participants called for an improved transparency and accountability within the UN system and stressed to importance of a reform to improve the UN’s efficiency, legitimacy and credibility towards the outside world.

To sum it up, the GIMUN 2007 not only renewed the success of its preceding editions, it also took our association a great step further on the road to becoming a responsible, student-run NGO with an active involvement in the education of youth about UN matters.

Andreas Lehmann & Fabian Grass
Co-Secretaries General 2007