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Nation Guide: Getting To Know The Basics
Official Country Name:
United Kingdom
Governmental System (ie., monarchy/constitutional monarchy, etc):
Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State (name and title):
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II; Prime Minister: James Gordon Brown
Official Language:
British
Allies/blocs (ie., NATO, SEATO, EU):
NATO, EU
Major religions:
Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%; Muslim
2.7%; Hindu 1%; other 1.6%; unspecified or none 23.1%
Major cities:
Belfast (Northern Ireland), Cardiff (Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland) and London
(England)
Climate:
Temperate climate, with a lot of rain all year round
Major Ports/Waterways:
Ports of Belfast and London; The River Thames; English Channel;
Infrastructure status (do they have good roadways and bridges or is this
underdeveloped?:
They have good roadways and bridges.

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Population:
61,113,205 people
Human rights record:
They have had racism problems and also about ethnic-religious discrimination.
They had some national security crises before.
Reputation/role within the UN:
UK’s reputation with the UN is really good. They help each other out a lot and the
reputation is really high.
Environmental stance, e.g., problems, innovations:
Environmental problems: greenhouse gases, household waste, industrial and
commercial waster, air pollution, water pollution, etc.
Standard of living (UNDP Annual Report): Very high human development.
People are literate; not many people die from HIV/AIDS; most people know how
to speak English;
Development status: Very developed
Has this nation signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its
two covenants? Yes
U.N. Peacekeeping role (Blue Helmets): Contributes troops, police, and
financial resources to the UN.
BISS MUN Research Info
Has the U.N. ever had to intervene in any conflict involving this nation?
Yes
What are four problems/threats that currently seem to affect this nation?
Four problems that are currently affecting this nation are: 1. A British boys
father kidnapped in Pakistan has returned home, against the wishes of the

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country's police. 2. Economic problems 3. Businessman Boris Berezovsky has
won a libel case over allegations he was behind the murder of former Russian
agent Alexander Litvinenko. 4. The President of the European Council, Herman
Van Rompuy, has said he pities Nigel Farage, the British MEP who called him a
"damp rag" last month.
Ethnic/cultural issues: Human rights (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual);
Racism; Fight between Sikh and Muslims before
Are refugees and issue? No
Is this nation politically stable? Yes
Military organization: Army, military police, air force, navy
Military expenditures (percent spent on defense): 2.47% of GPD
Major weapons, arsenal, nuclear capability, etc.: Nuclear weapons (nuclear
bombs)
Major exports: Machinery and transport, manufactured goods and chemicals.
Major imports: Food, beverages and tobacco are major non-manufactured
imports, while other major imports include machinery and transport equipment,
chemicals, fuels, clothing and footwear.
Major trade partners: European Countries and United States
Agricultural products: Cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep,
poultry; fish
Industries: Machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment,
railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics
and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and
paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods
Natural Resources: Coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin,

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limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land
Energy sources (both the type of energy and its origin):
Fossil Fuels (coal, oil, gas) (imported)
Historic Adversaries: Iraq; Somalia
Conflicts both past and present:
Some conflicts are: Nuclear Weapons Conflict; conflict in Hounslow, West
London between Sikhs and Muslims (1990’s); London Dockland Development
Corporation and the original "working class" population who felt marginalized
by the new developments such as Canary Wharf. (1980's onwards); Invasion of
Iraq (2003); War in Somalia (2006-2009)
Date admitted to the U.N.: 24th October 1945
Based upon your research, what do you feel is at the heart of this nation’s
identity? I think that other people see UK are a developed place and that they
think that it’s a place with not many war activities. I think that UK is known for
their imports and exports, and lots of people also know about some of their
major ports and waterways.
Find one recent news article that is about or makes reference to this nation
from the last month and staple it to this worksheet (or provide the URL or
link). Summarize the article below.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8560038.stm
This article here tells us about a little five-year-old boy named Sahil Saeed, who
was staying with his relatives, when suddenly he got kidnapped. This boy’s
father is meant to stay a witness, because he said that someone “very close to the
family” has taken the boy away. Sahil was taken away from his grandmother’s
home in Jhelum, Punjab, as he was preparing to take a taxi to the airport for his

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return flight to the UK. Sahil is now on the official watch lists so that he cannot be
taken out of the country, but the people who kidnapped him have demanded a
£100,000 ransom for his return. The UK government has a policy of not paying
ransoms and advises third parties against doing that, because they think that
doing that would encourage future kidnappings.