Model United Nations

University Resources

UNA-UK’s guide to running and participating

in a Model United Nations
 CONTENTS
Introduction to the Booklet 1

Introduction to the United Nations

What is the UN? 2
Main UN bodies 4

For Organisers
Initial planning 7
Skills for Students to practice 9
Organising a One Day Model UN Event 10
Organising a Three Day Model UN Event 12
Countries to be included in a Model UN 15
Follow-up Work 16

For Participants
Preparing for a Model UN 17
Researching your Country and Topic 18
Writing a Positon Paper 22
Public Speaking 23
Writing a Resolution 31
Designing Notepaper 35
Model UN Rules and Procedure 36

Glossary
Model UN Key Words and Phrases 41
 Introduction to the Booklet
Every year more than 400,000 students from primary schools and universities
participate worldwide in Model UN conferences. These events are simply a role-play
of UN meetings and are usually based on the Security Council or General Assembly
committees. Participants assume the role of national ambassadors or
representatives to debate and seek to solve global issues.

Events can last from a few hours to a week and can involve people of all ages.
Universities may hold events within a student society or with all students studying a
particular subject. Model UN events can cover a whole city or region and many
national and international events are held throughout the world.

It’s great fun, giving you the opportunity to meet new people, while also helping you
to develop and demonstrate key skills such as public speaking, teamwork and
negotiation.

We’ve created this booklet to assist all those organising and taking part in Model UN
events. The first half is primarily targeted at those wishing to put on a Model UN
event themselves. The second half gives broader advice on how to participate in an
MUN event. While both sections should be fairly comprehensive, here are some
further resources giving more information on Model UN:

 Answers to your top five questions about Model UN – una.org.uk/globe

 UNA-USA’s Model UN resources - unausa.org/global-classrooms-model-un
What is Model United Nations? - bestdelegate.com/what-is-model-united-
nations/

If you would like to attend a Model UN event but don’t know where to start looking,
here are two websites which can direct you to local and worldwide events
targeted at university students. A key organisation to note is the London
International Model United Nations, one of the largest organisations offering Model
UN.

 London International Model United Nations – limun.org.uk

 University Conference Database - bestdelegate.com/university-conference-
database/

Written by UNA-UK
Compiled and designed by Jess Saunders

1
 Introduction to the United Nations
What is the UN?
The UN is an international organisation of sovereign states, containing nearly every country
in the world. Only independent states may become members of the UN. It was created in the
wake of World War II – in 1945, 51 states (including the UK) signed the UN Charter, and
became the founding members of the UN. Because of the end of colonialism and the break-
up of countries such as the USSR and Yugoslavia, the number of independent countries
grew. Currently, the UN has 193 member states.

The UN provides an opportunity for the independent states of the world to discuss global
issues which affect them both individually and collectively. The UN aims to seek solutions to
issues, conflicts and crises in a peaceful manner. The UN Charter is a set of guidelines
which explains the rights and responsibilities of member states.

The UN has four purposes, which are contained in Article 1 of the UN Charter:
1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective
measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of
acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means,
and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement
of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal
rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to
strengthen universal peace;

3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an

economic, social, cultural, or
humanitarian character, and in
promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as
to race, sex, language, or religion; and

4. To be a centre for harmonizing the

actions of nations in the attainment
of these common ends.

2
 The purposes are upheld by certain principles, contained in Article 2 of the UN Charter,
which apply to the UN as an organisation and to the individual member states:

1. The Organization is based on the

principle of the sovereign equality of
all its Members.

2. All Members, in order to ensure to all

of them the rights and benefits
resulting from membership, shall fulfil
in good faith the obligations assumed
by them in accordance with the
present Charter.

3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner
that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in
accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state
against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.

6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act
in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in
matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the
Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle
shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.

The UN Charter provides for the suspension or expulsion of a member state which does not
adhere to the Charter principles.

3
Main UN bodies

General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative
organ of the United Nations. It is composed of
representatives of all member states, each of
which has one vote. Decisions on important
questions, such as those on peace and security,
admission of new members and budgetary
matters, require a two-thirds majority. Decisions
on other questions are by simple majority.

There are various subsidiary organs within the

General Assembly. These include the
Disarmament Commission, the Peacebuilding
Commission and the Human Rights Council.

The Secretariat
This is an international staff working in duty stations around the world that carry out the
diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other principal organs of the
United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them.

The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the
United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating
international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems to preparing
studies on human rights and sustainable development.

Secretariat staff also inform the world's communications media about the work of the United
Nations, organise international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret
speeches and translate documents into the Organisation's official languages.

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 Security Council
The Security Council has primary responsibility
for the maintenance of international peace and
security. It is so organised as to be able to
function continuously, and a representative of
each of its members must be present at all
times at United Nations Headquarters. The
Presidency of the Council rotates monthly,
according to the English alphabetical listing of
its member States.

There are five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are ten non-permanent
members who serve two-year terms and are elected by the General Assembly in regional
groups, to ensure that each region is represented.

The Security Council’s functions and powers are:

1. To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes
of the United Nations;
2. To investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
3. To recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
4. To formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
5. To determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend
what action should be taken;
6. To call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use
of force to prevent or stop aggression;
7. To take military action against an aggressor;
8. To recommend the admission of new Members;
9. To exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas"; and
10. To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and,
together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

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Economic and Social Council (‘ECOSOC’)
The principal body coordinating the economic and social work of the United Nations and its
operational arms. It is serviced by the Department for Economic and Social Affairs. The
entire family of United Nations organizations works for economic, social and sustainable
development.

The Council's 54 member Governments are elected by the General Assembly for
overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are allotted based on geographical
representation with fourteen allocated to African States, eleven to Asian States, six to
Eastern European States, ten to Latin American and Caribbean States, and thirteen to
Western European and other States.

The work of ECOSOC is carried out through Functional and Regional Commissions.
Functional Commissions address specific topics, whereas Regional Commissions address
issues specific to certain geographic areas. Commissions have working groups and other
sections to research, discuss and investigate problems. These are made up of member
countries’ representatives, but draw on independent experts for information and advice.

International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’)

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established in June 1945
by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is
at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Of the six principal organs of the United
Nations, it is the only one not located in New York.

The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to
it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorised
United Nations organs and specialised agencies.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the
United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its
administrative organ.

The ICJ is not the same as the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’). The ICC is not a UN
court and it hears cases against individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes. The ICJ hears only disputes between states.

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 For Organisers
Initial Planning

 Choose a date and time to

hold your Model UN and
decide how long it will last.
Events can range from a
half-day informal session
to a three day international
conference.

 Choose a date and time to hold your Model UN and decide how long it will last.
Events can range from a half-day session involving one class in a school to a three
day international conference.

 Choose the committee(s) that you will be simulating and a topic to discuss.

 Make sure that a computer will be available for writing and typing resolutions and
amendments and that there will be printing and photocopying facilities nearby.

 Delegates should be divided into teams and assigned a country to represent. The
section on ‘Countries to be included in a Model UN’ provides further ideas on which
countries to choose.

 For an event lasting a day or more, it is a good idea to ask a local VIP to open the
first session. They could be somebody connected with the university – the Head of a
Faculty for example. Other options include the local MP, a local councillor or a
person who is involved (or has been involved) with the UN or with foreign affairs in
general.

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Roles

Here are some suggestions on how to divide up the work for your conference (although you
may not need some of these, depending on the size of your conference)

Secretary-General
The principal organiser should take on this role. In the UN, the Secretary-General is in
charge of the Secretariat. During a Model UN, the Secretary-General is in charge of all the
people co-ordinating the sessions and taking messages. The Secretary-General assists and
advises the Chairs and acts as an adviser on matters of procedure.

Chairs and Reporters

The Chairs run each committee.
Reporters take notes and assist
each Chair with amendments.

Advisers
Advisers help delegations with
drafting amendments and operative
clauses. These are probably people
who have taken part in previous
Model UN events.

Secretariat
Members of the Secretariat take notes, assist the President and Chairs with amendments,
act as the go-between for delegations during the debate, distribute papers and generally
assist with the smooth running of the negotiations.

Press
Participants can act as the press corps, either for the event in general, or attached to certain
delegations. The press corps could produce reports of the different delegations’ positions in
a newspaper or online format.

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Skills for Students to practice

Research
The emphasis should be on delegates researching their countries and issues themselves.
They should learn how to be efficient and to detect bias in information. For more detail, see
the participants section on ‘Researching your country and topic’

Public Speaking
Delegates should practise their public speaking skills – in particular, the need to speak
slowly and to project their voices when speaking in a large room. Presenting general
information about their countries can be a great way for students to practice. You should
assign a maximum length for each speech and enforce the limits. Participants could practice
answering questions from their peers, as well. For more detail, see the participants section
on ‘Public Speaking’

Resolution Writing
Practising resolution-writing should be part of the preparation process and it may even be
useful for the delegates to pre-draft preambulatory clauses for use on the day. For more
detail, see the participants section on ‘Writing a resolution’

Position Papers
Delegates should be asked to write a position paper, which discusses and explains their
country’s views on the issue. For more detail, see the participants section on ‘Writing a
position paper’

Rules of Procedure
A short Model UN conference may use only very simplified rules of procedure – having an
experienced Chair to direct the debate may be all that is necessary. However, for a more
complicated conference, rules must be discussed and agreed in advance. Everything will go
much more smoothly on the day if everyone is already familiar and comfortable with the way
that committee sessions are run and understands their role. For more detail on the standard
rules of procedure for Model UN, see the participants section on ‘Model UN rules and
procedure’

9
Organising a One Day Model UN Event
Model UN events can last for as long as you would like - just an hour, half a day, a whole
day or three or four days. This is dependent on the amount of time and resources you have
to organise the event, as well as the number of delegates who will be participating.
Here is an example of a timetable for a one day conference:

Section To do
9.30 Set- up Organisers arrange flags, country signs and seating (hopefully with
tables) in a horseshoe, with countries in alphabetical order and the
officers (Chair, reporters and advisers) seated in the open end. Other
individuals should be registering delegates and passing out
nametags.
9.40 Welcome Welcome and administrative arrangements from the Secretary
General or the organiser
9.45 Introductions Introductions and short addresses by guest speaker and Chair
10.15 Committee Each delegation makes a short speech about its country and
session concerns, with reference to issues to be debated. Organiser must
decide on maximum length of each speech, and the Chair must
strictly enforce these time limits.
Caucus Delegates should be encouraged to enter an unmoderated caucus at
the end of these speeches in order to begin working with states that
expressed similar positions and interests or to begin debate.
Resolution As the session continues, it should turn toward resolution writing. The
writing preamble should be written by the organisers and duplicated in
advance, while the committee drafts and debates the operative
clauses that they wish to propose.
Amendments Once a complete draft resolution has been approved and distributed,
delegations suggest amendments or other operative clauses. The
Chair should help guide the debate, if they feel it necessary, and
encourage the committee to debate substantive issues, rather than
nitpicking at the resolution.
Recap At the end of the session, the Chair may want to ‘recap’ the debate
and might suggest areas of the issues that have yet to be raised and
where compromises will have to be negotiated. The delegates should
do the work of finalising the draft resolution, though the Chair,
reporters and advisers should be available to help.
12.45 Lunch break The delegates should remain in character so that they can lobby and

10
 negotiate with each other. A working lunch, if possible, can be
appropriate.
13.45 Committee Committees continue to work on completing their draft resolution and
session debating amendments. About 10 minutes before the end of the
session, the Chair should announce that it is time to take a final vote
on the resolution, as it has been amended. It may even be possible
to have consensus and not need to take an actual vote.
16.00 Closing Formal end of the Model UN; appropriate thanks given to all
ceremony concerned. Chairs should talk briefly about the work done by their
committee and may want to mention delegates who were especially
outstanding.
16.30 Clean up

Rules of Procedure
For a MUN lasting up to one day, there may be no need to adopt especially formal rules of
procedure. All that is needed is a Chair (or more than one if you have several committees)
who is able to direct the discussions towards a consensus and use simple rules to decide on
the resolutions and guide discussion.

The committees should aim to produce a draft resolution which can be agreed through
consensus. If consensus is not possible, states must vote ‘for’, ‘against’ or ‘abstain’.

Suggested voting rules are:

 to require a majority to be in favour of a draft resolution or any amendments for them
to pass
 to require several sponsors of amendments and draft resolutions (choose an exact
number)
 to allow 3 (or more) speakers for and against every amendment, then to vote on
whether or not the amendment should be included in the resolution.

Useful discussion rules include:

 allowing delegates to request a period of caucusing or lobbying
 allowing delegates to indicate whether or not they will answer questions after
delivering a speech
 having a speaker’s list for delegations to determine who speaks next.

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Organising a Three Day Model UN Event
Bigger conferences are likely to include delegates from many universities, some of whom
may travel a significant distance to attend. As a result, it is important to keep in touch with
your delegates in advance of the conference, by e-mail or by posting information on a
website. It is probably a good idea to have more than one topic on each committee’s
agenda. Some conferences have two and others have three, and topic guides should be
arranged in advance to help the delegates prepare.

Conferences that last more than one day may also have to arrange or help delegates find
accommodation and probably need to arrange a social event for the delegates. This may be
a dinner, renting out a pub or club, a formal or informal dance, a boat party or some other
kind of event where delegates can get to know each other outside of committee sessions.

The key to a good, large conference is to have high calibre Chairs for the committees, who
can enforce the rules of procedure but allow enough flexibility to encourage the work of the
committee. Depending on the size of your conference, and the availability of staff, you may
even want to run more than one committee concurrently. Just ensure that your delegates
know which committee they will be on and which topics they will be discussing in advance!

Rules of Procedure
For longer Model UN conferences,
and for events with experienced
delegates, you may need to agree
on rules of procedure in advance.
At 70 pages, the UN General
Assembly’s rules of procedure may
seem slightly daunting! However,
you should be able to use a
slimmed-down version. You will
also need to agree on rules of
parliamentary procedure, which
govern speeches during the conference.

12
 Here is an example of a timetable for a three day conference, based on the 2007 schedule
for the London International Model United Nations conference:

DAY 1 Section To do
12.30- Registration Delegates collect badges, conference handbooks, placards and
15.00 any other materials.
14.30- Opening Includes a welcome from the Secretary-General, a keynote
15.30 Ceremony speech by a distinguished guest, introductions, and
announcements.
16.00- Parliamentary An experienced delegate leads a short training session for new
16.45 Procedure delegates or those who wish to brush up their parliamentary
Workshop procedure and resolution writing before committee sessions
start.
17.00- Committee Following the roll call, delegates debate and set the agenda.
20.00 session The first few speakers will spend time explaining their country’s
broad position on the issue and begin to frame the debate, by
suggesting that the committee address certain aspects of a
problem, its causes and solutions. The committee will probably
also spend time in informal debate, either moderated or
unmoderated caucusing.
Some conferences encourage delegates to draft resolutions
and working papers beforehand and use these first committee
sessions as time for delegates to ‘lobby’ one another to support
their ideas. Others prefer resolutions to be the product of the
whole committee and do not allow the use of resolutions that
have been prepared in advance.
22.00 Social Event

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DAY 2 Section To do
9.00- Committee By now, committees should be starting to address the heart of their
13.00 Session topic and may be using periods of unmoderated caucus to begin
writing working papers and/or resolutions. Once these are
introduced, the committee can continue discussing the drafts and
begin to craft and consider amendments.
13.00- Lunch
14.00 Break
14.00- Committee The committee should probably be finishing work on the first topic
18.30 Session during this session, if two topics are to be discussed. The process
of amending the draft resolution should continue and a final vote
may be taken.
20.00 Social Event

DAY 3 Section To do
9.00- Committee Committees will probably begin working on a second topic during
12.30 Session this session. Everything will happen much faster, because of the
time constraints and because delegates are more comfortable with
each other and with the process.
12.30- Lunch
13.30 Break
13.30- Committee This is usually the most intense and fast-paced session of the
16.00 Session conference. Delegates are rushing to get their second resolution
passed and tempers may flare. Delegates who oppose the second
resolution may be using the rules of procedure to obstruct the
process. This is also a good time to hand out and have delegates
complete evaluation forms
16.30- Closing This is a time for the Secretary-General to thank everyone for
17.00 Ceremony attending and for helping with the conference. Chairs may want to
speak briefly about the work that their committees accomplished (as
well as sharing particularly amusing anecdotes). Some conferences
will give out awards, show photos taken over the course of the three
days or hold a General Assembly plenary session for abbreviated
debate and passage of the resolutions that each committee has
written.

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Countries to be included in Model UN
There are 193 Member States of the UN. When choosing the countries for your Model UN,
there are various considerations:

 The number of participants: each Model UN delegation should ideally have two
members.
 The Model UN agenda: you should choose countries that will be relevant to the issue(s)
you have chosen for your event. For example, a resolution on access to water should
include countries from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and
Australasia, among others. The countries that you choose should have divergent
interests, meaning that they will disagree about the issue under discussion.
 Geographical spread: you should aim for a geographically wide range of countries,
including at least one country from each continent. The countries that you choose should
come from different areas of the continent – for example, if you only choose two African
states, do not choose two West African states.
 Economic spread: you should aim to include developed and developing countries.
 Political spread: you should aim to include countries representing contrasting political
and economic systems, including both democracies and dictatorships, as well as pro-
and anti-Western countries.
 States in conflict: where states have a major current, or historical, disagreement, you
should not include only one of them. For example, if you decide to include India, you
should also include Pakistan.
 ‘Mediator’ states: although you should include states with divergent interests, you
should also include some neutral states that can act as catalysts or mediators in order to
achieve a consensus acceptable to all. States such as Canada, Switzerland, Sweden,
Norway and Finland can play this role.
 Permanent five: you should include the Permanent Five members of the Security
Council (although no country has a veto in the General Assembly) – China, France, the
Russian Federation, the UK and USA.
 EU Council Presidency: you should include the country holding the EU Council
Presidency, which can speak on behalf of the whole EU on most General Assembly
issues.
 Don’t forget the ‘little’ states: Model UNs have a tendency to stick to the ‘big’ states,
like always using Nigeria, South Africa or Egypt to represent Africa. It can be more
interesting and a bit more challenging to use smaller or simply less-well known states
that fulfil the same geographic or other criteria

15
Follow-up work
Follow-up work with the completed MUN resolution may be also be appropriate:

 Each delegation could

send the resolution to the
Embassy or High
Commission of the
country that they
represented, with a
covering letter explaining
what position the
delegation had taken and
asking for comments.

 Participants could send the resolution to their local MP, with a request to discuss it
with them.

 Participants could ask their MP to forward the resolution and letter to the relevant
government department and to send back any reply received.

 Participants could ask their local newspaper to print the resolution, or a letter
summarising it, and could monitor any responses. If the subject matter of the
resolution is relevant to the local community, participants could ask their local
councillor to raise the resolution and discuss it in a council meeting. Representatives
of the delegations could attend the debate and be available for questions.

 Finally, particularly for larger conferences, it is always helpful to conduct a review to

determine what went well and what didn’t, so that the next time you run a Model UN
you can make it even better.

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 For Participants
Preparing for a Model UN
Before a Model UN event, delegates must prepare by conducting research on their country
and topic.

It is vital that you are able to summarise what you have learned, especially your country’s
most vital interests and goals. There are two good ways to do this. The first is to prepare a
position paper, which should be no longer than two typed pages. You should also prepare a
three-sentence version of your position on each topic. Despite the lack of detail, this will be
the version of your research that you use most often at your Model UN event.

If you want to have lots of good information to hand, you can also fill out a country and topic
fact sheet to help you structure and organise the information in a clear and accessible way.
These contain only the most vital data, allowing you to refer to it quickly during a session.

Practise your public speaking by preparing an opening speech (which may closely resemble
the long version of your position paper) and giving it in front of your class, family and/or
mirror.

Before the event, the members of the delegation need to decide who is giving the speech,
who is taking notes on other countries’ positions and who is going to negotiate with other
delegations. You should always have somebody following the debate as something
important could be said at any time

You should also have thought about ways to approach the issues that you are discussing, as
well as possible solutions. These ideas should reflect your country’s interests and concerns
and those of your closest allies. Some conferences will let you bring resolutions that have
been written in advance. Even if you cannot use one of these, you should practise writing a
resolution.

Read the rules of procedure. There’s no better way to ensure that you will feel comfortable
and confident when your Model UN event starts!

Finally, make sure that you have everything you need. Keep your research organised and
take paper and pens. Also take notepaper. This could be as simple as A4 cut into quarters or
you can design notepaper with your country’s name/crest/flag/motto, etc. on it.

17
Researching your country and topic
Developing and using good research skills are an essential part of any Model UN
experience. The success of a Model UN largely depends on the preparation work that you
have done, both in learning about the issues that will be discussed, and about the country
that you are representing.

A Model UN event is an opportunity to see what cooperation between states could achieve,
and also to see why the international community has not solved all the world’s problems.
This is why you should be ready to reflect the real views of the country you represent, even if
you disagree with them. Only then can you understand the complex reasons why the world
is the way it is and what has to change to make it better.

Notes on sources:
It is very important to learn to spot
bias in the information you read,
especially online. Always bear in
mind the origin and purpose of your
source. Check to see where they
get their money, who makes up the
advisory board or leadership of the
organisation and their stated aims.

Some sources may give accurate information, but only about their narrow area of focus. For
example, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is an excellent source of information
about environmental issues, but not useful if you are researching health problems.

18
Researching for a model UN is a three step process:

STEP 1: Learning the basics about your country

You should cover at least the following issues:

 Location
 Head of state and/or
government
 Type of government
 Major allies and enemies,
including membership of
intergovernmental
organisations
 Broad overview of religion
and culture
 Internal and external
conflicts
 Other special concerns related
to your committee’s topics and/or area of expertise

Places to visit:

 The US CIA World Factbook provides up-to-the minute facts about your country and
is very useful for finding statistical information.
 The BBC website produces country profiles which are useful as a starting point.
 The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (‘FCO’) produces more detailed country
briefings.
 The UN Cyber School Bus site produces basic and advanced information on all the
member states of the UN, enabling you to compare different countries. The site also
provides information about individual countries.
 Get a feel for the type of country that you have been assigned by searching for
programmes or books about ordinary life in that country. You may even wish to find
blogs written by people who are living in the country or doing development work to
get a personal perspective on life in your country, although you must remember that
the information you find will only represent one person’s experience.
 If you know someone from your country, talk to them!

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STEP 2: Learning about your topic
Always start with the delegate guide - this should give you a better idea about which aspects
of the topic your organisers would like you to discuss. Read them thoroughly and use the
links that are provided.

Other sources:

 Google (or your other favourite search engine). Always evaluate the online sources
that you find but, in general, the internet is one of the best places to find up-to-date
information for Model UN preparation.
 Online article databases. Search news magazines (e.g. Newsweek, Time, The
Economist) or newspapers for well-written and up to date information.
 UN agencies. Most UN agencies (like the UN Development Programme or the UN
Children’s Fund) issue yearly reports on issues related to their area of expertise,
which may include information on individual countries. Choose the agency which is
most relevant to your committee’s topic.
 NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) are an invaluable source of information
that is usually independent from governments (although not free from bias,
generally). It is highly likely that there will be an NGO that does work and research on
your issue

STEP 3: Combining what you know

This is the hardest part of preparing for a Model UN conference, but also the most important.
It consists of taking what you know about your country and what you know about the topics
and using both sets of knowledge to understand the perspective that you will be
representing.

You might get lucky and find that your country already has a clearly stated policy on the
topics that you are discussing. Good sources for this are:

 See the website of your country’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York or
Geneva.
 Look at the website of your country’s Embassy or High Commission (if they are
a member of the Commonwealth) in the UK. Also check your country’s embassy in
Washington D.C., in Brussels or in the capital of your former colonial power because
these are often the largest and have the best websites. Your embassy in the USA will
probably have an English website. If you cannot find the information you want, email

20
 or write to one of the diplomats at the Embassy or High Commission and ask very
specific questions about the country’s position on the topic to be debated. You are
more likely to get helpful responses if your questions reflect that you have already
done some research. The FCO has a list of foreign missions in the UK, together with
website and contact details.
 Search for the website of your country’s relevant central government ministry.
Be aware that ministries may have a different name to that which you expected. For
example, the US equivalent of the FCO is the Department of State. Also, a single
Model UN issue may straddle many ministries. For example, internal water issues in
the UK may fall under the Home Office or the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs; external water issues may fall under the FCO or the Department for
International Development. A helpful starting point is this website, but also use
search engines.
 Newspapers in your country
 NGO groups working in your country may discuss government positions on an issue

However, it is possible that you will not be able to find official information on your subject.
This is when things get harder. You will have to think about the relationship between the
subjects and your state policy, based on your best (and highly informed) guess.

The best method is to ask yourself questions:

 How is my country affected by this issue?

 What is my country’s relationship with states that are especially affected by this
topic?
 How has my country voted on similar issues in the past?
 Does my country have special religious/cultural concerns that may lead it to have a
specific stance on an issue? (This can be especially useful on human rights topics).

Think about the connections between your country and your topic during this process. Be
willing to listen to others who know more about either your topic or country. As long as you
play your role with confidence and tact, other delegates should respect what you say.

21
Writing a Position Paper
At some conferences it is a requirement that delegates submit a position paper to the
committee chair at the start of the session. However, even if you don’t have to, it’s a good
idea to do it anyway as part of your conference preparation. Position papers are a good way
of sifting through and distilling all the information you discover through research into a simple
format that serves as a valuable reference both for yourself, and at conferences where
papers are collected and shared, for other delegates and directors.

Format for position papers:

Position papers should be about one page long. The position paper is not an exercise in
elaborate writing or a demonstration of breadth of knowledge on a topic; rather, it is an
opportunity to get straight in your own mind:
- What is your country’s position on the key issues?
- What kind of solutions will your country look for in a resolution?

At the top of your position paper you

should list the following:

1. Committee Name
2. Topic Area
3. Country

You should then divide the bulk of

your paper into two parts:

I. General Position Statement

II. Responses to Questions a Resolution Must Answer

Frame your nation’s perspective in terms of solutions proposed in the past or the views of
regional blocs and other countries that share your position. It is also important to examine
prior UN resolutions, decisions, declarations or reports. Statistics and quotes from
international documents often give compelling factual support for your arguments.

An excellent position paper will include:

a) A brief statement on why your state feels the topic is important nationally and globally
b) A clear and concise statement of your state’s position on the topic
c) An explanation of why your state takes this position
d) Major UN actions on the topic that your state feels are significant
e) Suggestions for addressing the topic

22
Public Speaking
Giving good speeches is a key skill at a Model UN.
Speeches are the most important way of convincing
members of your committee to support your points
of view and proposed solutions. Those who speak
frequently and articulately are most likely to steer
the course of discussions in their favour.

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech

is natural and healthy. It shows you care about
doing well. But too much nervousness can work
against you. The most important thing is to seek
and grab opportunities for speaking. Remember
that practice makes perfect, and this experience
builds confidence, which is the key to effective
speaking.

You must also be aware that at different times during a Model UN simulation you will be
expected to make different types of speeches:

Making an opening speech:

As the committee begins, you will normally be asked to make an opening speech. These
speeches generally provide broad overviews of your country’s views on the topic. You
should cite national policy and highlight the facets of the problem you feel are most
important.

This can be a great way to win over other delegates right at the outset of the conference. A
simple, well prepared and well delivered speech will mark you out as a delegation of
importance. You should represent your country accurately, but in a good light, seeking to
earn the respect of other countries.

Other delegates will be outlining their national policy as well, so it is important to listen
attentively and recognise countries that may agree or disagree with your position.

Open by using the full name of your country. If possible, use your assigned country's official
language, e.g. La Republique Française (Republic of France) or Reino de España (Kingdom
of Spain).

23
If the speech is to be delivered as part of an opening ceremony or General Assembly, you
should keep it general, highlighting the most important problems that your country faces,
particularly those being discussed during committees at the conference.

If your speech is to your committee on a specific topic chosen for discussion, you should
spend most of your time talking about how your country is affected by the topic, what your
country sees as its biggest concerns with the issue area and suggesting some solutions to
the problem (only suggest solutions which would benefit your country, of course!).

The following speech frame will help you to write your speech.

 Describe your country

Location, poor or rich, special concerns or circumstances (e.g. ongoing civil war,
drought, member of the EU)

 Something unique about your country

Include one or two interesting facts about your country, things that make it unique

 What problems are faced by your people?

Hunger, clean water, disease, global warming, refugees, aggressive neighbours,
conflicts, terrorism

 What help, if any, do you need from the rest of the world?
Aid, trade, support, expertise, advice, removal of debt

 Why is this topic important to your country?

Destabilises region, is a cause of poverty, kills lots of people in your country, violates
principles that your country thinks are important

 What do you think should be the first step to solving the problem presented by
the topic?
Choose something that addresses the reasons why this topic is important to your
country

 What solutions can you propose?

Be creative!

24
 Making a substantive speech:
After the first hour or two, you should begin to make more substantive speeches, focussing
on specific ways in which to handle a problem. Remarks at this time should also be geared
toward formulating working papers, or informal documents that suggest solutions to the
problem.
The following pattern is a good guideline for making a brief but persuasive speech.

1. If possible start your speech from a point of agreement. Try to find an angle with which
everybody in the room will agree. ‘We all believe that the sovereignty of states must be
respected….’
2. Then move towards the point of disagreement. ‘However, if countries fail to protect their
own populations then their sovereignty is void. Sovereignty brings with it responsibility, and if
countries fail to live up to that responsibility, then the international community has the right to
intervene….’
3. To finish, request a clear-cut action. ‘Let us pass a resolution that will allow such
intervention and commit the international community to preventing massive human rights
violations wherever and whenever they may occur.’

Once working papers have been approved and can be discussed, tailor your speech to
discussing the merits of the various documents before the committee. Also, look to suggest
revisions or wording for draft resolutions, writing a resolution which should be created at this
time.

Once draft resolutions are approved and handed out, focus your formal remarks on
individual resolutions, supporting those you feel are appropriate and explaining why you may
disagree with others. At this time, delegates may be creating amendments to draft
resolutions, so your speeches should also cover any specific clauses you feel should be
inserted into the draft resolutions on the floor. As the committee moves closer to voting
procedure, use your speaking time to explain why you are supporting one or more draft
resolutions and why the committee should vote with you.

Finally, remember that when you are in formal debate (using the speakers list) if you finish
before your time is up, you can yield the remainder of your time to another delegate or to
points of information (questions from other delegates on what you have just said). Opening
yourself to questions is a very effective way of dealing with other delegates’ concerns, but
can be tricky as you have to think on the spot.

25
Handling points of information:
Many Model UN conferences permit other delegates to raise points of information, or pose
questions to a speaker, if time permits. This is often used when speakers are discussing
working papers and resolutions. Normally this will be to clarify a specific area of your stated
policy so you can anticipate some question topics, but it is unlikely that you can ever be
prepared for every question.

First of all, you can avoid being asked many difficult questions by identifying issues that may
bring about confusion among your fellow delegates early in the committee session. More
than likely, if other delegates do not understand some aspect of debate, it will come up later
as a question.

When you are asked a question, just as in your speeches, try to keep your answers clear
and concise. A straight answer is always best, although you may need to be more diplomatic
in your tone on more sensitive issues.

If you can’t immediately answer a question, instead of saying ‘I don’t know’, which will
impress no-one, it is always appropriate to state that whilst you cannot answer right now (‘I
am afraid that I do not have the full facts to hand’), you will do your best find out and follow
up with an answer during caucus. If the question is something of significance to the entire
body, you may want to announce that answer (if you have found it) during your next speech.

Finally, remember to remain courteous, no matter how heated the exchange. Points of
information usually start with: ‘Does the honourable delegate not agree…?’. You could in
turn begin by answering ‘Argentina thanks the honourable delegate from Switzerland for
their question, and we wholeheartedly agree/ but we fundamentally disagree…’. This also
buys you a few extra seconds to consider your answer.

How to deliver a speech:

Above all, speeches should be clear and concise. You should know exactly what key points
you want to make as, if you're not familiar with those points, your nervousness will increase.

You must decide what style of speech will help you most in remembering these key points.
Speeches can be written, improvised or delivered from memory. As speeches at a Model UN
are never very long (even opening speeches are normally limited to two minutes),
improvised speeches are normally best, as these can be delivered in a more natural and
engaging style. But if you are not that confident, write out the entire speech – although this
will normally sound more manufactured and contrived, it is better to make your points
coherently than to stumble and fail to make them at all.

26
Styles of delivery:
Written speeches
Written speeches often result in clear, concise statements and offer security for speakers
worried about forgetting key points or stumbling through their delivery. On the other hand,
written remarks can easily seem rigid or sound scripted to an audience. Relying on written
speeches throughout a committee session also means that valuable debate time may be lost
as a delegate spends their time writing their next set of remarks.

A written speech should be typed (or neatly printed, if written during a committee session) in
a large font and double-spaced. This will help the speaker read the statement without getting
lost. Delegates may also wish to mark (by bolding or underlining) certain words to help
remind them to emphasise key points, or even pause, take a breath and slow down.

Of course, speaking time can vary during a Model UN committee session and it is often
difficult to write prepared speeches to fit these changing lengths of time. If you are using
written speeches, it is often useful to prepare remarks for two minutes and then highlight
statements that are essential for your argument. If the speaking time turns out to be less
than two minutes, you can cut back your speech by focusing only on the points you have
highlighted.

One tendency of speakers using written remarks is to place the piece of paper with their
notes directly in front of their face, inhibiting eye contact and decreasing their speaking
volume. All written items should be printed on either a half-sheet of paper or note cards and
held at either the waist or elbow level.

Improvised speeches
Improvised speeches sound more natural than written remarks and often keep the
audience’s attention better – listeners feel that they are being spoken with instead of being
read to. However, when improvising remarks, speakers may ramble or miss important points
that should have been said. Practice can prepare a speaker to avoid these mistakes.

When making improvised speeches, it is often helpful to use bullet points to organise your
thoughts. These talking points can be written on an index card along with several facts that
could be integrated into the speech to provide emphasis or justification for an argument. In
addition, it is useful to memorise ‘sound bites’, or include them on another index card for
easy reference.

27
Memorised speeches
Of the various speaking techniques, memorisation is the most difficult and the most likely to
fail in stressful situations. Although delegates are encouraged to memorise a few facts,
figures and key statements, memorising an entire speech is not recommended. Speakers
who have committed a two-minute statement to memory may not be able to recover if the
dais interrupts them or if a delegate in the audience attempts to ask a question. Generally, it
is better for students to spend their time researching a topic rather than memorising a
speech.

When it comes to the speech itself, here are some tips for making effective, memorable
speeches.

Before the speech:

Know the audience. Before the session even begins, get to know as many of the delegates
in your committee as possible. It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of
total strangers.

Visualise yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and
assured. When you visualise yourself as successful, you will be successful.

Realise that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating,
informative, and entertaining. They don't want you to fail.

If you must go to a dais or podium to speak, rise slowly when your name is called out and
walk normally (not casually or lazily) up to the dais. Confidently climb up, look at the people
all around, smile, and take your stance.

During the speech:

What (not) to say
Don't apologise. If you mention your nervousness or apologise for any problems you think
you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they
hadn't noticed.

Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus on your message and your audience.
If you don’t worry about your delivery you will be less nervous and will speak more naturally.

Use appropriate language. Use language that is comfortable for you and the audience. Use
words which are natural to you, and phrases which are understood by all. Avoid bookish
language, or technical jargon.

28
How to say it
Always stand when speaking. It helps to project your voice and makes you more visible to
the whole committee.

Use hand gestures. Gestures add effect to your speech and help to emphasise certain
points. But be careful not to overdo this – if you are waving your arms around like a windmill
it will distract from what you are saying.

Look up and make eye contact. Even if you have a prepared speech, make sure that you
don’t just stare down at your speech without ever looking up – you will not effectively engage
your audience, and people will struggle to hear you. Look up and around the room as you
deliver sentences, and look into the eyes of people. Move your eyes in slow smooth cycles
to cover the entire audience, especially corners. It catches attention and creates rapport – if
you can make every member of an audience feel like you’re talking directly to them, they will
listen and you will get your message across in a powerful way.

Modulate your voice. Bring variations by changing loudness and tone as per the mood of
your words and theme of your speech.

Speak articulately, enunciate clearly and have enough volume to fill a room. Many speakers
talk too quietly and too fast. Speak up and slow down so that your points can be
remembered.

Use humour for an extra flourish. Judicious use of humour can make a good speech great.
In your opening speech jokes can be prepared well in advance, but humour in session is far
more spontaneous and many brilliant speakers have trouble with using humour. Quite
simply, some people have a gift for it and some people do not.

It is not a fundamental part of speech giving, and first and foremost you should always
concentrate on getting your key points across. But if you are quick witted and can deliver a
joke well, humour can be a sparkling extra touch.

In most Model UNs, you are discussing very serious world issues, so you must be very
careful about how and when you use humour. You should also beware of becoming type-
cast. If you only give humorous speeches you may be classed as a committee clown and
other delegates may have trouble taking you seriously.

However, humour can make a speech unforgettable. Amid the endless speeches at a Model
UN, humorous ones often stand out. The challenge is to use humour in such a way that, if
your audience remembers your humour, they will also remember your message. An

29
excellent example of this is Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK parliament. The jokes are
often satirical, lampooning the opposing viewpoint in a humorous way, whilst making a
serious point.

‘Asking an international bureaucracy to slim down its staff is like asking an alcoholic to blow
up a distillery.’

‘To accuse that NGO of purposefully derailing this process would be to confuse strategy for
lethargy.’

We must always be careful when using statistics as the way they are presented can
sometimes twist the truth. In the 1980s Leonid Brezhnev lost a race to Ronald Reagan.
Soviet media reported that "Comrade Brezhnev came second, while President Reagan
finished second to last."

Model UN quirks:
Be courteous at all times. Treat all staff and delegates with respect. Begin and end your
speeches courteously, with phrases like: Mr/Madam President; distinguished delegates;
Honourable Chair; fellow delegates.

Speak in the third person. Never use ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’ or ‘she’. In Model UNs, you are not
individuals but the representative of a country. Refer to yourself by your country name and
others as ‘honourable’ or ‘distinguished’ delegates. So instead of saying ‘I completely
disagree with her opinion’ you should say ‘Cameroon completely disagrees with the opinion
of the honourable delegate from the United Kingdom.’

Create consensus by using ‘we’. In

a Model UN session, your goal is
to come to a compromise as a
group, so try to use ‘we’ to forge
common agreement and bring
people on board with your
arguments. Use phrases such as:
‘We know’, ‘We are’, ‘We should’,
‘We wish’ etc.

Be constructive. It is very easy to be critical and destructive of others’ ideas and proposals,
but you must also be constructive, offering alternative arguments and ways forward.
One human story can be more powerful than hundreds of arguments, facts and figures.

30
Writing a Resolution
The finished product of a Model UN event is a UN resolution. Actions of the United Nations
are expressed in resolutions submitted in draft form under the sponsorship of one or more
delegations. Resolutions may simply register an opinion, or may recommend action to be
taken by a UN organ or related agency. Only the Security Council may take "decisions"
which bind Member States to a certain course of action.

When drafting and sponsoring a draft resolution, delegates should keep in mind that the
wording will influence its appeal (or lack thereof). The draft resolution should be clear,
concise and specific. The substance should be well researched, and reflect the character
and interests of the sponsoring nations.

UN General Assembly resolutions follow a common format. Each resolution has three parts:
the heading, the preamble and the operative clauses. It is one long sentence with commas
and semicolons throughout the resolution and with a full stop at the very end. The first word
in each clause should be underlined, and each clause in the preamble should end with a
comma. All operative clauses end with a semicolon except the final clause, which ends with
a full stop. Draft resolutions are subject to amendments, of which there are two types.

It is a good idea to practise resolution writing skills before the conference, and to get used to
the kind of phrases you can and cannot use in the preamble and operative clauses.

The Heading:
A resolution starts with details of the responsible organ of the United Nations, e.g.
‘Resolution adopted by the General Assembly’. It then contains details of the topic of the
resolution. The heading is completed by a list of sponsors and signatories.

Sponsors of a resolution are those countries that have been the principal authors of the
document and agree with its substance. Signatories are countries that may or may not agree
with the substance of the resolution, but would like to see it debated on the floor.

A draft resolution is sponsored by several countries working together. The sponsors write the
first draft of the resolution and circulate it to the other delegations. As such, the first draft is
written from the point of view of the sponsors – the operative paragraphs of the first draft will
ask for what the sponsoring countries want. This means that they are not necessarily
balanced, neutral or even very constructive! The facts in the preambular paragraphs will be
correct, but may be heavily interpreted.

31
The aim of the Model UN is to turn the draft into a balanced, realistic and constructive
resolution which can reasonably be acted upon. This is done by a process of compromise
through open discussion and private negotiation.

The Preamble:
The purpose of the preamble is to show that there is a problem that needs to be solved. The
preamble begins with the name of one of the major organs of the UN and the preambulatory
clauses (separated by commas). These clauses:

 provide background information on the problem to be addressed (including its

significance and effects) and discuss actions, reports and resolutions that have
already been taken, made and passed

 recognise the work or efforts of regional organisations in addressing the issue

 set out the international legal authority under which the matter is raised (e.g. the UN
Charter, previous UN resolutions or treaties or statements by the Secretary-General
or a relevant UN body) – by referring back to previous decisions made by the UN,
authority is supplied for the subject to be considered further

 acknowledge what has already been done, explain what the situation is and set out
the particular aspects of the situation which are to be addressed

Essentially, the preamble sets out the background to the issue but does not propose any
action or make any substantive statement on the topic.

Operative Clauses:
Operative clauses set out what is to be done about a situation described in the preambular
clauses, and by whom (for example, governments, UN bodies or NGOs). Each operative
clause begins with a number, ends with a semicolon and the final clause ends with a full
stop. Operative clauses should be organised in a logical progression, and each clause
should contain a single idea or policy proposal. Keep in mind that only Security Council
resolutions are binding so this affects the language you can use (no committee apart from
the Security Council can ‘Demand’, ‘Instruct’ or ‘Authorise’).

You must also be aware of what powers the General Assembly does and does not possess.
If an operative clause calls for action (such as the establishment of a new body) which will
have financial implications, the states calling for this action must be prepared to say how the

32
money could be organised (such as through contributions from member states or from
commercial companies) and the likely reaction to that.

Sample Resolution:
Committee: GA Third Committee
Subject: Strengthening UN Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance
Sponsors: United States, Austria, Italy
Signatories: Greece, Japan, Canada, Mali, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Belgium, United
Kingdom, India and Gabon

The General Assembly

Reminding all nations of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, which recognizes the inherent dignity, equality, and inalienable rights of all
global citizens,

Reaffirming resolution 33/1996 of 25 July 1996, which encourages governments to work with
established UN bodies aimed at improving the coordination and effectiveness of
humanitarian assistance,

Noting with satisfaction the past efforts of various relevant UN bodies and Non-
Governmental Organizations,
1. Encourages all relevant agencies of the United Nations to collaborate more closely with
countries at the grassroots level to enhance the carryout of relief efforts;

2. Urges member states to comply with the goals of the UN Department of Humanitarian
Affairs to streamline efforts of humanitarian aid;

3. Requests that all nations develop rapid deployment forces to better enhance the
coordination of relief efforts of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies;

4. Calls for the development of a United Nations Trust Fund that encourages voluntary
donation from the private transnational sector to aid in the funding of rapid deployment
forces.

33
Amendments:
During the course of negotiation
and cooperation, draft resolutions
will alter through changes known
as amendments. The guidelines for
these amendments are less strict
than those for the writing of
resolutions, as many amendments
arise during the course of
negotiations. However, the style,
wording and intent of the
amendment should complement the original draft resolution. Amendments follow the pattern
already stated in the document and present new viewpoints or suggestions for action on the
same topic. Most conferences have two forms of amendments:

 Friendly amendment: a friendly amendment is a change to the resolution that all the
sponsors feel is appropriate.

 Unfriendly amendment: an unfriendly amendment is an amendment that the

sponsors of the resolution do not support.

Sample of an amendment:
In this example a new clause will be inserted between 11 and 12, and will become clause
12, with all the subsequent clauses being renumbered accordingly. This is very different from
an amendment to replace Clause 12.

Committee: GA Third Committee

Subject: Strengthening UN Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance
Sponsors: France, Romania, and Poland
Signatories: Togo, Australia, Fiji, Brazil, St. Lucia, Viet Nam, New Zealand, Pakistan, Kuwait
and Argentina

Add the following clause between clause 11 and 12

Requests the expansion of preventive actions and assurance of post conflict assistance
though reconstruction and development;

34
Designing Notepaper
Note-passing is a key part of
Model UN. It allows you to
communicate in private with your
actual and potential allies, to find
out voting intentions, to lobby
other nations, to talk to the Chair,
to submit amendments and even
to swap gossip. As such, many
delegates bring their own
notepaper with them, which can
make an impression by looking professional as well as conveying information about the
delegation and the country they are representing.

Coloured notepaper is not a necessity. Each delegate will send and receive a different
number of notes, depending on how active they are. Therefore anywhere between 10 and
30 sheets per person per day is 'appropriate'. You should bring only A5-sized notepaper as
you will rarely need anything larger.

As for the design, if you have time, let your imagination run wild!

35
Model UN rules and procedure
Model UN rules of procedure are a simplified version of the rules that the actual General
Assembly and Security Council use. Although they may seem awkward at times, they are
designed to facilitate orderly debate and are quite easy to use.

Most Model UN conferences have

their own rules of procedure which
differ, depending on the goals and
specific needs of the conference. A
very detailed ‘script’ for a sample
MUN conference can be found at
the National Model United Nations
website, near the end of the
delegate preparation guide.

The basic principle of parliamentary

procedure is that only one person
speaks at a time. It is why a
delegation can speak only after being recognised by the presiding officer and why it is
important for delegates to yield at the end of their speeches.

There are three major components in parliamentary procedure:

 Points allow delegates to suggest that rules have been misused, to ask questions
about the rules or the work that the committee is doing, and to ask questions of other
delegates who are giving formal speeches (and who have indicated that they will
answer questions).

 Motions guide the work of the committee. They allow the group to make substantive
(subject-matter) decisions on which agenda item to discuss, to introduce draft
resolutions and amendments and to decide when to hold a final vote, among others.
Motions also structure the procedural work of the committee, setting speaking times,
opening speaker’s lists and moving into moderated and unmoderated caucuses, for
example.

 Yields relate directly to who speaks. It allows delegates to indicate who gets to
speak next at the end of their speeches.

Your rules of procedure can be as simple or as complicated as you would like. Here are
some of the basic points and motions that most conferences use. They are listed in the order
of precedence, or the order in which the motions or points must be heard and acted upon

36
RULE DEBATABLE? VOTE INTERRUPT DESCRIPTION
REQUIRED? SPEAKER?

POINTS
Point of Order No No Yes Used to point out misuse
of rules
Point of No No No To ask a question of the
Information speaker, at the end of
their speech
Point of No No No To ask for rules or non-
Parliamentary rules related clarification
Inquiry from the presiding officer
MOTIONS
Suspension of No Majority No Suspends the formal
the Meeting rules of procedure to
allow either moderated
or unmoderated
caucusing. Also used to
suspend debate for
breaks in the schedule
(i.e. for lunch).
Adjournment No Majority No Ends the meeting
of the Meeting
Postpone 1 For 2/3 Majority No Removes an issue,
Debate 1 Against amendment or draft
resolution from
consideration without
voting on the content.
Also known as ‘tabling’.
Closure of 1 Against Majority No Finishes the debate and
Debate brings the resolution or
amendment under
consideration to an
immediate vote.

37
RULE DEBATABLE VOTE INTERRUPT DESCRIPTION
? REQUIRED? SPEAKER?

Reopen 1 Against Majority No Allows the committee to

Debate reconsider matters upon
which debate was previously
postponed
Division of 1 For Majority No Divides a draft resolution in to
the 1 Against two or more parts, to be
Question voted upon separately, after
closure of debate. Only one
division is allowed per
resolution. Useful for allowing
states to object to and delete
specific provisions, without
failing resolutions as a whole.
Introduce a No Majority No Brings a draft resolution to
Draft the floor for discussion.
Resolution
Introduce No Majority No Brings an unfriendly
an amendment to the floor for
Amendment discussion. Opens a new
speaker’s list of those
wishing to speak for and
against the amendment,
alternating between the two.
Set the 1 For Majority No Chooses which agenda item
Agenda 1 Against will be discussed first (only
relevant when there is more
than one item on the agenda)
Request for No No No Only available when voting
a Roll Call on a resolution or
Vote amendments. If granted by
the presiding officer, member
states will be called on in
alphabetical order to
announce their vote

38
RULE DEBATABLE? VOTE INTERRUPT DESCRIPTION
REQUIRED? SPEAKER?

YIELDS – How a speaker finishes their speech

Yield to the No No - The Chair retakes control
Chair of the committee.
Yield to No No - Another delegate is
another allowed to speak until the
Delegate end of the speaking time
(if there are time limits).
Yield to Points No No - Allows members of the
of Information committee to ask
questions of the speaker,
until speaking time has
expired.

When motions are debatable, it means that a certain number of delegations will speak for
and against the motion. This is done after the motion is made and seconded, but before the
vote. The presiding officer chooses the speakers.

Draft Resolutions require the

permission of the presiding officer for
distribution and sponsors that number
at least 20% of the committee
members. More than one draft
resolution can be on the floor at any
one time.

39
Only one amendment may be on the floor at any one time. There are two types:

Friendly amendments become part of the resolution without debate or voting - once
approved and announced to the committee by the chair - as long as all of the sponsors of
the draft resolution being amended are also sponsors of the amendment. Additional
sponsors are welcomed.

Unfriendly amendments require the permission of the presiding officer, and sponsors that
number at least 12.5% of the committee members. Once distributed, debate can begin
following a successful motion for introduction. Only one amendment can be on the floor at
any one time and will remain on the floor until it has been tabled or voted on by the
committee. A motion for closure of debate is in order after there have been at least two
speakers for and two speakers against the amendment and happens automatically when
there are no more states on the speaker’s list.

On closure of debate - Once debate has been closed on a draft resolution, only four points
or motions are appropriate:

 Point of Order
 Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
 Motion for a Division of the Question
 Request for a Roll Call Vote

The committee may also decide that it

would be more efficient if it suspended
the formal rules for period. This may
take the form of unmoderated
caucusing (where there are no rules
and everyone is free to get up and
move around - a ‘time out’ from
normal procedures) or moderated
caucusing (where the presiding officer
calls on delegations to speak when
they raise their placards).

40
 Model UN Glossary
Model UN can be confusing to a beginner, not only because of the complexity of the issues
and the pace of debate, but because of the strangeness of the language. To save you some
confusion, below is a Model UN jargon buster. Note that several of the terms below,
including Secretariat and Secretary General, have different meanings in Model UN and in
the real UN so you should familiarise yourself with both meanings.

NOTE: Rules of procedure vary greatly from Model UN conference to Model UN conference.
The most common definitions of the terms are given below, but do not be surprised if you
see them used in a slightly different manner at some of the conferences you go to.

Abstain - During a vote on a substantive matter, delegates may abstain rather than vote yes
or no. This generally signals that a state does not support the resolution being voted on, but
does not oppose it enough to vote no.

Adjourn - All UN or Model UN sessions end with a vote to adjourn. This means that the
debate is suspended until the next meeting. This can be a short time (e.g. overnight) or a
long time (until next year's conference).

Agenda - The order in which the issues before a committee will be discussed. The first duty
of a committee following the roll call is usually to set the agenda.

Amendment - A change to a draft resolution on the floor. It can be of two types: a "friendly
amendment" is supported by the original draft resolution's sponsors, and is passed
automatically, while an "unfriendly amendment" is not supported by the original sponsors
and must be voted on by the committee as a whole.

Arab League - A body independent of the UN, comprised of Arab states in Africa and the
Middle East. Some of its procedural rules differ from those of the UN (e.g. in the Arab
League, a resolution is not binding on states which vote against it).

Background guide - A guide to a topic being discussed in a Model UN committee usually

written by conference organisers and distributed to delegates before the conference. This is
the starting point for any research before a Model UN conference and is also known as a
topic guide.

BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) - If your preferred solution cannot

be accomplished or agreed upon by the committee, you should have a BATNA on each
issue that will be debated in order to promote compromise and co-operation.

41
Binding - Having legal force in UN member states. Security Council resolutions are binding,
as are decisions of the International Court of Justice; resolutions of the General Assembly
and Economic and Social Council are not.

Bloc - A group of countries that form a logical combination because of geographical,

economic, or cultural similarities (e.g. G8, African bloc, Arab League).

Caucus - A break in formal debate in which countries can more easily and informally discuss
a topic. There are two types: moderated caucus and unmoderated caucus. Usually some of
a committee's most productive work is accomplished during caucuses.

Chair – Also known as a moderator, this is a member of the dais that moderates debate,
keeps time, rules on points and motions and enforces the rules of procedure.

Dais - The group of people in charge of a Model UN committee, which generally consists of
a Chair, a Director and a Rapporteur.

Decorum - The order and respect for others that all delegates at a Model UN conference
must exhibit. The Chair will call for decorum when he or she feels that the committee is not
being respectful of a speaker, of the dais, or of their roles as ambassadors.

Delegate - A participant acting as a representative of a member state or observer in a Model

UN committee.

Delegation - The entire group of people representing a member state or observer in all
committees at a particular Model UN conference.

Director - A member of the dais that oversees the creation of working papers and draft
resolutions, acts as an expert on the topic, makes sure delegates accurately reflect the
policy of their countries and ensures that decorum is maintained during caucuses.

Division of the question - During voting bloc, delegates may motion to vote on certain
clauses of a resolution separately, so that only the clauses that are passed become part of
the final resolution (e.g. vote on Clauses 1, 3 and 4 together, but the rest individually). This is
useful if you agree with one part of a resolution but not the whole thing.

Draft resolution - A Working Paper which has been signed by sponsor countries and
approved for debate by the chair. A draft resolution seeks to fix the problems addressed by
a Model UN committee and must be submitted in the correct format. If passed by the
committee, the draft resolution will become a resolution.

42
EU (European Union) - An economic and political union created under the Maastricht
Treaty in 1993, it comprises most of Western and Central Europe as well as much of Eastern
Europe.

Flow of debate - The order in which events proceed during a Model UN conference.

Foreign aid - Money given by one country to another for humanitarian or developmental
purposes. It plays a key role in shaping foreign policy.

Foreign policy - The attitudes and interests of a state towards external issues. Foreign
policy can be influenced by a variety of factors such as military strength, trading partners,
history and domestic government.

Formal debate - The "standard" type of debate at a Model UN conference, in which

delegates speak for a certain time in an order based on a speakers' list. They must also
formally yield the floor to questions, the chair, or another delegate.

G8 (Group of Eight) - A body comprised of eight of the world's most powerful nations:
Canada, the U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and Russia.

Gavel - The tool, shaped like a small wooden hammer, which the chair uses to keep order
within a Model UN committee.

ICJ (International Court of Justice) - The ICJ is a body designed to resolve legal and
territorial disputes between states.

Head Delegate - The leader of a Model UN club or team.

Lowest common denominator - The most basic, least sophisticated point that the majority
can agree upon.

Lobbying - Informal caucusing between a small group of delegates, usually outside the
committee room while debate is still in progress. One may wish to lobby another delegate for
support on a resolution or policy option, but must be used with caution.

Member State - A country that has ratified the Charter of the United Nations and whose
application to join has been accepted by the General Assembly and Security Council.
Currently, there are 193 member states.

Moderated caucus - A type of caucus in which delegates remain seated and the Chair calls
on them one at a time to speak for a short period of time, enabling a freer exchange of
opinion than would be possible in formal debate.

43
Moderator - See Chair.

Motion - A request made by a delegate that the committee as a whole does something.
Some motions might be to go into a caucus, to adjourn, to introduce a draft resolution, to
enact a right of reply, or to move into voting bloc.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) - Security organisation created in 1949 by

Western powers to provide a collective force against the Soviet Union. In the post-Cold War
era it has taken on new responsibilities in peacekeeping and enforcement of international
law in places such as Kosovo and Afghanistan.

NGOs (Non-governmental Organisations) - Organisations or associations that are not

associated with a specific country or international political organisation. Their aims can be
broad (World Vision International, Amnesty International, Greenpeace) or quite specific
(Doctors Without Borders). The United Nations has a history of working closely with NGOs
on various issues, especially relating to humanitarian projects.

Non-member / observer - A state, national organisation, regional organisation, or non-

governmental organisation that is not a member of the UN but participates in its debates.
Observers can vote on procedural matters but not substantive matters. Examples are the
Holy See, Palestinian Authority or Red Cross.

OAS (Organization of American States) - An international political organisation comprised

of North and South American states.

On the floor - At a Model UN conference, when a working paper or draft resolution is first
written, it may not be discussed in debate. After it is approved by the Director and introduced
by the committee, it is put "on the floor" and may be discussed.

Operative clause - The part of a resolution following the Preamble which describes how the
UN will address a problem. These numbered clauses set out actual solutions and initiatives
for the committee to undertake, and always begin with a verb (such as: decides, establishes,
recommends).

Page - A delegate in a Model UN committee that has volunteered to pass notes from one
delegate to another, or from a delegate to the dais, for a short period of time.

Placard - A piece of card with a country's name on it that a delegate raises in the air to
signal to the Chair that he or she wishes to speak.

44
Point - A request raised by a delegate for information or for an action relating to that
delegate. Examples include a point of order, a point of inquiry, and a point of personal
privilege.

Position paper - An informal paper written by a delegate before a Model UN conference

summarising their country's position on a topic, including its track record on the issue, policy
targets and proposed solutions.

Preambulatory clause - The clauses at the beginning of a resolution that introduce the
issue by describing previous actions taken on the topic and reasons why the resolution is
necessary. Each begins with a participle or adjective (noting, concerned, regretting, aware
of, recalling, etc.). They are not numbered.

Procedural - Having to do with the way a committee is run, as opposed to the topic being
discussed. All delegates present must vote on procedural matters and may not abstain.

Quorum - The minimum number of delegates needed to be present for a committee to meet.
In the General Assembly, a quorum consists of one third of the members to begin debate,
and a majority of members to pass a resolution. In the Security Council, no quorum exists for
the body to debate, but nine members must be present to pass a resolution.

Rapporteur - A member of the dais whose duties include keeping the speakers' list and
taking the roll call.

Resolution - A document that has been passed by a UN body aiming to address a particular
problem or issue. The UN equivalent of a law.

Right of Reply - A right to speak in reply to a previous speaker's comment, invoked when a
delegate feels that their personal or national integrity has been insulted or slandered by
another's speech. It is easily the most over-attempted and misused motion in Model UN
debating – delegates often fail to understand that asking for a ‘Right of Reply’ is making a
very serious accusation and must not be abused. The Director decides whether to grant the
Right of Reply and their decision is not open to appeal. If granted the Chair will normally ask
the offending party if they wish to apologise.

Roll call - The first order of business in a Model UN committee, during which the Rapporteur
reads aloud the names of each member state in the committee. When a delegate's country's
name is called, he or she may respond "present" or "present and voting." A delegate
responding "present and voting" may not abstain on a substantive vote.

45
Rules of Procedure - The rules by which a Model UN committee is run.

Second - To agree with a motion being proposed. Many motions must be seconded before
they can be brought to a vote.

Secretariat - The most senior staff of a Model UN conference.

Secretary General - The leader of a Model UN conference.

Security Council - The most powerful body within the UN, it is comprised of fifteen
members, five of which are permanent and have the power of veto (see veto). It is
responsible for the UN's peace and security policy, dealing with conflict through
peacekeeping, sanctions and other measures.

Signatory - A country that wishes a draft resolution to be put on the floor and signs the draft
resolution to accomplish this. A signatory need not support a resolution; it only wants it to be
discussed. Usually, Model UN conferences require some minimum number of sponsors and
signatories for a draft resolution to be approved.

Simple majority – 50 per cent plus one of the number of delegates in a committee. The
amount needed to pass most votes.

Speakers' list - A list that determines the order in which delegates will speak. Whenever a
new topic is opened for discussion, the Chair will create a speakers' list by asking all
delegates wishing to speak to raise their placards and calling on them one at a time. During
debate, a delegate may indicate that he or she wishes to be added to the speakers' list by
sending a note to the dais. Your country's name cannot be on the speakers’ list more than
once at a time.

Sponsor/Co-sponsor - Working papers and resolutions require sponsors (the main authors)
and in some cases co-sponsors. Being a co-sponsor does not necessarily mean being in
support of the ideas presented, - you may just want to see them debated in front of the rest
of the committee. A friendly amendment can only be created if all sponsors agree.

Substantive - Having to do with the topic being discussed. A substantive vote is a vote on a
draft resolution or amendment already on the floor during voting bloc. Only member states
(not observer states or non-governmental organisations) may vote on substantive issues.

Unmoderated caucus - A type of caucus in which delegates leave their seats to mingle and
speak freely. Enables the free sharing of ideas to an extent not possible in formal debate or

46
even a moderated caucus. Frequently used to sort countries into blocs and to write working
papers and draft resolutions.

UN (United Nations) - The international organisation created in 1945 from the legacy of
World War II to promote and protect international peace and security, co-operation, and
human rights worldwide. Its legitimacy comes from the UN Charter, with its major bodies
including the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the various committees that
comprise the Economic and Social Council.

Veto - The ability, held by China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and
the United States, to prevent any draft resolution in the Security Council from passing by
voting against it.

Vote - A time at which delegates indicate whether they do or do not support a proposed
action for the committee. There are two types: procedural and substantive.

Voting bloc/Voting procedure - The period at the end of a committee session during which
delegates vote on proposed amendments and draft resolutions. Nobody may enter or leave
the room during voting bloc.

Working paper - Sometimes informally called an ‘idea paper’, these are documents in which
the ideas of some delegates on how to resolve an issue are proposed. A working paper is
drawn up in the form of a resolution, but its status as a "working paper" allows for
amendments to be made which do not require the support of the entire committee, only the
sponsors themselves. Working papers are one step below a draft resolution, and many are
often combined into one. Their overall purpose is to set out specific solutions or policy
stances on an issue that can be debated within the committee.

Yield - In formal debate the delegate must yield his/her time at the beginning of their speech
in one of three ways:

 to the chair: once the speech is over the chair takes the floor and moves on with the
speaker's list
 to questions: delegates can ask questions to the speaker for his/her remaining time
 to another delegate: another speaker uses up the remaining time to give a speech,
but cannot yield themselves.

47