CAMBRIDGE COURT MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2017 8 th -9 th July
CONTENTS 1. The Basic 2. Rules of Procedure (ROPs) 3. Research 4. Position paper 5. Crisis situation 6. Resolution writing 7. Sample working papers and Draft resolution
The Basic What is Model United Nations? By assuming the role of a national representative to the United Nations (UN), participants experience the complexities of international policy formation first hand. They are supported in their efforts to: Represent the viewpoint of a single Member-State of the UN, researching relevant policy and advocating national views to the wider international community; Strive for consensus and pass resolutions detailing the international community response to a specific issue of concern; Develop leadership skills through debate and interaction with high-achieving students from around the world. Who is MUN Delegate? Delegates, playing the role of international diplomats and politicians, solve real-life problems in simulations of UN and other committees. Delegates use formal rules and procedures to discuss real-life problems and current events. Prior to the start of a conference, each committee s staff members determine the topic that delegates will discuss and write a Background Guide that describes the topic and gives questions that delegate should use as a guide for research. Just as the real United Nations and other committees record their work and most often take action by issuing written instructions or recommendations, MUN committees frequently write resolutions or other documents that require or request action from other countries, organizations, and groups. Drafting and editing some form of written document takes the most time in a typical committee.
Delegates should work with other delegates representing governments with similar positions or interests. At times, delegates should cooperate because they support the same working paper or draft resolution despite other disagreements. At other times, delegates should work together because of traditional alliances or friendly relations. Working constructively means writing resolutions together, combining similar resolutions, and reaching a consensus without digressing from a country s real-life foreign policy. If delegates cannot agree, then they should find other working partners and propose alternatives before working against a working paper or draft resolution. Delegates should be wary of changing their position on a topic to the point of compromising their country s national security. Role of Executive Board Members of the EB are responsible for monitoring the flow of debate during committee sessions; their ultimate goal is to make committee sessions as informative and fun as possible. Well prepared EB members who are very familiar with the intricacies of parliamentary procedure and the topics on the floor will help delegates get the most out of their MUN experience. EB members link the delegates to the Secretariat, a small group of individuals ultimately responsible for planning the conference. After working for so long and hard, the conference staff members will be delighted to answer any questions you might have. EB generally consist of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur. But many MUNs are now coming up with different titles.
RULES OF PROCEDURE (ROPs) We will move through a general outline of debate in its entirety that which you can expect to experience over the conference days. 1. The Start of Debate: Roll call and Setting the Agenda Committee begins with a roll call. In this roll call, delegates mark their attendance in two ways, such as Present and Present and voting. Upon the opening of debate, after the Executive Board will have performed roll call and established quorum, the first motion to be entertained is that of setting the agenda (motion to set the agenda to Topic A/B). This motion then requires a second, and, if received along with an objection, it becomes subject to debate. The EB will call upon two speakers in favour of setting the agenda as per the motion, and two against. Once the speakers list is exhausted, a vote on the motion takes place. If it receives a simple majority in support, the agenda is set to the topic it made reference to, otherwise the other topic is automatically to be discussed first. Note that if there were no objections whatsoever to the initial motion, then it passes automatically without debate or voting. Present: When a delegate marks his/her presence as Present, delegate can abstain from voting on a resolution. Present and Voting: When a delegate marks his/her presence as Present and voting, delegate cannot abstain and has to vote. Seconds: Vocal expressions of support, from one or more delegates, in favour of another delegate s motion. Only some motions require seconds. An objection is the reverse. Quorum: The minimum amount of delegates that need to be present for the session to proceed.generally it is one third of the house.
2. The Backbone of Debate: The General Speakers List Once the agenda is set, debate on a specific topic may commence. The EB will proceed with establishing the General Speakers List, which is the order in which delegates may speak about the topic in general that is, they may discuss anything related to the topic, not being bound to any specific aspect of it. The time limit for speeches is at the discretion of the EB (but usually 90 or 120 seconds long), and delegates may place themselves on the List by raising their placards when asked to, or by subsequent notes to the EB. If one finishes their speech before their time has elapsed, they are required to yield their time to points of information, although the delegate may refuse to answer questions posed. If there are no or no more such points, and speaker s time has still not elapsed, he or she may yield to another delegate or back to the EB in the latter case the EB will simply allot time to the next speaker on the List. The General Speakers List is, essentially, the backbone of debate upon which the whole of deliberation in committee-sessions is based. This is the case for two reasons. First, it is through such general debate that delegates share initial ideas on the topic, enabling the committee to identify its key aspects and primary areas of contention. These are subsequently discussed in more depth through caucuses and ought to be addressed in successful resolutions. Second, the List is kept throughout debate on the agenda item, being only disposed of when a resolution on the item is adopted; hence any other types of debate, whether caucuses or on amendments, are considered temporary departures from the List, and the List is reverted back to whenever there are no motions. In practice however, the General Speakers List is scarcely appealed to, for departures from it are sustained, being generally employed only at the very start of the first committee-session and at the discretion of the EB when a new session begins (e.g. after lunch or on another day) to reinvigorate debate after a break.
3. The Main of Debate: Caucuses Thus even though the General Speakers List is the backbone of debate, it rather quickly falls into oblivion, especially due to motions for caucuses which form the main part of debate. There are two kinds of caucuses: moderated and unmoderated, where the former is topicspecific debate under the constraints of formal debate like under the General Speakers List, whereas the latter is informal, free debate. Yield: The act of one delegate giving their remaining speaking time up for points of information, or to another delegate, or back to the committee EB. Point of Information: A question a delegate can ask a speaker on the General Speakers List (if time allows it and upon the designation of the Director) for the purpose of clarification. A motion for either caucus must specify time limit, allowed up to 30 minutes, and for moderated ones delegates must additionally specify a particular subject of debate one aspect of the agenda item to focus discussion on and the time allocated to each speaker. In a moderated caucus the EB establish another speakers list, delegates remain in their seats, are allocated limited speaking time, all have to await their turn, and must keep their speeches relevant to the subject specified by the motion. In an unmoderated caucus such regulations do not exist delegates may freely leave their seats and conduct discussion as they wish. A motion for a caucus requires a second, and can be made whenever the EB call upon motions, which they will do, for the first time, at their discretion after a number of speeches from the General Speakers List, and subsequently whenever the floor is open again (unless they propose other motions, like a suspension of the meeting for lunch). They shall accept a certain amount of motions at their discretion (usually three or four), which will be voted upon according to the order of precedence.
Unmoderated caucuses have precedence over moderated caucuses. This is the case because of the level of disruptiveness, where unmoderated caucuses are deemed more disruptive than moderated ones. If two or more motions for moderated caucuses have the same specified length, voting order is up to the discretion of the EB. In sessions, caucuses bring debate forward in two ways. First, moderated caucuses serve to concentrate discussion of the committee on particular aspects of the broader topic, which the proposer deems important. Such aspects will have generally been identified by the proposers earlier under general debate, and discussion focused thereon allows delegates to look more deeply into the matters and begin to formulate potential solutions. This gradually results in working papers, leading to draft resolutions, and ultimately to the adoption of a resolution. Second, unmoderated caucuses are usually entertained after a series of moderated ones, leading delegates to desire (a) identify in blocs what matters to them most and how they intend to put forth their views and (b) start generating working papers. Precedence Disruptiveness The state of one motion or point of having The condition and extent to which a priority over another or others. A motion motion interrupts debate of the General that has precedence over another is to be Speakers List voted upon sooner than the other. 4. The Dawn of Resolution: Working Papers Debate ultimately flows towards solving the problem at hand or, more realistically, towards a partial solution that has filtered through layers of compromise but before a resolution can be adopted, three steps need be gone through: the synthesis of working papers, generating draft resolutions, and amending draft resolutions. The first is thus the synthesis of working papers. A working paper is a document outlining some proposed solution(s) to the problem, so as to open them for discussion to the rest of the committee. They usually start coming
into being after a series of moderated caucuses and one unmoderated caucus, as they are the products of many ideas being wound together. Working papers need no sponsors, meaning delegates can submit them individually without needing the support of other delegates although, in most cases, working papers result from shared effort. To introduce such papers to the rest of the committee, delegates must submit them by note to the EB, being subject to approval. Once the EB have approved a paper, a delegate may motion to introduce the working paper when the floor is open; if the motion receives a favourable simple majority, it is accepted and may be appealed to through further motions. Moderated caucuses are usually held on working papers, allowing delegates to scrutinise them, identifying points of strength, to be retained in further papers and draft resolutions, and points of weakness, to be improved upon in further writing. 5. Almost there: Draft Resolutions and Amendments After having considered a series of working papers, it is likely that groups of delegates whose countries may share views, or the delegates themselves have found common ground cooperatively produce draft resolutions. A resolution is a document on an agenda item which makes attempt at solving or, at least, at alleviating the problem at hand. But before a resolution can be adopted, which would mark the closure of debate on the topic under consideration, a few steps still need to be braved. Delegates will have to produce draft resolutions, which are mere proposals, introduce them to the floor, gather support for them, subject them to amendments, and finally undergo the vote. A motion to introduce a draft resolution can be made whenever the floor is open and a delegate has been recognised by the EB, but the draft already needs to have the support of no less than ten percent of the delegates present (in the form of sponsors and signatories) and must have been reviewed and approved by the EB. Such moves for introduction usually take place after delegates have discussed a number of working papers, and need a simple majority to pass, after which the draft is distributed to all delegates, and its operative clauses are read out by one or more of the sponsors. Note that a motion to introduce a draft resolution is only about whether the draft in question is worth
discussing, not about whether it should be adopted by the committee; thus multiple drafts may be introduced but only one can be adopted in the end. Sponsors: The authors of a (draft) resolution. Signatories: Supporters of a (draft) resolution. Operative clauses: The clauses of a (draft) resolution that can bring engagements into effect. (See A Guide to Resolution Writing. Once a draft resolution is introduced, it is likely that delegates will call upon moderated caucuses to consider the draft s content, and unmoderated caucuses so as to facilitate the writing of amendments. Amendments are changes to the draft resolution, which any and all delegates may propose to make. They need to be submitted to the EB in writing, who must approve them, with the support of at least one-eighth of the delegates present (in the form of signatures). When the floor is open, a delegate may move to introduce their amendment, needing a simple majority, after which the EB establish a speakers list with at least one in favour and one against. Upon the closure of debate on that amendment, delegates will vote on whether to accept or reject the proposed change to the resolution if over half the votes of the committee are in favour the amendment becomes an integral part of the draft resolution. 6. The end: Closure of Debate and Resolutions After a few amendments have been discussed, it is likely that a delegate will call for a motion to close debate, which serves to end all debate on the agenda item considered. Two delegates may speak against the move to close debate, and subsequently a vote is taken for the motion to pass, it needs the support of two-thirds of the delegates present. This is when voting takes place on draft resolutions. If there is more than one draft, they will be voted on in order of introduction (from first to last) unless a motion to reorder draft resolutions is
called upon. Voting on resolutions is special, called substantive votes whereas all other votes are merely procedural, for delegates may choose to vote in favour, against, or abstain from voting.
RESEARCH 1. Your committee s actual UN website. The goal of a committee is to pass a resolution, which depends on what a committee can and cannot do. You want to understand your committee s mandate (why it was created), powers (what it can do), organization (how it fits into the UN and the larger international community), and membership (who s in it). www.un.org 2. UN Charter. If you are in a GA, ECOSOC, or Security Council committee, then the source of your committee s power is the UN Charter. If you are in a regional organization like NATO or OAS, then you are still affected by the Charter, particularly Chapter VII on international security and Chapter VIII on regional arrangements. https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/ctc/uncharter.pdf 3. CIA Factbook. Every MUNers go-to source for essential information on their country. You want to know your country s location, neighbors, population size, type of government, type of economy, trade partners, and the international organizations it s a part of. Not knowing this information as your country s representative can be potentially embarrassing. 4. Wikipedia. Information on your country s history and its recent controversies. There should be articles on your topic, too. Wikipedia might not be edited as rigorously as a print publication, but you are not writing a paper you re attending a Model UN conference. Just take note of any potential issues that are listed at the topic of Wikipedia pages, e.g. This article needs additional citations for verification. But do take note, Wikipedia is only of reference purpose and should not be quoted under any circumstance. 5. Background Guide. Either you, another delegate, or your chair will inevitably refer to something written in the committee s background guide during a conference. Also, what your chair has written about is what he ll focus on in committee.
6. News Sourcess. You want to know the latest news on your topics, as well as your own country. The simplest way to do this is to run searches on Google News, and print out the headlines. Any Reuters article which clearly makes mention of the fact stated or is in contradiction of the fact being stated by another delegate in council can be used to substantiate arguments in the committee. http://www.reuters.com/ 7. Resolutions, Treaties, and Conventions. Before you can do anything on the topic, you need to know what s already been done. You can find past resolutions through the UN documentation center, although it can be difficult to navigate. Once you ve found the latest resolution, the perambulatory clauses should direct you to other resolutions. Also, the most relevant piece of international law on your topic might not be a past resolution, but instead a treaty or convention. 8. Speeches and Press Releases. These are the ways that policy-makers set policy. Be sure to use speeches and press releases from people in the executive branch of your country s current government (President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister / Secretary of State, Ambassadors). Legislators and judges may say something different, but as a representative of your country, you work for the Head of State / Head of Government. Start with the website for your country s Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Department of State. 9. Voting Record. Actions speak louder than words. If your country s leaders have not clearly articulated a policy on your topic, then you can infer it from how your country has voted on past resolutions, treaties, and conventions (or whether they were even present). Note that recent speeches may indicate a change in policy away from however your country has voted in the past, especially if your government has changed administrations. Nonetheless, you still want to know how your country s past actions on the topic, for your own knowledge, and in case anyone asks.
10. Academic Papers. These are tough reads and the information is way too dense for Model UN. But they are probably the most insightful and rigorously edited sources you will find online. You can use Google Scholar to find papers. Don t spend time trying to process a paper the way you would do for a class. Read the abstract and skim the paper for ideas that you can use in committee. 11. Permanent Missions to the United Nations: From the Permanent Missions pulldown menu, select a country to connect to the official website of the permanent representative to the United Nations. Websites not in English will usually have a link to translate the text. WEBSITE: http://www.un.org/en/members/ 12. Your Ideas. Include in your binder your position papers, working papers, notes, thoughts, as well as blank lined paper Don t rely on a conference to bring enough paper for draft resolutions and note passing. You can do all the research you want, and you can be really fast and efficient at it, but none of that matters until you boil down what you ve read into ideas that you can explain in your own words. NOTE: Under no circumstances will sources like Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/), Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/), Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/) or newspapers like the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/), etc. be accepted as PROOF/EVIDENCE. But they can be used for better understanding of any issue or even be brought up in debate if the information given in such sources is in line with the beliefs of a Government.
POSITION PAPER A Position Paper quite literally communicates the position of a country on a particular topic. It is a short paper specifying your country s policies on the topics being discussed in your committee. Each country represented in a committee should send a concise and clear position paper to the chairs well in advance of the conference. Each paper should be approximately one page for each topic. The necessity of a Position Paper A well written position paper provides a basis for future Working Papers and Draft Resolutions. Good position papers also make for a great introductory speech. Writing a position paper will help you organize your ideas so that you can share your country s position with the rest of the committee, they will help you to stay focused on your country s stance when discussing particular agenda topics on the conference. How do you write a Position Paper? The best position papers are backed by facts and figures. However, the position paper is quite short and too many facts and figures might make a statistical summary out of it. Please remember that the main purpose of this paper is to briefly explain your policy. You will have plenty of time on the conference to support your policy by statistics and analysis. The most important thing is that the Position Paper should not describe the topic but rather describe the country s position on the topic. If for example the topic is about euthanasia then it should be mentioned from the Introduction whether the country is in favour or against. Therefore to write a position paper a delegate should look at governmental documents on the relevant sites of the country that he/she represents.
It is also useful to search through the databases of the UN and detect for which resolutions country voted in favour and which against. Furthermore look at the actions that a country is taking in the current news (e.g. any treaties signed or rejected, any acts or legislations that passed from the national parliament/congress) The Position Paper should seek to: Include an introduction to the country in context of the topic and committee, incorporating historical references (please keep this as short as possible) Show how and why the country is affected by the issue; Include country s position and policies and their justification; Discuss any measures taken by the country and reasons for these; Mention previous international participation by the country, citing previous resolutions, treaties and UN action on the issue; Include your country s proposals on the issue and solution to the problem. Tips for writing a Position Paper Formal: MUNs are formal events, and it is important that all communication be carried out in a formal manner, which obviously requires formal language Simple: In order to communicate effectively, it is important that uncomplicated language is used and woolly sentence structure be avoided Well argued: It is not enough to name actions taken by your country. Most importantly, you need to justify them Structured: Try to deal with each issue in a new paragraph. Check if the organisation makes sense and that the content follows through. Practicing the position papers as a speech helps a lot
Concise: As most of you will be using the position papers for opening speeches, it is important that the document be concise, effective and interesting Suggesting solutions: The best position papers provide a basis for Working Papers and Draft Resolutions Statistics: Well-cited statistics are important and most effective for backing up a country s stance.
CRISIS SITUATION Crisis situations are a special feature of certain MUN conferences. In crises, conference staff members simulate a hypothetical crisis based on real world political situations. Delegates are expected to react as their country would and, as a committee, respond appropriately. There can be historical, modern, or futuristic crisis scenarios, depending on the committee. CRISIS SCENARIOS In a historical crisis, delegates simulate international events of years past. The modern crisis consists of integrated crisis scenarios combining many potentially disastrous elements of the current international system. Delegates must quickly respond to situations in a way, which will impact all other actors in the crisis, just as policymakers must do in the real world. Along the way numerous other situations, domestic and international, military and political, may arise that will compel the delegates' attention. All committees must work together to ensure the safety of the world and must be prepared for anything along the way. In futuristic crisis scenarios, the dais will thoroughly prepare a background guide for the delegates with detailed information regarding the international, national, economic, social, or cultural characteristics of the world. This could include new nations, major wars, treaties, or a variety of other changes to the current global setting. Delegates will use this information and their creativity to solve new problems. PREPARATION Delegates are not alerted to the crisis, which has been carefully planned by the conference staff until they arrive in committee, and even then, it may take a few hours before something happens. Part of the challenge of crises scenarios and the fun therefore lies in their unpredictability. The staff has the flexibility to change the crisis trajectory at any moment, creating new challenges or problems for the delegates to address. To prepare for a crisis, delegates should research real-life international crises.
These may be hot-spots that frequently have crisis-type situations or regions that are prominent in current events. While researching, delegates should concentrate on big picture aspects of a country s foreign policy, such as major policies, the countries allies, or specific areas of tension around the world. RESPONDING TO THE CRISIS In a crisis, time is of the utmost essence. Committees must pass resolutions or issue communiqués, documents, which ask, questions or convey information to the media, another country, another committee, or an individual, to stay up-to-date with the crisis. The speed with which the committee responds depends upon practical diplomatic solutions and discussions. Information will come from the crisis staff in many forms, including phone calls, newspaper articles, press releases, faxes, emails, satellites, etc. Delegates must be flexible and ready to react to different kinds of information and prioritize their reactions to each different element of the crisis. It is also important for delegates to attempt to know or predict the reactions of their fellow committee members based on their respective national policies or previous decisions in similar situations. In committee session, delegates should remember their allies but also consider unorthodox and creative solutions to the problems. If delegates ever have questions or require more information, the assisting crisis staff can help clarify any problems that arise. Questions should always be thoughtful and provide helpful information to the rest of the committee.
RESOLUTION WRITING Typically the last committee session will be spent in voting session, when the committee will vote to approve submitted draft resolutions as formal documents. Therefore, during most of the conference, delegations will be working together to combine their ideas during moderated and unmoderated caucuses to address the topics of their individual committees. Working papers articulate these ideas. They are usually written in resolution form, but delegates should remember that a working paper does not become a draft resolution until it has a certain number of signatories and sponsors, specified by the conference rules of procedure, and has been named as a draft resolution by the dais. Remember that the goal of writing any draft resolution is to gather the consensus and support of delegates on ideas or problems that may or may not be important to their domestic agenda. You will need to use your diplomatic skills and teamwork to be successful. During voting session, the committee will decide which draft resolutions will pass and be approved as formal documents. A resolution itself has three main parts: the heading, the preambulatory clauses, and the operative clauses. PREAMBULATORY CLAUSES Introduce a resolution, state its purpose, and put it into the context of prior UN actions. Commas separate preambulatory clauses, and the first phrase is underlined or italicized. Remember, friendly or unfriendly amendments cannot change preambulatory clauses once a resolution has been submitted. Therefore, it is important to choose your words wisely. Common phrases that begin with preambs include, but are not limited to: Affirming Alarmed by Approving Bearing in mind Believing Confident Contemplating Convinced Declaring Deeply concerned Deeply conscious Deeply convinced Deeply Disturbed Deeply Regretting
Desiring Emphasizing Expecting Emphasizing Expecting Expressing it s appreciation Fulfilling Fully aware Emphasizing Expecting Expressing it s appreciation Fulfilling Fully aware Further deploring Further recalling Guided by Having adopted GUIDE TO MODEL UNITED NATIONS Having considered Having examined Having received Keeping in min Noting with deep concern Nothing with satisfaction Noting further Observing Reaffirming Realizing Recalling Recognizing Referring Seeking Taking into consideration Taking note Viewing with appreciation OPERATIVE CLAUSES They are the action portions of a resolution. Depending on the nature and scope of the committee, operative clauses can request countries or international organizations to take action, request fact-finding missions, form new committees, define or clarify terms, suggest guidelines for economic, environmental, health or social issues, set international environmental, economic, health, or other standards (not applicable to all committees), clarify or discuss international law (not applicable to all committees), or propose or suggest changes to the organization of the UN or other organizations (not applicable to all committees). The United Nations Security Council is the only committee that has the power to require that countries take action or condemn a country. Each clause starts with a verb and addresses only one complete idea. Clauses are numbered and separated with semicolons. The last operative clause concludes with a period at the end of the resolution. Common words to start operative clauses include, but are not limited to: Accepts Affirms Approves Authorizes Calls Calls upon Condemns Confirms Congratulates Considers Declares accordingly Deplores Designates Draws the attention
Emphasizes Encourages Further requests Endorses Further resolves Expresses its appreciation Has resolved Expresses its hope Notes Further invites Proclaims Deplores Reaffirms Designates Recommends Draws the attention Regrets Emphasizes Reminds Encourages Requests Endorses Solemnly affirms Expresses its appreciation Strongly condemns Expresses its hope Supports Further invites Takes note of Further proclaims Transmits Further reminds Further recommends Trusts RULES AND VOCABULARY Friendly Amendments: A friendly amendment is a change in a formallyintroduced resolution (signed and approved by the dais) that is agreeable to all sponsors and presented to the dais only after all sponsors agree to it. Once approved by the dais they automatically become part of the resolution. Unfriendly Amendments: Unfriendly amendments propose a change that is not agreeable to all the sponsors of a resolution. Unfriendly amendments must have the signature of a set number (usually one-fifth) of those delegations present and be approved by the dais before it can be formally introduced and voted upon.