Introduction Greetings Delegates, This guide outlines the standard rules and procedures for Carleton UN Society internal (in-house) MUN conferences. Commentary located in this tab will be used to clarify, elaborate on and contextualize different concepts covered in the handbook. Although this document contains terms and concepts delegates will encounter at UNS internal conferences, it should not be seen as a guide to rules and procedures at external conferences. External conferences will most likely use different rules and procedures for committee(s). It is recommended that delegates familiarize themselves with an external conference s procedures prior to attending the conference. If you have any questions or need clarification, please do not hesitate to contact your Co-Directors of Training. Rules written by Chris Tomalty. Commentary written by Paul Donaldson. Patrick Morton and Brandon Fick served as editors. Last revised January, 2014 1
I Scope II The Dais and Staff I. Scope II. The Dais and Staff These rules apply to all conferences and exercises conducted by the Carleton United Nations Society (the Society) unless otherwise specified, 1. The Dais shall preside in a spirit of neutrality and thoroughness. The Dais shall contribute to constructive debate through facilitating discussion and imparting rules of correct procedure to Delegates. The Dais consists of, a. The Chair, b. Vice Chairs, 2. The Chair presides over a given committee. The Chair has final authority concerning all matters of procedure, a. A Vice Chair shall assume all duties of the Chair should the Chair be unable to fulfil the role whether permanently or temporarily, b. The Chair shall have the power to rule motions or Working Papers dilatory in a manner consistent with productive and constructive debate, c. The Chair shall have the power to alter the rules of procedure with notice, 3. The Vice Chair or Vice Chairs assist the Chair in matters of procedure, respond to delegate inquiries, and take over presiding duties should the Chair be unable to perform them, 4. The President of the Society (the President) shall have the right to replace the Chair with a Vice Chair should the Chair be unable to fulfil their role in respect to the values of the Dais as set out in II (1), 5. All individuals who serve under the instruction of the Dais and are thus not delegates shall constitute the Staff, 2
III Delegates III. Delegates 1. All delegates who have been recognized by the Society shall have the right to participate in the event should they abide by the provisions of III, 2. Delegates will be issued a placard. This placard or an approved alternative is required for their continued participation in any given forum, a. The Dais shall have the sole right to issue new placards. The Chair may give provisional permission to another member of forum staff to issue new placards, 3. All delegates are expected to maintain appropriate professional dress, commonly known as Western Business Attire, a. Male delegates must wear a jacket, suitable trousers, a collared formal shirt, and tie, b. Female delegates must wear a pant-suit or a jacket and skirt, c. All delegates shall refrain from wearing sneakers, boots, jeans, or other informal attire, d. Elements of religious attire are permitted even should they not conform to the standards of Western Business Attire, i. Delegates who wish to wear national or religious attire in keeping with the country they represent are permitted to depart from Western Business Attire provided it is done accurately and with sensitivity, ii. Dress, including accessories and 3 Protect your placard. Placards cost money, so if you lose it, you ll need to pay to have it replaced. Do not write your countries name in pen on a plain piece of paper, as it is unprofessional and will make you stick out for all the wrong reasons. Dress confidently and professionally. If you have questions as to what constitutes Western Business Attire or require accommodations, talk to a member of the UNS Executive in advance of the conference. If you want to add authenticity by donning a uniform, military
III Delegates related paraphernalia, relating to military regimes or organizations is prohibited without prior permission from the Chair, e. Failure to comply with the dress code may lead to disciplinary action by the Chair or by the President as they see fit, f. Accommodations will be made for those who do not own all the necessary elements of Western Business Attire, and it will not be an obstacle to their participation in Society events, g. The Chair shall have the power to change, with notice to the forum, what constitutes appropriate dress, 4. All delegates shall behave appropriately, a. Delegates shall refrain from using derogatory or coarse language, b. Delegates shall refrain from personal insults, mockery, or other open hostility when it is not appropriate in a given forum, c. Delegates shall not steal or hide the possessions or products of other delegates, nor deface them or in any way prevent a delegate from participating fully in the forum, d. Delegates shall pass along notes to their intended recipient only. Delegates shall not impede the progress of notes, knowingly deliver it to the wrong delegate, or open a note addressed to another delegate, i. Notes may be intercepted and read by members of the Dais or staff for any reason, ii. Notes must be written in medals, or other such accessories, you will need to talk to your Chair to make sure it does not fall afoul of their view of appropriate dress. Delegates attending external conferences are representatives of Carleton University and should treat internal conferences in a similar way. We pride ourselves on representing Carleton with honour and grace at external conferences, and you should extend the same courtesies to fellow Carleton delegates. Interfering with notes happens at external conferences, but the UN Society does not allow its delegates to engage in such behaviour. Unless you re on a crisis committee or some committee where expectations are explicitly different, always treat the notes of fellow delegates with respect. 4
III Delegates English, unless another language is specified, e. The Chair shall have the power to change, with notice to the forum, what constitutes acceptable behaviour, 5. Delegates are responsible for observing rules of decorum, a. Delegates shall be addressed in the third person exclusively, b. Delegates shall refer to themselves in the third-person singular or firstperson plural exclusively, unless they are representing an individual, c. Delegates shall stand while speaking unless they are unable to do so, d. Delegates shall not talk amongst themselves outside of an Unmoderated Caucus or recess. Only that person who has been granted the floor by the Chair shall have the right to speak, 6. Delegates are responsible for their work, a. All conference products should be produced in English unless another language is specified, b. Plagiarism is considered inappropriate behaviour subject to disciplinary action by the President, i. Rules regarding plagiarism shall not apply to clauses already introduced in material written by other delegates during the forum, ii. Delegates are forbidden from arriving to a forum with prewritten clauses, Using we and [insert country name] makes it clear that you are representing your country and not your personal opinions. Some conferences look the other way when delegates bring clauses that were written before the conference, but the UNS does not. Neither do prestigious conferences like Harvard National Model UN. You can come with specific ideas, but leave the formal writing for when you are at the conference. 5
IV. Roll Call and Quorum IV Roll Call and Quorum 1. The Chair shall conduct a roll call to determine delegate attendance and whether or not the forum meets quorum, 2. Quorum is one half the voting members of the forum. a. Should quorum not be met, the forum shall be unable to conduct substantive business, Without quorum, committees lack legitimacy and legal authority to make substantive decisions. If you are late arriving to a committee session and miss Roll Call, send a note to the Dais indicating that your country is present or present and voting. 6
V Forum Products V. Forum Products 1. Forums shall produce the following items, a. A Working Paper is a loose, informal piece of policy that does not need to adhere to any rules of grammar, spelling, or formatting. A Working Paper cannot be discussed in detail or presented formally to the forum without first becoming a Draft Resolution, b. A Draft Resolution is a Working Paper that has been submitted to the Dais after having been made to conform to rules of grammar, spelling, and formatting. A Draft Resolution makes relevant, concrete policy proposals in a systematic manner appropriate for debate, i. The Dais may impose any conditions on a Working Paper before accepting it as a Draft Resolution, and may refuse to accept it for reasons unrelated to the quality of the Working Paper such as time management, ii. Unless otherwise specified, resolutions must have at least 15% of the present members of the forum as signatories for the Chair to consider it for introduction. The Dais may change this number with verbal notice. Sponsors are counted as signatories, c. A Resolution is a Draft Resolution that has achieved the required number and composition of votes to be approved by 7 Properly distinguishing between a Working Paper, Draft Resolution and Resolution clearly identifies where the document is in the resolution-building process. The Chair will routinely correct improper use of terminology, so it is important to use correct language when referring to your resolutions.
V Forum Products the committee, d. A Directive is a short, often verbal instruction by the forum to take specific action. They are subject to the same rules governing resolutions concerning their gaining the forum s assent, e. A Personal Directive is a short, written instruction by an individual delegate to the Dais that may be sent without the committee s knowledge or approval, 2. Which products emerge from a given forum is sensitive to the type of forum and the discretion of the Chair, 3. Authors of Draft Resolutions are referred to as sponsors. Those who wish to bring it to debate but do not necessarily support it are referred to as signatories, Directives and/or Personal Directives are mostly used in crisis committees where delegates have portfolio powers or need to react quickly to a situation. If you are unsure if you have portfolio powers, approach the Dais and ask the Chair. 8
VI. Debate and Caucuses VI Debate and Caucuses 1. The Speaker s List shall be a list of delegates recognized by the Dais to speak on a broad topic, periodically refreshed as it is depleted. The default speaking time for the Speaker s List shall be one minute. The Speaker s List shall last until the forum approves some other form of debate on a specific topic, a. Upon the submission of a motion to set the agenda, the Chair shall select two speakers in favour and two speakers against the motion. The motion automatically carries should no speakers against present themselves, b. Debate shall close upon exhaustion of the Speaker s List, 2. An Unmoderated Caucus allows delegates to leave their seats and confer informally with other delegates. A topic is recommended, but not required. An Unmoderated Caucus lasts for a specific duration and requires 50% +1 votes in favour, 3. A Moderated Caucus allows delegates to debate a specific issue informally under the guidance of the Chair. The Moderated Caucus shall have both a duration and allotted time for each speaker. The Chair shall pick speakers who put their names forward. A Moderated Caucus requires 50% +1 votes in favour, 4. Should a delegate have time remaining in their allotted speaking time, they may, a. Yield to the Chair, which will be the default yield, b. Yield to another delegate, whereupon that delegate may speak for the remainder of the allotted time, Unmoderated caucuses allow delegates to interact in an informal setting and work in smaller groups. They are useful when it comes to stirring up support for your ideas, getting a sense of countries stances on various issues and discussing details in working papers. In the actual UN, the vast majority of negotiation and substantive discussion take place informally in these types of caucuses. Moderated debates are useful for addressing specific debates within the topic being discussed. They should not be used to discuss the topic more generally insofar as that is the function of the Speaker s List. Yielding time can be used aggressively to put another delegate on the spot or bolster your position by giving an ally a chance to speak. You cannot yield during moderated caucus. 9
VI Debate and Caucuses VII Amendments i. The receiving delegate may not then yield to yet another delegate, c. Yield to Points of Information, where the Chair may determine the length of a question and answer session on the topic of issues discussed in the delegate s previous speech, d. Yield to Comments, where two delegates shall be selected by the chair to make short comments relating to the previous speech, VII. Amendments 1. The Chair shall require the same number of signatories as a Resolution to entertain an Amendment, 2. An Amendment may be considered friendly, and thus exempt from debate and voting, should all the relevant Resolution s sponsors agree to admit it without debate, 10
VIII.Points and Motions VIII Points and Motions 1. The Chair may entertain motions of Parliamentary procedure, which shall require 50% +1 votes, a. Motion to enter a moderated caucus Enter Moderated Caucus Suspends formal rules in favour of a (requires duration and speaking time), Chair-moderated debate on a specific topic. b. Motion to enter an unmoderated caucus (requires duration), Enter Unmoderated Caucus Suspends formal rules to enter a c. Motion to end the moderated caucus, temporary recess so that delegates can work together in smaller d. Motion for a question and answer groups. period (requires duration), e. Motion to set the agenda, End Moderated Brings a moderated debate to a close. i. The Chair shall select two Typically used if no other speakers wish to speak during a speakers in favour and two moderated caucus. speakers against the motion. The motion automatically Question and Answer Period Typically used after a Draft carries should no speakers Resolution has been introduced in order to ask specific questions against present themselves, about the draft resolution. f. Motion to change the default yield, g. Motion to suspend debate, Set the Agenda Sets the agenda in a specific order (delegates h. Motion to adjourn, should refer to topic by number (1, 2, and 3) as set out in the i. Motion to vote clause-by-clause, background guide. j. Motion to divide the question, k. Motion for a roll-call vote, Change default yield Changes where time is yielded to by default 2. The Chair may entertain further motions of when a delegate on the Speaker s list does not specifically yield Parliamentary procedure, which shall require a time to the Chair or someone else. 2/3 majority, a. Motion to table debate, 1 Suspend debate Suspends meeting for a given amount of time. i. The Chair shall select two Most often used to break between committee sessions. speakers in favour and two speakers against the motion. Adjourn Ends session. Adjournment can be short (until next day) or long (next year). 1 Note that the usage of table is incorrect in the Queen s English and Canadian English. In the Queen s English, to table a resolution is to introduce it. In American English, Vote Clause by Clause During voting procedure, requires each to table a resolution is to dismiss it. The American usage is clause to be voted on in a draft resolution. Clauses that reach the standard in Model United Nations conferences, but not standard in Parliamentary bodies. proper vote threshold are adopted as part of the resolution. Only 11
VIII Points and Motions The motion automatically carries should no speakers against present themselves, b. Motion to close debate, i. The Chair shall select two speakers against the motion. The motion automatically carries should no speakers against present themselves, c. Motion to move into voting procedures, 3. Delegates may, upon invitation by the Chair, make points pursuant to Parliamentary debate, a. Point of Order, should they believe that the rules of the forum are not being observed. Points of Order may not address matters under debate, b. Point of Parliamentary Procedure, should they have a question for the Chair concerning some element of formal proceedings, c. Point of Personal Privilege, should they believe that something is impeding their participation in debate or personal comfort. Points of Personal Privilege may interrupt a speaker should they concern the audibility of the speaker, d. Right of Reply, should they or their principal have been the victim of defamation or insult by the previous speaker, e. Motion to Introduce a Draft Resolution or Amendment, should they wish to bring forward a Draft Resolution or Amendment already approved by the Chair, 4. Motions will be considered by the Chair in the order of most destructive to least destructive, operative clauses are subject to clause-by-clause votes. Divide the Question Motion made during voting procedure that divides an entire clause or section into a separate annex. Two votes are required in this process: 1) whether or not to divide the clause (procedural), and 2) whether to include the clause in a separate annex (substantive). If the substantive vote passes, the clause is included as an annex. If the substantive vote fails, the clause is permanently discarded. Roll-Call Vote Motion made during voting procedure that is instantly accepted. Chair will conduct a one-by-one oral vote from each country in alphabetical order as per the Roll-Call attendance. The UN is necessarily bureaucratic. Assembling countries from around the world for discussion and debate requires a rigid framework in order to ensure mutual understanding and expectations. With that said, delegates are encouraged to understand how to use these points (as well as motions) to assert their presence and control in committee. Destructive refers to how disruptive the motion will be to the committee s operation. For example, an unmoderated caucus of 12
VIII Points and Motions 5. Decisions of the Chair may be appealed in writing, 10 minutes is less destructive than an unmoderated caucus of 30 minutes as it takes up less time and, therefore, does not interfere as much with the speaker s list. The following is a list of motions and points from Most to Least Destructive: Points 1. Point of Personal Privilege 2. Point of Order 3. Point of Parliamentary Inquiry Motions 1. Adjournment of the Meeting 2. Suspension of the Meeting 3. Closure of Debate 4. Introduction of a Draft Resolution 5. Introduction of an Amendment 6. Unmoderated Caucus 7. Moderated Caucus 8. Motion to Change Speaking Time 13
IX Voting IX. Voting 1. Should a motion to move into voting procedure pass, no delegates outside the room of forum at the time the vote was affirmed by the Chair will be allowed to enter the room, a. Should a delegate manage to enter the room after the affirmation of the vote by the Chair, they shall not be allowed to take their seat, nor shall their vote be counted, 2. Note passing and conversation are forbidden while the forum is in voting procedure. 3. Draft Resolutions shall be voted on in the order in which they were received, 4. Amendments shall be voted on individually before the resolution as a whole goes to a vote. 5. The Chair will entertain motions to vote clauseby-clause, divide the question, or vote by roll resolution, but in favour of the rest of the draft resolution, your If your country is unhappy with a specific clause in a draft call, available options are to vote clause-by-clause or to divide the 6. Delegates shall have the option to vote as question. Both of these methods aim to remove specific sections follows: of the draft resolution (see motions above), however, you will need a. Yes, to ensure that there is majority support for removing these clauses b. Yes, with rights should the delegate in order to have any effect. require thirty seconds to explain their vote after the fact, Delegates rarely vote with rights and should consider that if they c. No, need to explain their vote after ending debate and entering voting d. No, with rights should the delegate procedure; there is a problem. That being said, voting with rights require thirty seconds to explain their is an option at the delegate s disposal if they deem it necessary. vote after the fact, This is most usually in committees such as the Security Council or e. Abstain, NATO where a delegate wields a veto. 7. Abstentions shall subtract from the total number of votes being counted, and thus not be counted when calculating the threshold required for a majority, a. In fora with where certain members have vetos, an abstention shall not be 14
IX Voting considered a use of the veto, 8. Any Draft Resolution which receives in excess of the required number of votes shall be considered a Resolution, a. The necessary number of votes shall be determined prior to the convening of the forum, 15
X Miscellaneous X. Miscellaneous 1. A delegate may at any time, in writing to the Questioning the competence of a committee is a fairly rare action, Chair, question the competence of the forum to usually because delegates broadly keep the actions of a committee discuss a matter or pursue a course of action, to what the committee is actually capable of doing. If they a. The Chair will address the concern and don t, the Chair typically interferes. If delegates are about to give their ruling publicly, pass action that doesn t just stretch but defies the abilities of a b. Should the Chair rule in favour of the committee and the Chair does nothing to stop it, you should confer challenge, they may compel delegates with the Chair. to change the discussion or remove the offending provisions, 2. A delegate may, with the prior permission Censureship is an extremely serious charge. Each Chair deals of the Chair, motion to censure a delegate with it differently and will be eager to avoid acting upon it. You for gross violations of III or egregious should clarify with the Chair what exactly constitutes a breach misrepresentation of their principal or in their opinion and ask them about the punishments they would portfolio, use. Succeeding with censureship is extremely rare. It is more a. The Chair may withhold permission usually a strong-arm tactic to make an incompetent or destructive to censure a delegate for any reason delegate get out of the way of productive work. You are most whatsoever, likely to succeed if you can convince the Chair that the committee b. On the first offense, a censured delegate cannot do productive work because of the delegate s censurable may not speak for the remainder of the actions. This would work, for example, with a Permanent Five session, delegate on the Security Council who takes the position that they c. On the second offense, the Chair may will veto everything. remove them from the forum for the remainder of the session, d. On the third offense, the Chair may remove them from the event. e. At any point, with or without a motion to censure, the Chair may refer a delegate to the President on account of their violation of provisions in III, f. Should the Chair entertain a motion to censure, the committee will move to two speakers in favour and two against, one of the speakers against being the one in question and one of the speakers in favour being their challenger, 16
X Miscellaneous g. A motion to censure shall pass with a 2/3 majority in which the delegate in question is allowed to vote. 17