Model UN Procedure Peter Vail

What is Procedure? The procedure of Model United Nations is a very formal and efficient method to go about debating, collaboration, etc. that must go on to resolve issues.

Arrival When you enter your designated committee room first find your seat that has your placard and put your stuff down. Next go around the room meeting people that will be in your committee, tell them the country you represent. There may be people informally discussing the order of topics, so come prepared with a desired order of topics and reasoning for that order.

Attendance Whenever arriving or returning to session, attendance will be taken. When your country’s name is called you stand up and declare either Present and Voting - If the session does a roll-call vote for a working paper you must either vote yes or no Present - If the session does a roll-call vote for a working paper, you may abstain (choosing not to vote)

Setting the Agenda The first thing that will occur is that the chair (regulator of debate) will accept motions to reorder the agenda The agenda is the order in which the topics will be debated and resolved. A motion to reorder the agenda may be like “Motion to set the agenda to topics 2,1, and 3”. This means that the second topic would be debated, followed by the first, then the third. There may be several motions to reorder the agenda. The motions would then be voted on, and if none of them pass, or if no motion to reorder is given, the default agenda is 123.

Opening Debate After setting the agenda, the chair will accept motions to open debate. When debate is open, ideas are being shared, speeches are given, and resolutions are drafted.

Opening the Speaker’s List The next thing that occurs is the opening of the Speaker’s List. The speaker’s list is a list of countries that will give speeches when the list has reached them. When the motion is given to open the speaker’s list a speaker’s time (the time limit for the speeches) must be suggested as well. A good time to set speaker’s time is anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes. The speaker’s time may be amended throughout debate. When the list is exhausted, debate will close and the committee will go straight to voting procedures, so don’t let it exhaust. To originally create a list of speakers, the chair will often ask all countries that wish to be put on the speaker’s list to raise their placards, and the order is at their discretion. To be put on again, or after the initial creation of the list, send a note requesting to be put on the speaker’s list. You may not be actively on the list more than once, but after you have given your speech, you may request to be on it again via note to the chair

Information Debate Informal debate, or caucusing has two varieties. Both require motions and a simple majority(>50%) vote to pass. Moderated Caucus - Moderated caucus is similar to the speaker’s list, but the order is not set and the speaking time is usually much shorter (30-45 sec). Unmoderated Caucus - Unmoderated caucus is basically a time where you may go around asking certain people questions, work in small groups to formulate ideas, learn about what other’s ideas are that may not have been able to have been shared during the Speaker’s List or a Moderated Caucus.

Moderated Caucus A moderated caucus must be motioned for given a length of time (Such as a total time of 10 min) and a speaker’s time (30-45 sec) “The Kingdom of Spain motions for a 10 minutes moderated caucus with a speaker’s time of 30 seconds” Moderated caucuses are great for briefly sharing ideas with everyone or asking questions to certain groups (The chair will often choose a country to speak if they have been addressed)

Unmoderated Caucus Unmoderated caucuses are the heart of Model Un. It is during Unmods that heated informal debates may ensue, resolutions are drafted, and people can freely ask questions. The subject matters of moderated caucuses and formal debate often arise from what occurs during unmoderated caucuses Unmoderated caucuses also require a motion that includes a total time, such as 15 minutes. “The Russian Federation motions for a 15 minute unmoderated caucus”

Precedence of Motions If multiple motions have been given, they will be voted on by precedence. The Order of Precedence is as follows Suspension of the meeting Adjourning the meeting Adjourning the debate on the item under discussion To close debate on the item under discussion To suspend the rules (caucuses) If multiple motions of the same precedence are to be voted on, the motions will be voted on in order that they were received.

Points Points are made by raising your placard, but not when anyone is talking. Point of order - used when a delegate believes the chair has made an error in the running of the committee. The Delegate should only specify the errors they believe were made in the formal committee procedure, and may not address the topic being discussed Point of inquiry - can be made when the floor is open (when no other delegate is speaking) in order to ask the chairperson a question regarding the rules of procedure Point of Personal Privilege - inform the chairperson of a physical discomfort he or she is experiencing, such as not being able to hear another delegate’s speech or need to use the restroom. Point of Information - delegate poses a question to the speaker during formal debate, but the speaker may decide whether or not he will answer the question

Appealing the Chair’s Decision The motion must be sent in writing. The delegate challenging the decision of the chair must speak for the appeal, and the chair must defend the decision To be appealed a 2/3 majority is required.

Right of Reply If a delegate feels his country that he is representing has been disrespected, that delegate may send a note requesting a right of reply to that remark. The chair will decide if it is appropriate and set the time limit for the reply. The decision made by the chair on right of reply may not be appealed

Resolutions Resolutions are approaches to solving the topic. They start as draft resolutions and only become resolutions when they are passed. Resolutions have two parts to them. Pre-Ambulatory Clauses - express recognition of a situation, but are not actions. Operative Clauses - express actions to resolve the situation Resolutions need to have sponsors and signatories as well. (The number of each necessary varies by conference and committee) A sponsor is a contributor to a draft. They shared ideas, wrote clauses, and debate for their draft Signatories have not contributed, but wish to see the draft resolution debates. It looks good to the judges to be the sponsor of a paper or multiple papers, but it is also good be a signatory to papers

Example Clause Keywords Pre-Ambulatory Alarmed by Approving Aware of Recognizing Observing Bearing in mind Emphasizing Guided by Reaffirming Welcoming Operative Authorizing Calling upon Condemns Designates Recommends Encourages Requests Supports Endorses Affirms

Writing Draft Resolutions Begin by coming up with a basic idea of what your draft resolution will accomplish and how Then use form your ideas into operative and pre-ambulatory clauses. An example of an operative clause would be… “Calling upon all member states to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty” Pre-ambulatory clauses always come first when writing a draft. Sometimes conferences will require that there be the same number of Pre-Am and Operative clauses in a draft, and some even require the each pre-ambulatory clause to correspond to an operative clause, but it varies by conference and committee. Once the draft has been typed/written in the correct format (varies by conference) you may submit your draft to the chair. The chair will read over the draft and possibly make revisions, whether it is grammatical or substance revisions. When the revisions have been corrected, the draft may be resubmitted. Once a draft resolution has been successfully submitted it will become a working paper.

Amendments Even once submitted, a working paper may be revised, but it must be via amendment. There are two kinds of amendments Friendly Amendments - All sponsors to the paper agree about the amendment, and it may be revised immediately Unfriendly Amendments - Not all (or none) of the sponsors agree with the amendment. The author of the amendment may need signatories for the amendment (varies by conference/committee) and the amendment will be voted upon by the committee directly before voting on the working paper

Question & Answer Session Some chairs will allow the motion to have a question and answer session. It is like a moderated caucus moderated by the sponsors of a certain draft or working paper. Delegates will be allowed to ask questions regarding the draft/paper and get a reply by the sponsors of the paper. Q&A can be helpful to get concise information on papers often shortly before voting.

Closing Debate Closing debate on a certain topic requires 2 speakers for and 2 speakers against closing debate. When debate is closed, there may be no more discussion on the topic and the committee will move straight to voting.

Voting Procedures There are several different ways a working paper may be voted on. Roll-Call Vote (default) - The Chair will call the name of each country and the delegates will say either yes, no, or abstain (Only if they said “Present” during attendance) Adoption by Acclimation - If motioned for the chair will ask if there are any objections to the working paper. If no objections are made, the paper will pass. Division of the question - requires 2 for/2 against and a simple majority. If it passes, the committee will vote on each operative clause in a paper separately.

After Voting Procedure If there is another topic to work on, the chair will immediately open the floor to motions to open debate on the next topic and the procedure restart. If not, you’re done!