DELEGATEHANDBOOK

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LetterfromResearchandTrainingGreetings!

It gives us immense pleasure to welcome you to Suncity School Mock Model United Nations 2015.

In this handbook, you will find a comprehensive and a rather concise way on the works of the MUN. It will make research much easier for you, and will clarify any doubts you may still have. Please understand that adhering to this handbook will not guarantee an award, but it will certainly give you an upper hand in committee.

Before an MUN, this always gives a head start in the right direction and the right way. The workings of the MUN are vast; hence putting all the information in one handbook was truly a herculean task for the Secretariat.

Please do not hesitate to contact me through email, in case of any queries. I hope you all use this effectively. Best of luck, and happy MUNing!

Regards

Suncity OC members

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Chapter1: HowdoIprepareformyfirstconference?

Chapter2: Whatshouldyourresearchbindercontain?

Chapter3: Howtowritearesolution?

Chapter4: ParliamentaryProceduresandTerms

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Chapter1

HowdoIprepareformyfirstconference?

You have signed up for a committee, now you have got an allotment. What do you do now? Well, the first and foremost step is to read the Background Guide. Read it once, and then read it again. Treat it as your Bible, but don’t only limit your research to that document. It is meant to give you a brief synopsis of the agenda and meant to guide your research in a structured manner.

There are typically three products to prepare before you walk into your first conference: the Position Paper (sometimes called a Policy Statement), your Opening Speech, and a Research Binder. Some novice conferences may also require a Country Profile. The other document to learn is how to write a Resolution since that is the primary goal of the committee sessions.

1.PositionPaper(orPolicyStatement)

The Position Paper is a one or two page document that is essentially a summary of your knowledge of the topic and the position your country plans to take when it enters committee. It typically contains these sections: Background of Topic, Past International Actions (and how this affects your country), and Country Policy & Possible Solutions. Position Papers are usually due before the conference.

The key starting points for researching each section are listed below. They will help you get started with participating in your first Model UN conference, but you will want to dig deeper as you develop more experience.

▪ Background of topic: Background guide of the topic provided by the conference, Google, the news, Wikipedia (to frame the topic)

▪ Past international actions: UN website, your committee’s website, key treaties or resolutions mentioned in your background guide, UN or NGO reports

▪ Country policy and possible solutions: CIA World Factbook, your country’s

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foreign ministry website, domestic programs within your country, your country’s voting record on key treaties or resolutions, NGO or think tank policy recommendations, and your own creativity!

2.OpeningSpeech(GeneralSpeakersListSpeech)

The Opening Speech typically lasts about 1 minute or 1 minute and 30 seconds and is the first speech you give to the committee. It is the best opportunity for you to explain your country policy and the key sub-issues you would like the committee to focus on. Opening Speeches is a main way for countries to determine whom they want to work with, so it’s important to prepare a speech that conveys this. There are many tips and strategies on how to deliver an Opening Speech, but use your Position Paper as a guide when you are starting out. The most important action is to just be brave and make your first speech.

4.HowtoWriteaResolution

Delegates will be writing a document called a Resolution in committee along with other countries that they will be working with. It’s important to know the resolution format and phrases, but most conferences do not allow pre-written resolutions since they want countries to collaborate together during the committee.

5.CountryProfile

The Country Profile is a worksheet to help you understand your country and may not necessarily be required by your conference. Most of the information needed to fill out a Country Profile can be found in the CIA World Fact book. If required, Country Profiles are usually due at the same time as the Position Paper.

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UNA-USAProcedure

The flow of debate described below is a simplified version of the typical of UNA-USA affiliated conference used by most international schools in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa:

1. Each committee is led by a Chairperson who facilitates the discussion for the committee. The committee will start with the Chairperson taking roll call.

2. The committee will then enter a whole day of Lobbying Sessions. Delegates are free to roam around the committee to work with other delegates. Delegates who work together are called Co-Submitters, and there is typically one Main Submitter to the resolution. Merging takes place during Lobbying Sessions. The prepared drafts will be sent to an Approval Panel for corrections before it can be presented to the committee.

3. Each submitted resolution will be discussed one at a time, and usually each resolution is allotted a certain amount of time to be discussed. The Main Submitter will be called upon to present the draft resolution. Delegates may then yield their time to questions-and-answers. The Chairperson may call on other delegates to speak about the resolution.

4. Amendments may be submitted by the delegates. A similar process takes place for just the amendments — a certain amount of time is allotted to present the amendment, take questions-and-answers, and for delegates to speak about the amendment.

5. Delegates will vote on the amendments after time has elapsed for discussing each one, and delegates will vote on the resolution as a whole after time has elapsed on discussing all amendments to the resolution. Afterward, committee will repeat the process for the next resolution, or if there are no more resolutions, then you are done!

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Chapter2

Whatshouldyourresearchbindercontain?

There are 15 things every delegate should include in their binders:

Conference

1.AwardsPolicy. If you’re trying to win an award, then you should know what the conference values and what your EB is looking for.

2.RulesofProcedure. Rules tell you how committee is going operate, and what you can and cannot do. They differ for every conference — not just what the rules are, but how they are applied.

Committee

3.Yourcommittee’sactualUNwebsite. 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).

Country

4.CIAFactbook. Every MUNer’s go-to source for essential information on their country. You want to know your country’s location, neighbours, 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.

5.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, but do not put TOO much faith on this website that are listed at the topic of

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Wikipedia pages, e.g. “This article needs additional citations for verification.”

Topics

6.BackgroundGuide. 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. Use that knowledge to formulate speeches and operative clauses that grab the chair’s attention. Moreover, in the research binder, answer each question at the end of the Background Guide to help you familiarize yourselves with the agenda at hand.

7.NewsArticles. Reuters is by far the best website for finding news articles. It gives accurate, and unbiased information. Most chairs only accept articles from Reuters, but some accept from other sources too. Contact your chair and ask them what sources are acceptable for the committee.

8.Resolutions,Treaties,andConventions. Before you can do anything on the topic, you need to know what’s already been done. 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.

Solutions

9.Op-EdandBlogArticles. These writers are coming from a personal or journalistic perspective, but they can still give you ideas that you can propose in committee and use in resolutions. You can start with large publications like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, but don’t forget about blogs, too. Just be aware of their biases, and make sure their ideas conform to your country’s policies.

10.YourIdeas. 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 matter until you boil down what you’ve read into ideas that you can explain in your own words.

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Chapter3

Howtowritearesolution?

BasicsofaResolution

Who: Who writes a resolution? Any delegate in the committee can write a resolution (although in rare instances an observer state is not allowed to directly write a resolution). The author of a resolution is called a sponsor. Most resolutions have multiple sponsors because it takes a group of countries to share good ideas and to come to a consensus. Some conferences allow delegates to sponsor multiple resolutions for each topic while others only allow delegates to sponsor one per topic.

What: What is a resolution? A resolution is a document that contains all the issues that the committee wants to solve and the proposed solutions to that issue. It’s called a resolution because that’s what the United Nations calls the documents they produce. Technically, the resolution should be called a draft resolution before it is voted upon and then called a resolution after it is successfully passed during voting bloc.

When/Where: When and where are resolutions written? Most conferences require students to write resolutions during the conference. Specifically, resolutions are usually written during an unmoderated caucus (sometimes called informal caucus) where delegates are free to roam around the committee to collaborate on ideas with each other, and sometimes students work outside in hallways or computer labs as well. Resolution-writing becomes more focused during the latter sessions of committee when different country policies are clear and different ideas have been mentioned already. These conferences will not allow any pre-written resolutions. A few conferences have “docket-style” debate. This is when students are required to submit resolutions to the conference in advance and the chairs pick the best ones and put them into a docket. The delegates focus only on the resolutions in the docket when they get to the conference and work on amending them.

Why: The ultimate purpose of a committee session is to pass a resolution. All the speeches, debate, negotiation, and teamwork are supposed to lead up to a

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resolution, which contains all the proposed solutions to the issue. The resolution(s) that the majority of the committee agrees upon will be passed during voting bloc and the sponsors will be informally commended for building consensus on good ideas. Most conferences allow multiple resolutions to pass as long as they do not contradict each other, but a few conferences allow only one resolution to pass.

How to Write a Resolution How: how do I write a resolution and what does the format look like? First, here

is an example of how a resolution looks like from UNA-USA’s website:

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A resolution is actually really simple to write. It has three main parts: the heading, the pre-ambulatory clauses, and the operative clauses. We’ll break down the example above into these three parts below.

1. Heading

The heading contains four pieces of information: the committee name, the sponsors, the signatories, and the topic (not necessarily in that order depending on each individual conference’s rules).

Resolution heading

The committee name and topic should be self-explanatory. The sponsors are the authors of the resolution. The signatories are other delegates in the committee who do not necessarily agree with the resolution but would like to see it debated. Most conferences require a minimum number or percentage of sponsors and signatories (or a combination of both) before a resolution can be presented — this encourages consensus-building. You will also notice some numbering (on the top right corner in the example). This is usually provided by the committee chair and is just a way to number the different resolutions — usually by the order they are received or approved — so that delegates can easily differentiate or reference them.

2. Pre-ambulatory clauses

The pre-ambulatory clauses states all the issues that the committee wants to resolve on this issue. It may state reasons why the committee is working on this issue and highlight previous international actions on the issue. Pre-ambulatory clauses can include:

▪ Past UN resolutions, treaties, or conventions related to the topic ▪ Past regional, non-governmental, or national efforts in resolving this topic ▪ References to the UN Charter or other international frameworks and laws ▪ Statements made by the Secretary-General or a relevant UN body or agency ▪ General background info formation or facts about the topic, its significance,

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and its impact.

Resolution pre-ambulatory clauses

It’s very simple to write pre-ambulatory clauses. First, take a statement that you want to write about (perhaps an issue you want to solve or a specific fact from one of the five bullet points above). You then take that statement and combine it with an underlined pre-ambulatory phrase, and end it with a comma.

Here are some example pre-ambulatory phrases from UNA-USA’s website that you can choose from:

For example, my country wants to address the issue of how HIV/AIDS has spread rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa. I pick a pre-ambulatory phrase from above — I’ll use “Alarmed by” — and then I combine it to say:

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Alarmed by the 17% increase in HIV/AIDS contraction among sub-Saharan African countries in the past five years,

Strategy Tip: In general, you want fewer pre-ambulatory clauses than operative clauses. More operative clauses convey that you have more solutions than you have problems.

3. Operative clauses

Operative clauses state the solutions that the sponsors of the resolution propose to resolve the issues. The operative clauses should address the issues specifically mentioned in the pre-ambulatory clauses above it.

Resolution operative clauses

It’s very simple to write an operative clause. First, take a solution that you want to include in the draft resolution. You then take that solution, combine it with an underlined operative phrase, and end it with a semicolon (the last operative clause ends with a period). Operative clauses are also numbered. This differentiates them from pre-ambulatory clauses, helps show logical progression in the resolution, and makes the operative clauses easy to refer to in speeches and comments. Here are some example operative phrases from UNA-USA’s website that you can choose from:

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Operative clauses

For example, my first solution is to distribute low-cost medicines for HIV/AIDS to sub-Saharan African countries. I pick an operative phrase from above — I’ll use “Calls upon” — and then I combine it and number it to say:

1. Calls upon the developed countries and major pharmaceutical countries to provide low-cost, generic medicines for HIV/AIDS to sub-Saharan African countries;

Strategy Tip: Usually more details in an operative clause will make it stronger or at least make the idea clearer to other delegates. A simple way to strengthen each operative clause is to answer the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of each resolution. These details can actually be broken down into sub-operative clauses underneath the main operative clause. Do not plagiarize operative clauses from preexisting resolutions. It will render your resolution scrapped and may even result in the sponsors not being eligible for an award.

Amendments

Approved draft resolutions are modified through amendments. An amendment is a written statement that adds, deletes or changes an operative clause in a draft resolution. The amendment process is used to strengthen consensus on a resolution by allowing delegates to change the operative clauses (the pre-ambulatory clauses can not be modified). There are two types of amendments:

1. A friendly amendment is a change to the draft resolution that all sponsors

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agree with. After the amendment is signed by all of the draft resolution’s sponsors and approved by the committee chair, it will be automatically incorporated into the resolution.

2. An unfriendly amendment is a change that some or all of the draft resolution’s sponsors do not support and must be voted upon by the committee. This also refers to delegates who did not write this resolution at all but see potential in it as long as several changes are made to it. The sponsors of the amendment will need to obtain a required number of signatories in order to introduce it. Prior to voting on the draft resolution, the committee votes on all unfriendly amendments.

Writing an amendment is very simple. All you have to do is make an operative clause that adds, deletes, or changes an operative clause in a draft resolution. Examples include:

▪ Adds an operative clause that reads “14. Encourages all Latin American countries to…”

▪ Deletes operative clause 9. Changes operative clause 1 to read “1. Calls upon the Red Cross to provide low-cost medicines…”

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Chapter 4

Parliamentary Procedure and Terms (Overview)

Parliamentary Procedures

Parliamentary procedure is the procedure or method in which order is sought by both the Chair AND the delegates in a formal conference. It is composed of many rules and motions created to make a conference easier for everyone.

1. Modes of Address

First we’ll start with the obvious: do not use slang when speaking in a conference, all speeches should begin with “Mr./Ms. Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the house...” and not: “Yo wussup?!” Remember, you are trying to solve a world issue, not hosting a party with all your friends.

Here’s perhaps the most important aspect of parliamentary etiquette: NEVER REFER TO YOURSELF IN THE FIRST PERSON. That also goes for your peers. When speaking, use the name of your delegation: e.g. “The delegation of China does not understand” or “will the (honourable) delegate of Russia please clarify...”

The following are some phrases that can be used by delegates:

▪ Mr./Ms./Madam/Honorable Chair...

▪ The delegation of ________ has a point of ________ (see below under motions of parliamentary procedure)

▪ Is the delegate of __________ not aware...

▪ Does the speaker not realize that ...

▪ We yield the floor to the char/to the delegate of ______

▪ Does the speaker not agree....

2. Motions of Parliamentary Procedure

A motion is a point or request that a delegate would like to bring to the Chair’s attention. These should never be used to interrupt a speaker (at least wait until s/he has finished his/her sentence). Here are the most common and most often used motions:

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▪ Point of Personal Privilege: This is a motion used to let the Chair and the speaker know that something is bothering you (the speaker is too loud, too quiet, too fast, too slow or unclear). When wishing to bring across a point of personal privilege simply raise your country’s name card and say “Point of Personal Privilege” and the Chair will determine whether or not it is in order and s/he will ask the delegate to rise and state the reasoning behind his/her point.

▪ Point of Information: This is a question a delegate might have for the speaker after s/he has finished his/her speech. A Point of Information can only be brought forth when the Chair has asked for them (after a speaker’s speech, s/he may or may not agree to be open to points of information.) When the Chair has authorized points of information, simply raise your country’s name card and wait to be called on. Here are some tips to Point of Information:

Use proper etiquette and stay respectful.

Only ask ONE question when called on

If the delegate has not answered the question to your satisfaction you may ask for a follow-up question by saying “Request Follow-up.” The Chair rarely recognizes these.

Points of Information are not only used to make the speaker look like s/he has said something wrong; it is very helpful to an argument if the delegate agrees with the speaker but do it in a form of a question. E.g. “Does the delegate of _________(speaker) not agree....”

▪ Point of Order: This is the motion used when you want to bring the Chair’s attention to a speaker’s or another delegate’s mistake in or violation of parliamentary procedure. If a delegate breaks any of the rules or regulations stated above or in following sections, wait for the speaker to finish his/her sentence then raise your country’s name card and say Point of Order. The Chair will determine whether this is appropriate or not. If appropriate, s/he will ask you to rise and state your point, i.e., “is it in order for the Delegate of Kuwait to do a cartwheel?”

▪ Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: This is a question directed to the Chair concerning parliamentary procedures in regard to time and related issues.

▪ Motion to Move into time For/Against: This motion is directed to the Chair. If the meeting is going slowly (e.g., no one is speaking) then you may say “Motion to move into time for/against this resolution. If the

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house agrees, someone will second this motion. If there are no objections, the Chair will suspend that time frame and move into the next.

▪ Motion to Move into Voting Procedure: Again, if the meeting seems not to be productive, you may raise your country’s name card and say “Motion to move into voting procedure” if another delegates agrees, s/he will second this motion. If there are no objections, then voting procedure will take place.

3. Amendments

An amendment is a fixture you want to make to the resolution at hand. You can fix a clause of the resolution, strike a clause, add a clause etc. To propose an amendment, you first write it clearly on note paper and send it to the Chair. When s/he asks for a speaker, raise your country’s name card and the chair will call on you. Rise and say “The Delegates of _________ has proposed an amendment.” Then you will read your amendment and the chair will set time for and against it. When time has elapsed for the amendment, there will be a vote on it.

4. Behaviour

Behaviour in an assembly is very important. NO TALKING BETWEEN DELGATES WILL BE TOLERATED. All communication between delegates will be through notes passed. Respect must be kept when speaking as well. If the Chair deems it necessary, s/he may issue a warning to a delegation who repeatedly breaks parliamentary procedure. After three warnings, a delegation will be asked to leave the conference.

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BESTOFLUCKTOALLDELEGATES!

CAN’TWAITTOSEEYOUALL!!