MUN 101

What is Model United Nations?

Model United Nations is essentially a replica of the real United Nations.

- Each person (we call them delegates) represents a country

- Each country has a particular ideology, set of interests and goals in any particular
debate
- Since there are several countries per debate, delegates must work to come up with a
solution that considers every country’s position
How it’s Organized
MUN is organized into committees, with its particular set of countries and delegates
assigned to them.

Each committee debates a different issue, ranging from Humanitarian relief coordination
to international security.

Delegates have one committee and they stay there, as the same country, for the entire
conference.
The Debate
Once everyone is in the committee, some countries will present a resolution.

Resolutions are proposed solutions to a problem, with a set of actions the United Nations
will take to resolve the issue.

For example: The issue is the war in Syria, and Germany presents a resolution with a set
of actions the UN could take to improve the situation there.
Resolutions
Resolutions come in many shapes and forms, depending on the committee, the country
submitting them, the issue of the debate, etc.

They are structured into clauses, similar to articles in a document, and each clause
describes or explains an action that will be taken regarding the issue being discussed. An
example:

1. Declares an investigation will be opened into the alleged Crimes Against

Humanity committed by the Maduro regime in the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, and it will report to the Security Council once it has concluded the
inquiry;
Resolutions
They generally have between 5 and 20 clauses, but it can vary.

There are two types of clauses, preambulatory and operative. Preambulatory are generally
considered unimportant during the transcourse of the debate.

Operative clauses are all the clauses that indicate and action the committee, representing
the UN, will take. They can range from indicating a straightforward, simple action to a
very complex one that requires a lot of explanation.

When that is the case, they can have sub clauses that go into more detail.
Lobbying
At the start of the day, you will walk into your committee and lobbying will start. All the
delegates that have prepared draft resolutions (generally 2 or 3 per committee) and
everyone who hasn’t will be able to walk freely around the room and talk to other
delegates.

A draft resolution needs a certain number of signatories- those are other countries that
have signed their resolution- in order to be debated. At the end of lobbying, which usually
lasts an hour, the resolution with the most signatures will be the one the committee will
debate that day.

Lobbying is the time for delegates with draft resolutions to convince other delegates their
resolution is the best to resolve the issue at hand.
Debate
The resolution which gets the most signatories will be the one debated throughout the
conference. Delegates will have the opportunity to speak for or against the resolution.

If a delegate wishes to they can propose Amendments, these are changes the delegate
would like to make to a certain clause. These amendments will then get debated and voted
on by the entire committee.

A delegate can also propose to Strike a clause, this means it gets taken out of the
resolution as a whole. This will also be debated and voted on by the committee
Debate
Finally, a delegate can propose to Add a clause, this means they add a completely new
clause to the resolution. As always, this will be debated and voted on by the committee.
Voting Procedures
Once the resolution or amendment has been debated voting procedures will commence.
All delegates must either vote In Favour, Against, or Abstain. Only votes in favour will be
considered when deciding weather the resolution passes, this means you need the majority
to vote in favour of your resolution or amendment.