Rules of Procedure

What is MUN?
Model UN is a model of the actual united nations. Instead of actual
officials, students take part in representing different countries and
debating and discussing on various agendas.
Since topics of all different genres cannot be discussed together and by
the same people. Mun has different committees
For example:- UNSC (united nations security council) – deals with
terrorism, arms trafficking etc…anything related to international security
Eg2: UNCSW (united nations commission on the status of women) –
discusses on issues related to women.
Attire to follow
During the conference the delegates must be wearing western formal attire
For men; they are supposed to wear a shirt, tie, suit, blazer, pants and
should have modest hair. Along with formal footwear
For women; they are supposed to wear a blouse and a skirt, or a dress, or a
pant suit with optional blazer and tie. They should also have modest and
neat hair. Along with formal footwear
In online conferences you can wear anything, but do make sure it is
presentable from the top half at least.
Position Papers
It is a document that is made by the delegates and should be submitted to
the chairs before the conference begins.
It’s a document that shows the country’s stance on the agenda, the previous
solutions it has taken, and what the country thinks is the main problem.
The position paper should have a proper introduction, body, and conclusion.
Introduction – address the problem and the effects caused by it
Body – tell your country’s stance, the solutions your country has taken and
what your country thinks should be done
Conclusion – a short summary of everything above
How to write a position paper?
A position paper needs to include the following things:
u

1)Introduction to the agenda

2)What you think the main problem is (mention statistics)
3)How the problem has affected your country and the world
4)Talk about how common citizens are affected, and why it’s important to address this issue
5)What actions have international bodies like the UN taken to solve this issue
6)What actions have your country taken in the past to solve these issues
7)Provide a few solutions to the issue
8)Talk about how you want the committee to take place and what do you want the main emphasis on the topic to be.
9)Summarize everything in 1 or 2 lines for the conclusion.
All of these things are not necessary to be included. It highly depends on your agenda
Format for the position paper
The format of a position paper is as follows
Font size 11 or 12
Font type – times new roman
Maximum 1.5 page
1 inch margin on all sides
Single spacing
Text should be justified
No maps or pictures allowed
A bibliography should be put in the end mentioning all the sources the information is taken from
Only 10 percent plagiarism is allowed, and any quotes or facts must be written in double quotes.
(plagiarism limit differs from conference to conference)
Example of Position Paper
Research prior conference
Research before the conference is very important. This is how can you can do the best research:

1) Country policy

This is basically a general research on your country

It should include your country's economy, policies and laws, GDP, type of government, rulers, recent
controversies, recent news, recent crisis, your country's alliances, rivals. Etc..
These all are the basic facts about your country
When your representing a country, it is important to have at least basic general knowledge about the country.
Also look into news articles and stories that say bad about your country. This way you can have an idea on as
to how other delegates would roast you. Read all those negative things and try to find out proper answers for
them incase any delegate questions you.
2) Opening speech
There is always an opening speech at the beginning of the conference for the general
speakers list, it should be prepared beforehand (or can be prepared at the moment as well)
It’s usually only for 90 seconds, so it should be short but effective (it is not necessary to
complete the entire 90 seconds, but is advised to complete at least 60)
It should contain a brief description of the topic and how your country is related to it, and
what exactly is your country’s stance on it . Along with some solutions your country
would like to offer
However keep a few things in mind for your opening speech; Make sure your speeches
have impact on the committee and aren’t just random statistics that anyone can google.
3) Research on other countries
When you are allocated to countries, see what countries the other delegates have gotten. Mostly
focus on the countries that are important to the agenda at hand, and the ones that are you country’s
rivals/allies.
Just like how you did research for your own country, do it for other countries as well, but in a
negative way.
Especially if you have a very neutral country or a country that isn’t highly involved in the agenda.
Your main focus should then be to research about flaws in other important countries
This is the perfect opportunity to find countries who have similar opinions as your own country and
form blocs with them, or team up with them.
4) Your ideas
Apart from basic facts, your speech or any argument that you give should contain some of your own ideas.
Like your own solutions for the problems, what you think are the biggest concerns, which country do you
disagree with and why etc.…
Your ideas should also include a list of possible topics for a moderated caucus. These include important
sub topics of the main topic.
Make sure that everything you are speaking isn’t coming out of some website. Limit plagiarism, and think
of your own ideas and solutions. You can even discuss all of this with your bloc.
5) Main research
·In this you need to research about your country stance related to the topic.
·It should contain what your country has already done, what it will do, how will it do it, how will that
affect it. Etc..
·It should also contain information on subtopics of the main topic. For example the main topic is
cyberterrorism, you need to have a lot of information on the subtopics like cybercrime, social media
etc...
·It should also contain general information about the topic, that is not related to your country. This
helps you see how much progress other countries have had. It also gives you a detailed idea about the
topic at hand. (the background guide is a perfect way to start your research)
·Follow up on most of the things you researched for your position paper. Mostly follow news articles
and editorials to get to know the general information on the topic, and any recent news related to the
topic.
·Read as many websites as you can. Learn how to distinguish important information from useless
one
Search on a lot of specific things rather than general

Keep in mind: ”too much research” is not always good. Research on the necessary things only, and
most importantly don’t stress too much, keep your mental health in check too.
Delegates should research only from reliable sources like:
1.Reuters (globally accepted) – since it’s a mostly unbiased private/independent news agency.

2.Al Jazeera (you probably can’t access this in UAE)

3.State operated news agencies; (BBC – uk), (times of India- India) etc...

4.World CIA factbook (for general information)

5.UN websites (information from them will be considered superior over all others)

6.Any website that ends with .com, .org, .edu (country specific like .in, .ae) etc… can be considered reliable

Wikipedia and Britannica is strictly not allowed for research purposes. Do not ever site these websites in any
bibliography, even if you are using them for general understanding
Go down the Wikipedia page to find the references section. The websites listed there are mostly reliable. So
search those websites instead of writing Wikipedia.
Roll Call
Every MUN committee begins with a roll call
It is a way of taking attendance of the countries present
The chair will be reading out the names of all the countries. When your country is called out. You have
to either say ‘present’ or ‘present and voting’
‘present’ means that when the committee is voting on the solutions that everyone came up with in the
end, you can either vote for it, against it, or abstain from voting
‘present and voting’ means that you will have to vote for or against. You can’t abstain.
If you are a neutral country or an ally of both the main countries that are against each other in the
conference, then it’s better to choose present, so that you can be neutral and avoid those countries to
break ties with you
If you are an important country yourself, whose opinion matters a lot, then you should choose present
and voting
General Speakers List
This is a list where different countries can come up and speak generally on the topic. They can explain their
country’s stance, what their country has done for the topic, what their country is willing to do, what their
country thinks about the whole situation etc... Etc..
The default time for the speech is 90 seconds, but can be altered after raising motions of amendments of
rules of procedure.
First the chairs will ask you that “the floor is open and if there are any points or motions, raise your placard
(err…hand) now”. Then you raise it and once you’re recognized, you can say ‘the delegate of blah wishes to
establish the general speakers list for a total time of 90 seconds’ . And then there will be a voting and it will
be agreed upon.
The chairs would then ask who all wants to be a part of it, and then whoever wants to speak can raise their
hands and the chairs would consider them.
You can speak in the general speakers list as many times as you want throughout the conference, since the
GSL is something that never elapses.
Yields
Suppose if a delegate finishes his speech before the 90 seconds get over (which is highly
recommended). Then there are three things the delegate can do with the remaining time.
1)Yield the time to the chair
-By doing do, nothing is done with the time, and the next speaker is called upon.
2) Yield the time to another delegate
-By doing so, your remaining time is given to another delegate of your choice, and then that
delegate comes forward and speaks on whatever they want for that remaining time.
3) Yield the time to points of information
- By doing this you are opening yourself to have any questions asked to you by other delegates. You
can either open yourself to a certain number of questions or any and all. (more on this later)
Points
1.POINT OF INFORMATION
-This point is a question that you ask to a delegate who just finished giving their speech.
-If
the speaker has opened themselves to points of information, the chair will ask if there are any, and then you raise your
hand and wait for the chair to recognize you.
-If,after the speaker has answered your question, you feel like your question wasn’t answered properly or you have another
question that popped up in your mind, then you can request for a follow up. And if the chairs allow it, then u can ask a
second question to the same speaker.
-Make sure to ask as many points of information as you can, whenever you get the chance. Listen to everyone else’s
speeches carefully in order to come up with questions.
Make sure your questions are short and to-the-point. Same goes with the answers.
-Ifyou are the one receiving the question, then answer concisely and properly. If in case, you do not understand their
question, you can ask the delegate to repeat themselves or make their question clearer. If you still don’t know the answer to
the question, then you have the option to reply through chit (more on that later)
2.POINT OF ORDER
This point is made by a delegate when they notice another delegate or even the chair saying something
that is factually inaccurate or against the rules of procedures.
-For example if a delegate said Malaysia is the largest country on earth, then you can raise a point of
order and correct the delegate saying that no you’re wrong. (also provide the correct answer)
-Sometimes there is point of order to a second degree. For example someone said the sun is blue, and
someone stood and corrected them the sun is red. Then you can raise a point of order to the second
degree saying that the sun is yellow
-Ifthe correction isn’t plain obvious, then you may have to provide a source from where you’re getting
this information. Only reliable sources will be accepted. (the ones listed before)
-This can be even made if the chair is doing something against the rules. If you feel like the chairs
missed something or are doing something wrong, raise a point of order to correct them (don’t hesitate)
Make sure this point does not disturb any speaker while they are speaking! Wait for them to finish, and
then raise the point.
3.POINT OF PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
-Ifduring the committee, you have any doubts regarding the rules of the committee,
or how the committee works, then you can raise a point of parliamentary inquiry and
ask the question to the chair who will answer it
-Make sure that this point cannot disturb any speaker while they are speaking.
-Ifyou are confused and unaware of what's happening in the committee at present,
then raise a point of parliamentary inquiry.
Since this is an online conference, if you do not wish to ask your query in the
committee, then you can text the chairs personally too, through zoom chat or
whatsapp.
4.POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
-This point is made when you are feeling a personal discomfort that is affecting your
participation in the committee.
-For example if you want to go to the washroom, or want the other delegate to speak
faster/slower, louder/softer etc... Etc..
-This is the only point that can interrupt a speaker, that too only when its regarding
inaudibility
-In online conferences, if you have to go somewhere or off your camera for a second then you
need to raise this point to the chairs and ask for their permission.
If you want a certain delegate or chair to repeat themselves, then raise this point
Motions
Motion to Establish a General Speaker's List:

The General Speaker’s List is open throughout the discussion of the topic area. Motions to open any other
medium of debate will not close the General Speaker's List, but will only overlap it. The General Speaker's List
may never be elapse.

Motion to Establish a Moderated Caucus:

The purpose of a moderated caucus is to facilitate substantive debate at critical junctures in the discussion. A
moderated caucus is also opened for a specified purpose and a specified time.

Motion to Establish an Unmoderated Caucus:

This is essentially an informal discussion amongst delegates and has no procedural rules. Delegates generally use
it to formulate working papers or resolutions. It must be motioned for, and it also requires a purpose and a
specific time
Motion to Suspend a Session:

When the floor is open, a delegate may move to suspend or adjourn the meeting. This motion is used to temporarily
suspend the debate. If such a motion is in order, it requires a majority to pass

Motion to divide the House:

The Motion to Split the House is in order when the delegate proposing this Motion wishes to exclude abstention from the
voting options during the final vote on the draft resolution.

Motion to Move the Previous Question (to Move to Voting Procedure):

This motion can be used by a delegate, if entertained by the chair, to end debate and move straight into the process of
voting for the resolution or amendment in question

Motion to Extend Debate Time:

A delegate can use this motion if they wish to extend the debate time in favor of, or against, once the set time for either
has ended

Motion to Extend Points of Information:

The House may appeal, through this motion, to allow more points of information to be entertained to a delegate's speech.
The motion requires that the delegate with the floor agrees, and is at the Chairs discretion.
5.RIGHT TO REPLY
-This is used when you (personally) or your country has been offended by another
delegate
-Ifthe chair acknowledges it then you get a minute to speak about what the other
delegate said and how you were offended
-For example, if a certain delegate says china is stupid, then you can raise a right
to reply. If a delegate says that you are the worst delegate they have ever seen,
then you can raise a right to reply.
-However, right to reply is only applicable for opinionated insults. If a delegate
says that India has a very bad freedom of press index. This is a fact, not an
opinion of the delegate. That is why you can’t raise a right to reply for this.
Chit
When to use it:
In case your point of information wasn’t recognized by the chairs due to whatever reason,
the same question can still be asked through chit
When you aren’t able to answer a poi while on the stage, you can chose to reply through
chit and give your answer after some time
When you want to personally discuss something or form an alliance with any other
delegates, you can write them a chit.
If you want to inform the chairs about something, for example, that you will be forming a
resolution with this bloc including certain countries.
In online conferences, chits will be given through whatsapp, or sometimes other mediums
can also be used, depending on your chairs and that particular conference
How to give chits?
-If you want your chit to get recognized by the chair, then mention ‘via eb’ in your chit
-Inan online committee, type the chit to the chair through WhatsApp and the chair will
forward it to the other delegate while taking the chit into consideration themselves
-Ifyou simply want to discuss something with a delegate and not want the chair to see
your chit then don’t write ‘via eb’
-In an online committee, type out the chit to the other delegate using the private chat
option on zoom
-Or just normally text them personally
Chit Format
From: the delegate of USA
via EB (If you want the chair to acknowledge it)
To: the delegate of India
My question is that how can India say that they respect women when India
itself if one of the most unsafe countries for women?
Moderated Caucus
-Since the entire agenda is usually a very broad topic. The moderated caucuses help us to discuss particular sub
topics separately.
-While making a motion for it, the delegates have to mention 3 things
-Topic of the mod caucus
-Total time limit
-Individual speaker time limit
-So it goes like ‘the delegate of India would like to raise a motion for a moderated caucus on the topic
transparency of governments regarding coronavirus cases, for total time being 20 minutes and individual speaker
time being 60 seconds.
-Then there is voting on all the mod motions raised. And whichever gets majority will be passed and will be
discussed
-Sometimes the committee is not able to come on an agreement to a specific mod topic, that is why it’s
recommended to discuss and plan some topics beforehand. (this is a part of lobbying. Can be done in the
whatsapp group)
How to raise an Unmoderated caucus?
Once the moderated caucus is passed after voting, delegates can raise their hands to speak
in it.
The person who raised the motion will be asked whether they want to speak first or
reserve their right to speak. (the second option means you will be selected in the list at
random just like any other delegate)
If you are heavily prepared for this topic, and have amazing solutions, then go first.
If you don’t have much research on that topic, then reserve your right, so that in the end
you can take few things from everyone’s speeches and create an amazing conclusive speech
Generally points of information are not allowed in moderated caucus speeches, but most
probably your chairs will allow it for the interest of the debate.
Unmoderated Caucus
For the benefit of the committee, unmoderated caucuses are held in order to give
ample time to the delegates to lobby
During lobbying the delegates may form blocs and alliances with other countries
They may discuss moderated caucus topics for the next committee session in
order to solve any confusion
And they may start working on their resolutions
The delegates should always take part in the unmod discussions as they will be
graded for it
How to raise an Unmoderated caucus?
The unmoderated caucus is also a motion
While raising the motion, the delegate has to specify 2 things
1.The reason for the unmod – not necessary
2.The total time
So it goes like ‘the delegate of China would like to raise an unmoderated caucus
of 5 minutes in order to discuss more topics for the moderated caucuses’
Then there will be voting and the chairs discretion will also be considered, and
the motion will be passed or failed on the basis of that.
Resolution
The committee is held so that the delegates can debate and discuss and form
solutions for the given problem
Those solutions are written down on a document called the resolution
There can be multiple resolutions made during a committee by various blocs,
and then in the end, all those resolutions are debated and voted upon.
The resolutions have a particular format to them
blocs are a group of countries who are allies of each other. They draft a
resolution together. If there are 2 blocs in a committee, we will be expecting
at least 2 resolutions.
Clauses
There are two types of clauses in a resolution
1.Preambulatory clauses (preambs)
-Is not numbered
-Discusses and addresses the concern/topic as well as solutions that have
previously taken place.
1.Operative clauses
-The main part of the resolution
Includes your bloc’s ideas and solutions for the problem at hand
Preambulatory Clauses
These clauses come at the beginning of the resolution
These clauses are used to acknowledge the issue, the actions taken by past resolutions on
the same topic, past arguments and justifications etc…
They basically start a foundation for the topic
They are NOT the main solutions of the committee, they just discuss what all previous
steps have been taken.
These clauses start with a specific preambulatory phrase and each clause ends with a
comma (,)
The preambulatory phrases should be in italics and underlined
Sample Preambulatory Phrases
Operative Clauses
These clauses are the most important ones

They contain the solutions that this committee has come up with
A single clause can have sub and sub-sub clauses as well. Sub clauses are to be numbered as ‘a,b,c’ and sub-sub
clauses are to be numbered as ‘i,ii,iii’ roman numbers.
Eg:
1.Recommends nations to provide safe and legal ways for refugees to travel to Europe and other destinations under managed programmes, which
include but are not limited to:
a) Humanitarian admission programme
b) Private sponsorships
c) Family reunions, 
d) Student scholarships, 
e) Labour mobility schemes.
The clauses always start with an operative phrase, and that phrase should always be in italics and underlined

Each operative clause ends with a semicolon (;)

The entire resolution ends with a full stop (.)
Sample Operative Phrases
Who writes the resolutions
Resolutions are made by various blocs
The sponsors of the resolution are the specific delegates who gave the most contribution in
making the resolution
There can be only up to 5 sponsors (also depends on the size of the bloc)
The signatories of a resolution are the delegates who wish to see the resolution be debated upon
Being a signatory doesn’t mean you approve of the resolution, it just means you want to discuss
on it.
Sponsors: USA, CHINA, UAE
Signatories: new Zealand, Bhutan etc...
Format for resolution
Committee: UNHRC
Topic: *topic*
Sponsors: *maximum 3 sponsors*
Signatories: *countries that wish the resolution to be discussed
Preambulatory clauses (at least 3)
Operative clauses (at least 5)
- The entire resolution ends with a full stop (.)
Debate on resolutions
Once all the blocs are done with making their resolutions, all those resolutions will be sent to
the chair (on the committee mail)
Then one by one all resolutions will be discussed upon
When a certain resolution is being discussed, all the sponsors will come forward and give their
speech
They are going to explain what this resolution wants to achieve, and then they are going to one
by one read all their clauses and explain them (up to them how they want to explain)
After their speech is done, they will be open to points of information's by other delegates,
regarding a single clause or the resolution as a whole and the sponsors will have to answer it
all
Amendments
The resolutions made by the blocs are just called draft resolutions. In order
to make them better, amendments or changes can be put forward by all the
delegates, in order to change a clause
These amendments must be submitted to the chair while the sponsors are
giving their speech
During online committee, the amendments should be submitted through the
chair’s mail/form
Types of Amendments
There are three types of amendments that can be made:
1.Amendment of addition
-This is when you want to add a clause or a line anywhere in the resolution
2. Amendment of deletion
-This is when you completely want to delete a word, line or clause from the resolution (Try
limiting this)
3. Amendment of modification
- This is when you want to modify or replace any one of the clauses or lines or words in the
resolution
FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS
-Ifthere are any amendments made that are agreed upon by all the
sponsors, then it is a friendly amendment and will be applied to the
resolution without any voting. These can include grammatical errors and
spelling mistakes, formatting errors etc..
UNFRIENDLY AMENDMENTS
- If even a single sponsor disagrees with a certain amendment, then it’s
unfriendly, and debate will be done on it along with voting to decide
whether to apply the amendment or not.
Formats for amendments
TYPE: addition/deletion/modification
By: The delegate of India
The delegate of India wants to delete the entire clause number 3
- Sent these amendments via chit in offline conferences, and via the
committee mail or through google forms in online conferences
Debate on Amendments
Once you have sent your amendment, the chair will then recognize it and present it to
the committee
After that you will get one minute to speak on that amendment and tell the other
delegates on why you think this change should be made (depends on the time remaining)
Then the chair will ask the sponsors if this is a friendly amendment or not, if yes then
this amendment is passed, if not then,
the chair will chose one speaker for and one speaker against this amendment
After both these speeches are done, there will be voting on the amendment, and the
majority wins
Voting on Resolution
After all the amendments have been passed or failed, and the draft
resolution has become even better, now there will be voting on the
resolution
The delegates who have chosen present in the roll call can either vote yes,
no or abstain from voting, while the delegates who have chosen present and
voting will either have to vote for the resolution or against it
If the majority votes for the resolution, then the resolution passes.
Veto Powers (only for SC)
There are these special p5 nations in the un that have the most importance
These are namely USA, UK, CHINA, RUSSIA, FRANCE
These five permanent nations have a special power called the veto power
If even one of the p5 members vote against a resolution, then no matter
what, the resolution automatically fails
This veto power is given to the p5 delegates only in the security council and
not in other committees.
Crisis
During the proceedings of a committee, a crisis can be emerged
The crisis in MUN are usually hypothetical situations that need proper attention immediately and are
suddenly dropped in a committee
When a crisis emerges, the committee forgets everything about the original agenda and stops
whatever they were doing, and focuses only on the crisis at hand
The chairs will explain the crisis and will accept any questions from the delegates
And then there will be the provisional speakers list or round table meeting where any delegate who
wishes can speak on the crisis at hand
After that, the delegates will be sent to an unmoderated caucus where the delegates will come up
with solutions to solve the crisis
Once the directives or communiques are passed, the chair will announce the result of the crisis.
P.S.L and Round table
PSL
- Stands for provisional speakers list. Basically a general speakers list but
for a crisis. Once a motion for it is established, any delegate can raise their
hands for being a part of it and speaking about the crisis topic in general.
POIS, and everything work as normal.
ROUND TABLE
- In round table, all the delegates present in the committee are compulsorily
supposed to speak on the topic for 60/90 seconds.
Directives
The solutions of a crisis are written on a document called the directive
The directives have the same format as a resolution, except the directives
don’t have perambulatory clauses
The delegates can again form blocs using the unmoderated caucus and write
a directive
The solutions should be sensible and less time consuming, and they should
be short and to-the-point
Types of Directives
During the unmod, you can create three types of directives
1.public directives
-This is the type that follows the resolution format and is made by a blocs of many delegates. These
directives are discussed in the committee and debated upon
2. Private directive
-This directive is made privately by you and sent to the chairs, and then the chairs decide if it can be
accepted or no
3. Joint directive
-This directive can be made by 2 or 3 countries together and sent to the chair for approval
Both private and joint directives are not discussed in the committee.
Sample Directive
Communiques
Communiques are a way to involve other entities from your country to take
part in the crisis and be some kind of help
You send these communiques to the chair for approval
An example could be you requesting the NGO's in uk to take some action
regarding an issue.
It needs to be short and precise
It should have a heading stating that this note is a communique so that it isn’t
confused with a directive
Sample Communiques
Press Releases
These are small notes that are given to the press for them to release the
information of the crisis to the world
These press releases can inform or misinform the public about the crisis
They are done so as to involve the public in solving the crisis
It should have a heading stating it’s a press release
Sample Press Release
Presidential Statements
This can be done during a crisis when the president (main head) of a country wants
to give a speech regarding the crisis for the entire committee to take note of
You must first type out your statement and then send it to the chair for approval. If
accepted, then you may pretend to be the president of your country and read out the
same speech
Then the delegates can ask the president any kinds of points of information they
want and the president must answer
Writing the presidential statement doesn’t have any format, and can just be simply
typed to the chair for approval.
Online Rules – Code of Conduct
Video cameras are to be switched on only through out the committee sessions and
microphone is to be switched on only when asked by the chairs
Official Language of the conference is "English"
Use the ‘Raise hand’ feature in Zoom to be recognized by the chair
Refrain from using foul language
Misbehavior during committee will not be tolerated and those caught will face strict
consequences
You may not interrupt a speaker or chair while they are speaking, except due to inaudibility
Table tapping will not be in order, instead please use the reactions feature in Zoom