THE STRUCTURE

Roll Call
We all gotta start somewhere, right? Within Model United
Nations, the Roll Call is normally used to check who is
attending, and how many people are attending. Through this, the
Chairs are able to calculate the majority which is required within
procedural and substantial voting. When you hear your country's
name, you can reply with “Present.” If you want to spice things
up, and declare how serious you are about the topic that is being
discussed, you can also say “Present and Voting.” Non-member
countries are not allowed to vote. But beware! This comes at a
cost. If you use “Present and Voting.” you are NOT able to
abstain during substantive votes, meaning you have to have an
opinion on a matter truly.
Once the list has been read, you continue to the next step.

Setting The Agenda

Depending on your MUN this process may differ. Sometimes
you will be given one subject before entering the debate, in
which this part is technically unnecessary. If you have been
given multiple possible topics to discuss, however, it will depend
on you and the other delegates which one will be chosen. You
should be careful with these things – depending on your country
and its positions, you might have a certain preference for one
topic, therefore you should really try to get the discussion topic
that fits you best off the ground. Setting such an agenda
requires a motion.

You raise your hand/placard (if your MUN provides placards,

use placard), and wait until the Chair acknowledges you. You
ONLY speak, if the Chair acknowledges you. This is a universal
rule, which is present in all sections of the MUN debate (except
for the unmoderated caucus). Once you have been
acknowledged, you say your country’s name and move to place
your preferred topic first on the agenda. Remember to always
speak as an ambassador of your Country. No “I’s” allowed! It’s
“we”, your country’s name, or “as the representative of Country
Name.”

Some MUNs choose to have a brief discussion between two

representatives of the two different topics if there is no clear
preference. Either way, once a motion has been raised, the Chairs
will call for a procedural voting process, meaning that delegates
are unable to abstain and MUST vote. Only a simple majority is
needed.
Huzzah! A topic has been raised, the Countries have been
counted. The actual Debate can now proceed.
The Debate
The General Speakers List

The GSL is essentially your default section within a discussion.

Chairs will establish a time limit that each speaker should
adhere to, and Countries can then ask to be added to the list,
taking turns to speak in the order the Chairs have provided.

Within the GSL, a delegate can aim to move the debate in a

direction they would like to see, this is your moment to look for
people who would vote for you if you were to raise the motion
for a moderated Caucus. Others might disagree and are able to
answer you within their time frame on the GSL. To join the GSL,
you wait for the Chair to ask who wants to be added to the list,
at which moment you should raise your placard until they
acknowledge you. If you finish your speech before your allotted
time is over, the Chair may open the remainder of the time for
other Delegates to ask you a question, which you then are able
to answer, you may let your time seize, or you may give your
time to another Delegate. What the best choice is truly depends
on your tactical reasoning for it.

Moderated and Unmoderated Caucuses

While the GSL is ultimately a tool to allow general discussions,

sometimes one needs to spend more time on certain specifics, in
which case one can call for an unmoderated or moderated
caucus. A moderated caucus requires speakers to only hold
speeches based on the topic at hand. It might be fruitful to raise
a motion for a moderated caucus on a certain topic (for a certain
amount of minutes, with a certain amount of speakers’ time), if,
within the GSL, a trend towards such a topic was already
foreseeable. This is an opportunity to really shape the debate,
and more often than not, multiple motions for multiple
moderated caucuses exist at the same time, so voting is
necessary. Pro Tip: Normally the longer motion takes
precedence within a voting procedure, and the secondary motion
will only be voted on, if the first one doesn’t get enough votes.
Hence, it’s not a bad idea to make your own motion just a tad
bit longer than the others. Being tactical is key within the MUN
World!
 Now, an unmoderated Caucus is a whole other tactical game. Within
it, general rules seize to exist for a while, and one is able to be
within a freeform debate, no turns, no points, no speaking time, You
are allowed to move around within a room, you get to meet the
other countries in a more personal manner, and you get to negotiate
and write your draft resolutions. This is where you look for
cooperation amongst other states and try to create something based
on your shared values. Like the moderated caucus, a motion for this
has to be raised. It’s a procedural vote, so no abstaining is possible.
The unmoderated caucus takes time for as long as the allotted time
allows.

Draft Resolutions
Ah, Draft Resolutions. The big bad of the MUN world. Having to
write a document that follows its very own rules, uses a specific type
of language, and is generally supposed to be very professional in
how it is handled sometimes really makes people want to turn on
their tail. Understandably so! Now, this article isn’t specifically here
to teach you how to write a draft resolution. Still, we would always
recommend researching this matter before participating in writing
one. Sure – you could always make someone else do it, but it’s an
open secret within the MUN World, that the one holding the laptop,
and writing the document is King.

Now- What really is a Draft Resolution? A draft resolution is a

document that states the proposed solution of the issue at hand and
is supposed to represent the viewpoints and the agenda of those who
have written and signed it. It must have a minimum number of
sponsors who support it and will vote in favor of it, once debates
have ended. The number of necessary sponsors differs based on the
Council and the Chair, according to the size of a Committee. Only
member countries can author draft resolutions. However, any country
can sponsor the resolution.

Once a draft resolution is finished, it should be sent to the chair

who will then hopefully approve it, at which point a motion may be
raised to introduce it to the rest of the Council. You then get to read
the operational clauses, one by one, within a certain time frame.
Afterwards, countries are able to ask for amendments regarding the
clauses you have written. If an amendment is friendly, that means no
one has objected to the change within a clause, and it can be written
anew accordingly. If a sponsor however should decide to object, a
vote must follow.

Amended clauses are unable to be re-amended, so make sure you

truly do not object to a change being made within your resolution.
 Closing the debate
Voting Procedure
The voting procedure is a substantive vote for everyone except
those countries which said that they are “Present and voting.”
Meaning, that everyone who said that they are present at the Roll
Call gets to either vote “Yes”, “No”, or gets to abstain. Only member
countries are allowed to vote on the draft resolution. You are
furthermore not allowed to abstain if you are a sponsor for the draft
resolution at hand.

Once voting is completed. and a proposal has been passed, it

becomes the resolution of the committee, at which point the council
will move on to the next topic that was on the agenda. If it should
however fail, the draft resolution next to the first one will be voted
on. Once one has been approved, or all have been voted on, one
moves on to the next topic.
MOTIONS &
POINTS
Point of inquiry: Used to ask the chair a question about the rules of
procedure.

Point of parliamentary enquiry: Raised when a delegate believes the

committee is not following proper parliamentary procedure.

Point of personal privilege: Used when a delegate experiences

discomfort that hinders their ability to participate in the proceedings
ex use the bathroom or if another speaker is inaudible.

Point of information: A question, normally after a delegate has

delivered his speech. This gives you a chance to contradict or
enhance the speech made by a delegate.

Right To Reply: A delegate may request this if their personal or

national integrity has been insulted by another delegate.

Set Speakers Time: A motion to change the default speakers time of

the general speakers list

Moderated Caucus: A less formal discussion where a new speaker is

chosen directly after the previous speaker finishes. It is usually on a
more narrow topic (than the General Speakers List, which allows a
delegate to speak about anything related to the topic at hand) and it
takes a majority of votes to pass it. This motion requires specification
of general time and speaker's time.

Unmoderated Caucus: The ability to move freely around the room,

speak to anyone and write resolutions. Usually the most effective
time to lobby and build / maintain coalitions. This motion requires
specification of general length of time.
Point of inquiry: Used to ask the chair a question about the rules of
procedure.

Introduce Draft Resolution: This needs to be done to officially discuss

the draft by name and have it on the floor is closure of debate is
motioned for

Close Debate: A motion for the committee to end debate and more
into voting procedure

Vote clause by clause: A motion to vote on each clause of the

resolution individually in numeric order. This is usually done with the
purpose

Vote roll call: A Motion to have each country declare verbally if they
are “For”, “Against”, “Pass” or “Abstain” (and add “With Rights”,
which means they get to speak after the vote)

Suspend Meeting / Table Debate: Motion to put the session on hold,

generally for lunch or coffee.

Adjourn Meeting: Motion to completely end the committee session

until the next conference.
Resolutions
Who writes a resolution?: Any delegate in the committee can 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 come to a consensus.

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 those issues. It’s called a draft resolution before it is
voted upon and then called a resolution after it is successfully
passed during the voting bloc.

When and where are resolutions written?: Most conferences require

students to write resolutions during the conference. 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.

Formatting of a Resolution: A Model United Nations resolution will

start with a title of sorts, identifying it as a “Draft Resolution” and it
will specify which revision it is. The top section, under the “Draft
Resolution” will contain the following, each on separate lines:
Committee – name the committee here. Topic – the topic of the
resolution here. It is also important to note that a draft resolution
will be considered finished if a full stop is used after a sentence.
Avoid the use of full stops till the end of the draft resolution. The
The resolution must be in bullet points. Kindly follow the prescribed
format character by character. Any deviations from the given format
shall lead to the scrapping of the resolution. An Example has also
been given for reference.

Sponsors and Signatories: In alphabetical order, list the sponsors and

signatories. Sponsors should vote yes for the resolution unless there
is a justification for them not to, such as a key clause getting
removed during the voting procedure. Signatories are not obligated
to vote in favor and can want the topic discussed.

Preambulatory Clauses: Use them to cite past resolutions, precedents,

and statements about the purpose of action. The first word of each
preambulatory clause must be italicized. The Preambulatory clauses
include phrases such as “Emphasizing”, “Affirming”, “Recalling”.