Hope College Model United Nations
Hope College Model United Nations
Introductory General Assembly
Rules and Procedures
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Hope College Model United Nations
IGA Session Rules
I. Presider
The Presider shall preside over the session and direct discussion.
The Presider shall insure the observance of these rules. He / she shall be assisted by a Parliamentarian. Their
decision on all questions will be final.
The Presider shall control debate by recognizing speakers, limiting speaking time, and opening and closing debate.
The Presider reserves the right of refusal if a country delegation has previously spoken twice.
The Presider shall put all questions to a vote and announce all final decisions.
Artificial parliamentary maneuvering will be considered out of order and the Presider, if necessary, may alter the
procedures to ensure fair consideration of amendments.
II. Speakers
No speaker shall address the Assembly without first being recognized by the Presider. Delegates shall signify their
desire to speak by remaining seated and raising their placards. Once recognized, they should proceed to the
nearest microphone.
Speaking time will be made available in an alternating pro/con fashion.
The first two affirmative speakers for an amendment can be designated by the amendment’s primary sponsor.
In order to facilitate completion of the General Assembly’s work, the Presider may limit delegates’ speaking time.
III. Debate
The Presider will make an effort to give an equal amount of speaking time to both pro and con sides before any
votes are taken.
All speeches must pertain to the subject under discussion.
There will be a one minute limit on all speeches. A delegate is allowed to yield any portion of his / her time to a
delegate of a country that has not previously spoken on that issue.
A country will be recognized by the chair to speak on each amendment only once, unless, in the interest of fairness,
the chair deems it necessary to allow a second speech.
IV. Amendments
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All amendments must be mailed to HCMUN by March 1, 2013 (prior to the Model UN simulation).
Two amendments on each resolution will be selected from all of those submitted. The selected amendments will be
distributed prior to the first Panel discussion and Policy Statement.
The four selected amendments will be considered during the two Plenary Sessions. No secondary sponsors will be
needed for these amendments.
Amendments for both of the Plenary Sessions will be selected according to their relevance to the resolution, their
originality, and their ability to be debated.
Amendments for Plenary Sessions 2 and 3 must include the name of the primary sponsor and the supporting
signatures of at least seven other delegations.
Eight amendments will be chosen for each resolution (including those chosen prior to the Simulation). They will be
copied, distributed, and eligible for discussion in the General Assembly. Due to time limitations, only those
amendments chosen will be debated.
Each amendment will be proposed, debated, and voted on before proceeding to the next amendment.
Amendments cannot be amended.
V. Voting
Each nation has one vote.
Proposals require a two-thirds majority of those voting to pass. Abstentions shall not be figured in the total.
There will be no roll call votes. Voting will be by placards only.
Delegates will remain seated and no notes will be distributed during voting.
Resolutions and amendments cannot be divided for voting.
VI. Closure of Debate, Recess, and Adjournment
A delegate may move for closure of debate or recess during the discussion of either amendments or resolutions, but
the Presider may limit these motions to facilitate the completion of the day’s business.
If there are twenty countries seconding the motion, an immediate vote shall be taken.
If the motion fails, it may not be proposed again during discussion of that issue.
A motion for adjournment is only applicable during discussion of the second resolution. It also requires twenty
seconds.
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Hope College Model United Nations
The Presider may refuse to entertain motions that would prevent the Assembly from completing its tasks
VII. Procedural Motions
A delegate may rise to a point of order whenever the delegate speaking is not following these rules.
A delegate may rise to a point of personal privilege when his / her personal integrity or comfort has been / is being
attacked or compromised, but the Presider can restrict such points to those presented in writing if necessary to
complete the business of the Assembly.
A delegate may also utilize his / her right to rise to a point of inquiry (e.g. to ask the Presider something about
procedure), but due to the large number of delegates this point will be restricted to being submitted in writing
to the Presider.
VIII. Miscellaneous Provisions
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The General Assembly may receive and consider special reports from the Security Council.
The General Assembly shall not make any recommendations about disputes being considered by the Security
Council unless requested to do so by the Council.
A motion may be withdrawn by its primary sponsor any time before voting on it has commenced. The request to do
so must be submitted in writing to the Presider and the Parliamentarian. Another member may assume
sponsorship of any amendment so withdrawn.
After a project has been adopted or rejected it may not be brought up again.
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