MUNA Instruction Booklet 2015
Alfrink College
Werflaan 25
2725 DE Zoetermeer
The Netherlands
www.munalfrink.nl
www.facebook.com/MUNAlfrink
www.twitter.com/MUNAlfrink
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to Model United Nations
3
MUNA Committees
4
Issues on the agenda
5
Participation at the Conference
6
Course of the Debate
7
Points and Motions
11
Preparation and Research
11
Sample Policy Statement
14
Resolution Writing
14
Sample Resolution
17
Introductory Phrases
18
General Preparation to MUNs
Some suggested activities to prepare students
19
Final Assignment
24
Practical Information
25
MUN Terminology
26
2
INTRODUCTION TO MODEL UNITED NATIONS
The Model United Nations Programme
The Model United Nations Programme is an extra-curricular programme in which students
simulate the work of the real United Nations. They represent the member nations of the United
Nations and the organizations active in the UN. The students will be addressing issues faced by
the United Nations, a number of different issues reaching from the improvement of the
environment to the settlement of disputes. There are many Model United Nations conferences in
the world, with MUNA being one of them.
The MUN-programme is a unique learning programme. It enables you to learn about international
affairs and global issues, about different countries and organizations. Apart from that it is a great
way for students to practice their English language skills as well as develop debating and
lobbying skills. The MUN-programme also enables you to meet different people from all over the
globe. Participating in the MUN-programme is a truly unique experience.
Alfrink College and the Model United Nations
MUNA stands for Model United Nations Alfrink and is the annual simulation of the United Nations
held at Alfrink College in Zoetermeer. Alfrink College has been involved in the Model United
Nations Program for many years.
Starting as a small project for only Alfrink students in 2005, MUNA has grown to become a
friendly and international Model United Nations with approximately 300 delegates each year. With
grabbing subjects, absorbing questions and fierce debates, MUNA 2015 is a challenge you
shouldn’t miss as an experienced debater. Yet, MUNA is proud to be a ‘starters’ conference and
gives beginners a chance as well. Consequently, every committee will start with a workshop,
which will cover MUN language, terminology and procedures, as described in this handbook.
More details about MUNA can be found on our website: www.munalfrink.nl
3
MUNA COMMITTEES
The MUNA conference will have a number of different committees. The purpose of
these different committees is to address issues on certain topics. Most but not all
committees at MUNA are based on the committees present at the real United Nations.
The committee will be headed by two or three student officers who are responsible for
chairing the committee. The committees at this years’ MUNA will be:
The Security Council
The Security Council is the most powerful body in the United Nations and deals with
questions regarding international security. The Security Council at MUNA will have one
or two delegates representing each nation. MUNA always selects the countries that
were present in the SC of the real UN in the year before the MUNA conference. The
permanent members China, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the
Russian Federation and France are always present. The permanent five have veto
power.
The Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is a supra governmental organization, located in Strasbourg,
that focuses on human rights issues in Europe. The Council of Europe adopt the
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and makes sure that these
rights are legally binding to all member states that signed the statute of the Council of
Europe and that ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.
General Assembly Committees
Each committees will have one delegate per country. These delegates will be
representing their country’s policy in those committees. After the sub-committees of the
General Assembly have debated and approved a number of resolutions one or two of
these approved resolutions will be addressed in the plenary
session of the General Assembly. The General Assembly sub-committees will address
3 or 4 issues per committee.
General Assembly 1 - Disarmament and International Security
This committee will focus on issues concerning disarmament and international security.
This is the equivalent of the First committee of United Nations General Assembly.
MUNA will not have another separate disarmament committee.
General Assembly 2 - Human Rights
At the real UN the Second Committee deals with Economic and Financial issues.
Human rights issues at the real UN are discussed in the Human Rights Committee.
Because we have limited classrooms available at MUNA we have no room for more
than nine committees. Therefore we decided to run a GA2 on human rights. The
permanent five of the Security Council are present in our GA2 on human rights while
this is not the case in the Human Rights Committee at the real UN.
4
General assembly 3 - Environmental, Humanitarian and Health Issues
This committee will focus on a number of different issues concerning current
Environmental, Humanitarian and Health Issues that affect people all over the world.
Because of the pressing issue of the environment, MUNA added environment to its
"Third committee", and gave it a slightly different name than the name used at the real
UN for its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).
General assembly 4 - Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL)
This commission of Special and Political decolonization (SPECPOL) is mainly
concerned about the well being of non-self-governing territories, such as ex-colonies. It
focuses on resolving the issues concerning the road to independence in a peaceful
way. Over the years the focus of GA 4 has changed from dealing with ex colonies to
border issues and issues regarding (new) territories in general. For example GA4 is
also concerned about protecting natural resources and protecting the rights of
indigenous people.
Crisis Committee
The crisis committee is a committee in which delegates must respond quickly and
decisively to sudden dramatic political, social, or environmental events. These events
(or 'crises') become more intense and interconnected during the course of the
conference, usually culminating in large-scale disasters by the
end of the day, unless delegates are able to prevent them.
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
The Economic and Social Council is one of the primary organs of the United Nations
which is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, economic and social
progress.
Special Conference about Enlightenment
The Special Conference at MUNA is a committee that debates issues that are directly
linked to the conference theme. As every conference has a different conference theme,
the issues in the Special Conference change every year accordingly. This year's
Special Conference will be about Enlightenment. The MUNA staff uses this year a
broad interpretation of the UN theme for 2015: ‘International year of light’, linking this
topic for example to achieving universal primary and secondary education and setting a
post 2015 Millenum Development Goals agenda.
ISSUES ON THE AGENDA
On the MUNA website www.munalfrink.nl you can view the issues that will be debated
in each committee this year.
5
PARTICIPATION AT THE CONFERENCE
The first time at a MUN-conference may be overwhelming. Participating may appear
complex, but it basically all hinges on the two following points:
•
•
Lobbying & negotiating
Debate
Lobbying and Merging
The first point on the agenda at MUNA is lobbying. You come to Model United Nations
Alfrink with a resolution on each issue that will be debated in your committee.
Lobbying gives you the opportunity to interest other delegates with your solutions to
world problems stated in your resolutions. You negotiate with other delegates in your
committee and try to influence them with your ideas, and try to convince them of the
brilliance of the draft resolution you wrote.
If you have almost no points in common it is better to find another delegate to figure out
a way to cooperate, and to start merging: you form a group of two or more delegates
and you start merging all the resolutions everyone made into a big one, which contains
all the good points from the different resolutions.
When you’ve finished merging, you again start lobbying with your new resolution
(together with the others from your merging-group). You try to find as many supporters
of your resolution as possible, who are willing to ‘co-submit’. If you don’t find enough
co-submitters, your resolution will not be discussed in your Assembly and that would be
a shame after all the hard work you put into creating it.
Approval Panel
The Approval Panel is a group of chairs, teachers and MUN-Directors whose task it is
to assist students in correcting the resolutions after merging. They will ensure that the
resolutions are written in “proper” English according to the correct format.
6
COURSE OF THE DEBATE
Rules of Procedure
The debates in the General Assembly committees 1, 2, 3 and 4 all have the same
structure. These debates will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday
afternoon the four above mentioned committees will form the General Assembly. The
structure of the debate in the General Assembly is the same as the structure in the
committees, but amendments will not be allowed.
Structure of the debate in a GA committee
After the official opening by the Chair, the resolutions made by the members of the
Assembly will be discussed.
1.
The Chairs will decide which resolutions that are approved by the Approval panel
will be discussed and in what order.
2.
The Chair will cal upon the main submitter of the resolution to read out the
operative clauses.
3.
After this, the Chair sets debate time. For instance first 10 minutes in favour and
then 10 minutes against the resolution.
4
Firstly, the main submitter has the floor. He or she will have the time to defend
the resolution, for example by explaining why the plans in the resolution are a
solution to the issue. After the main submitter has finished his or her speech, the
Chair will ask if the speaker is open to ‘Points of Information’. In other words, is
the main submitter willing to take questions from other delegates.
There are three options:
•
•
•
The speaker can be open to all Points of Information and just answer all
questions.
The speaker can be open to a certain number of questions. (You can for
instance say “I’m open to two Points of Information.”)
The speaker is not open to Points of Information. This isn’t advisable, because it
may look unprofessional. However, when you’ve just made a short statement
and you are absolutely sure that everyone understood what you meant, not
being open to a Point of Information can look quite effective.
After the speaker has finished answering Points of Information,
5.
•
7
He or she has to ‘Yield the Floor’ to someone else, either to the Chair or another
delegation.
Chair: The Chair can now decide who the next speaker will be. The Chair can
ask for the delegates who request the floor, to raise their placards. It is also
possible for the Chair to call on a delegate, who doesn’t request the floor, but
should speak anyway in the interest of debate.
•
Delegation: It is also possible for the speaker to Yield the Floor to another
delegation. In that case you say: “I yield the floor to <name of the delegation>”.
The longest ‘yield-chain’ consists of two links. For instance, the Netherlands can
yield the floor to Sweden, but Sweden can then not yield the floor to Spain, but
only to the Chair.
The whole process of giving a speech, entertaining Points of Information and Yielding
the Floor will repeat itself, when another delegate is taking the floor.
When debate time has elapsed, the debate will go into a certain number of minutes
against and follow the same procedure as debating in favour of the resolution.
The Chair can also call for an open debate, allowing delegates to speak in favour or
against a resolution.
6.
Amendments
During the debate delegates have the opportunity to submit amendments. An
amendment is a suggested change of a point (a clause) in the resolution. All
amendments must be submitted to the Chair, on a separate amendment sheet,
that will be available in each committee. The Chair will give you the floor when
you can read out and explain the amendment.
7.
Voting Procedure
To vote on the amendments and resolution. You can vote either in favour,
against or you can abstain. Don’t try to abstain too often. It is better to show that
you really have an opinion on the resolution. You cannot abstain on an
amendment. Non Member Delegations (such as NGO’s) do not have the right to
vote.
The debates in the ECOSOC, the Special Conference and the Council of Europe have
the same structure, only they will not have a certain number of minutes in favour and
against, but an ‘open debate’, so you can either speak in favour or against at all times.
Two committees follow a different procedure:
Crisis Committee
Delegates of the Crisis Committee don’t have to prepare resolutions about topics for
MUNA. The Chairs will not give any information before the conference about the issues
that will be debated. The chairs will confront the delegates at MUNA with shocking
events. The delegates have to respond to these events and try to solve the issues by
writing resolutions on the spot. So called ad hoc resolution writing and ad hoc debating
(see procedure Security Council).
This doesn’t mean that delegates don’t have to prepare for this committee. They need
to know precisely what the foreign policy of their country is and who their country’s
partners are. They also need to be informed about the latest pressing global events that
most likely will be discussed in the committee at MUNA.
8
Security Council
Security Council members prepare themselves the same as they would for other
committees. However, the Security Council does not follow the same course of debate
as other Committees, but it has a so-called ‘ad-hoc debate’. This debate follows the
same structure as normal debate, but it does not
start with an entire resolution: the resolution is built up clause by clause during the
debate. This however does not mean that delegates of this council won’t need a
resolution beforehand. It is often useful to have prepared some clauses for each issue,
because it is hard to write good clauses while having to pay attention to the debate.
Furthermore delegates in the Security Council need to be well informed about the latest
pressing global issues and they should know the stance of their country regarding
those issues as well as be well informed about who their partners are. Because this is
the most powerful committee, schools should select their best students for this
committee and the students should be very well prepared.
9
POINTS AND MOTIONS
During debate, several points and motions can arise. These can never interrupt a
speaker, unless you can’t hear what the speaker is saying, and then you can rise to a
‘point of personal privilege’. If you want to make a point, you have to raise your placard
and when you’re recognized by the Chair, you have to stand up and state your point.
Motions can be made by speaking up without first being acknowledged by the chair.
However, it is a matter of courtesy to wait until a delegate has finished a speech before
you put forward a motion.
When others agree with your motion, they can call out: ‘Second!’ and if they definitely
don’t agree, they have to call out ‘Objection!’
The most important points and motions used during MUNA are listed below.
Point of Order
A Point of Order is used to point out a misuse of the rules. For instance, when the Chair
forgets to give the floor to the submitter of an amendment, you can call out: ‘Point of
order!’. The Chair will recognize you and correct himself if your point is valid.
Point of Information
A Point of Information is a question, directed to the speaker who has the floor. Points of
Information are always questions concerning the contents of the debate.
Point of Personal Privilege
If anything bothers you and you would like to see it changed, you have to say ‘Point of
Personal
Privilege!’. If your problem is that you can’t hear the speaker, then you can mention it
during the speech. If your discomfort is that it is too hot and you would like to see that a
window is opened, you also have to use a ‘point of personal privilege’, but you cannot
interrupt a speaker for that.
Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
When you’re not sure about what is happening or what should happen during the
debate, you have to say: ‘Point of parliamentary inquiry!’. When the Chair recognizes
you, you can rise and ask your question. For instance if you can’t remember if you’re
allowed to abstain on an amendment, you ask the Chair by using a ‘point of
parliamentary inquiry’.
Motion to Move into Voting Procedures
When debating time hasn’t expired yet, but you feel that there is nothing left to say and
that the Assembly should vote on the Resolution, you can call out ‘Motion to move into
voting procedures!’. If there aren’t any objections, the house will vote.
Motion to Extend Debating Time
This motion is the opposite of the previous. When debating time has elapsed, but you
feel that there is still more to say about the Resolution, you can ask the Chair to let the
Assembly debate it a little bit
longer by using this motion.
10
Motion to Call for a Division of the House
If there is a very small difference between the number of votes in favour and against and
you want a recount, you can use this motion. If the Chair agrees that there should be a
recount, he will ask every
delegation to call out their vote one by one.
Motion to Table the Resolution
If you believe during a debate that the resolution, isn’t worth discussing anymore and
should be saved for later, you can say: ‘Motion to table the resolution!’. If the majority
agrees, the resolution will be put on the bottom of the resolution-pile of your forum. You
should have a good reason to motion to table a resolution, because it can be rude for
the submitters of the resolution. Especially because there is a chance that there won’t be
any time left for the tabled resolution and then all the hard work of the submitters was
done for nothing.
PREPARATION AND RESEARCH
Research
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the issue?
What is the background to the issue?
Is the issue related to recent events?
Who is involved in the issue? (For example, NGOs, countries, organizations,
government)
What has been done to solve the issue? (For example, agreements, actions
taken, previous resolutions)
Has it been effective? Why or why not?
Country Policy (on the country you are representing)
General information:
•
Is the country a LEDC (lesser economically developed country) or a MEDC
(more economically developed country)? For example, does the country have a
low standard of living? Ordoes the country have widespread poverty?
•
What type of government does the country have? For example, a dictatorship or
a democracy.
•
Which nations are my country’s allies? For example, what are the country’s
trading partners?
•
What are the greatest difficulties or issues my country faces? For example, a
civil war, or economic recession.
11
Geological information:
Location
•
Does the country border any other countries?
•
How big is the country?
•
Is the country landlocked?
Natural resources:
•
Does your country have a lot of natural resources?
•
To what extent is your country dependent on the import of energy resources?
•
What is the overall energy policy of your country?
Economic information:
•
What does the country import or export?
•
Does the country rely on import?
•
Is the economy in my country stable?
Cultural information:
•
What religion is most common in my country?
*
Are there any tensions between different religions?
•
Which ethnic groups live in my country and are there clashes between them?
Information Concerning the Issue
•
Is my country directly involved in the issue? And if so what is my country’s point
of view on the issue?
•
On whose ‘side’ is the government of the country you are representing
concerning the issue?
•
Is my country indirectly involved? Is your country a peacekeeper nation? Does
your country’s
economy suffer from the issue? Does the problem concern one of your country’s
allies?
•
Has the country signed any treaties concerning the issue, and if not, why hasn’t
the country signed it?
NGO/UNO Policy
What is the purpose of the organization? For example, Amnesty International is working
to protect Human Rights.
•
•
•
•
•
12
How does it attempt to achieve this?
How is the NGO/UNO organized? For example, where does it get its funding
from?
Where does the NGO/UNO mainly operate?
Is the NGO/UNO affiliated to other organizations?
Is the NGO/UNO directly or indirectly involved in the issue?
Policy Statement
All delegates have to write a policy statement about each issue on the agenda in their
committe before getting started on preparing a resolution. A policy statement is a brief
explanation of their country’s view regarding the issues. It can be seen as a sort of
summary of your research, and as a base for writing your resolution. Usually, a policy
statement includes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
a summary of the main points of the issue;
a summary of recent international action taken related to the question;
reference to key documents and previous UN resolutions relating the issue;
and specific suggestions for a solution to the question.
What has been done already and what has been effective and hence should be
continued?
Are there new developments regarding the issue that should be considered?
What would be the best possible issue?
How can I combine the solution with my country’s or NGO/UNO policy?
Research Reports
The chairs of each committee or council have made research reports on the issues on
the agenda to get you started and to point you in the right direction. You can view the
research reports on the MUNA website. Go to issues and click on the issues of your
committee. If the research reports have not been uploaded yet don’t be afraid to ask
your Chair via the form on the website. The Chairs are looking forward to helping you
with your research.
Sites
Here are some sites that will give you reliable and useful information on your country or
NGO/UNO when you are doing research. International newspapers, such as the New
York Times often feature
articles on a variety of countries from around the world.
www.un.org
www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/
www.ciafactbook.gov
www.guardian.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
www.cnn.com/WORLD
www.globalpolicy.org
www.countryreports.org
www.globalissues.com
On the website under main bodies you will find more useful links
13
How to prepare for a MUN conference
More tips on how to prepare yourself for the conference: check out the fantastic guide
created by Uday Rai Mehra: http://dogamun.com/junior/wpcontent/uploads/2014/01/How_to_Help_Mun_Delegates_Become_Prepared.pdf
SAMPLE POLICY STATEMENT
DELEGATION: Kenya
FORUM: GA 3: Environmental, Humanitarian and Health Issues
QUESTION OF: The drought and food crisis in the sub-Saharan countries
Africa’s food shortages have reached famine levels. The food shortages are being
blamed on unpredictable weather as a result of climate change. Floods and droughts
over the last two or three years have badly affected agricultural production, and have
pushed up food prices. Most affected are the sub-Saharan countries and farmers on the
countryside. About 3 million people are estimated to be facing starvation as a result of
the food insecurity.
Governments of various sub-Saharan countries have sent food relief to the areas
hardest hit. The crisis could have been averted, as potential problems could have been
picked up by local authorities and the government before now. New technology could be
used to help prevent serious problems, rather than waiting for disaster to strike before
acting. The Ugandan government has called for US $79 million to help fight the famine.
NGO’s and agencies, such as Amref and Farm-Africa play a key role in collecting
information and helping the villagers by getting food aid delivered to them directly.
Kenya is asking for financial support from members of the UN to deal with the crisis, and
in the long term, to invest in new technologies and in crops that are less reliant on
rainfall for example, to help its people cope with future erratic weather conditions.
RESOLUTION WRITING
What Is A Resolution?
 A resolution is a formal statement of a proposal to a UN Council, Committee or
Commission. It consists of one long, but coherent, sentence divided into clauses
and sub-clauses. A resolution should not represent the position of one country but
rather of a majority of the UN member states.
Do I Have to Write a Resolution?
 Before the MUNA conference, you will write a resolution about at least two issues
on the agenda in your comittee. The issues of the resolutions can be found in the
agenda of the conference.
 Resolution packets are distributed to delegates by their advisors in mid April and
14
How To Write A Resolution
 The language of a UN resolution is very formal, diplomatic and somewhat
legalistic. In order to help you, please read the 4 following questions:
A – What is the preamble?
The preamble is the introduction of the resolution. It contains the background and
the argumentation to the issue you have chosen.
B – How to write the preambulatory clauses?
You will write your references to former UN resolutions, ratified
conventions, and/or declarations. You will provide official figures, the most
recent ones possible, to illustrate the issue. You will congratulate countries
and/or organizations (i.e. UN organizations, NGOs) which have worked on
the issue. You will emphasize the difficulties that have been encountered in
the past. You will need to begin the preambulatory clauses with a present
or a past participle or an adjective. See the list on one of the following pages.
C – What are the operative clauses?
The operative clauses contain the policy statements of the body making the
resolution. The clauses should be clear and unambiguous. They present by order
of importance what the UN should do or what attitude it should adopt.
D –How to write the operative clauses?
This question is the most difficult one. You must ensure that your proposals are
actually workable and that they fully reflect the existing policies of the country or
agency that you represent. You encourage, and/or invite countries to sign/ratify a
convention/declaration. You may propose, welcome or deplore all new situations.
You may support, congratulate or refuse new proposals. You may confirm, or
regret what already exists. You have to begin the operative clauses with verbs in
the third person singular of the Present Tense. See a list on one of the following
pages.
15
Please realise this while writing a resolution
Rather than just borrowing/copying clauses from UN resolutions or resolutions from
previous conferences, you will be in a much better position to defend and debate during
the conference if you write your own resolution from scratch.
How to Present A Resolution

The heading will appear in the upper-left hand corner of the page and it should
include the following:
Committee Name
(Main)Sponsor(s)/Main Submitter(s): .....
Signatories/Co-Sponsors/Co-submitters: ........
Topic/Issue:

16
The opening verb of each clause is underlined. There is a line-space between
each clause. The lines of the preambulatory clauses are NOT numbered. Each
operative clause IS numbered. The sub-clauses begin with a), b), c), etc.; subsub-clauses begin with i), ii), iii), etc. Acronyms and abbreviation are written out in
full the first time they are used. Each preambulatory clause is followed by a
comma. Each operative clause is followed by a semicolon. There is only one full
stop, that is, at the END of the resolution.
Sample Resolution
Ask your teacher to hand-out the sample resolution your teacher can find under
documents when he or she has signed in on the MUNA website.
Another example of a resolution you can find below:
General Assembly Third Committee
Sponsors: United States, Austria and Italy
Signatories: Greece, Tajikistan, Japan, Canada, Mali, the Netherlands and Gabon
Topic: "Strengthening UN coordination of humanitarian assistance in complex
emergencies"
Reminding all nations of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the inherent dignity, equality and
inalienable rights of all global citizens, [use commas to separate preambulatory
clauses]
Reaffirming its Resolution 33/1996 of 25 July 1996, which encourages Governments to
work with UN bodies aimed at improving the coordination and effectiveness of
humanitarian assistance,
Noting with satisfaction the past efforts of various relevant UN bodies and
nongovernmental organizations,
Stressing the fact that the United Nations faces significant financial obstacles and is in
need of reform, particularly in the humanitarian realm,
1. Encourages all relevant agencies of the United Nations to collaborate more
closely with countries at the grassroots level to enhance the carrying out of relief
efforts; [use semicolons to separate operative clauses]
2. Urges member states to comply with the goals of the UN Department of
Humanitarian Affairs to streamline efforts of humanitarian aid;
3. Requests that all nations develop rapid deployment forces to better enhance the
coordination of relief efforts of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies;
4. Calls for the development of a United Nations Trust Fund that encourages
voluntary donations from the private transnational sector to aid in funding the
implementation of rapid deployment forces;
5. Stresses the continuing need for impartial and objective information on the
political, economic and social situations and events of all countries;
6. Calls upon states to respond quickly and generously to consolidated appeals for
humanitarian assistance; and
7. Requests the expansion of preventive actions and assurance of post-conflict
assistance through reconstruction and development. [end resolutions with a
period]
- See more at: http://www.unausa.org/global-classrooms-model-un/how-toparticipate/model-un-preparation/resolutions/sample-resolution#sthash.3XyO0Ewq.dpuf
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PHRASES FOR INTRODUCING RESOLUTIONS
Every clause of your resolution has to start with one of the phrases stated below. There
are separate phrases for pre-ambulatory clauses and operative clauses. Some phrases
only delegates of the SecurityCouncil are allowed to use (of course they can also use
the other phrases). These phrases are listed separately.
Pre-Ambulatory Phrases
Acknowledging
Affirming
Alarmed by
Approving
Aware of
Bearing in mind
Believing
Confident
Congratulating
Conscious
Contemplating
Convinced
Declaring
Deeply concerned
Deeply conscious
Deeply convinced
Deeply disturbed
Deeply regretting
Desiring
Emphasizing
Expecting
Expressing its
appreciation
Expressing its concern
Expressing its
satisfaction
Fully alarmed
Fully aware
Fully believing
Further recalling
Guided by
Having adopted
Having considered
Having devoted
attention
Having examined
Having heard
Having received
Having studied
Keeping in mind
Noting
Noting further
Noting with appreciation
Noting with approval
Noting with deep
concern
Noting with regret
Noting with satisfaction
Observing
Pointing out
Reaffirming
Realizing
Recalling
Recognizing
Referring
Reminding Seeking
Stressing
Taking into account
Taking into
consideration
Taking note
Viewing with
appreciation
Welcoming
Further recommends
Further requests
Further resolves
Hopes
Insists
Invites
Proclaims
Proposes
Reaffirms
Recommends
Regrets
Requests
Resolves
Seeks
Stresses
Strongly affirms
Strongly urges
Suggests
Supports
Trusts
Urge
Operative Phrases
Affirms
Approves
Asks
Authorizes
Calls for
Calls upon
Confirms
Congratulates
Emphasizes
Encourages
Endorses
Expresses its
appreciation
Expresses its hope
Further invites
Further proclaims
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Security Council Pre-Ambulatory Phrases
Declaring
Deploring
Further deploring
Decides
Further declaring
Security Council Operative Phrases
Condemns
Decides
Declares
Declares accordingly
Deplores
Designates
Strongly condemns
GENERAL PREPARATION TO MUNS
Below you will find some suggested activities that might be helpful preparing your
students for the conference.
Explanation of Certain Phrases for Introducing Resolutions:
Phrases
To
acknowledge
To affirm
To recognize
Concern
To recall
To observe
To reaffirm
To
contemplate
To approve
To endorse
To proclaim
To call for
To call upon
To confirm
To urge
To resolve
To deplore
To designate
To declare
To encourage
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Explanation
To accept or admit that something exists, is true
Function
Pre-amb
To state that something is true and you agree with it
To accept that something is true or important
Feeling of Worry
To make you feel something you have felt or experienced
in the past
To accept and obey something such as a rule or
agreement
To formally state something again, repetition of affirm
To consider carefully
Pre+Oper
Pre-amb
Pre-amb
To give official agreement or permission
To express support someone or something in public
To state something publicly
To say publicly that something should happen
To officially ask a person or organization to do something
To formally support something and allow it to happen
To advise someone very strongly about their attitude or
actions
To find a satisfactory way of dealing with a disagreement
To condemn (because of immoral grounds)
To formally choose someone or something for a particular
purpose
To announce officially
To provide conditions that help something to happen
Pre+Oper
Operative
Operative
Operative
Operative
Operative
Operative
Pre-amb
Pre+Oper
Pre-amb
Operative
SC
SC
Pre+SC
Operative
Exercise:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
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Fill in the appropriate word from the grid on the former page
Rebel forces say they will no longer ……………… the peace treaty.
Nobody has been……………… as Head of the Peace keeping operation yet.
The U.N. has ……………… them to honour the peace treaty.
Several newspapers were ……………… his resignation.
The year’s budget package has been formally ……………… by parliament.
The parliament’s decision still has to be ……………… in a referendum.
Saudi Arabia is pressing for a U.N. resolution that would ……………… the
alleged Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
The school ………………its commitment to its students.
The crisis was ……………… by negotiation.
Australia ………………its support for the agreement.
He never ……………… his mistakes.
She ……………… most of her conversation with the President.
I haven’t got time to sit around and ……………… the meaning of life.
Many people expressed……………… over moves to restore the death penalty.
All ……………… the treaty as critically important to achieve peace
Poor hygiene ……………… the spread of disease.
The human rights group has ……………… the US to end the death penalty.
They still ……………… that their policy was successful.
Tomorrow the House can ……………… its endorsement of the resolution.
Most fishermen……………… the need to limit fishing.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR DEBATING
All phrases mentioned below consist of your delegation name, one of the phrases,
followed by your statement. Syntax: [delegation] + [one of the phrases] + [statement]
e.g. The delegation of France strongly objects to the purge of Christians
… is absolutely certain that…
… is afraid this is unacceptable…
… is convinced that…
… is of the opinion that…
… assumes that…
… can imagine why…
… cannot take this seriously…
… couldn’t agree more…
… has (not) decided to …
… has no intention to …
… intends to …
… strongly objects to …
… supposes that …
… understands your indignation …
… will explain why …
… wishes to complain about …
To … it is obvious that …
To… it seems that …
… feels disappointed about …
… holds the view that …
… resents the implication that..
Other Frequently used Phrases
With reference to the previous speaker …
According to [your delegation] there is no excuse for …
What the delegate of [your delegation] is really saying is that…
Is the delegate of [other nation] aware that…
Does(n’t) the delegate of [other nation] agree that…
In reaction to previous points…
Following up what the delegate of [other nation] just said…
Regarding the point made by [other delegation] …
Having heard the arguments made by [other delegation] …
In response to what has just been said …
Is the honourable delegate aware of the fact that …
I yield the floor back to the chair
Exercise
Practices these phrases with your neighbour
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USEFUL LINKING WORDS FOR DEBATING AND SPEECHES
All in All
Although
As
As a consequence
As a result
Because
Compared to
Consequently
Contrary to
Equally
Even though
First
For
For example
For instance
Hardly
However
In brief
In comparison with
In contrast to
In short
In spite of
Instead
Last merely
Moreover
Nonetheless
On the one hand
On the other hand
Scarcely
Similarly
Since
Still
Summing up
Therefore
Thus explaining
To a certain extent
To a large degree
To conclude
Whereas
Yet
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Exercise: Put the above-mentioned phrases into one of the following categories:
Comparing
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Conclusion
Contradiction Explanation
Ranking
Result
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
In order to prepare more in detail for the conference your teachers can ask you to
write a paper (for a mark?).
A good outline of a MUNA paper could look like this:
Introduction
Introduce briefly country and issues, include research questions and work scheme.
Use the policy statement you prepared for MUNA!
Chapter 1 Overview of your country, focus on a political profile.
Chapter 2 Overview of the issues
Start every issue with a research question
Chapter 3 Your country’s policy on the issues
Chapter 4 Your goals and strategy for the MUNA conference
•
What do you want to achieve (goals/targets)?
•
How do you want to achieve your goals?
Evaluation of the MUNA Conference
•
Did you achieve your goals?
•
What went fine?
•
What was hard to achieve?
•
What would you do differently next time?
•
What did you learn from participating in MUNA?
•
Any tips for future participants?
Appendix: At least two written resolutions.
Marking Grid, based on Dutch marking system (1-10)
S= Sufficient: 8*S = mark 6.
I= Insufficient (you lose 0.5 point for each insufficient)
G =Good (you winn 0.5 point for each sufficient)
Introduction
Overview country, incl.
country assessment
Issue 1
Country’s views
Goals and Strategy
Evaluation
Resolutions
Level
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I S
G
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Modes of Address
A MUN debate is a very formal means of discussion. Therefore Delegates and Chairs
have to follow certain rules and have to use some formal phrases. The most important
rules and phrases for delegates are listed below.
•
•
•
•
When you give a speech, you have to address the Presidents/Chairs and the
other Delegates
first, e.g. ‘Distinguished chairs, honourable delegates…’
You are not allowed to use the word ‘I’, because you are representing the
opinion of another
country or organization. You would, for example, have to say: ‘France is in
favour of this clause,
because…’
When you have finished your speech (and have answered Points of
Information), you can say ‘I yield the floor to the chair’ In this case you are
allowed to use the word ‘I’, because it is just about you as a speaker.
You are not allowed to address other Delegates by saying ‘you’. So you should
begin a Point of Information with ‘Is the honourable delegate (not) aware of the
fact that…’ instead of ‘Are you aware’, for example.
Notes and official note paper
During the meetings you can send notes to Delegates in your Committee. Admins will
screen it and pass it on if the content is okay. Messages not related to the meeting
and informal messages will not
be passed on. For example: a note asking another Delegate what he is doing in the
evening will not be passed on. A message such as “What do you think of sub-clause
3?” or “I’m for this Resolution, back me up when I give my speech” is perfectly fine,
and will be passed onto the addressee.
The notepaper should be official. Therefore your delegation must create its own
notepaper, with official letterhead and logo identifying the country your delegation
represents, before the conference.
Opening Speeches
During the opening ceremonies of MUNA a limited number of country’s ambassadors
will get the opportunity to give an opening speech of one minute. They will be notified
in advance. You may not insult other members of the United Nations or present your
own delegation in an unworthy fashion.
Dress Code
To emphasize the serious and diplomatic nature of the conference, all Delegates must
be dressed appropriately. This means that men have to wear a suit and tie, and for
girls a skirt or smart trousers and a blouse (preferably with jacket, below the knee).
Access may be denied to meetings if you are not dressed appropriately. This year the
MUNA staff will be extra strict concerning the dress code, so think before you dress!
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MUN-TERMINOLOGY
Ad-hoc debate
A debate that does not start with an entire resolution, but in which
a resolution is built up clause by clause during the
debate. This type of debate is used in the Security Council
and Crisis Committee.
Administrative Staff The assistants of the Chair. They assist in voting procedures
and passing notes
Amendment
An amendment is an alteration to a specific part of the
resolution. The intention of a proposed amendment should be to
improve the resolution, thus helping the resolution to
pass. Amendments are either of the first or the second
degree
Amendment
of the first degree An amendment made to a resolution.
Amendment
of the second
degree
An amendment made to an amendment of the first degree.
Chair
The person who is in charge of the debate. The Chair
decides who may speak, what is and what is not in order.
The Chair’s decision is always final.
Co-submitter
A delegation that supports the resolution before the debate has
started.
Delegate
A member of a delegation.
Delegation
A group of delegates representing a certain country or
organization.
Executive Staff
Students in charge of the organization of the MUN- conference.
General Assembly The General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative body of
the UN.
International
Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial
organ of the UN. It settles, in accordance with international
law, the legal disputes between States and gives advisory
opinions on legal questions.
Lobbying
The negotiating, concerning resolutions, between delegates
before
The actual debate.
Main submitter
The delegation submitting the resolution. The main submitter will
read out the operative clauses at the start of a debate
and will give the first speech.
Merging
The process where several draft resolutions are put together and
become one resolution, which can be discussed in the
forum.
MUN-director
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The teachers accompanying the students from a school
MUNA-staff
These are the people who are responsible for the organization
of the MUNA-conference.
NAC
The highest decision-making body of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization. NGOs are not allowed to
vote.
NMD
Non-Member Delegation (NGOs, OOs and UNOs) Non
Member Delegations are representatives of organizations or
nations which are not members of the UN. These NMD’s have
speaking rights but no voting rights.
Operative Clause A clause in a resolution, that tells the reader what the
resolution proposes to do and what measures need to be
taken.
Policy Statement A brief but comprehensive definition of the issue, plus the
relationship to the country’s national interest.
Point of Information A question to gain clarification either to the speaker who has
the floor or to the Chair by a member of the house, who has
been duly recognized by the Chair.
Pre-ambulatory
Clause
A clause in a resolution, which tells the reader what has gone
before, why or on what basis the resolution was written.
President
The person who is in charge of the debate in the General
Assembly.
Resolution
The proposal made by the delegates on how to deal with a
certain issue.
Secretary General The ‘leader’ of the conference.
Security Council
The UN Charter gives the SC primary responsibility for
maintaining international peace and security and the Council
alone
has the power to back up its declarations with actions
to ensure compliance with them.
Special Conference The Special Conference, unlike the other
Committees/Councils, deals with a different topic every year. At
MUNA 2015 the topic will be linked to the MUNA theme: ‘Let there
be Light’.
United Nations
Organization set up after the Second World War, with the aim
to achieve peace, justice and social progress.
UNO
United Nations Organization. UNOs are not allowed to vote.
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