NMUN Delegate Preparation Guide - Weebly

1 NMUN D E L E G AT E P R E PA R AT I O N G U I D E. last updated September 2013. national . COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE. association TM. 2013 national model united nations Table of Contents 3. Beginning Your Research and Conference Preparations .. 4. Resources .. 4. Understanding the History, Structure, and Operations of the united nations .. 6. Researching Your State or Non-Governmental Organization .. 7. Researching Your Committee .. 8. Researching Your Agenda Topics .. 10. Position Papers .. 11. Learning the Rules of Procedure .. 11. Public Speaking .. 11. Diplomacy .. 12. The Process of Debate: Understanding the 13. Opening Session .. 13. Formal Debate .. 13. Speakers' Lists .. 13. Informal 14. Resolution and Report Writing at 20. Resolutions Overview .. 20. Reports Overview .. 25. Drafting Working Papers During 26. The national model united nations Rules of Procedure .. 27. The Philosophy Underlying the NMUN Rules of Procedure.

2 27. NMUN Rules of Procedure (Short Form) .. 28. A Narrative of NMUN Rules .. 29. Conference Overview .. 41. The Role of Volunteer Staff Members .. 41. Conference Services .. 42. A Delegate 's ABC (and D) .. 43. 43. Being a Diplomat .. 43. Caucusing .. 43. Decorum .. 44. Appendix: national model united nations New York .. 45. 1. Speakers' Time .. 45. Simulated Committees .. 45. Submitting Position Papers .. 46. Senior Staff .. 47. Committee Officers .. 48. Plenary Sessions, General Committee, and Executive Bureau .. 49. Opening and Closing Ceremonies .. 50. 2. Abbreviations ASG Assistant Secretary-General COS Chiefs of Staff DSG Deputy Secretary-General EB Executive Bureau ECOSOC Economic and Social Council GA General Assembly GC General Committee NGO Non-Governmental Organization NMUN national model united nations SG Secretary-General UN united nations UNODS united nations Official Documents System USG Under-Secretary-General MUN model united nations NCCA national Collegiate Conference Association 3.

3 Beginning Your Research and Conference Preparations national model united nations (NMUN) conferences are held annually in New York City and Washington, DC, with additional conferences in 2013-14 to be held in Songdo International City, Republic of Korea and Portland, These conferences strive to provide attending delegates with knowledge, skills, and experience that will be applicable both during and after their university experience. While NMUN prides itself on having a well-trained volunteer staff, superior resources, and support to delegates before and during each Conference, the quality of these conferences is largely contingent on the Preparation of the delegates . The key to being successful at NMUN is thorough Preparation . It is our recommendation that all delegates become familiar with the following six areas of study. Each area should be addressed in the following order, as each area is progressively more in-depth than the one listed before: Research the structure and history of the united nations .

4 Research your assigned Member State or non-governmental organization;. Research your committee;. Research your role in the committee, such as your country's Delegate being in the leadership of the committee, a major donor, a permanent/non-permanent member, etc.;. Research the agenda topics beyond what is written in the background guides;. Research your country's position on the topics and prepare a position paper outlining your Member State's policies towards the agenda topics. Resources NMUN provides two primary resources for delegates to use in preparing for the conference: the Committee Background Guides (including annotated bibliographies and rules of procedure) and the Topic Updates. All items will be posted on the NMUN web site ( ). Both the Background Guide and the Topic Update should only be viewed as a starting point to begin research. Individual research is crucial and we recommend extensive use of academic literature, scholarly journals, newspaper articles, and official documents or other literature provided by bodies associated with the united nations .

5 Access to many united nations (UN) documents and resolutions is available on the UN treaty database (or via college or law school libraries or the following Web sites): united nations : The website of the united nations , which will enable delegates to access individual committee sites, links to specific issues on the UN's agenda and related information and data, links to missions of Member States to the UN, etc. united nations Bibliographic Information System: This source is one of the most basic and useful sources delegates should be using when preparing for the Conference. It lists all UN documents archived by the UN Dag Hammarskj ld Library and 1 For 2013-2014, the NMUN Conferences are NMUN DC (October 2013); NMUN Korea (November/December 2013);. NMUN Northwest (February 2014) and NMUN NY (March/April 2014). 4. include landmark UN documents, resolutions of UN bodies, meeting and voting records, and press releases.

6 It provides a research Guide to get acquainted with the UN documentation system;. it allows delegates to research by organ or by main issues; in short, this is an excellent gateway to explore the work of the united nations , the agenda items and individual Member States role in the committee. united nations Official Documents System (UNODS): This is another documents database provided by the united nations System, covering all types of official united nations documentation, beginning in 1993. This is a great tool to research specific documents by code as the user interface is relatively simple. It also contains advanced and keyword search functions. united nations Documents (UN-Docs): The latest document service by the united nations allows for direct download of many documents, by entering the document code to the URL provided above, : (2001). It also offers various forms of subscriptions and RSS feeds to many thematic areas.

7 UN Global Issues: This website offers a topic-by-topic research gateway, with information available on dozens of global issues which transcend both state borders and, usually, individual UN agencies or bodies. UN Research Guides & Resources: The newly updated UN Research web site is a great starting point for delegates . Particularly helpful is the UN Documentation Research Guide , which will enable delegates to find any UN. document easily. In addition to these universal databases, many committee sites feature their own documents collections and/or databases. The same holds true for several excellent web sites provided by the UN delegates are highly encouraged to research documents through a combination of the abovementioned tools. PLEASE NOTE: delegates are expected to utilize these sources but still form their own ideas and suggestions, which are also in line with their assigned Member State's policy, and frame them in their own words.

8 NMUN does not feature agreed language. Plagiarism will not be tolerated at any point. delegates should be aware that position papers and draft resolutions are read and evaluated by NMUN. staff that have a profound knowledge of the topics and have prepared committee and agenda items for months. This enables our volunteer staff to identify and report incidences of plagiarism. Plagiarism will not be tolerated at any point. 2 Further information can be found here: 5. Understanding the History, Structure, and Operations of the united nations Thorough Preparation must begin with an understanding of the united nations itself. The following sections provide basic information on the bodies that are simulated at the NMUN Conference. There are numerous sources of information which detail the events leading up to the creation of the UN. In addition, make sure to review: Charter of the united nations (1945)3. united nations Handbook (2002-13)4 and the UN Organizational Chart5: o How the various organs of the united nations System work together and the topic specialties of each Past actions by the united nations , specifically the most significant resolutions and decisions by the UN and their impact, which includes: o Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)6.

9 O List of Declarations and Conventions Contained in GA Resolutions7. The Structure of the united nations System General Assembly (GA). The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the UN system and is comprised of all Member States of the united nations , each having one vote. The General Assembly addresses issues related to the maintenance of international peace and security (except when those issues are before the Security Council), the peaceful settlement of disputes, international law, development and human rights issues. The GA also elects the non-permanent Members of the Security Council, elects the membership of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), appoints the Justices on the International Court of Justice, and chooses the Secretary-General of the united Security Council (SC). The Security Council is the primary organ of the UN mandated to maintain international peace and security.

10 It is comprised of fifteen members: ten serve two-year terms and five are permanent Members with veto power (China, France, Russia, the united Kingdom, and the united States). The adoption of any substantive decision by the Council requires an affirmative vote of any nine Member States, including affirmation or abstention by the permanent Members. If a permanent Member votes against a resolution before the Council, the resolution is vetoed and fails. Unlike General Assembly resolutions, which are recommendations, Security Council resolutions are binding on the Member States of the united nations when adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the united nations (1945).9. 3 For further information: 4 For further information: 5 A good starting point is this non-exhaustive organizational chart: 6 For further information: 7 For further information: ;. 8 For further information: 9 For further information: 6.