WEMUNC Training Mod 3

8/9/2019 WEMUNC Training Mod 3

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WE MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE 2010

Module 3: Documents in Conference

Contents:

Position paper Working paper Draft resolution Amendment Voting Delegate Manners Study Sample Position Paper Sample Draft Resolution Sample Amendment


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POSITION PAPER:

Please pay careful attention to the following guidelines when drafting and submitting your position

papers. Only those delegations that follow the outlined guidelines will be eligible for position paper

awards. Please follow these guidelines carefully when submitting your work to the Secretariat. Each

topic should be addressed briefly in a succinct policy statement representing the relevant views of

your assigned country or NGO. You should also include recommendations for action to be taken byyour committee. The position papers are the focus of the positional preparation before the

conference. Though they are relatively short, we ask you to spend a lot of time and effort on

researching and writing them, as they are designed primarily to aid you at the conference. Faculty

advisors and head delegates should introduce their students to the more advanced research

resources available in their community. All delegations meeting the following criteria will be judged

by the same method and equally considered for position paper awards.

1. If printed, length must not exceed two single-sided pages.

2. Font must be Times New Roman sized between 10 pt. and 12 pt.

3. Country/NGO name, School name and committee name clearly labeled on the first page.

4. Submitted before Jul. 17th

WORKING PAPER:

Working papers mainly serve as a point of reference for discussion in committee by putting

abstract ideas into a concrete, written form (please see the sample provided later in this guide).

Working papers are usually short proposals on one or more aspects of the problem under

discussion, and serve as a way of breaking down an issue into manageable units. With the approval

of the Director, working papers are copied so that the committees delegates can learn about the

positions and interests of other delegates.

As the committees work progresses, new points and ideas should be put into new working papers.Amendments cannot be made to working papers.

Subsequent working papers must contain ideas that do not appear on any previous or concurrent

working papers.

Working papers should help advance the committees work, not duplicate it. This means that once avariety of proposals and viewpoints are introduced, the committee should begin to formulate the

working papers into comprehensive resolutions. Delegates should be aware that working papers

are not mini-resolutions, in that they do not need to be. Additionally, ideas do not have to appear

in working papers before they can become resolutions. That said, working papers do provide a very

useful tool for getting the entire committees feedback on specific ideas before presenting them as

formal resolutions.


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RESOLUTIONS:

Heading

The title should be in capital letters, above the main body of the resolution. The title consists of a

letter (signifying the topic area being discussed) and a number (identifying the individual

resolution). The committee Director will assign the number once the resolution has been approved.

On the left margin and two lines below the title should be:

(1) the committee name

(2) the topic addressed by the resolution

(3) the sponsors of the resolution

(4) the signatories of the resolution (which will be blacked out before the resolution is copied).

Body

The resolution is written in the format of a long sentence. Just as grammatical rules make a

language more uniform in its usage, so is the resolution in its format.

The resolution begins with The General Assembly, for all GA committees, and with The Economic

and Social Council, for all ECOSOC committees. The Specialized Agencies use their own names asthe introductory line. The rest of the resolution consists of phrases and clauses with the first word

of each phrase/clause underlined.

The next section, consisting of Pre-ambulatory Phrases, describes the problem being addressed,

recalls past actions taken, explains the purpose of the resolution, and offers support for the

operative clauses that follow. Each clause in the preamble begins with an underlined word and ends

with a comma.

Operative Clauses are numbered and state the action to be taken by the body. These clauses all

begin with present tense active verbs, which are generally stronger words than those used in the

Preamble. Each operative clause is followed by a semi- colon except the last, which ends with a

period. Any sub-operative clauses (or sub-sub-clauses, etc,) also should end with a semi- colon.

There should be no periods in the body of the resolution.

Content

Of course, the most important characteristic of the final resolution is the content, which will be

carefully scrutinized by the Director before approval. A well written resolution demonstrates:

Familiarity with the problem: relevant background information and previous United Nations

actions are included in this.

Recognition of the issues: Arguments on the topic are specified early. At a minimum, the resolution

should address in some form all the issues listed in the Questions a Resolution Must Answer section

of the Study guide.


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A clear and concise style or writing should be adopted. Every clause and phrase should have a

purpose.

Good form. Each phrase and clause should follow the exact format described above.

Some common pre-ambular clause beginnings are:

Affirming Deeply disturbed Guided by Alarmed by Deeply regretting Having adopted Having considered Observing Having considered further Aware of Emphasizing Having devoted attention Further recalling Noting with deep concern Noting further

Some common operative clause beginnings are

Accepts Affirms Approves Authorizes Calls Calls upon Condemns Confirms Considers Declares accordingly Deplores Designate Draws attention

AMENDMENT

The amendment process is used to enable a resolution to be passed by the committee. The

amendment process can greatly enhance the work of a committee, but only if it enables substantive

progress to be made and is not procedurally inhibiting. Therefore, a clear understanding of the

Believing Expecting Realizing Bearing in mind Having examined Recalling Confident Having studied Recognizing Contemplating Deeply conscious Noting with

satisfaction

Taking note Welcoming Desiring

Fulfilling Having heard Convinced Fully aware Having received Declaring Fully alarmed Keeping in mind Deeply concerned Fully believing Noting with regret Further deploring Deeply Convinced Seeking Referring

Emphasizes Encourages Endorses Expresses its hope Further invites Further proclaims Further recommends Further reminds Further requests Further resolves Has resolved Notes

Proclaims Reaffirms Recommends

Regrets Reminds Requests Solemnly affirms Strongly condemns Supports Takes note of Transmits Trusts


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rules of procedure is very important to the process of proposing, debating, and voting on an

amendment. Moderators should clarify this process at conference, but a review of the amendment

process as described in the Rules of Procedure is highly recommended.

In regular committee, there are two kinds of Amendments: Friendly Amendment and Unfriendly

Amendment. A Friendly Amendment can be directly added into the Resolution under all the

sponsors permission. An Unfriendly Amendment should be voted.

However, in committees under THIMUN framework, there is no Unfriendly Amendment. All

Amendments have to be voted.

A friendly amendment is a change to the draft resolution that all sponsors agree with.After the amendment is signed by all of the draft resolutions sponsors and approved by the

committee director or president, it will be automatically incorporated into the resolution.

It added usually to clarify wording. It is automatically incorporated if all of the sponsors are

in favor of the amendment.

An unfriendly amendment is a change that some or all of the draft resolutions sponsorsdo not support and must be voted upon by the committee. The author(s) of the amendment

will need to obtain a required number of signatories in order to introduce it (usually 20

percent of the committee). Prior to voting on the draft resolution, the committee votes on all

unfriendly amendments

An unfriendly amendment must be formally introduced to the committee chair with the

appropriate number of signatories.

VOTING

Methods of Voting

Placard and roll call are the two permissible types of voting. All procedural votes must be taken by

placard as there is no roll call option. The committee volunteer staff will count placards of Member

States when they vote on particular issues, and announce the result of the vote. A roll call vote

occurs only on substantive votes, and only if a Member State requests a roll call vote. It is the right

of any country to request a roll call vote, and there is no vote on the motion as the motion is

automatically honored. The chair reads the roll and each Member State casts its vote aloud when

called upon; countries may pass once, but then must vote in the affirmative or negative when asked

again (they may not abstain). Roll call votes typically take quite a long time, particularly in large

committees; these are usually reserved for politically important resolutions or for resolutions on

which a very close vote is expected.

Types of Votes

For a procedural vote, the only options are yes or no votes; abstentions are not allowed. In

addition, all States must vote on procedural matters. On substantive matters (resolutions,

amendments, and the second vote on divisions of the question), States may vote yes, no or abstain.

Abstentions are essentially non-votes, and are not included in the tally when determining the

passage of a resolution; a resolution will pass with a vote of 10 in favor, 5 opposed, and 170

abstentions. Likewise, in consensus bodies, abstentions do not affect the passage of the final

document.


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Explanations of Vote

A Member State may explain its vote on a particular resolution, briefly addressing the committee

immediately after the vote on the resolution in question occurs. Delegates may not address the

substance of the resolution in question, speaking only to the reasons for their vote. Sponsors of a

resolution may not explain their vote in favor of the resolution, and abstentions cannot be

explained. Requests for an explanation of vote must be submitted in writing before voting is closed.(Please refer to the rules of procedure section in your background guide.) After voting on all

resolutions, the committee leaves voting

DELEGATE MANNERS STUDY

Q: What is the dress code during the conference?

A: Delegates are expected to abide by the following dress code at all conference events. Males must

wear a suit or jacket and dress pants (no jeans or cargo pants) with a dress shirt and tie. Socks and

dress shoes must be worn. No hats or caps will be allowed, and shirts must be tucked in at all times.

Females must wear a dress, suit, dress slacks or skirt (no jeans) with a blouse or sweater. Dressshoes must be worn, and no hats or caps will be allowed.

Q: What should I observe when I shake hands with other delegates?

A: Use right hands to shake. Pay attention to the orders; the seniors, the ladies and the teachers

should give hands to the juniors, the men and the students. Assure your hands are clean while

shaking hands. Shake hands with others warmly and with respect.

Q: What should I observe when I make a speech in the committee?

A: Obtain the floor before speaking. Stand before speaking. Yield the floor when required to do so

by the Chair. Be courteous at all times.

Q: How should I pass a page? How should I treat Pagers?

A: Address your page clearly and legibly, using only the name of a country, not the names of

delegates. If a page is going to the chair, address your page as "To the Dais", or "To the Chair". A

Pager is the person who passes the pages for delegates in the committee. In order to get the

attention of a Pager, sit quietly in your seat with your page in a raised hand. Display your placard so

that you can be found easily. Be sure to say "Thank you" whenever you hand a page to a Pager or

receive a page from one.

Q: What should I observe in order to make a proper motion?

A: Be sure to raise your placard high but don't wave it when you want to make a motion. Be sure to

speak in a loud and clear voice. Be cordial and professional.

Q: How should I treat my chair?

A: Chairs of WEMUNC2009 are referred to as "Chair", "Honorable Chair", or "Dais. Operate with theutmost respect for your chair during sessions. Never talk when the chair is talking. Chairs may

allow some whispering while other delegates are giving speeches, but it is always better to be quiet

and listen. Remember, the chair's job is to maintain rule and order. Make sure you know the rules of

your committee well before you go into it.

Q: How to treat the conference staff?


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A: By and large, you should approach the conference staff when you have a logistical problem (i.e.

you get lost, lose your faculty advisor, or have an emergency),or when there is a problem with your

chair. Any other problems can be solved at the dais. Treat conference staff with respect.

Q: What is the proper way to deal with personally abusive delegates?

A: Ignore them with respect. Report them to the conference staff when you have serious problems.

Q: How should I deal with new/ inexperienced delegates?

A: Try and make them feel accepted, important, involved, and most importantly appreciated.


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SAMPLE POSITION PAPER


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SAMPLE DRAFT RESOLUTION


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SAMPLE AMENDMENT


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WEMUNC Training Mod 3

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