HFXMUN 2007

  (SEE HERE for  RESOLUTION WRITING. 

INTRODUCTION

  

Welcome to the Halifax Model United Nations 2007 (HFXMUN). Within this document you will find information as to how a model UN operates and how you as a delegate can perform most efficiently.

To start, the United Nations is an international organisation that attempts to solve world issues in a democratic environment. The UN itself consists of many different committees that focus on their own individual topics (humanitarian, economic, etc). The two committees that HFXMUN will consist of are GA1 and GA2 (General Assembly Committee #1, General Assembly Committee #2) Depending on which committee you are in, you will research certain issues and bring your ideas on how to resolve the issues forward.


For example, if your particular issue was;
”Renewed efforts to solve the conflicts between Israel and Palestine ”
 You must start by collecting information on this issue (education is key) and putting it into context with the United Nations. If you feel that you have enough information on this particular topic to create, solve it on your own. You may write a “resolution” to this problem. (Instructions for writing resolutions coming soon). However, take into account that your delegation’s particular idea for solving this problem may not be in the best interest of other delegations. This is why lobbying (negotiating with other delegations) is in your best interest before presenting your resolution to the entire committee. Also, before submitting a resolution it is in your best interest to receive signatures from other delegates who support your resolution, and will possibly speak in favor of it. If your resolution is almost acceptable for someone else, than they can submit an “Amendment” that would add an additional “clause” to your resolution that would furnish it to their liking.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE A RESOLUTION. HOWEVER, IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO AT LEAST TAKE PART IN THE FABRICATION PROCESS AS IT WILL ADD TO THE MAGNITUDE OF IDEAS THAT ARE NEEDED TO PASS A WORTHY RESOLUTION.

Keep in mind that the UN does not only consist of country delegations, but also NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organisations) and UNO’s (United Nations Organisations) The only operative difference between a country and a UNO or NGO, is that only the country delegations can vote on a resolution. However, NGO’s and UNO’s can still take part in the fabrication of resolutions and amendments.

All committees (GA1,GA2) will meet and discuss resolutions within the same conference room, however not at the same time. While one committee is discussing the other will be lobbying, and vise versa. The conference room is configured as follows:

 

CONFERENCE ROOM

 


(Note: Our conference room may not be configured exactly as shown. However, it will be arranged as similar as possible)

 

DEBATING RESOLUTIONS

 LINKS TO RESOLUTION WRITING

If you complete a resolution with the help of others or not you must submit the resolution to the Admin staff. During the meeting of your particular committee the house will discuss your resolution.
When your resolution is being reviewed, the chair will ask you to read your resolution, and then support your resolution with your own particular reasons why your resolution is secure.
Once you have supported your resolution, you may call on your fellow delegates to speak in favor of your resolution. (Good candidates for these people are ones who helped with the creation of the resolution). The chair will refer to this sequence as “Time for the resolution.” Generally you may have (3) delegates speak FOR your resolution, and the chair will then select (3) to speak against. HOWEVER, due to the possibilities of time restraints there is no definite number of speakers.
After each speaker, For/Against has finished his/her speech about the resolution, he/she may open themselves to “points of information.” Points of information allow observing delegates to ask questions about the speech made. For example;

(The following dialogue explains exactly how points of information and speakers work. Please refer to the diagram of the house above if you are confused as to who is speaking)

TANZANIA : “I strongly support this resolution because of clause 3, sub-Claus B. I strongly urge you to vote for this resolution as it clearly focuses on every aspect of this issue, thank you.”

 

CHAIR: “Does the delegate from Tanzania open his/herself to points of information?”

 

TANZANIA : “The Delegate from Tanzania opens his/herself to (3) points of information.” (Note: The delegate from Tanzania speaks in third person. This is absolutely MANDITORY. If you do not speak in third person, the chair will claim that your speaking is “out of order” and will ask you to repeat your statement. ALSO, note that the delegate from Tanzania has chosen exactly how many points of information he/she would like to receive. This is a very important decision to make. However, due to time constraints sometimes they can be limited by the chair)

 CHAIR: “The chair calls upon the honorable delegate from The Democratic Republic of the Congo , Fiji , and Belarus to approach the microphone.”
       (Note: The Chair has called upon (3) delegates to ask points of information, just as the delegate from Tanzania has requested)

DEMOCRATIC REP OF CONGO: “ Honorable delegate from Tanzania,  you claim that this resolution focuses on every aspect of this issue, however if you examine clause 5, you can clearly see that many issues are left out, how can you claim that this resolution is worthy of being passed with such a large demographic being left out?”
     (Note: The delegate from DEMOCRATIC REP OF CONGO has phrased his point of information in the form of a question. Your points of information MUST be phrased this way. If it is not in the form of a question, the chair will claim that it is “out of order” and you will be asked to take your seat or rephrase the point of information in the form of a question. ALSO, the delegate has also made reference to the delegate from Tanzania with “Honorable delegate” This is in order, you must direct your speech in this manner)

TANZANIA: “The Delegate from Tanzania would like to point out that he/she did not notice the absence of such issues in clause 5, and he/she will review this problem, thank you.”
        (Note: The delegate from Tanzania is speaking in the 3rd person, even when answering a point of information, this is a must).


***** This process would continue until all 3 delegates have had their time for, and have received their points of, information. Time against the resolution would work in the same fashion.

NOTE PASSING

Note passing within your committee will indeed be in order. This can be very handy when making last minute lobby negotiations, or trying to find agreements on making amendments. However, the admin staff WILL READ YOUR NOTES, and they must be on topic, and in order. If the admin staff receives notes that are irrelevant, or off topic repetitively from one delegate, his/her note passing privileges will be suspended.
To send a note, simply write a message on a piece of paper, fold it, and write the name of the delegation to which you wish to send it on the opposite side.
(Please do not abbreviate countries. For example, always refer to USA as “The United States of America .”)

 

COMMUNICATING WITH THE CHAIR

If you need to communicate with the chair, the most private way to do so is to simply write a note, and address it to “CHAIR”. However, if your question is in the best interest of the entire house, you may openly ask with the following pre-statements…


”Point of Personal Privilege” --- You may use this in usually only (2) different instances. Example: If the room becomes uncomfortably warm, you may ask to remove your suit jacket. However, you must say “Point of Personal Privilege” before hand.  Another example would be, if someone was speaking and you could not hear them. You may say “Point of Personal Privilege”. (Note this is the only instance in which you may interrupt another’s speech)

 

“Point of Order” --- You may use this when you see something or hear something that does not function with the rules that have been set out for you within this document. For example; if a delegate was to not speak in the 3rd person, you may say “Point of Order – The delegate from Fiji is speaking out of order.”

”Point of Information to the Chair” --- You may use this when asking questions about the particular run-down of things. If you are unsure of something, this is what you would say to clarify yourself.  For example; if you want to know how much longer the time for the resolution will be you could say: “Point of Information to the Chair, How much longer will we be spending on time for the resolution?”… The chair would then answer your question.

”Motion to Go Directly Into Voting Procedure” --- You may use this when you feel that enough time has been spent on debating the resolution, and you feel that the house has received enough information to vote entirely on the resolution. However, in order for the chair to recognise this, you must have someone agree with you by saying “second”. After this has been said the chair will ask “Are there any objections to going directly into voting procedure?” If there are no objections then you will go directly into voting procedure. HOWEVER if there is (1) objection, then the debating process will continue. NOTE: To maintain solidarity with the chair, please do not repetitively use this motion.

NOTE--- USING ANY OF THESE PRE-STATEMENTS DURING A SPEECH IS OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING ALL BUT “POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE” WHEN ANOTHER IS MAKING A SPEECH, AND PLEASE SPEAK IN THE 3rd PERSON AT ALL TIMES.

 

ATTIRE

During the conference it is mandatory that you choose between the two options of clothing while operating as a delegation. The two options are formal or the traditional clothing of your nation/delegation. If you decide to go “formal” please take note to the following;
GUYS: Please outfit yourself in the most formal wear you have possible. Suits are fine. If you do not have one, Value Village offers a wide selection of average suits for less than $20.00.
GIRLS: Please dress yourself in the most formal wear you have possible. Please avoid flashy colors.

VOCABULARY

 

Resolution – A document that describes your/yours combined with others’ approach to solving the issue.

 

Delegation – Your particular group or nation. Example (The United Kingdom , Russia , etc)

 

Lobbying – Negotiating with other delegates to find a common agreement so that your resolution will have more delegates supporting it

 

Clause – The points in which a resolution is made up of. “Clause” will be more understandable when you receive the documents on “how to write a resolution.”

Amendment – Adding another clause to the resolution during the debating process or a last minute attempt to fix the resolution of something that was forgotten, or something that may add to the resolution.

 

Chair – The front table that holds the president and other members that record and enforce for a smooth operating conference.

 

Admin Staff – The people who collect notes, count votes, and “make it all happen”.

 

 

VOTING

When it comes time to vote, on either a resolution or to vote on an amendment, there are a few things that must be practiced in order to receive and accurate vote.

All delegations will receive placards. (Paper sign with the name of your delegation)
When it comes time to vote, you must raise your placard if you wish to vote in favor, or to vote against depending on what the chair says they are counting. You MUST hold your placard high, with a straight elbow so that your vote can be counted.  These small things may seem like semantics, but they make the job of the admin staff much easier.
You have (3) options when voting; For, Against and Abstain (Neutral). 

If you have any questions regarding this document, or about how the model UN will be running, please do not hesitate to contact;
Anthony Rosborough – anthonyrosborough@hotmail.com
Mr. MacIntyre – waymac@staff.ednet.ns.ca 
Information updates will be available at Mr. Macintyre’s website;
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/waymac/      

 

 Thank you very much,

Anthony Rosborough anthonyrosborough@hotmail.com  or info@thepact.ca