The Heritage School, Kolkata MODEL UNITED NATIONS CLASS 9-11

CONFERENCE HANDBOOK

INTRA- SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS

CONTENTS
Conference Schedule...............................3 Committee and Executive Board.............3 Rules and Procedures..............................4 Rules on Paper Work...............................7

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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
27th January 8.00 am - Opening Ceremony 8.30 am - Committee Begins 12.30 pm - Lunch for All Delegates 1.00 pm - Committees Restart 3.30 pm - Committee Suspended

28th January 8.00 am - Committees Begin 12.30pm Lunch for All Delegates 1.00pm - Committee Resumes 2.30pm - Committee Ends 2.45pm - Closing Ceremony and Prize Distribution 3.30pm Dismissal

Committee and Executive Board

The Swiss Conference 2014
Chairperson- Akanksha Maria Paul Deputy Chairperson- Aniruddha Mazumder Director- Pranesh Roy Director- Swetha Venkiteshwaran

Agenda: The Gulf Crisis No. Of Delegates: 24

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Rules And Procedure

RULES GOVERNING GENERAL CODE OF CONDUCT: DRESS CODE FOR DELEGATES:
All delegates should be in Western Business Attire during the conference. However, if this is not possible, delegates may attend conference in their school uniforms. On the second day of conference (28th January, 2013), delegates can wear Indian formals. Please note that all delegates must be dressed decently, and any delegate wearing casual clothes or in indecent attire may be asked to leave the conference, keeping in mind that they are students attending an educational conference.

COURTESY:
All delegates must act in a respectable manner and must maintain decorum at all times, failing which, The Chairperson or any member of the Executive Board has all rights to debar the concerned delegate. Delegates MUST show courtesy and respect to the members of the Board as well as fellow delegates. The Chairperson or any member of the Board can call to order any delegate at any time.

RESTRICTIONS:
The following items cannot be carried or consumed in The Committee Tobacco Products Drugs Weapons Cell phones/ipods/mp3 players Story books/novels

All acts of theft or vandalism will be reported to the school administration immediately and shall result in cancellation of participation.

RULES GOVERNING CODE OF CONDUCT WITHIN COMMITTEE:

LANGUAGE: English will be the official and working language of the conference. POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD: The Chairperson will declare the opening and closing of each meeting and may propose any motion. Subject to these rules, the executive board will have complete control of the proceedings at any meeting. The Chairperson will direct discussions, accord the right to speak, put questions, announce decisions, rule on points of
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order, and ensure and enforce the observance of these rules. The Chairperson may temporarily transfer his/her duties to the Deputy Chairperson at will. The Executive Board may also advise delegations on the course of debate. In case of a dispute, the decision of the Chairperson will be final and binding. The Directors of Committee shall keep tab of score sheets and speaker-lists and shall coordinate among the Members of logistics and the Executive Board. The directors may also MINUS points if they find any delegate misbehaving or not obeying orders of the Executive Board. In case of any QUESTIONS TO THE CHAIR, the same shall be answered by the Directors and the Deputy Chair with advice by the Chair (if needed). ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Laptops/ Tablets may be used in the Committee room during formal debate. Such devices CANNOT be used outside the Committee room at any time, or on THE HERITAGE SCHOOL campus. Any misuse of Laptops/Tablets to view material other than those relevant to committee shall be confiscated according to normal school procedure. Members of Logistics shall help with Chargers and other support required. QUORUM: Quorum for the conference is set at 10 percent of the members of the committee. A roll call will be taken as and when the board deems necessary. In case quorum fails, the committee session will be suspended at the discretion of the Executive Board. ROLL CALL: A delegate may be either PRESENT or PRESENT AND VOTING. If a delegate is present and voting he/she HAS to vote on the final resolutions and directives passed by the committee and cannot abstain votes. On, the other hand a delegate who is present may abstain on voting. OPENING, SUSPENDING, ADJOURNING AND CLOSING DEBATE: At the start of committee, after roll call has taken place, a delegate may motion to open debate. A motion for suspension of debate is in order whenever the committee has to break for lunch or tea or at the end of the first day of conference. A motion to adjourn debate is in order at the end of such a break. A delegate may propose a MOTION TO ENTERTAINMENT only on the last day of conference AFTER all agendas and resolutions have been passed following which MOTION TO END DEBATE shall be passed.

GENERAL FLOW OF DEBATE:

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After the agenda has been set, the Directors shall open the GENERAL SPEAKERS LIST. This list shall remain open thought the session of the committee except when interrupted by the discretion of the Chairperson to move on to motions, caucuses, discussion on amendments, passage of resolutions and directives. A delegate may at all time motion to REOPEN THE GENERAL SPEAKERS LIST. All those wishing to speak, may do so by raising their placards, however if not recognized, they may also send a message to the Chair for the same. General Speakers List: Speaking Time: When the speakers list has been opened, the time allotted to each speaker is automatically deemed to be one minute and thirty seconds. Yields: A speaker who has time left after finishing his/her speech may yield the remaining time in the following ways:

Yield to another delegate: Any remaining time will be given to another

delegate, who may not, however, then yield any remaining time. Yield to the chair: Such a yield should be made if the delegate has finished speaking and does not wish his or her speech to be subject to comments. Yield to questions: the chairpersons will select Questioners and limited to one question each. Follow-up questions will be allowed only at the discretion of the chairperson (if a delegate wishes to as a follow up question, he/she may raise their placard). The number of questioners chosen will depend on the amount of time left.

POINTS:
Point of personal privilege: Whenever a delegate experiences personal
discomfort which affects his or her ability to participate in the proceedings, he or she may rise to a Point of Personal Privilege. Delegates should use this power with the utmost discretion. If used in a corrupt manner this point shall be confiscated from that delegate throughout committee proceedings.

Point of Order: During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may rise to a
Point of Order if he/she feels that any statement/fact/figure quoted by a speaker is FACTUALLY WRONG.

Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: When the floor is open, a delegate may rise to
a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry to ask the Executive Board the rules of procedure/ the agenda at hand/ the topic at discussion or any other questions. He/she may also send a message to the chair.

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Right To Reply: A delegate whose personal or national integrity has been

abused or defamed by another delegate may request the Chairperson to grant him/her the Right to Reply. If granted, the Right of Reply takes form of a thirtysecond speech. Delegates are requested to employ the Right to Reply with utmost discretion. Any misbehaviour or abusive language shall lead to debarring.

Moderated Caucus: The purpose of the moderated caucus is to facilitate

substantive debate in the discussion. The delegate motioning for a moderated caucus must specify a topic, a speaking time, and an overall time limit for the caucus. Such a motion requires a simple majority to pass. The Executive Board shall be looking for moderated debates at all times.

Unmoderated Caucus: An unmoderated caucus temporarily suspends formal

debate and allows delegates to discuss ideas informally in the committee room. It is generally used for lobbying. The delegate making the motion should specify the time period and the purpose of the unmoderated caucus. A simple majority is required for such a motion to be passed. Laptops/ Tablets can be used during the UNMOD for drafting resolutions and directives.

RULES GOVERNING PAPERWORK.

Position Paper: All delegates must submit a position paper by 24th January 2013. A position paper is very important, as it is the first piece of paperwork that a
delegate submits to the chairperson. Position papers shall also carry points and award shall be given to the best position paper. It is generally divided into 3 parts- a basic introduction of the topic/background, the delegates country policy on the topic, and solutions to the given problems. The following is an example of the format of the position paper:-

*PICTURE OF COUNTRYS FLAG/COTE OF ARMS* Country represented: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Topic: Innovative measures to improve the global phenomenon of GLOBAL WARMING. Name: Julia Roberts

*introduction*
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*Body + Proposed Solutions*

*Conclusion *

The position paper must be about 1.5 pages long.

Resolutions:
Introduction: A draft resolution is introduced on the floor in committee when it receives the approval of the Executive Board. For a resolution to be approved, it must have not more than 4 sponsors/authors, and signatories numbering not less than one-tenth of the strength of a committee. Draft resolution may be introduced by one of the delegates in committee once it has been approved, and has been copied and distributed. Every committee can pass more than 1 resolution, if he delegates so wish.

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Formatting:
The Draft Resolution must be formatted in the following manner: Committee: name of the committee organ in which the resolution is introduced Topic: the topic area of the committee that the resolution has been written on Sponsors: list of countries that have authored the resolution (not more than 4) Signatories: list of countries that have signed the draft (those who wish to discuss it) Preambulatory Clauses: The preamble of a draft resolution states the reasons for which the committee is addressing the topic and generally highlights past international action on the issue. Each clause begins with a preambulatory phrase and ends with a comma. Preambulatory clauses can include: -References to the UN Charter; -Citations of past UN resolutions or treaties on the topic under discussion; -Mentions of statements made by the Secretary-General or a relevant UN body or agency; -Recognition of the efforts of regional or nongovernmental organizations in dealing with the issue; -General statements on the topic, its significance and its impact. Sample Perambulatory Phrases: each perambulatory clause MUST start with a perambulatory Phrase. Affirming Aware of Confident Declaring Deeply convinced Expecting Fulfilling Fully believing Guided by Having considered Having examined Noting with regret Noting further Reaffirming
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Alarmed by Bearing in mind Contemplating Deeply concerned Deeply disturbed Expressing its appreciation Fully alarmed Further deploring Having adopted Further Having Having studied Noting with deep concern Noting with approval Realizing

Approving Believing Convinced Deeply conscious Deeply regretting Expressing its Fully aware Further recalling Having considered Devoted attention Keeping in mind Noting with satisfaction Observing Recalling

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Recognizing Taking into account Having heard

Referring Desiring Having received

Seeking Emphasizing Taking into consideration

Operative Clauses: Operative clauses identify the actions or recommendations made in a resolution. Each operative clause begins with a verb (called an operative phrase) and ends with a semicolon. Each operative clause MUST BE NUMBERED. If a clause requires further explanation, sub clauses by letters or roman numerals can also be used. After the last operative clause, the resolution ends in a period (shown by the use of a full stop). Sample Operative Phrases: Each Clause must begin with an Operative Clause. Accepts Authorizes Condemns Considers Designates Emphasizes Expresses its appreciation Further invites Further proclaims Further resolves Proclaims Regrets Solemnly affirms Takes note of Affirms Calls Confirms Declares accordingly Draws the attention Encourages Expresses its hope Deplores Further recommends Has resolved Reaffirms Reminds Strongly condemns Further reminds Approves Calls upon Congratulates Deplores Trusts Endorses Designates Further reminds Further requests Notes Recommends Requests Supports

Amendments: An amendment involves introducing a change in a draft resolution,

either by amending an already existing clause or by adding a new clause if a delegate feels that change is needed in a resolution. Amendments are of two kinds: Friendly amendments: : if all sponsors of a resolution support an amendment, it is called an FRIENDLY AMENDMENT The amendment must be submitted in writing to the executive board, and must be approved by all the sponsors of the draft resolution. Once approved by the Executive Board. The amendment does NOT GET VOTED UPON and is directly incorporated into the resolution. Unfriendly amendments: if all sponsors of a resolution do not support an amendment, it is called an UNFRIENDLY AMENDMENT. In this case, the authors of the amendment have to get delegates to support that motion. Once the Executive Board approves the amendment, it will be discussed and voted upon, before final voting on the draft resolution in question takes place.

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SAMPLE DRAFT RESOLUTION:

NAME: DRAFT RESOLUTION 01 Sponsors: USA, UK,FRANCE,GERMANY Signatories: ISRAEL,PALESTINE,UAE,PAKISTAN,INIDA,OMAN,MALDIVES,SRI LANKA,JAPAN, AUSTALIA, BURMA,NEPAL,BRAZIL. UNESCO, * Preambulatory Clauses * * Operative Phrases *

Directive: A Directive orders that an official action be taken. It is more directand should be used several times throughout the conference. A directive can be passed by the committee at anytime to order the executive board to provide information/ proof/source of any information. A directive can also be passed to ask the Board to call some EXTERNAL PERSON into the committee for inquiry/negotiation etc. Each directive will require 3 signatories to be brought up for debate in committee and must be passed with a 2/3rd majority. The Executive Body shall make sure that all directives are passed.

Compiled by Akanksha Maria Paul Chairperson 11 | P a g e