ORIENTATION

DECMUN 2024
Model united nations: An overview
World Peace, we’ve heard this term a lot. But how do countries maintain world
peace?
They come together and discuss problems of the world in an organization called
the United Nations. In Model United Nations, we mimic the roles and procedures
that take place in the actual United Nations, giving us experience as leaders for
future endeavors. We also write ‘resolutions’; documents addressing a specific
problem and ways that we can solve it.
A resolution is said to have passed when it has reached a simple majority, i.e.,
50%+ of votes in favour.
A two-thirds majority is required for matters like closing debate etc.
General Conversations
• The EB consists of two members which would be addressed as:-
o The Honorable chair
o The Moderator
• All the other delegates including yourself will be addressed as “The delegate
representing …… ”
• The use of first and second personal pronouns and language may cause you a
loss of points.
• Any points (which are explained later) should only be raised after a delegate is
done speaking and any point raised during other fellow delegates' speech may
be rejected by the EB.
The procedure
• The event starts with an opening ceremony and the leading of delegates to
their respective committees.
• Then comes roll call. This is where you can state your voting stance, i.e.,
present or present and voting (note that if you are present and voting you
cannot abstain from a vote)
• As soon as roll call has ended, the General Speaker’s List (GSL) starts where
you can state your country’s/party’s stance on the agenda.
• After GSL, the Executive Board (EB) usually looks favorably on a motion to start
a moderated caucus. We will get to know more about this in later slides.
• After a moderated caucus terminates, the committee can move into an
unmoderated caucus.
• Lobbying or resolution drafting is an important activity that mainly takes
place during unmoderated caucuses.
Moderated caucus
A moderated caucus is where you can put up valid points and speak to the
committee on the agenda. Raising a motion for a moderated caucus
automatically adds you to the list of speakers; you may be the first to speak or
the last to speak.
• Raising a motion for entering a moderated caucus: “The delegate representing
[the person you are representing] would like to raise a motion to enter a
moderated caucus for [x; caucus duration] minutes with [y; speaking time] per
speaker. {this can be edited for other motions as well}
• It would also be great if you left some time after your speech to questions or
comments. The EB would like a close fight, so being able to defend yourself
from attacks could earn you some points.
• When you’re not speaking, look for mistakes in other delegates’ speeches, if
you spot a valid mistake, you can raise a Point of Order(PoO).
Points
• Point of Order:
• Factual Inaccuracy: If something is factually inaccurate in the delegates’ speech. Take note,
however, that numbers are usually not accurate, depending on the resources available to the
delegate; raising a point for insignificant numbers may not earn you points.
• Logical Fallacy: If something in the delegates’ speech contradicts what they have said
before, or what their country’s policies state. Make sure to be clear and concise when pointing
out the logically fallacious statement.
• Point of Information: When you would like to ask a question on the
delegates’ speech.
• Point of Personal Privilege: For matters where you could ask a delegate to
repeat a part of their speech, be excused from the committee, etc.
• Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: When you would like to know what state
the committee is in, what will happen next, when your breaks are, etc.
Unmoderated caucus
An unmoderated caucus is where you can start lobbying, i.e., drafting your
resolutions, interacting with other delegates and gaining their support for
your resolution, and approaching the EB for any questions you might have
regarding the committee.
• Drafting resolutions is no easy task, however, make sure to never add a full
stop in the middle of your resolution; a resolution is a series of clauses and is
one long sentence. Sponsors are those delegations who have helped write
the resolution. Signatories are those delegations who would like to see the
resolution debated in the committee.
• Gaining the support of other delegates can be the difference between passing
your resolution and having it failed because a majority did not understand the
motive or incentive behind it; make sure to be clear of what you want to
state/advise in the resolution. A bloc is said to be formed when a group of
delegations work on drafting a resolution.
Chits
Chits are the way of communicating with fellow delegates without having to
speak in the committee. They would be handwritten and can sent by handing
them over to the logistics team.
There are two types of chits :-
• Delegate to delegate:- These chits won’t be read by anyone except the
delegates they are sent to.
• Chit via EB:- These chits will be read by the press and the EB. And if found
relevant can gain you points and if not you might even loose a few.
Chit format
research
A good way to start researching on your agenda is by looking at the
background guide; the EB almost always hints at what they want debated in
the committee.
• Look at and understand the problem; who is facing the problem? Why are
they facing it? What exactly is the problem? How can we address this
problem? How is it affecting others?
• Have a look at past actions taken by various countries/persons. This will give
you a good idea on what the majority might like and what they might dislike.
• Make sure to know the details of your country/party; government
structure, location, economy, development status, allies, stance on the topic,
past actions on the topic, speeches, events, programs, agreements or reports
on the topic, how the problem affects your people, etc.
Research binder
Read through the background guide provided thoroughly; it usually
contains important research features on the topic.
• It is advised to get a folder/binder with you to the event. This will be your
research binder.
• A research binder is one in which you put important documents related to
the agenda, which you will have found online during research. Emphasize on
past international actions, country/party policies and possible solutions.
• A “country/party profile” would make things easier for you; research
everything you can on your assigned country/party and compile it into a single
document which you can refer to whenever you want.
• An opening speech may be mandatory in some committees, so make sure
that you write a good one and practice the same before the conference.
Research Pathways
• Any government moderated website/PDF’s.
• Any international organization website/PDF’s.
• Well known news channels.[take note, however, that sensationalism is
growing among the news community and the availability of true and correct
facts and figures without warping them or exaggerating them may not
be so here.]
• Avoid using Wikipedia at all costs.
• This is very important; at any point of time during your speech; if a delegate
or the EB asks you for the source of your research you are bound by rules and
procedures to submit it. If you are unable to do so, you may lose points.
Resolution
Parts of a draft resolution :-

• Sponsors & Signatories

• Clauses
o Preambulatory clause
o Operative Clause
• Amendments
o Friendly
o Unfriendly
Clauses
Ending remarks
We would like to thank you for joining this session; it will immensely help first-timers
in having close fights with the top runners, adding to their chance of winning an
award. The Best Delegate, Honorable Delegate, Commendable Delegate, and
Special Mentions are various delegate awards available in this event. We
encourage you to try your best and make the lives of the various EBs hard due to
your outstanding performance; so much so that it makes it difficult for them to
decide upon a singular winner.
All questions regarding the committees will be entertained by the various EBs,
you can contact them via WhatsApp and/or in person and they will get back to you at
the earliest. Make sure that your questions are really worth asking, as the EB
faces several responsibilities that we may need to divert our attention to.
However, any questions can be asked after committee session.
May the best delegates win!
Our collective regards,
Executive Board