Index

1. What is MUN?
2. Positions
3. Position Papers
▪ Position Paper Format
4. Procedures
▪ Roll Call
▪ Opening the Floor for Policy Statement
▪ General Speaker’s List (GSL)
▪ Moderated Caucus
▪ Unmoderated Caucus
▪ Resolution
▪ Resolution format
5. Important things to remember: key words
6. Ending the MUN conference
What is MUN?
The MUN stands for the “Model United Nations” and is like just
the United Nations, which is an organization formed in 1945 after
World War 2 and it consists of a league of nations which work
together to achieve international peace and security. The Model
United Nations is a simulated version of this, at a student level.
In the real UN, there are multiple suborganizations, in MUNs, we
have what we call “committees”. Some examples of committees in
the MUN include:
• The United Nations Security Council(UNSC)
• Disarmament and International Security Affairs
(DISEC/UNGA)
In MUNs, delegates are given a committee to attend and a country
to represent. Their goal throughout the whole conference is to
contribute to the ongoing discussion, assessment, analysis and
solving the problem(s) at hand. This must be done with the
country’s rules and foreign policies taken into consideration.
Something to keep in mind is that you will be judged on how well
you can represent your country’s stance, defend your nation’s
policies, collaborate with other delegates and solve the issue at
hand. Note that your country will be chosen beforehand, and you
will be informed of it, along with the topic.
Positions
• Chair
• Co-chair/Vice-chairs
• Executive Board
• Delegate
• Organizing Committee

Position Papers
A position paper is a brief statement of the perspective of the
country you are representing in regard to the topic in your
committee. Not only does it allow the delegates an opportunity to
clearly organize their research and define their country’s stance,
but it also allows other delegates to quickly understand their fellow
committee members’ stance on a topic. The position papers of all
the delegates in a committee will be collected, combined, and sent
to other delegates before the conference. So, if you are wondering
if you can ally with a certain country or if what another said was
really in line with their nation’s foreign policy, you can check with
the position paper!
Note that the position paper needs to be made before the
conference and submitted before the start of the conference to the
Executive Board.
Format of Position Paper
The Header
Always place this at the top left or top-center of your document.
• Committee: [Name of the Committee, e.g., UNHRC]
• Topic: [The exact agenda item]
• Country: [The delegation you are representing]
• Delegate: [Your Name]
Paragraph 1: Topic Background
This paragraph introduces the problem, but strictly through the
lens of your assigned country. It should not be a general
Wikipedia-style summary of the topic.
• What to include: Briefly define the issue and explain why it
matters on a global scale.
• The pivot: Explain how this issue specifically affects your
country or why your country cares about it.
• Goal: Establish your country's philosophical or political
baseline regarding the agenda.
Paragraph 2: Past Actions
This is where you prove you have done your research. You need
to outline what has already been done to address the problem,
highlighting your country's specific contributions.
• UN Actions: Mention key UN resolutions, treaties, or
international frameworks related to the topic (e.g., the Paris
Agreement, specific Security Council resolutions).
• Country Actions: Detail your country's domestic policies,
NGOs they support, or international blocs they have aligned
with to fight the issue.
 • Goal: Show that your country is already an active player in
solving the problem.
Paragraph 3: Proposed Solutions
This is the most important section. It outlines exactly what your
country wants the committee's final resolution to look like.
• What to include: Provide 3 to 4 concrete, realistic solutions.
Don't just say "we need more education"—say how the UN
should fund or structure that education.
• Alignment: Ensure your solutions strictly align with your
country's established foreign policy and financial capabilities.
• Goal: Give other delegates a reason to work with you during
unmoderated caucuses. These solutions are the foundation of
your working papers.
Essential Rules for Writing
• Always use the third person: Never use "I" or "we." Instead,
use "The delegation of [Country] believes..." or "France
firmly supports..."
• Keep it formal: Use diplomatic language. Instead of saying
"This is a terrible idea," say "The delegation expresses deep
concern regarding..."
• One page limit: Most chairs will stop reading after the front
page. Keep your sentences dense with facts rather than fluff.
Procedure: Roll Call
At the beginning of each session, a roll call will be conducted by
the Chairs. This is when delegates establish their presence in the
committee in the 2 following ways:
• Present- A delegate who declares themselves present may vote
for or against any manner which requires voting. They can avoid
voting on minor manners. Though, they cannot skip voting on
significant manners. Present means you are also attentively
participating throughout the whole session.
• Present and Voting- A delegate who declares themselves present
and voting cannot skip any type of voting and must vote against or
for any minor/significant topic. Present and voting means you are
also attentively participating throughout the whole session.
• Here is an example roll call:
o Chair: Delegate of Russia?
o Delegate: Present/Present and voting.
Note that you cannot ever refer to yourself as “I”, but rather as the
delegate of the specified country. For example, if you are
representing Russia, you would say “the delegate of Russia…”

Procedure: Opening the floor for

debate
After the roll call has taken place, the floor (main stage) must be
open to a debate. This will be done by the chairs as they will
announce the topic (which would be given to you beforehand).
After the floor has been opened, the chairs will allow delegates to
put forward motions to debate for. A motion is a request by a
delegate to move the committee as a whole to do something else.
Examples include putting forward a debate topic or forming a
resolution. Before a motion is put forward it must be accepted by
the Chairs, who will say what kind of motion they prefer, such as
a moderated caucus*, etc. If more than 50% of delegates agree on
an appropriate motion that has been put forward and approved by
the Chair, then the motion will take place. A 50-50 vote will result
in one speaker for and against the motion with 30 seconds
speaking time each, no points of information (POIs) followed by a
re-vote.
*All vocabulary (like moderated caucus) has been explained
before/will be explained later in this handbook.

Procedure: General Speakers List

(GSL)
Once the motion has been confirmed and taken place, a general
speaking list will be formed. The Chairs will ask delegates for their
names, to be added to the general speaking list. The time of the
GSL for an individual person can range from 50 seconds to 90
seconds depending on how much time the Chair decides.
The GSL is basically a list of speakers who wish to give some
information or opinion about the topic put forward. There is a
GSL for every topic put forward.
Yielding time- If a delegate has some time left after speaking, they
may yield (use) their remaining time in 2 possible ways:
• Back to Chair: You can give any remaining time you have back
to the Chair, meaning that you can just go back to your seat. You
can do this by stating at the end of your speech: “The delegate
yields the time back to the chair”.
• POI’s: The delegate accepts questions put forward by other
delegates concerning the given speech. The amount of POI’s that a
delegate is asked is chosen by the delegate or the Chair (i.e., if
there isn’t enough time). You would do this by stating at the end
of your speech: “The delegate yields the remaining time to POI’s”.
Doing this is recommended as it will earn you more marks.

Procedure: Moderated Caucus

A moderated caucus is a time period in which there is a specific
sub-topic decided (through votes) and a specific speaker time. The
caucus closes when the time elapses even if all the delegates have
not spoken. In its simplest terms, the GSL is a list, with the first
one being a general speech about the topic itself (it acts as a warm-
up just to familiarize delegates with rules and policies, and to
boost their initial confidence level), though, throughout the whole
MUN delegates representing the different nations will debate upon
decided topics. These topics are neatly arranged in a time period
with its respective rules called moderated caucus. Throughout the
whole MUN, you will encounter multiple opportunities to engage
your point of view in a moderated caucus. The moderated caucus
is basically a formal debate/discussion.
For example: If the topic of the MUN is related to the Water
Crisis, then a moderated caucus (sub-topic) can be about “% of
population with access to clean water and why”. All nations
would then vote on whether they think this is a topic worth
speaking about. If a majority of the votes agree to speak about the
sub-topic, specific nations will volunteer to say their part related to
the sub-topic.
Note: If you are the delegate proposing the caucus, make sure you
specify how long you want the entire discussion time to be and a
speaker’s time as well (e.g., “The delegate of Netherlands would
like to move a motion for moderated caucus about “-” with a
speaking time of 1 minute per person and a total time of 12
minutes”). This means that the whole committee will vote
whether they would like to discuss this or not, and if the result is a
majority “yes”, 12 speakers will be selected by the chair to speak.
Moderated caucus can be increased or decreased according to the
Chair’s choice.

Procedure: Unmoderated Caucus

A delegate can move a motion for an unmoderated caucus, which
is almost like a moderated caucus. The only difference between
the two is that unmoderated caucuses are informal and only have
a total speaker’s time, not an individual speaker’s time.
Unmoderated caucuses are time periods where delegates
representing the nations can slowly decide which side they agree
with, get into “blocks”, and informally discuss their sides and
decisions they take, etc.
During the MUN, there will be several moderated caucuses
followed by a few unmoderated caucuses. In the end, time will be
given to delegates to form with alliances with other countries
which have similar legal rules and beliefs to the nation they are
representing and together, in the end each block will need to form
a resolution. The block with the best resolution will be voted upon
and decided by the Chair. The Chair’s opinion will be based on
the quality of the resolution.

Procedure: Resolution
After enough caucuses (both moderated and unmoderated), the
chairs will announce that it is time for the resolution. After this,
they will give delegates 10-20 minutes to forms blocks (groups).
These will be teams which have delegates with similar laws,
beliefs, and opinions on the topic. After blocks have been formed,
delegates will have to construct the resolution. In the resolution,
delegates (representing different countries with similar points of
view) in their blocks will sum up all the ideas discussed and
provide a collective solution for the problem discussed in the
conference. The blocks will then submit their resolutions to the
chair, upon which the chair will decide which resolution is the best
and a vote will be conducted based on the chair’s preference, if the
resolution is backed by the majority, then it is adopted and the
block members are rewarded with appropriate marks.

Format of Draft Resolution

1. The Header
This sits at the top left corner of the document and identifies who
wrote it and what it's about.
• Committee: The name of your committee (e.g., General
Assembly).
• Topic: The exact agenda item.
• Sponsors: The principal authors of the document. These are
the delegates who wrote the majority of the text and will
defend it on the floor.
• Signatories: Delegates who want to see the resolution
debated. Signing does not mean you agree with it, it only
means you want it brought to the floor for discussion. You
usually need a minimum percentage of the committee (e.g.,
20%) to sign before the chair will accept it.
2. Preambulatory Clauses
These clauses form the introduction. They explain why the
committee is addressing the issue and highlight past international
actions, treaties, or the general scope of the problem. They do not
propose solutions.
 • Formatting Rules:
o Begin with a specific present participle (an "-ing" word)
that is italicized.
o They are not numbered.
o Every preambulatory clause ends with a comma (,).
Example Starters: Affirming, Deeply concerned, Emphasizing, Keeping
in mind, Recognizing, Noting with regret.
3. Operative Clauses
This is the core of your resolution. Operative clauses detail the
specific actions, policies, and solutions the committee will
implement.
• Formatting Rules:
o Begin with a present tense active verb that is
underlined.
o They must be numbered (1, 2, 3...).
o Sub-clauses are lettered (a, b, c...), and sub-sub-clauses
use Roman numerals (i, ii, iii...).
o Every operative clause ends with a semicolon (;).
o The very last operative clause of the entire document
ends with a period (.).
Example Starters: Urges, Establishes, Recommends, Calls upon,
Endorses, Requests.

Example Structure
Here is how it looks when put together:
Committee: United Nations Environment Programme
Topic: Regulating Microplastic Pollution
Sponsors: France, Japan, Kenya
Signatories: Brazil, Canada, India, South Africa, UK
The United Nations Environment Programme,
Deeply concerned by the rising levels of microplastics found in global
marine ecosystems, Recognizing previous efforts made under the
Paris Agreement and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,
1. Urges member states to implement national bans on single-
use plastic bags by the year 2030;
2. Establishes the Global Ocean Cleanup Initiative (GOCI)
which will: a. Monitor microplastic density in international
waters; b. Provide annual reports to the General Assembly;
3. Calls upon developed nations to provide technical assistance
to developing nations to build better waste management
infrastructure.
(This is just an example; the draft resolution can span multiple
pages).

Key words
• Moderated Caucus
• Unmoderated Caucus
• Yield
• Present
• Present and voting
• Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: Can be raised at any time if it
does not disrupt a speaker. If a delegate is confused about what is
going on, or about any procedures, or even just wishes to say
something but doesn’t know how to, they can raise a point of
parliamentary inquiry to ask about any of the following.
• Point of Personal Privileges: Can be raised at any time if it does
not disrupt a speaker. If a delegate is facing any hindrances during
the conference, such as the need to charge their device, use the
restroom, change seats, etc., they can raise a point of personal
privilege to do so. The only exception is if you disrupt a speaker
and ask the speaker “to speak slower or louder”.
• Point of Order: Can be raised at any time if it does not disrupt a
speaker, usually done after someone has spoken. There are 2 main
circumstances under which you would raise a point of order.
Firstly, if there was a violation in the rules or procedures from
delegates or the chair. This is usually raised by someone who is
more familiar with the rules and procedures. Secondly, if there
was an obvious factual inaccuracy (mistake in a stated fact), a
point of order may be raised. Do note that the factual inaccuracy
should be universally accepted and is not an opinion or a foreign
policy or anything else that is subject to only one source. An
example of an obvious factual inaccuracy would be if someone
stated that India is in Europe.
• Right of Reply: May be raised after a delegate feels like his/her
country has been insulted or they have been insulted. The
speaking time for a right of reply can be anywhere between 30-60
seconds, according to the chair’s preferences. These 30-60 seconds
will be used as a defence- defending yourself or the nation you
represent.