The IMUNA Instructional Guide 1998

Preface

All of a sudden hundreds of teenagers have changed their opinions. One is proclaiming Allah's word, while another calls the United States of America the rightful leader of the world; on a Model United Nations conference everything is possible. Pocket size UN: Students represent their country and defend the concerns of their country passionately, while international cooperation is indispensable for the success of the event. Students learn to deal with official English language, complex political issues and the rules of formal debate. Model United Nations is a unique concept.

This instructional guide is primarily written for participants in the International Model United Nations of Alkmaar (IMUNA). It is of course also suitable for any other person that wishes to learn more about the history and the structure of the United Nations Organisation and the course of events on a regular MUN conference. But the reader should bear in mind that IMUNA is used as a starting point throughout this guide.

Our goal was writing a practical guide in clear words, without too much theory and with a lot of examples. The participants in IMUNA are continually addressed, because they are the ones that are most fit by this booklet.

Various aspects of the United Nations and Model United Nations will pass. Along with a short history of the UN, we have inserted a chapter about lobbying. Discussing and writing resolutions are handled thereafter. Subsequently some tips are mentioned: from how to phrase questions to preparing individually or in groups. Finally, you will find a list of common used expressions on the last few pages of this guide.

The rules of formal debate and writing resolutions are those of THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nations). The information in this guide in not a copy of these bye-laws, but more a practical application of them.

This fifth printing is fully revised and some new ideas and examples have been added to it.

We sincerely hope the IMUNA Instructional Guide will be of service to your preparations to IMUNA. We beg to recommend ourselves to remarks, questions and suggestions.

Rindert de Groot
Secretary General IMUNA 1994

Introduction

In the past four years the IMUNA conference has proved to be a unique educational and cultural experiment. The project, set up in 1994 by several students from the Murmellius Gymnasium, has developed into a highly-realistic simulation of the work of the greatest peace-keeping organisation of the world. Every year, more schools from all over the world decide to attend the conference.

The increase of the number of delegates has also led to a higher level of debate through the years. These two improvements have made a third one necessary: an alteration of the conference scope. An Economic and Social Council and a Special Conference were added.

To be as well prepared for the conference as one can be, the Instructional Guide was designed. In advance of the fifth anniversary session the Instructional Guide has been entirely updated. It is now able to deal with all contemporary developments in the world of diplomacy.

The Instructional Guide as it is now will certainly be an indispensable support for all students planning to attend IMUNA. Along with a proper documentation on the country the student will represent, the IMUNA Instructional Guide is the ultimate support a delegate needs for debating, offering all the ins and outs of the rules of formal debate.

In addition to the IMUNA Instructional Guide, you can also obtain a copy of our IMUNA Audio Guide from the Secretariat. The Audio Guide explains the rules of debate and illustrates them with live debates.

Trusting the Instructional Guide will prove useful,

Maarten van Noort
Secretary General IMUNA 1998

Chapter 1

THE UNITED NATIONS, 1945 UNTIL NOW

From League of Nations to the United Nations Organisation

The Second World War had painfully made clear that the League of Nations, an idea of the American President Wilson, did not work. The organisation excelled in feebleness during its existence (1919 - 1945) and did not succeed in achieving its goals, the keeping of peace and stability in the world. Two causes of this failure were the absence of the United States of America in the union and the lack of means of pressure. After the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, the conquerors decided to make a new, comparable but much more effective organisation see the light of day.

The United Nations Organisation (UN) was founded in San Francisco in 1945. Simultaneously with the founding a charter was adopted: the constitution of the UN. Some years later the Universal Declaration of Human Rights followed and after that the Rights of Women and the Rights of the Child.

The principal object of the UN was the same of the League of Nations: keeping peace, but this time by tougher means. New item were the protection of human rights, like those determined in the Declaration and many treaties after that, preservation of the environment and searching for solutions for the disproportionate economical divisions in the world.

Structure

In spite of the difficult starting years that synchronised with the fever-pitch of the Cold War, the UN have overcome many troublesome periods. More and more countries joined and the number of duties grew steadily. Responsible for this was the better structure compared to the League of Nations. The organisation guaranteed dictate to all countries and had the financial and technical means to send military forces reinforce the decisions of the UN.

Expansion

From the end of the Cold War on, the UN's importance grew dramatically. The stalemate position between the USA and the Soviet Union has broken through, simply because the latter does not exist anymore. The Security Council does not have to contend any more with two world power consequently crossing each others resolutions with vetoes - the Gulf War was a clear example of a concerted action.

The dominance of the super powers has nevertheless not disappeared entirely. The USA, France, United Kingdom, China
and Russia still have a permanent seat and the right of veto in the Security Council.

The end of the Cold War has yet another consequence: the remaining members of the Security Council are not anymore divided into two parties, which makes it possible that different groups of countries and organisations are able to get more attention for their problems. Because of these developments the UN today employs more military forces for peacekeeping in areas with a tense political situation than ever before. At this moment eighteen peacekeeping forces are stationed in the world.

The UN has already its first country. After an endless civil war in Cambodia the UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia) has restored peace and order and has given king Norodom Sihanouk a leg up. In Cambodia things are going well - will other nations follow?

It is not all beer and skittles, that may be clear. The UN blundered in Yugoslavia and also in Rwanda the organisation in the beginning kept its firm hand in its pocket and left cutting knots to others.

Despite all reserves the United Nations cannot be thought away from world politics. For how would the situation in Yugoslavia, Angola, Rwanda have been if the UN had not done anything ?

Other points of interest

People often say the UN talks a lot and does little - and that the talking is about other things than sending peacekeeping forces. It is about environmental questions, protecting human rights, economical development and disarmament. In the course of years numerous commissions have been set up, innumerable conferences held and hundreds of treaties signed. And all of this has not been without result. Not only do the countries fairly keep themselves to the treaties, but also the public and political opinion changed tremendously. The UN is the stage from where the outcast spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, can speak. In Rio the Janeiro progressive ideas about the environment have been devised. It was on behalf of the UN (at least the Human Rights commission that hangs' under ECOSOC) that Max van der Stoel and Peter Kooijmans, both Dutch, have, as special rapporteurs, denounced and solved many violations of human rights by subtle lobbying. Of course all of this does not work without difficulties and intrigues: also in this area the UN has become a vital actor in world politics of today.

Problems

The UN today is an enormous organisation that receives more and more work every day because of the new tasks it sets itself. The inevitable weaknesses of the organisation come forward these times of stormy developments and are also discussed internally. The arrears of payment of many of the member states is one of these problems. More than half of the members have a year's back contribution, while the expenses of the UN continue: the peacekeeping forces cost billions of dollars, but also organizing conferences, the maintenance of the UN's buildings and the employment of thousands of people take their toll. And the commanding structure of forces in situations of war can be taken as an example. The national contingents prefer to keep control over their own troops.
This is also inevitable because the most constitutions of most governments prohibit their soldiers to fight under foreign command. This bottle-neck' on the executive level and the already bureaucratic course of events in New York are little beneficial to the readiness on the battlefield. The first crisis managers haven been appointed and the internal problems are a much discussed subject in the General
Assembly and many, many commission and committees.

Chapter 2

STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

General Assembly

The UN Organisation is the compound of (sub-)organisations in which the various problems of the world are discussed. All sub-organisations are grouped around the General Assembly (GA). In this forum, that meets annually, all member states, large or small, have an equal vote. The GA makes its decisions by means of resolutions. It appoints the members of the several sub-organisations, checks finances, but has, as opposed to the Security Council, no authority to take sanctions. Well-known organisations like UNICEF (children), UNHCR (refugees) and UNESCO (education, science and culture) are also established by the GA and are being checked by this organ. Preparatory forums for the GA are the several committees and workgroups. These deal with mainly purely political issues and the internal problems of the UN.

Security Council

The organ that guards world peace and security is the Security Council (SC). Five countries have a permanent seat in the SC and have the right of veto (USA, Russia, France, UK, China). This right holds that such a country has the power to individually block any resolution. Furthermore there are ten circulating members. Annually, five of those are replaced, so that every country gets its turn in the SC. Decisions of the SC are binding to all member states and can also contain military interference. The well-known blue helmets', the armed forces of the UN, are called upon by this council. The aims of these UN-forces are changing distinctively. Peacekeeping' is more and more becoming peace enforcing. The most famous example of this is of course the presence of UN blue helmets' in former Yugoslavia.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

The economic and social problems get the attention of the ECOSOC. Under the supervision of the GA this council coordinates the work of various UN-commissions, such as the Human Rights commission. These commissions have responsibilities themselves too. ECOSOC works both on matters of organisation as on matters of contents.

International Court of Justice

The organisation that checks that the UN constitution is observed, is the International Court of Justice, which has its seat in The Hague. This court deals with the juridical conflicts between member states and advises the GA and SC.

Chapter 3

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Concept and Aims

Model United Nations, MUN, is a simulation of the UN for scholars, students or other groups. Everyone who participates represents, alone or in a small group, a country or organisation, or presides an assembly. In order to do this as realistically as possible, everyone lives his role and forgets his own opinions in exchange of those of the country or organisation he represents. There are many MUN conferences and a lot of them are held annually. None of them have an official status; as distinct from for example the European Youth Parliament, MUN is no initiative of the organisation itself. But the process of coming to a resolution on a MUN conference does serve a purpose: expressing the wishes of a representative youth on the field of politics, and finding possible solutions. Although the biggest MUN conference in the world, THIMUN, is, like all MUN conferences, no official organisation, the UN does note the
resolutions that are passed there.

Another important aim is to practise debating about and lobbying for abstract purposes in an abstract language, for many not originally their own. For Americans, MUN is often a part of their curriculum, while Non-Americans, who mostly participate in MUN with less pretensions, it is an addition. The experience you gain in MUN is indeed copious, evidently also because of the third aim of MUN.

This third objective is communication between many different cultures, races, religions and nationalities; at the large MUN conferences like THIMUN and IMUNA, the participants come from all over the world. This makes these conferences so challenging; it is enlightening to dine in a Greek restaurant in an Dutch city with someone from South Africa, representing Iraq, being a British representative of Egypt. The fact that a restaurant is mentioned instead of a forum demonstrates that MUN is, for a significant part, a social event. Thus there are always many ways to socialize during a MUN conference.

Varieties

There is a wide spectrum of MUN conferences. We will illustrate this by some examples: The most significant difference is the distinction of large and small. For instance THIMUN has approximately 3000 participants, while IMUNA has about 350 delegates. This of course is of great influence on the course of events and the atmosphere. A second distinction is the one between MUN for students of a secondary school and a University. The latter is very popular in the UK and in the USA, in the Netherlands there is UNISCA held at the University of Amsterdam. The MUN conferences for students at a secondary school are more well-known: THIMUN, IMUNA, MUNISH, etc. Finally MUN conferences distinguish themselves by the forums that assemble. Mostly a structure of a GA with its preparatory committees is customary and almost always a SC is in session at the same time. There are certainly variations: THIMUN has an International Court of Justice while IMUNA has not.

IMUNA

In 1994 the IMUNA conference saw its first session in the light of the 90th anniversary of its organizing school, the Murmellius gymnasium in Alkmaar. IMUNA was a grand success. A unique aspect of IMUNA is that it is entirely organized by pupils, only supervised by a Board of Directors, consisting of teachers and members of the school board. IMUNA has grown enormously over the years, and will now welcome over 350 delegates each year.

Chapter 4

LOBBYING

Introduction

In order to achieve your goals at an MUN conference, just writing a resolution and defending it in a formal debate will not do. Before the formal debate commences one shall have to prove oneself in what is probably the most vital part of diplomatic reasoning: lobbying. Not all of the dozens of resolutions that are written in advance can be discussed, so a few resolutions will have to be merged into one final resolution. This process is based on striving for consensus. You can read how it works in this chapter. As it is quite extensive, here are some links to help you find your way round.

Writing a resolution

Why write a resolution yourself, when only a few of the total amount will be considered ? There are some reasons why you should.

In the first place, somebody has to do it: there has to be a number of resolutions to begin with - spontaneously creating your resolution at IMUNA is virtually impossible. But this does not clarify why everybody should write one. And still it is necessary. A resolution is a delegate's business-card. With it you can state the goals for your diplomatic efforts. In the interest of cooperation, this is very important.

Also, when resolutions are merged, it is customary to include a few clauses from every party involved. And finally, writing a resolution is almost indispensable for arranging your own thoughts (that is: the point of view of the nation you are representing) on the subject.
Lobbying and resolutions hang so close together at MUN that we will also give some tips for writing resolutions in this chapter.

Purpose of lobbying

The basic idea is to make the forum (Committee and the GA thereafter, Commissions, ECOSOC, SC or Special Conference) adopt as many of the plans of your country as possible, of course in full cooperation with other nations. But first a resolution should be omposed. This is accordingly the main objective of lobbying. Merging is the keyword when composing a resolution. Moreover, you can naturally lobby for the ideas of your country, although that is rarely done at a MUN, because it has no clear effect. Something that is usual, is that during the lobbying process, the speaking time for the committee (or other forum) is roughly being divided, for it is possible to appoint another speaker when you have the floor (for further details see the chapter on rules of the formal debate). Besides, the chair is sensible for a good lobbyist.

Lobbying is also necessary when you want to achieve results of another kind. The making of a treaty can be an excellent result of a MUN. This requires a very special sort of lobbying. Precisely how that sets about, entirely depends on the situation. We will not specifically speak about that in this chapter, but you will come across some useful tips.

Lobbying takes place just about always and everywhere at a MUN. You can start with it at the moment of arrival, at the appointed lobbying-location for your forum, before the debate commences, during debate (by means of note writing), but also at night in the bar. Do not hesitate to start lobbying right away.

Lobbying with delegates

An important question you will have to ask yourself is with which countries you would like to cooperate. To help you in this, we will give you some criteria:

1. Ideological, economical and territorial similarities are very important. This has a number of causes: some resolutions and some measures are acceptable to your country, others are not. Representing Iran, you will not be liable to want to lobby with Western European countries when the subject is freedom of religion, homosexuality and other ethnical matters. You would play your role badly if you support ideas that are unacceptable to your country. This is by far the most important reason, because it is an essential part of realistically playing your role.

There are also some practical reasons. We will give two of them.

In the first place it can be helpful to make use of the ties that come with IGOs (Inter Governmental Organisations). Examples of these are the European Union, the Arab League and the organisation of African Unity. Often these IGOs will call meetings. It is the very practical (but because of the first mentioned argument also very good) to come to an agreement with these countries, for these countries are not united into an organisation for no purpose; there are always common interests.

The second political reason is a psychological one. Both representing an African country means that you have a tie. Both having a dictator also means having a tie. This sounds quite irrational, but is a practical qualification when searching the right delegate to speak with.

2. A second point is the quality of the resolution of your fellow delegate. The makings of the different participants differ
tremendously in political achievability, spelling and originality. Usually the quality of someone's resolution and his competence in lobbying go together. Someone who has an exceptional resolution should be addressed with much more tact and subtlety than someone who has written a resolution that would cause the reader a heart attack. In this case you can easily and without any ceremonies push to be co-submitter of your resolution (do insert a preambulatory clause of his, just pro forma), in the first case you had rather join the resolution of the other and pray you get to speak to the assembly for a moment. In the vast twilight zone between these two extreme examples, you will have to find your way. This certainly will not be easy, but who said it would be?

But yet what determines the quality of a resolution? That is a purely subjective matter. Nonetheless, it is mainly about achievability, elaborateness and originality of the proposals. The achievability is sometimes observed differently at different MUN conferences and is far too comprehensive and subjective to consider here. The elaborateness is found in the spelling and style of the resolution, the factual information in it and the length of the resolution. Try to find the mean stream in all these cases: do not use irritating spelling and
grammar, but also avoid woolly and superabundant sentences with lots of clauses. E.g. not two pages full of preambulatory
clauses explaining the subject, but a short foundation and presentation of your knowledge on the subject.

About the length: apart from some exceptions, resolutions of one page are considered "not comprehensive enough', a resolution of more than 4 pages is usually not even discussed by anyone.

The originality is again very subjective. During your preparation, you cannot estimate whether or not a proposal is too ambitious or another proposal is much too ordinary. This coheres directly with the knowledge of facts of your fellow delegates: has it already been proven that a proposal like that does not work ? Or has not that measure already been taken? Let us give you a tip here: you can incorporate decisions already taken by the UN into your resolution by camouflaging them by a few supplements of your own. This happens at the real UN quite often.

Lobbying with Chairs

Targets of your lobbying activities are in the first place the delegates in your forum. When you are a delegate in the Human Rights Committee, you will try to meet as many people of this committee as possible. Also the Chair and Deputy Chair are very important. Do not hesitate to approach them, rope them in and convince them. They are the ones that recognize the speakers during the debate, they have an enormous influence on the order in which the resolutions will be discussed and, besides that, they know exactly which resolutions on the same issue want to be discussed. Each chair is a little corrupt. A beer in the pub can perform miracles. All of this is not as negative as it might seem. At the real UN it is just the same. A sociodrama of diplomacy can not do without a little nepotism, can it? Besides, giving a person you have already met the benefit of the doubt is a very natural reaction. And finally: the chair always tries to get the best resolutions on the agenda, because then the results will be better.

It can also happen that you want to discuss a resolutions on a subject that is not on the agenda: that is only possible if you make an 'amendment on the agenda'. You (usually) need a two-thirds majority for this. First ask the chair if he thinks it is a good idea or not.
It is of course practical to get some support among the delegates in your forum, because then the chair usually has no other choice. Make sure the issue you would like to add stays within the authorities of your forum.

Lobbying about resolutions and merging them

You could of course try to shove your own resolution in its original form through the forum. That will almost always fail. Besides, you need co-submitters: each resolution should be supported by a minimum number of countries, five for instance, before the debate starts. During lobbying you have to convince the other participants that your resolution is the best there is on that particular topic. There are only a few delegates who will co-submit just like that when they have absolutely no influence on the contents of the resolution. And those who do are most likely not the ones from whom you can expect help to find more co-submitters, to press the chair to chose the right (i.e. your own) resolution to discuss, or to make the debate be convincing: these easy-signers' are usually not the best delegates.

We would like to stress usually: the willingness to become a co-submitter is greater if your resolution is a good one, if the person you are speaking with has no desire to merge, or if time is running out. Do not assume that you can drag your 'creation' through the committee in one piece. Merging is, as said before, the utmost important activity when lobbying.

To merge' literally means to unite'. When merging, you deliberate with other delegates which clauses from which resolutions you will insert into a new one. In fact you combine a few resolutions.

The first aim of merging is to bring together the co-submitters required for the debate in the forum.

The second aim that makes lobbying necessary is acquiring the support needed to pass the resolution. Also, the resolution will become generally better by merging.

And last but not least, merging is a social thing.

What should you expect from merging ? For instance that you sit in front of a computer with an other delegate, mixing a few clauses from each resolution into a new one. Of course the points of view of the countries involved have to be corresponding. You can also work in a group of ten people with ten different sheets of paper, striking clauses while two or three of you try to have the greatest influence. Shortly said: Merging can come in many different forms and a lot of your achievements depend on your own capacities. To be a good lobbyist, you need to have some knowledge of the subject, but also be an easy talker. If you are more the latter and have less of the first, you will often achieve more (unfortunately ?) than if you are the other way round. But do not risk too much on that point. If you would succeed, by smooth talking, in levying an army of co-submitters for a resolution that is no good, and even accomplish getting this resolution into the committee, no more than a pile of shreds will remain. If all goes as normal.

The moment you are merging with more than two people, you risk becoming isolated. When this happens, and you decide to quit merging, the other delegates have free disposal of a number of your clauses. Unfortunately, you can say goodbye to your royalties and copyrights. It is common practice that clauses are stolen - do not do this too often yourself, because it will breed ill blood, but also, do not be childish when other people do so. It is all in the game. When isolation threatens, just bang the table with your fist. That experienced delegate, who seems to be knowing just everything, in fact needs you as much as you need him.

When you are involved in some hectic lobbying, it is possible that you suddenly find yourself co-submitting a resolution that you do not like after all. This can occur when a resolution was subsequently merged by your colleague co-submitters who took the first list of countries with your name on it with them, when you could not follow things that fast, or when somebody took your hesitation for a 'yes'. If this happens, you can let the other co-submitters know you withdraw your co-submittance. Do not think too much of
a co-submittance, though. The list of co-submitters is never really checked and it does not really affect votes either. But it can be of great importance if there are two resolutions on the same subject and one of them has far more co-submitters. That one is then
most likely to be discussed.

You are only allowed to co-submit one resolution on the same subject at the same time. When there are several issues on the agenda, you are allowed to co-submit one resolution on each issue. Together with the co-submitters, you can make arrangements about further lobbying with the new resolution and about the debate on the resolution in the committee. Make sure that these arrangements are clear to everyone. Do not let anybody merge the resolution further without your knowledge.

Non-member delegations

When you are a non-member delegation (NGO or IGO), you are not allowed to co-submit resolutions. Also, you are not allowed to vote on resolutions and amendments. This does not give you less decisive influence, though. If your organisation has direct interest in the subject, the delegates will listen to you. Still, you are surely allowed to speak in assembly.

Isolated countries

Some countries will never do things right. At MUN this is not as bad as compared to the real UN. But Iraq has always had some disadvantage as to the USA for instance. It is possible that you become completely isolated. Sometimes this is the right thing, if you will not want to deny the ideals and objectives of your country. In that case there is not much more left for you than to use some obstructive behaviour. Bear in mind that half the speaking time in the committee is against the resolution. An original speech, as negative as it may be, always meets some favourable reception. While lobbying, you can keep yourself well-posted of the things that go around.

Tips

Some tips to help you on your way:

1. Try to find out, in advance, the specifics of the MUN: where is the computer room, when should I take my resolution to the approval panel, where can I find the chairs, where is the staff of the conference to help me etc. (You can always ask the reception desk for details.) Only then you can react swiftly and adequately if it would be necessary while lobbying.

2. Pay attention to IGOs such as the European Union. Be present, if you can spare some time.

3. Take the resolution with you to the MUN printed out and on a floppy disk. Keep in mind that the computers at the conference may not be completely compatible to yours and may use a different word processor. We advise you to bring resolutions saved in a so called text format, with line breaks', recognisable by the '.TXT' extension. (At IMUNA one uses Word Perfect 6.1 for Windows 3.11, so that format is in order too). For further questions contact the Secretariat well in advance.

4. 'Relevant' countries are always creditable as co-submitters to resolutions. A resolution on Cuba will have more success if Cuba approves on it than when Micronesia does.

5. Several synonyms to the word co-submitter that do not exist anymore are sometimes still heard: submitter, sponsor, co-sponsor, signer, co-signer.

Chapter 5

FORMAL DEBATE

Introduction

There are numerous ways to debate: informally there are many varieties, but the formal debate has some too. A debating procedure like that is the one we work with during IMUNA. During the session of a forum on IMUNA you are obliged to keep to the structure.

Overview

We will begin with a brief summary. The assembly of a forum at IMUNA generally will be as follows:

1. Opening by the chair

2. Roll call (in GA this includes opening speeches)

3. Drawing up the agendaAgenda

4. Reading out loud the Operative Clauses of the resolution

5. Speaking time in favour and against, or an open debate. Amendments and motions can be made
during this debate.

6. Voting on the resolution

7. Repeating points 4 till 6 if there are more than one resolution to be discussed

8. Closing by the chair

Roll call

After the opening the chair or president of an assembly will begin with a roll call. During this procedure the chair will call all nations.

The nations present respond by saying present' and raising their placard. In the General Assembly, opening speeches will be held, right after the roll call is concluded. The chair asks every country if it is present and if it wishes to speak to the assembly. This is just pro forma, because everybody wants to.

Each country has one minute speaking time.

There is also the possibility to respond to an opening speech by a so-called 'right to reply', only to be made by the Ambassador, the spokesman of the delegation. After a fixed number of speeches, the chair will allow a few of these rights. The appointed country is then allowed to react on a opening speech in the form of a statement or remark - so not a question - during 30 seconds.

Agenda

To alter the agenda of an assembly you need a majority on a 'motion to amend the agenda'. It might be helpful to discuss the amendment with the chair beforehand. A motion like this may only hold an addition. The added issue will be discussed when all the other issues are dealt with.

In the GA the agenda consists of the resolutions that have passed the committees. The order in which the resolutions will be discussed in fixed.

Course of debate

The chair asks who wants to propose a resolution or suggests a discussion on a specific resolution. For a start, one of the co-submitters is supposed to read the operative clauses of the resolution out loud. The chair will then set debate time. In a committee or in the GA that is usually 10 minutes in favour and 10 minutes against a resolution. In a council the debate is open. This means that 20 minutes are set, without the distinction in favour / against.

Now the chair will open the discussion. The floor is open and the chair asks who would like to speak, "All delegates who request the floor, please raise your placard". By raising your placard you state that you would like to speak. At the beginning of the debate, the chair will generally call the co-submitter to the floor.

On the floor you deliver a speech. You do not have to use the full time - in fact you are not supposed to.

When you have done, you can do three things:

1. You can answer questions. You then say: " I yield to one (or two, three ) points of information".

2. You can give the floor to someone else to speak: "I yield the floor to Israel", you could say.

By the way, this may only be done once consecutively: Egypt can yield the floor to China, but China can not yield the floor (again) to another country.

3. Also, you can give the floor back to the chair, by saying: "I yield the floor to the chair".

The speaking time is ticking away while a speaker is speaking. This implies that the clock is running during speeches and during the answering of points of information. When a question is asked and a procedural matter is taken care of, the clock is paused. Also when a so-called subsidiary motion is discussed (i.e. an amendment), the speaking time for the main motion (i.e. the resolution) stands still. A subsidiary motion has got extra debate time.

When the speaking time both in favour and against has elapsed, the chair will propose to extend debating time or go into voting procedures.

Amendments

An alteration proposed to the resolution is called an amendment. These are mostly modifications of the resolutions, but it could also be a modification of an amendment (amendment to an amendment !). If the amendment fails the submitter of the amendment retains the floor. When an amendment to the amendment passes, the original amendment passes in the modified version. If the amendment to the amendment fails, there will be another vote on the original amendment. An amendment to the amendment to the amendment will not be in order. In committees and the GA the rule applies that amendments may be submitted during speaking time both in favour and against.

Only a speaker on the floor is allowed to propose an amendment. Before he begins to speak, he has to send the amendment to the chair on an amendment sheet. You have to indicate the changes you would like to be made distinctively. The words strike, replace, erase, add and insert are often used. Do not forget to mention the number of the line in which the amendment should be made and put the quoted and the new text in inverted commas ("....").

Constructive amendments are preferred to destructive amendments.

For example:

add after clause 11 (line 45): "condemns all nations not obeying to this resolution"

or

replace (line 34): "all nations" with "member states"

or

insert on page 2 clause 15 (line 60): between "to UNICEF" and "to decrease the risk" the words "and the YMCA"

After you have submitted the amendment to the chair, he or she will check whether the amendment is in order. After that the amendment will be discussed.

The chair can call for an informal vote or he begins with the debate. Usually, he sets the speaking time on 3 minutes in favour and 3 against the amendment (i.e. in councils 5 minutes open debate). The procedure is the same as concerning a resolution.

An amendment to an amendment is in order, but an amendment to an amendment to an amendment is out of order. Also an amendment to the agenda is in order. This is the only amendment that can be proposed by a delegate who does not have the floor. The amendment should still be submitted to the chair, though. By means of a point of order you can propose the amendment: "The USA rises to a motion to amend the agenda". Abstentions on an amendment are not in order.

Points during debate

During the debate there are a number of points. These are interruptions that can be made by any delegate. If you want to make a point you just cry out that point, e.g.: "point of order !" and hold your placard high in the air. If you are recognized by the chair ("USA, you have been recognized"), you stand up and make your point.

IMPORTANT: The speaker must be addressing using the third person: "Is the honourable delegate aware..." instead of: "Are you aware...".

The same goes for the chair or president: "Would the chair please allow...", instead of: "Could you, dear chair, please...".

Point of order

This point is out of order during a speech! A point of order refers to the procedure. With it, you can ask the chair (NOT the speaker) something about the situation. E.g. you can ask the chair if it is allowed to Russia to yield the floor for a second time consecutively (which is not, of course).

Furthermore, a point of order offers the opportunity to propose a motion. An example: "China rises to a motion to allow eating in this committee !".

Point of information to the speaker

If the delegate on the floor has opened himself to points of information, after his speech, you can use this exclamation to show the chair you would like to ask a question to the speaker. Note to only ask ONE question. You are allowed though to use a short introductional sentence, before you pose the actual question, e.g.: "We think the situation in Belgium is worse than it might seem. Therefore we would like to ask if the delegate agrees...".

Point of information to the chair

The point of information to the chair is out of order during a speech and is mostly used to ask the chair something.

Example:

"Could the chair please indicate how much time is left in favour of the resolution.".

Point of personal privilege

This point can be used for your own well-being. In practice you can call this point if a speech is inaudible to you. This is the only point which can interrupt a speech (As long as audibility is in case !). You almost will never have to specify your point. If there is anything else discomforting, such as the temperature of the room, you can also use the point. However, it may not interrupt a speech in this case.

Point of parliamentary enquiry

With this point you can ask the chair, only when no delegate is speaking, something about the rules of debate. If something is not clear to you, just ask the chair politely. E.g.: "Could the chair please explain if it is in order to abstain from voting on an amendment."

Call for the orders of the day

This call is an appeal to return to the actual agenda. This appeal is out of order during a speech and may not refer to the
contents of a speech. This point is seldom used.

Motions

With a motion you can bring out lots of things during debate. This part of the chapter deals with procedural motions, but there is a wide range of other motions, like one for opening the window for instance. If you want to move to a motion, you do that with a point of order. You can also propose the motion without using the point of order.

Example:

"The Netherlands rises to a motion to extend debating time."

The chair is not obliged to take notice of motions all the time. If he does, he will ask if there is a second for the motion. By crying "Second !", you state that you agree with the motion proposed. Subsequently, the chair will ask for objections ("Objection !"). Most of the time a vote will immediately follow, if there is a clear division of seconds and objections.

Some complicated motions call for debate. Motions mostly require a plain majority. If a two-thirds majority is required, this is mentioned with the description of the motion.

Motion to extend debate time

When the speaking time has elapsed and you want to debate on the resolution for a longer time you use this motion. Sometimes the chair will suggest it himself.

Motion to move into voting procedures/ the previous question

When a delegate wishes to move into voting procedures when debate time has not been exhausted, he or she can use this motion. If the motion passes, the assembly will immediately have a vote on the question that was debated. Voting is essential in order to come to resolutions. At IMUNA votes are taken by counting the raised placards. This directly implies that votes are public, just as in the UN.

During voting procedures all points are out of order, except for points referring to the course of voting.

Voting on resolutions

When voting on a resolution there are three possibilities: In favour of or against the resolution, or abstaining from voting. A resolution passes if there are more votes in favour than against, so abstentions do not count in this balance. After the votes have been taken, there is the option to explain votes.

At every side (in favour, against or abstaining) one delegate that has brought that vote may explain why he has during one minute.

Voting on amendments

Only votes in favour or against are allowed. Abstaining is absolutely forbidden.

Voting on other motions

On other, procedural motions, also observers may vote. Just as with an amendment, only voting in favour or against is allowed.

Motion to table the resolution

Herewith the resolution is put on the bottom of the pile. This usually results in not discussing it at all.

Motion to call for a division of the house

In this procedure the chair will ask all delegations individually for their votes: in favour, against or abstaining (if possible). This occurs if the number of votes in favour and against lie very close to one another.

This vote can arise if votes have been taken and results have been mentioned.

Appeal from the decision of the chair

With this point you can annul the decision of the chair. There can be no discussion on this motion and it needs a two-thirds majority. This motion is rarely used.

Objection to the main motion

Another rare motion. A delegate can use it if he has conscientious objections against a resolution. The submitter, as well as the co-submitter, have the right to one minute speaking time. To pass it needs a two-thirds majority.

Taking a motion from the table

By means of this motion, a resolution will be discussed immediately. Again, a two-thirds majority is required.

Withdrawing a motion

A motion can be withdrawn if all co-submitters agree on that. It is also possible if the whole assembly agrees. When an actual motion to withdrawal is submitted, a two-thirds majority is required.

Referring a resolution or question

A resolution or a complete issue can be assigned to an other committee. The chair may start a discussion whether or not this motion is desirable.

The Chair

The Chair is the man or woman who presides the forum. He determines who is allowed to speak and is in charge of the debate.

Decisions of the chair are binding. For convenience the chairman or chairwoman is always addressed as 'chair' in committees. In commissions, the Security Council and the General Assembly there is a President instead of a chair.

Every chair has his Deputy Chair, who alternates with the chair or president and helps him. For the delegates there is no difference between chair/president or deputy chair/president.

Notes

At IMUNA you can send notes to other delegates in the same or in an other assembly during debate (not at any time; the chair will inform you). For this you have to use official notepaper; a sheet of blank paper will not pass the screening panel. People in this panel
check if you use valid notepaper and see that the contents of the message is of a strictly political basis, e.g.: "Shall we meet at 2.00 pm to work on a new resolution ?" is allowed to be sent, "Shall we meet at 9.00 pm in a restaurant to discuss our private life ?", or "I am so bored. Would you write me a nice letter please." is not. Rights to reply (only in GA) to a speech need to be addressed to the chair. E.g.: "USA would like to reply to the speech of the UK, if possible".

Always write your notes in proper English and make clear on the outside (you always offer your note folded once or twice) to whom and in which committee the note is addressed. If not, the note will be disposed of.

Notes will be delivered by Administrative Assistants. Those people are all volunteers (as the entire IMUNA organisation) so show them some respect. Keep in mind that without their help you wouldn't be able to send any notes.

Chapter 6

HOW TO WRITE A RESOLUTION

Resolutions

A resolution is (originally) a statement from the United Nations Organisation. It consists of one long sentence, divided into clauses, in which the opinion of the assembly is reflected and measures are taken. You can only request countries to do something, advise something, or condemn an act. Thus you can decide in the expenses of the UN, creating new organisations, etc.

A resolution is a statement of the entire UN, so phrasing only the thoughts of your country will not work. The aim is to compose a resolution with other delegates to make it acceptable to the majority of the member nations.

The heading of the resolution

When writing a resolution, you start off with the heading. This consists of a page number (e.g. 'page 2 of 3'), the name of the committee, the title, the co-submitter and the opening.

Usually this heading is repeated every page of the resolution.

The lay-out of a resolution

see example - to return to this page use the back-button of your browser.

Question of

The submitter of the resolution has to indicate the issue the resolution is about on top of the resolution. He or she has to use the fixed formula " Question of ..." .

Co-submitters

All co-submitters ( the nations who declare they support the resolution before the debate has started) should be stated here. At IMUNA you need at least four co-submitters.

Opening

The submitter has to address the forum in which the debate will take place, e.g. GA, ECOSOC or the Security Council.

Preambulatory Clauses

Now the actual resolution starts. This is one long sentence. First you have the preambulatory clauses (pre-am's). These are general statements, preceding the main part of the resolution. If you can name facts that might be essential to the resolution, you put them here. In this part no actions are allowed. After each preambulatory clause a comma is placed.

Operative clauses

All this is followed by the operative clauses, the real point of the resolution. Always leave a blank line between two clauses. The operative clauses have to be numbered, the other clauses do not. Remember to place these clauses a little further from the marginal line than the preambulatory clauses. After each operative clause a semi-colon (;) is put, after the last one comes a full stop (.).

Sub points

You can of course use sub points in a clause. Put small letters in front of these clauses. If you want to use sub points within a sub point, you use Roman figures (I, II, III, IV, V, etc.) Remember to indent each time you do this. Every written line is numbered from the first preambulatory clause. (Be aware that sometimes the word processor numbers text lines and spaces between lines automatically! - turn off the automatic numbering and number only the text lines.)

The beginning of a clause

You generally start clauses with underlined words. You cannot just pick any verb, you will have to use standard words to open the clause with. See the section on preambulatory clauses.

The preambulatory clauses always begin with present or perfect participles (realising, convinced etc.) or adjectives (aware, conscious etc.).

Operative clauses start with a verb in present tense, third person (ending with -es or -s). Sometimes these words appear in
combination with adverbs like 'strongly', 'deeply' etc.

Framework of a resolution

The resolution given as an example is of course a little short. Since everybody has to do a lot of reading at IMUNA, do not make your resolution too complicated or too long. Remember to be precise when taking measures; make sure that a measure can be executed within common sense. Every clause may contain only one aspect of the issue, so it should not become a 'medley' of measures.

Conclusion

At the end of a resolution you will often find a concluding sentence or clause. In it, you express your hope that all countries will work together to solve the problem or something like that. Printing a clause like this is not obligatory.

Approval Panel

Remember to stick to the rules when making a resolution. At IMUNA, a resolution first has to pass an Approval Panel, before it may be taken into consideration in the committee. The Approval Panel checks the spelling, lay-out and framework of the resolution (not the contents). This panel is quite strict concerning approving resolutions.

If you have any questions during the conference on whether your resolution is in order, you can always ask the Approval Panel or one of the members of the IMUNA Executive Staff.

You have to hand in two copies of the resolution, if you want to have it approved. One copy will be property of the Approval Panel, the other will be delivered to the chair of your forum.

Chapter 7

MAKING A SPEECH

Making a speech is not easy. Not everyone has the flair to summarise a couple of arguments convincingly, sweetly smiling, and subsequently getting the entire assembly on his or her side. Those who do might consider themselves fortunate and can skip this chapter perhaps. For all the others there still is hope; you can learn and master a lot.

Contents

Build up your speech carefully and clearly. It might be a good idea to conclude the parts of your speech with a short pause or summarising sentence. A construction often used by orators is: Say what you want to say, say it, summarise it and shut up. This could be difficult during a MUN debate, because you do not always know what you want to say when you have the floor. But still, when the chair has recognised you and you suddenly find yourself having the right to speak, you can make things easy on yourself.

In the following example, China rises to withhold other countries from accepting a clause, in which an ultimatum is being put to North Korea to allow an inspection of the IAEA. (By the way, a measure like that can only be taken by the SC).

·        Say what you want to say: "Operative clause 9 is an unrealistic clause. I will explain why."

·        Say it: "According to China it is ridiculous to believe that an ultimatum is the right way to make sure that North Korea will let inspectors of the IAEA come in. North Korea will not allow those inspectors in the first place. Recent history has shown that ostentatiously. In the second place; if North Korea will let them in, the IAEA will find nothing of interest, since the government of North Korea is very good at hiding important information. My third argument is that, even if we do have proof of the existence of nuclear arms in North Korea, we can't do anything with that information! Put sanctions on them ? We do not want to risk another Korean war, do we ?"

·        Summarise: "Thus this ultimatum will not be successful - and if so, the success would be useless. I therefore encourage you to vote against."

·        Shut up.

This speech is entirely in accordance with the SSSS-rule and even the explanation is constructed logically; three times a thesis with a motive. The speech could easily be decorated with an example, yet more arguments and more demagogy.

Try to reason clearly. For this aim there is the inductive and the deductive method. Using the first, you use clear evidence to prove a thesis: North Korea will refuse inspections, since they have done so for more than ten times.

The deductive method is bases on new arguments, by which you confirm the first, e.g.:

A: The measures are principally proposed and executed by the USA.
B: The USA does not want to risk a second Korean war, so only economical sanctions are among the options.
C: North Korea has no interest in economical aid from the USA.
D: North Korea is not impressed by the sanctions.
E: North Korea will not allow IAEA inspections.

Presentation

An important element of your speech is the presentation. No matter how convincing your arguments are, you first have to captivate everyone. Pay attention to the following points:

·        Speak calmly and articulate carefully. If you are inaudible, the assembly will not be interested to listen.

·        Try to make a relaxed appearance while you are standing in front of your audience. Watch your arms and legs; do not sway back and forth too much and do not blink your eyes too often.

·        Vary the tone of your voice. Speak slowly at one point, then speak fast at another, sometimes speak softly, sometimes speak loudly and try to vary the pitch of your voice.

·        Do not try to over shout noise. Rather ask the chair to call the assembly to order. ("Could the chair please call this house to order.")

·        Look at your audience. Go by them with your eyes. Subconsciously, everybody will pay more attention. (thinking: "else, he will start looking at me again !"). If you are afraid of looking directly into people's eyes, try to look just above their eyebrows or just look at the back of the room.

·        Use short sentences and understandable words, without becoming childish. This is more agreeable for the congregation, but also for yourself. To lose track during your own speech in front of the assembly is embarrassing.

·        Use humour! A joke, now and then, is a good way to break the course of the debate. Besides, it is a very good way to keep your speech interesting for everyone.

Figures of speech

If you have gained some experience on how to speak to a large audience, you might try to insert some figures of speech.

·        Repetition
Repeating words, phrases or sentences, e.g.: "Strong are the UN. Strong are its committees. So strong should be its resolutions!"

·        Variation
This is a commonly used figure of speech to moderately decorate a dull sentence: "The war must end, should stop, has to be over now!"

·        Rhetorical question
A question posed without the expectation of an answer: "Which resolution could be more beautiful than the one that lies in front of you ?"

·        Alliteration
A group of words that starts with the same letter: "...the painful plight of the Palestinian people..."

·        Climax
You work towards a climax "Not one page, not two, no, four pages this resolution has !"

Practise

Of course you can practise during each MUN conference, but you can also practise in advance, at home or at school for instance. We recommend that all participating schools organise a workshop to practise the debate several times with all students. The IMUNA Secretariat can supply you with more material (i.e. prefab resolutions, the IMUNA Audio Guide etc.) to enhance your practise.
But of course you can also stand in front of a mirror and tell a story about something you are interested in. Do you look convincing enough ? Or record yourself when performing a speech. This can be very frightening to yourself, but you will soon become acquainted with hearing you own voice. At that point you can start by making an analysis of your own speech and find out where there is room for improvement left. Very often, friends, teachers, parents, neighbours and so on are willing to help you to overcome you fear for speaking in public. At the end, you might even start to like the attention of all those people. Now you are ready to perform a speech
during IMUNA. But remember: practice is the only way to become a real good delegate.

Chapter 8

QUESTIONS

Points of information make an essential and often very important part of the debate. We will now give some tips on how to tackle questions practically.

Asking questions

A point of information is bound hand and foot: It may only be one question, possibly initiated by a short remark or statement, e.g.: "I do not agree with the delegate of China. Therefore I ask him to clarify why he thinks that...". The chair will interrupt you if you try to ask another question!

You can pose questions in three ways; informatively, positively and negatively.

·        Informative question
You do not understand a part of the speech of the speaker, or you want to know something about the subject. The question
you pose is neutral. E.g.: "Could the delegate please explain to me what the results might be of the measures stated in clause 3, line 12?"

·        Positive question
This type of question is to assist the speaker if you agree with him. You can do this by wrapping up an important argument of the speaker in the form of a question, providing with an example or by coming forward with a new argument. E.g.: "Doesn't the speaker agree with me that passing this resolution would be a contribution to a better Human Rights compliance ?"

·        Negative question
There are of course also pestering questions. You can already recognise them by their introduction: "Does the speaker really think that Iraq will agree on this matter ?" Examples are legion. Do not use this type of question too often and form them delicately. It is easy to use these questions, since you immediately force the speaker in a defending position. On the hand, you run the risk of being seen as a delegate who is only nagging, which certainly is no good for your reputation and credibility.

Answering questions

It is wise to answer at least one question after your speech. Do not be afraid, people often listen more intensely because the assembly is more actively involved. On the other hand, do not put yourself open to too much points of information. Four questions should surely be the maximum. Some small tips to help you on your way:

- If you can not hear a question, friendly request the delegate to repeat the question: "Could the delegate please repeat his point ?"

- Do not ask the delegate to repeat or to rephrase over and over again. If you have no direct answer just say so ("I don't have the slightest idea, sorry.") instead of making a fool of yourself.

- Do not let yourself be forced into defence. There are delegates that try to undermine your speech by testing your knowledge of the matter or by pushing emotions, e.g.:

Q: "Could the delegate state what measures are taken by resolutions 243, 244, 256 and 271b ?"

A: "Yes I could, but I do not think it would be necessary, since the delegate seems to know them already"

Q: "Doesn't the delegate realise that these clauses are as vague as thin air ?"

A: "No, I do not."

The last question is very rude and therefore does not deserve a comprehensive answer. Nevertheless, a question like this often has the desired effect, because it makes people feel personally offended. Keep seeing MUN as a role-playing game - the questioner does that too - and keep cool.

- Sometimes it is useful to reply with an evasive answer. You can always find some caching answer if a difficult question is asked, e.g. "These problems will be solved after the passing of this resolution."

A misleading answer can go as far as straight lying. Sometimes a whole committee falls for it. If not, you might as well say goodbye, so be careful.

When about to answer, you could also provide the delegate with an answer that has absolutely nothing to do with what he asked:

Q: "Doesn't the speaker realise that the UN will certainly not be able to implement these measures?"

A: "Yes, I do. But the Somalian government will not be able to let its economy flourish without financial aid !"

Chapter 9

PRACTISING

There are several ways to prepare as a group for IMUNA. We shall briefly discuss some methods.

Committee debate

The most common way to practise with a group is to have a committee debate.

- Every participant represents a country. The countries can be assigned either by a person (teacher) or by fate, or the participants chose their country themselves. Sheets of paper can serve as placards.

- You need a resolution which you can discuss. A part of the group can write a resolution (in which case lobbying is trained too), but you can also use a resolution already made. The IMUNA Secretariat can provide you with a so-called Results Booklet', which contains resolutions that passed during the last few sessions of IMUNA.

- Someone should be assigned to be chair. A teacher or an advanced pupil can be chair. The chair leads the debate according to the official rules of debate. It is necessary that he or she has read the Instructional Guide very carefully, since he or she has to know all the ins and outs of the rules and has to know them by heart.

- The resolution has to be co-submitted by a number of countries. Make sure that no more than 20-25% of the committee support the resolution.

- The only purpose of a practise debate is practising. It could be functional to support a resolution that you loathe or to crush a resolution that you in fact do like.

The SC Debate

The debate in the Security Council is a bit different from the regular debate. A very good knowledge of the English language is required. However, the SC debate, with rules less strict, can perfectly serve as a practise debate.

- You chose an up to date issue to discuss.

- You assign a pupil or teacher to be the president. He will guide the discussion into a certain direction and has to make sure the discussion is to the purpose and efficient. The procedural rules are less strict here, but if the discussion becomes too informal the president should tighten the rules a bit.

- The SC works on a resolution. A draft version can be made in advance, but it is also possible to phrase a couple of clauses during debate. A resolution like that does not have to be very long or elaborated.

Opening speech

Every country has to make an opening speech during the opening ceremonies of the GA at IMUNA. This is usually done by the ambassador of the country; this pupil is the head of the delegation. This means he or she is responsible for all remarks made by the members of the delegation. Further more, he or she is obliged to attend all meetings for heads of delegation. He or she should be appointed by the MUN Director (i.e. the accompanying teacher) because of his or her extraordinary qualities, knowledge etc. He or she may state a few things about the country in just one minute. It might be a good idea to practise this. This is not only of use to the ambassador but it is also worthwhile for the other members of the delegation. The same skill is put into practise in the committee debate.

- Note that your speech will be stopped as soon as you pass the 60 seconds. The president of the GA uses a stopwatch !

- An opening speech is a dissertation from a country to the GA. You can speak about almost everything in it. The relation of the country to the UN, a current situation or conflict, solutions to the issues on the agenda, peculiarities of the country are some of the possibilities. It is therefore essential that a speech draws attention. At IMUNA all countries consecutively have their opening speeches, so originality is needed. The speeches do not have to be completely serious, jokelets are allowed (within reason).

- After each three speeches, the president will give delegates wishing so a right to reply. These short statements have a maximum length of thirty seconds (no questions allowed !).

Delegates who want to reply to a speech must state this in a note to the president in order to be recognised by the president. A note like that should read: "France requests a right to reply to the speech of the UK."

Chapter 10

GATHERING INFORMATION

There are several ways for a delegate to gather information on issues that are to be discussed during IMUNA. Each school will receive a list with the issues on the agenda. On a lot of those issues several books have been published, especially for MUN use. The IMUNA Secretariat can order those books for you. Three well-known and often used books are:

·        A Guide to Delegate Preparation

·        A Global Agenda and

·        International Economic Diplomacy

The IMUNA Secretariat can provide you with lots more of information to prepare delegates to IMUNA. (Unfortunately, sometimes
administration costs must be charged.)

Of course you can always find piles of magazines, newspapers, essays, articles etcetera on the issues in your local library. We recommend magazines like Time, The Economist and Newsweek. Also, magazines published by organisations like Amnesty International, Greenpeace, UNESCO and so on can offer information on specific topics.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in your country can provide you with information on the UN, interrnational policies and on other nations. Also, there might be a embassy of the country you represent in your country. They will be glad to offer you assistance in gaining knowledge of the policy of the country you represent.

Also, the Internet offers a huge range of opportunities for delegates to gain information and knowledge. The Internet offers you all kinds of treaties and conventions the UN have adopted in the past. Of course lots of information about the IMUNA conference itself can be found on the IMUNA website on www.noord.bart.nl/~imuna. This site has many links to sites that are interesting for delegates to visit. In addition to this a list of recommended Internet sites is included in this guide.

Lobbying and negotiating can start far before the conference actually will take place. By using e-mail, regular mail or fax, the lobbying can happen well in advance.

LIST OF COMMONLY USED EXPRESSIONS

Glossary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K -L - M - N - O - P

Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

A

Abstention
A vote neither in favour nor against (only on resolutions)

Against
Opposed to a resolution, amendment or motion

Ambassador
The head of the delegation. (S)he reads out the opening speech.

Amendment
Alteration of a resolution or other motion

Approval Panel
A team of teachers that checks resolutions on format and grammar (not contents) before they may go to the GA

C

Chair
Person who presides a committee

Committee
Preparatory assembly of the GA

Council
Forums that do not unite in the GA

Co-Submitter
A country which proposes a resolution

D

Delegate
Representative of a country

Deputy Chair
Vice President of a committee

Deputy President
Vice President of a council

F

In Favour
Supporting resolutions, amendments or motions

Floor
The pulpit, sometimes used to indicate the entire assembly

Forum
Meetings like the GA and the Committees

G

General Assembly
Forum in which the committees unite

L

Lobbying
To debate informally in the lobby

M

Motion
General (resolution) or specific proposal

P

Placard
A wooden board or sheet of paper with the country's name on it

President
Person who presides a council or the GA

R

Resolution Booklet
Booklet containing the resolutions that have passed the committees and are to be discussed in the GA

S

to Submit
to propose

List of common abbreviations

*= is a division of the United Nations

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H -I - J - K -L - M - N - O - P

Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

A

ACABQ Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
ACC Administrative Committee on Coordination
AfDB African Development Bank
AfDF African Development Fund
AFESD Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
APCD Asian and Pacific Centre for Development
APCTT Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology
AsDB Asian Development Bank
AsDF Asian Development Fund

C

CBI Centre for promotion of imports of products of developing countries
CDF - see UNCDF
CEDO Centre for Education Development Overseas
CFA Committee on Food Aid Programmes and Policies
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
CP Committee for Programme and Coordination

D

DAC Development Assistance Committee

E

EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EC European Community
ECA European Commission for Africa *
ECAFE Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East *
ECE Economic Commission for Europe*
ECLA Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean*
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council
ECWA Economic Commission for Asia
EDF European Development Fund
EIB European Investment Bank
EMS European Monetary System
EPI Expanded Programme on Immunisation
EPTA Expanded Programme on Technical Assistance
ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific*

F

FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation
FSAP Food Security Action Plan
FSAS Food Security Assistance Scheme
FSO Funs for Special Operations

G

G77 Group of 77 developing countries
GA General Assembly
GAP Gulf Assistance Programme
GATT General Agreement on Tarifs and Trade (succeeded by the WTO)
GEF Global Environment Facility
GPA Global Programme onAIDS
GSS Global Strategy on Shelter

H

HRP Human Reproductive Programme

I

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (better known as World Bank)
ICW International Council for Women (division of UNESCO)
IDA International Development Association
IDB Inter-Amerian Development Bank
IDC International Development Council
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFC International Finance Cooperation
IGO Intergovernmental Organisation
ILO International Labour Organisation
ILPES LatinAmerican and Carribeaan institute for Economic and Social Planning
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMO International Maritime Organisation
IMUNA International Model United Nations of Alkmaar
INCB International Narcotics Control Board
IOM International Organisation for Migration
IUSSP International Union for the Scientific Study of Population

L

LAES Latin American Economic System
LDCs Less Developed Countries
LLDCs Least Developed Countries

M

MDI Multilateral Development Institution
MFI Multilateral Financial Institutions
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

N
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

O
OAS Organisation of American States
OAU Organisation of African Unity
ODA Official Development Assistance
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPCW Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons
OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

P
PLO Palestinian Liberation Organisation

S

SDR Special Drawing Rights (Also called "the paper of gold of the IMF")
SEATO Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation
SNAP Substantial New Programme of Action (Since 1981 an Institution for and by developing countries)
SPA "Special Programme of Assistance" (For countries south of the Sahara with a low income)
SWAPO South-West Africa People's Organisation

T

TAB Technical Assistance Board*
TDR A Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases

U

UN United Nations
UNCDF UN Capital Development Fund
UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP UN Development Programme
UNDRO UN Disaster Relief Office
UNDTCD UN Department fot Technical Cooperation and Development
UNEP UN Environment Programme
UNESCO UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNFDAC UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control
UNFICYP UN Force in Cyprus
UNFPA UN Fund for Populationd Activities
UNHCR UN High Commissioner for Refugees
UNHHSF UN Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation
UNICEF UN Children`s Fund
UNIDIR UN Institute for Disarmament Research
UNIDO UN Industrial Development Organisation
UNIFEM UN Development Fund for Women
UNITAR UN Institute for Training and Research
UNMOGIP UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
UNOG UN Office in Geneva
UNPROFOR UN Protection Force in Bosnia
UNRISD UN Research Institute for Social Development
UNRRA UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
UNRWA UN Relief and Works Agency (for Palestinian fugitives in the Middle-East)
UNSO UN Sahelian-Sudano Office
UNTFAP UN Tropical Forest Action Plan

V

VFDW Voluntary Fund for the UN Decade for Women

W

WFC World Food Council
WFP World Food Programme
WHO World Health Organisation
WIDER World Institute for Development Economics Research
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation
WMO World Meteorological Organisation
WTO World Trade Organisation, successor of GATT

Y

YMCA Young Men's Christian Association
YWCA Young Women's Christian Association