The Model United Nations

Introduction
The Model United Nations is a programme that allows students to take on the role of delegates from specific countries, learn about international issues, and discuss these issues from the point of view of their chosen country. The 4 core skills (reading, writing, speaking & listening) are practised and improved both during the research sessions and the actual UN conference itself. Weeks before the conference, delegates will conduct research into their country, the topic to be talked about, and their countrys opinions on the issues at hand. When the time comes for the meeting, delegates will discuss the issues on the agenda, and try to put forward resolutions to solve these problems; resolutions which will need to be voted on if they are to be passed. So the delegates must negotiate with each other, trying to secure a Yes vote for their resolution. The end of the conference leaves the students with a heightened knowledge of international issues, and problems that they might not otherwise have known about. It also leaves them realising that things they do in their own country can affect global issues such as global warming or child soldiers. Although the MUN only began in 1945, model conferences were being held much before that, with students taking on the role of countries in the League of Nations from the 1920s. Initially, the MUN started in the USA, and it remains very popular there both in high schools and universities. Although not well known in Europe, conferences are starting to increase in number and size. This year over 200,000 students will take part in over 400 MUN conferences in around 50 countries in the world. The main conference in Japan is the All Japan MUN (AJMUN), which features around 300 students from 50 high schools throughout the country. Koyo Prefectural Senior High School also runs 1 or 2 conferences throughout the year in Okinawa, to which delegates from other Okinawan high schools are invited. These conferences usually feature around 50 students, with each student being a delegate for a separate country.

Creating or joining an MUN conference

The MUN conference should be the goal for both teachers and students in this programme. Whether the MUN is performed as a club activity, or a classroom-taught subject, everything should be focused towards the MUN conference and emphasising the importance of students taking an active part in the meeting. Topic: The first thing that needs to be determined for an MUN conference is the topic to be discussed. This could be a very specific issue, such as The North Korea Nuclear Problem, or it could be a much wider-ranging topic, such as Global Warming or Resource Conflicts. If you are creating your own conference, some thought must be put into the topic by teachers. Too general a topic could result in a conference which takes too long and doesnt result in a good final resolution. Too specific a topic could result in a conference which is over in a couple of hours. At Koyo SHS, the classroom conferences usually last between 10 and 14 hours. Be creative with the ways you introduce your topic: in 2007 the students talked about, Conflict diamonds and how to stop future resource conflicts. As an introduction to this topic, the students watched the film, Blood Diamond. This achieved a number of goals: the students were watching and listening to a film in English, they were learning about their MUN agenda item, and they didnt feel like they were in a classroom lesson. If you are joining a conference hosted by another school, the issues of choosing a topic are not relevant to you. Country selection: This is a very big thing to think about for your MUN conferences. You really want to create a good geographical spread of countries that will take part in the conference. A good example of this would be choosing 25% of countries from North & South America, 25% from Europe, 25% from Asia & Oceania, and 25% from Africa. Also try to have an even number of developed and developing countries in the conference if you dont it could make discussions very one-sided. Also, think about the countries involved in the topic at hand. For example, if your topic is global warming, you would want to include both the worlds largest polluters, and the countries which are feeling the effects of global warming, no matter how small. Here it is good to emphasize to students that all countries have an equal standing in the UN, and they all get one vote. So smaller countries have as much power as larger ones. Research: Once students have chosen/been allocated their country, this is where the work for them begins. Their aim is to create a Position Paper a

Country Information Worksheet

What is your country?________________________________________________ Where is your country (Africa, Asia, Europe etc)?________________________ What is the capital city in your country?________________________________
Draw a map of your country, showing the capital city. Draw and colour your countrys flag.

What is the population of your country?________________________ ________________________________

Who is the leader in your country, and are they a president, prime minister, king/queen, or emperor?______________________________________________ What is the currency in your country?__________________________________ What is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in your country?____________________________________________________________ Please write some more information or trivia about your country below. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

speech detailing their countrys background, their countrys opinion on the issue to be discussed, and possible actions they feel the UN should take. A lot of research should be undertaken, and it could be done in 3 parts. Firstly, the country is researched so that the students know about where they are delegates from. For some countries this is easy, but do many students know where Maldives or Angola is? To start them thinking about this, the students can be given a worksheet to fill in about their chosen country (see page 3 for a sample worksheet). Students can then make a presentation of their country to their class, so that everyone starts to understand where each country is. The presentation shouldnt be too indepth to start with; introduce the countrys name, location, flag, and then something more interesting for the students to research and present, like the language for example. If the students are of a high level then you can ask them to present more detailed information about their country. Once the students have a fairly solid foundation about their country, they can start to research the topic. It should be stressed though that the students need to know and remember information about their country. If the student cant remember who their countrys leader is or if their country is a developed or developing country, they will struggle in the MUN conference. The foundations of knowledge need to be made here as everything from here on will be building on that. Knowledge can be tested by a test on their chosen country. Researching the MUN topic is first done on a general and global scale (i.e. not specifically relating to their country. Teachers need to be actively involved in this part of the research, and information should be given to the students in the form of reading assignments. The teacher will need to do extensive research on the topic, as students will expect them to have answers to their questions. It will also help you direct the students own research. Be aware that there will be a lot of new words for the students, and the meanings should be made clear. If the topic is large, students could be asked to make a presentation about a certain aspect of it. This will allow them to focus their research a little, and then learn from the presentations made by others. Teachers should stress that presentation giving, listening and note-taking skills are vital for a good MUN delegate. When students are doing research on the topic, encourage research to be done in English. This may be more difficult initially, but will help them during the conference when they have to talk about these things in English. And once again, be creative with how you get the students to research topics. This year, Koyo students were asked to contact jewellery shops all over Japan by phone,

Student poster presentation on resource conflicts in DR Congo

And ask them where their diamonds came from, and what their policy was on conflict diamonds. The students were not keen on this initially, but it was very

successful and will be continued and built upon in forthcoming conferences. Depending on the class type, you can incorporate skits or drama so the students can illustrate parts of the topic they will discuss. The final part of research is joining the 2 previous parts. The students now have to look at the topic and how it affects their country. This is the part of research where some students will become frustrated. Because, for example, there is no direct relationship between the UK and child soldiers, they may think there is nothing to talk about. But encourage the students to think and look deeper. Maybe the weapons the child soldiers use are made by British companies. Maybe the resources they are fighting for are used in western goods; the demand for these goods and the resources are high, so the conflicts and killings continue. Even if a country has no relationship at all with the issue, encourage the student. This gives them the chance to be completely neutral in the conference and to find a solution that is best for everyone. The students should be working towards making a position paper. This is a 2-3 minute (usually) speech which is made up of 3 parts: 1. A very brief introduction to the country. 2. Information on the problem and how it affects their country. 3. A general idea of how the problem can be solved. On the following 2 pages you will find a template that the position paper should follow, and a sample position paper made by Koyo students who were talking about Global warming. You will notice slight differences in the template and the position paper they made. This is because there is no set position paper. If a delegate wants to talk about the problems only, without talking about their country and a possible solution, that is their choice and they are free to do so. A common problem you will find when students start taking on the role of delegates and talking about their country is that they are often too honest! They often continue to look at the issue from a neutral point of view and will criticise their own nation. For example, you may have the delegate from Burma/Myanmar stating to the UN that they admit to committing many human rights abuses as one of the first parts of their position paper. This is a difficult problem to overcome, and you just have to keep encouraging students to think as if they were from their chosen country. Hopefully they will start to understand and will refine their speeches appropriately.

Position Paper Worksheet

Use this sheet to help you write your position paper. Greeting: Good morning/good afternoon delegates Introduce your country: _________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

What is the problem and how does it affect you? ___________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

How can we solve this problem? _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

Ending: Thank you.

I yield my time to the chair.

Committee: General Assembly Topic: Global Warming Country: The Kingdom of Sweden Delegates: *****************

Position Paper
Global warmings effects and influence on the global climate is visible all around us now. As time has passed in the past century, Arctic ice has begun to gradually melt and sea levels have started to rise. If this situation continues, then low-lying island nations such as Vanuatu and Maldives will sink into the sea and will simply disappear. Also, climate is changing in many parts of the world because of global warming. For example, acid rain damaging soils and forests, particularly in our country, serious droughts in Australia, and abnormal weather patterns all over the world. These things are not naturally occurring phenomena they were caused by human actions. Our nation is addressing global warming on a domestic level. For example, we are separating household waste and recycling as much as we can, and are imposing taxes on CO2 emissions. Out carbon dioxide emissions are 0.4% of the global total. We are raising public awareness of the environmental problems they will face in the future, and we hope that our people will address this issue. But individual nations cannot succeed the only way to secure our future is if we can get a consensus of nations to take action to reduce these effects. Humans caused this problem and ultimately they must address and deal with it. We must, as global citizens, address this problem actively. Thank you.

Regional Bloc Meetings: As the MUN conference draws closer, and position papers are completed, students should continue to research the topic. If possible, teachers should search for news articles relating to the subject and present them to students. This is also the time for regional bloc meetings to take place, if possible. In this meeting, all of the delegates from one continent will come together and talk about the problem. They will present their position paper in small groups, and then hold short Q&A sessions. Their position papers must be given in English, but it is possible to allow students to ask questions in Japanese in these meetings. A clear understanding of the issue and countries opinions is more important than practising their English listening skills at this time.

The Model UN conference

The Model UN conference, the climax of the students and teachers work always arrives much earlier than you expected. One of the first things that need to be done is the Chair & secretary has to prepare for the meeting. The Chair is usually chosen in advance of the meeting, and should given some tuition by teachers on how to prepare for the conference, the structure of the conference, and phrases they will need to use throughout (see pages 10-11). Delegates are given a similar phrase sheet with phrases they will need to use during the conference (see page 11). A much-simplified format for the meeting is shown on pages 13 and 14. Placards are then given to each student with their countrys name written on it. This placard will be raised when voting and when delegates wish to make motions during the conference (for a small example, see below)

Fold

Japan

Fold

MUN Phrase Sheet for Chairs

All delegates, please take your seats. The ____________ is now in formal session. We will begin with role call Would any more countries like to be added to the Speakers List at this time? if you wish to be added from now on, please pass a note to the front. Are there any motions on the floor at this time? (wait 5 seconds). Seeing none, we will move to formal debate. ________________. You have 3 minutes. The next speaker is

Time! Thank you delegate from ___________________. Are there any motions on the floor at this time? (wait 5 seconds). Seeing none, the next speaker is ________________. You have 3 minutes. There is a motion to suspend the meeting for a ________ minute caucus. We will go to an immediate vote. All those in favour (count votes). All those opposed (count votes). With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion passes. We will restart the meeting in _______ minutes. With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion fails. Are there any other motions on the floor at this time?

There is a motion to move to informal debate for ________ minutes. We will go to an immediate vote. All those in favour (count votes). All those opposed (count votes). With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion passes. We will now have informal debate for ______ minutes. With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion fails. Are there any other motions on the floor at this time?

There has been a working paper submitted to the floor by ______________. _______________, would you like to explain your working paper? You have 3 minutes.

There has been a draft resolution submitted to the floor by ______________. This is draft resolution number _______. _______________, would you like to explain your draft resolution? You have 3 minutes.

There has been a motion to close debate and move to voting. All those in favour (count votes). All those opposed (count votes). With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion passes and the debate is closed. There are ______ draft resolutions which have been submitted and which we will vote on. First, we will vote on resolution number ________. In this voting, you can either vote yes, no, abstain or pass. With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion fails. Are there any other motions on the floor at this time?

There has been a motion to adjourn the meeting. All those in favour (count votes). All those opposed (count votes). With ________ votes in favour and _______ votes opposed, this motion passes. The _________ meeting is now closed. Thank you.

MUN Phrase Sheet for Delegates

Motion! minutes. Motion! minutes. Motion! Could clearly/loudly/slowly. Motion! you please ask all delegates to speak more I would like to motion to suspend the meeting for ________

I would like to motion to move to informal debate for _______

I would like to submit our working paper to the floor. (please

show to teachers first) Motion! I would like to submit our draft resolution to the floor. (please show to teachers first) Motion! I would like to motion to close the debate and move to voting. (at

Motion! I would like to motion to adjourn the meeting until next class. the end of each class) Motion! meeting) I would like to motion to adjourn the meeting.

(at the end of the

Meeting Format: An MUN meeting has a fairly standard format for delegates to follow. Sometimes there will be changes in the format, but if so these will be announced at the start of the meeting. Roll call: The role call will happen at the start of every day/class of the meeting. It is simply a register of which countries are present in the meeting. The chair will call out the countrys name, and the country will reply by raising their placard and calling out, Present. This will be continued until all countries have been read out. If any country is absent, it should be noted down by the chair for future reference. Speakers list: Once roll call has been completed, the speakers list is opened. This is a list noted down on a board or projector screen for all to see, showing which countries are in line to give a speech. Any student who wants to make a speech (i.e. initially, to give their position paper) should raise their placard. The chair will read the names of the countries which raised their placards. As their country names are read, delegates will put down their placards and the secretary will write their name down in order. This order will be the order of speeches in the conference. If a delegate wishes to make a speech after the first speakers list has been made, they may write a note to the chair asking to be put onto the speakers list (see right). Chair, Speakers time: Once the speakers list France would like to be placed onto has been created, a time for the speeches the speakers list. needs to be decided upon. Usually this is between 2 and 3 minutes. The Thank you process for this can take one of two forms. Firstly, a delegate may propose a time limit for speeches and then an immediate vote is taken for people who agree or disagree (no abstentions). Alternatively, 4 short speeches may be made (2 in favour and 2 opposed) after a speech time has been proposed and before the voting takes place. Formal Debate/Position Papers: Now is the time for students to come to the fore and start their speeches. The first country on the speakers list will come to the front of the room and present their position paper in front of all the delegates and the chair. Delegates not giving a speech should listen carefully to the speeches, make notes and not talk. The information given in the position papers will be useful for everyone when it comes to talking about

MUN Procedures
1. Role Call

Doraemon?

Present!

2. Open Speakers List

Speakers List
3. Set Speakers Time
Thank you Honorable Chair. Ultraman would like to set the speakers time to 5 minutes.

4. Speeches and Position papers

Thank you Honourable Chair. My country is the USA. We believe that

5. Caucus (sometimes) You can caucus for:

Talking with other delegates.

Going to the toilet.

Eating food.

Having a drink.

6. Informal Debate You can ask questions about the speeches that delegates have made.

7. Working Paper & Draft Resolution

Allow me to present my working paper

8. Voting

UK

solutions. If the speaker does not speak loudly or clearly, one of the other delegates or the chair should interrupt and ask them to speaker louder/more clearly. Caucus: One of the most active parts of the meeting, although it is regarded by some delegates as being a break. This is where a lot of the work is done and discussions are held. The caucus must be motioned for by a delegate and must be voted on (delegates must vote yes or no; there are no abstentions). A caucus is a meeting for a certain length of time (usually 5-15 minutes) where students are allowed to walk around the room, and talk freely to anyone they please. In these sessions, opinions are sought, questions raised and solutions discussed. It is also the time when working papers and draft resolutions are created by the delegates. The students should be allowed to talk in Japanese if they wish during these sessions (this is the only part of the conference in which this is allowed), and any students sat around and not talking to anyone should be encouraged to participate.

Informal Debate: Informal debate is the 3rd type of meeting in the UN conference, and is similar to a Q&A session. It is usually requested after a working paper or a draft resolution has been submitted to the floor. The caucus must be motioned for by a delegate and must be voted on (delegates must vote yes or no; there are no abstentions). In this meeting, students may ask questions to specific delegates or to all delegates as a whole. To do this they must raise their placard and call out, Chair!. If the chair then calls their countrys name the delegate may speak to the floor. They may also make comments about things they have seen or heard in the meeting. If a delegate is asked a question, they are encouraged (but not forced) to answer the question as best they can. This is where the listening and quick thinking skills are very important. It should also be noted that a question does not have to be answered before another question is asked.

Notes: During the formal and informal parts of the meeting, there is no talking allowed unless it is talking to the floor and speaking to everyone. But sometimes students need to contact each other to talk about ideas they have. Because of this, notes are used. A delegate will write their message on a piece of paper and then hand it to a page, a student or teacher assigned to pickup and deliver notes. The student must remember to write who the message is from as well as who it is to. As the meeting becomes more indepth, messages will frequently be sent around the room, and more than one page is usually needed.

Working Paper: This is the first big step in finding a solution to the problem. A working paper is an idea, put forward to all of the delegates by one or more countries. It can describe one specific solution to the problem, or a general outline of the problem and solutions they want to find. There is also no format to the working paper, which means diagrams, pictures, tables, charts etc can be used. The only things that the working paper needs are a working paper number (usually WP1, WP2, WP3 etc), and information about which countries wrote the paper. Below is a sample working paper, but this is just to give you an example of what could be written on one of these papers.

Working Paper 3 (WP3)

Sponsor: Costa Rica Make a new process which will protect all natural resources. We have many conflicts in the world because of natural resources. The diamond problem is protected by the Kimberley Process, but we dont have any schemes for other natural resources. Make an institution which deals with countries which sign the process Requests help from countries which can help us.

Support Side Country

Support

New Process Institution

Signatory government

Signatory government

Signatory government

The paper must first be submitted to the chair, who will make photocopies When this has been done, the sponsor (the delegate(s) who wrote it) motion to the Chair that they wish to introduce their working paper. sponsor of it will be asked if they wish to orally explain their paper. If

of it. may The they

choose to, the sponsors would come to the front of the room and explain the paper. Once a working paper has been submitted to the floor, it is likely that a motion will be made for either a caucus (so people can take time reading the paper) or informal debate (so questions and comments on the paper may start). If there are neither of these, after the paper has been introduced the meeting will go back to formal debate. Draft Resolution: The most difficult and complex part of any UN conference is also the most important: making a draft resolution. This is a detailed plan which talks about the issues discussed in the meeting, and a range of measures that should be taken to deal with them. The most difficult part of the draft resolution is that it must follow a strict format, and has a number of set rules, the most important of which are given below: 1. The draft resolution must have one sentence only. It doesnt matter whether the draft resolution is 5 lines long or 5 pages long, it will only have one sentence. Phrases and clauses in the resolution are separated using commas (,) and semi-colons (;). 2. The draft resolution needs a document number. This is usually something like DR1 or DR2 and a number will be given to the draft resolution by the Chair. 3. The draft resolution needs sponsors and signatories. Put simply, sponsors are countries that agree with all of the draft resolution. Signatories, on the other hand, are countries that agree with some, but not all, of the draft resolution. The total number of sponsors and signatories must be 25% or over the total number of countries taking part in the meeting. 4. The draft resolution must have 2 parts: Part 1 talks about the problem and what is happening regarding it (the preambletory clauses). Part 2 talks about the solution and what will be done about it (the operative clauses). 5. The last part of the draft resolution must read, Decides to remain seized of this matter. Another issue involved in the draft resolution is the wording used at the start of each clause. Words of varying strength may be used depending on the situation

and what the delegate is talking about. Examples of the words which can be used at the start of each clause in a draft resolution are shown below: Preambletory clauses Noting Affirming Confident Declaring Welcoming Approving Concerned Alarmed by Noting with regret Noting with deep concern Deploring Operative Clauses Notes Affirms Recommends Invites Urges Encourages Deplores Demands Calls upon Declares Regrets

On the following 2 pages you can see 2 sample draft resolutions made this year by Koyo SHS students. Draft Resolution amendments: Sometimes a UN meeting will allow changes to be made after draft resolutions have been submitted. These are called amendments. This means that a country may offer a change to the draft resolution (an addition, modification or deletion). There are 2 types of amendment: friendly and unfriendly. Friendly This means that the sponsors of the draft resolution agree with the change being made. The amendment is automatically made to the draft resolution. Unfriendly The sponsors of the draft resolution do not agree with the change in the amendment. In this case, when voting takes place a vote will be made on the amendment, before the draft resolution is voted on. If amendments are going to be used in the meeting, an amendment form is usually available for delegates to use (see below).
Country: Draft resolution you wish to change: What is the change you wish to make?

Is this amendment friendly or unfriendly (please circle)?

General Assembly

Koyo/2007/DR1

19

July 2007

Draft Resolution
Agenda item: Conflict diamonds and how to stop future resource conflicts Sponsors: USA, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Canada Signatories: France, Italy, Angola, South Africa, D.R. Congo, Sierra Leone, India

The General Assembly,

Aware that there are many countries which are damaged due to diamond and resource conflicts, Noting that there is nobody who watches the countries joining the current Kimberley Process; even
if they do not follow the rules, they wont be recognized as countries with wrong-doing, 1. Sets up an organization for investigating in the UN that will inspect countries and makes those countries with diamond or resource conflicts join the Kimberley Process, 2. Asks each country joining the Kimberley Process to elect people who will work for this organization; these people will be national government employees, 3. Decides that developed countries joining the Kimberley Process will receive economic sanctions if they do not follow the rules, 4. Decides that the countries which import diamonds or resources will have responsibility to inspect the countries which export these diamonds or resources; countries can use the organization to inspect the countries, 5. Decides to remain seized of this matter.

General Assembly

Koyo/2007/DR2

19

July 2007

Draft Resolution
Agenda item: Conflict diamonds and how to stop future resource conflicts Sponsors: UK, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Russia, Tanzania, Turkey, Switzerland, Nigeria

The General Assembly, Aware that countries which have troubles of resource conflicts have serious problems such as illegal mining and smuggling, and also that there are risky companies which have bad working conditions, and that resource conflicts occur because of these situations, Noting with deep concern that such countries dont have much money and they dont have the ability to manage those companies, 1. Requests to countries which have resource conflict troubles that their governments manage companies which mine and export resources in their countries about concessions, trade and working conditions, 2. Sets up a new organization to support and oversee these countries to keep good working conditions, good trade and rightful regulation of mining, 3. 4. Requests the ILO to support this organization and run it Decides to remain seized of this matter.

A delegate will write the amendment and then pass it to sponsors of the draft resolution. They will decide if it is friendly or unfriendly (i.e. if they agree or disagree with the changes made), and will return it. The delegate who wrote the amendment will then submit it to the Chair. The Chair then reads the amendment and approves it, before submitting it to the floor. When it is submitted, the amendments author has the chance of explaining to the floor why they want this amendment to be made. Closing the debate: After a resolution and amendments have been introduced

and have been debated fully, it will be time to vote on them. But before voting, the speakers list must be closed, and then debate should be closed so that voting can start. This will require delegates to motion for the speakers list to be closed (and the motion voted on) and then that debate should be closed (and similarly, voted on). Voting: The final part of the UN conference comes in the form of voting. Firstly, any unfriendly amendments will be voted on (with a yes/no/abstention vote). Then, the draft resolutions are voted on in the order they were introduced. Countries will be asked to vote aloud in alphabetical order. There are 4 different ways that delegates can vote: yes/no/abstention/pass. If a delegate chooses to pass, then the chair will continue asking other countries. When the list has been completed, the chair will come back to the delegates who passed in the first round. Note that a delegate may only choose to pass once. If the number of Yes votes exceeds the number of No votes, regardless of the abstentions, the motion passes in the General Assembly and Economic & Social Council. In the Security council, a 66% majority of votes are needed for a draft resolution to pass. Remember that in the Security Council only, permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK and USA) have a veto vote. This means that if one of these countries votes No to a draft resolution, it cannot pass, regardless of how many Yes votes it received. Once voting is completed, there will be a motion to adjourn the meeting, and the meeting will be closed.