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General Flow

Although there will be other things that happen, this is the general flow of what will happen throughout committee sessions in a conference:

Roll call → Speaker’s list is opened → topic is voted on → motions for mods/ motions for unmods → working papers are submitted → presentation and Q&A of working papers → mergers of working papers in unmods → final resolutions are submitted → presentation and Q&A of resolutions → voting on each resolution → FUNMUN

*Mods and unmods can be motioned for in any part of the committee session, but this is when they are typically motioned for

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Parliamentary Procedure

Parli pro is the language and rules you follow in a Model UN Conference
When the chair takes roll(attendance), you can respond with two things: present, or present in voting, which means you must vote on every motion
Once the chair is done with roll, you can make points or motions(these are voted on)
There are three types of points you can make: Point of Personal Privilege, which you would use to express personal issues like going to the bathroom, Point of Inquiry, which you would use to ask questions to the chair about conference procedure, and Point of Order(rarely used), which you would use to correct the chair on any conference procedure

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Speakers List

After roll, the chair will take motions and points
Usually, the first motion that will be made is to open debate(Motion to open debate)
After that, the typical motion to make is to open the speakers list(Motion to open the speakers list for ___ minutes); the chair will take a limited amount of speakers
During the speakers list, delegates will talk about which topic they want to get voted
After everyone is done speaking, the chair will allow delegates to vote on which topic they want to be chosen(that is why both delegates should research both topics)

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Moderated Caucuses

After roll call, the chair will allow delegates to make motions; there are many motions you can make, but the one that will typically be made first is a motion for a moderated caucus
A moderated caucus is a type of debate where a specific number of delegates go up and speak for a certain amount of time
You would form this motion by saying “Motion for a (total time/speaking time per delegate) moderated caucus on (the topic you want to see debated); if your motion gets passed, you get to decide if you want to speak first or last
Example: “Motion for a 6/45 moderated caucus on the ethical use of nuclear weapons”
Common speaking times are 10/1, 9/45, 6/45, 5/1; the rule for a speaking time is that the total time(in seconds) must be divisible by the speaking time per delegate(in seconds)
If you choose to go up and do not speak the whole time, you can either yield your time to the chair or to another delegate by saying “I yield my time to the chair/(country of the other delegate)

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Unmoderated Caucuses

Unlike mods(moderated caucuses), unmods do not have a lot of rules; they are usually motioned for after a few mods(chairs like to see debate first)
Unmods are the time when you will be forming blocs and writing your working papers/resolutions
You would form this motion by saying “Motion for an unmoderated caucus for(total time)”; you do not need a topic for an unmod
Example: “Motion for an unmoderated caucus for 15 minutes”

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Blocs

Blocs are groups that you form with countries that have a similar position as you
During a mod, delegates will go up and talk about their country’s position; if it aligns with yours, you should send them a note asking if they want to meet in an unmod to further discuss(this is the best way to form a bloc)
Once you meet in an unmod, you should solidify your bloc with other countries and start coming up with solutions that you can write on your working paper
There is no size limit for a bloc, but you want at least 5-6 countries

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Crisis Procedure

Similar to GA’s, crisis committees begin with a roll call. They do not have speakers lists and only use moderated caucuses, unmoderated caucuses, and round robins, where everybody has to speak. Crisis is full of directives, member-written, story-changing events. Your directives influence the crisis updates you receive, and the crises evolves very frequently. These continue throughout the length of the committee.

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Working Papers and Resolutions

A working paper is the solution you work on with your bloc during an unmod
In your working paper, you will have the name of your bloc(be creative with this), your sponsors(delegates who wrote the paper), and signatories(delegates who want to see the paper voted on); there is usually a specific number you must have for both, which the chair gets to decide
After every working paper is turned in, there will be a presentation of each paper and a Q&A session where members of other blocs ask questions about your paper
After the presentation and Q&A, the chair will want blocs to merge with each other, and create a resolution, which is just the final version of a working paper(you will work on this in an unmod)
You will do another presentation and Q&A session for your final resolutions, and then vote on them
In resolutions and working papers, you must have Preambulatory Clauses and Ambulatory(Operative)Clauses; preambulatory clauses essentially explain the issues your paper is addressing, and ambulatory clauses are the actions your plan will do

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Example Clauses and Questions

Example Preambulatory Clause:

“Realizing that nuclear weapons pose a great danger to our world”

Example Ambulatory Clause:

Calls upon this committee to create a subcommittee that will

a. annually determine a number of nuclear weapons a nation can make in a year

I. this number may not exceed 25

b. be funded by an international bank that receives donations from world leaders and non-profit organizations

Example Questions:

“What incentives will world leaders and non profit organizations have to donate to the international bank?”

“You mentioned that the limit of weapons a nation can make per year is 25. How does your plan regulate the destructiveness of each nuclear weapon that is created annually?”

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