Resolutions

The goal of any committee is to pass AT

LEAST one resolution Most committees will pass more than

one resolution *Crisis Committees do not usually pass

resolutions, but more on that later*

Remember…

Resolution- a written collaboration of ideas,

research and compromises as agreed upon by a group of delegates It’s basically a proposed solution to whatever

issue is being debated Resolutions are the outcome of several

committee sessions; they are not passed in the first few sessions and pre-written resolutions are not permitted

What is a resolution?

A resolution starts as a working paper, which is a

rough draft of a potential resolution Working papers are usually combined mid-

conference to form draft resolutions, which are submitted to the Dais and put to vote The Dais usually sets a maximum number of draft

resolutions they will accept They encourage delegates to combine as many

working papers as possible It is a GOOD thing to combine working papers; the

Dais likes to see draft resolutions that come from about three working papers

The Process

Once draft resolutions are submitted to the Dais, they

are printed and distributed to the committee The sponsors of each draft resolution read their work

and answer questions posed by the committee There can be amendments to a draft resolution after it

is submitted to the Dais Friendly amendment- an amendment agreed upon

by all the sponsors of the draft resolution; does not require a vote from the committee to be added to a draft resolution

Unfriendly amendment- an amendment that is not approved by all sponsors; needs a majority rule vote for the COMMITTEE (not just the sponsors) to be added to a draft resolution

The Process (continued)

After all the draft resolutions have been

presented there will be a motion to move into voting procedure

Assuming the committee votes to move into voting procedure, the delegates vote on each draft resolution If you don’t remember the nuances of voting

and voting procedure, go back to the parliamentary procedure powerpoint, but basically it takes a simple majority to pass a draft resolution

If a draft resolution passes, it becomes a resolution

The Process (continued)

All draft resolutions must have sponsors and signatories Sponsor- a country that helped write a draft resolution Signatory- a country that just wants to see a draft

resolution debated, not necessarily passed Usually a working paper needs about 20% of the

committee to be signatories to become a draft resolution Being a sponsor is competitive; most Chairs will have a

maximum amount of sponsors allowed; you have to be a leader if you want to be a sponsor This is why combining working papers is so hard; if one

working paper with five sponsors combines with another working paper with six sponsors, but the Chair allows only eight sponsors per draft resolution, three countries are cut off the sponsor list

Sponsors & Signatories

How to Write Resolutions

Resolutions are the combined efforts of

several delegates; no individual delegate writes the entire document

There are two parts of draft resolutions: Preambulatory Clauses Operative Clauses

The Parts of Resolutions

Preambulatory clauses recount the issue and

summarize how the world has tried (and/or failed) to address the issue

Written as sentence fragments Begin with phrases/words such as:

Affirming, expecting, alarmed by, fully aware, observing, recognizing, deeply concerned by, reaffirming

Conferences will give all delegates an extensive list of suggested opening phrases

Preambulatory Clauses

Taken from a real draft resolution:Deeply concerned by the increase in utensil-related accidents,Observing the need for immediate attention and relief to all those suffering from utensil trauma, Recognizing the national sovereignty of all countries when dealing with the punishment of offending utensils, There don’t need to be many preambulatory

clauses

Preambulatory Clause Examples

This is the important stuff. This is where the real

proposal is laid out. All plans are explained here; there are lots of

acronyms and pneumonic devices to help distinguish each draft resolution. The three E plan, the ABC initiative, etc.

These clauses start with “statement” verbs, not “ordering” verbs; the Model UN (nor the real UN for that matter) can’t order anyone to do anything. Proposes, affirms, encourages, emphasizes, reminds,

requests

Operative Clauses

1. Recommends the implementation of the Triple P Plan

which will:a. Provide relief to those already afflicted by utensil-related

tragedies,b. Protect those threatened by dangerous utensils,c. Prevent further utensil-related injuries;

2. Suggests the establishment of the Silverware Protection Organization for Oppressed People (SPOON) to:a. Create standards for the maintenance and handling of all

utensils,b. Monitor areas with a history of violence by utensil;

3. Urges all nations to accept the standards as set by SPOON;

Operative Clause Examples

If you have more questions NAIMUN has a sort

of “training guide” with all the rules and a full example draft resolution.

Go to: http://naimun.modelun.org/images/Documents/A%20Guide%20to%20Model%20UN.pdf

Or Google “NAIMUN training guide,” click the link for “Parliamentary Procedure” and click the “NAIMUN training guide” link

More Questions?

Crisis Committees

If you are on a crisis committee, forget

everything we just discussed. Crisis committees move at a much faster

pace; their debates are centered on new crises as they are presented to the delegates

Because of the pace, there are no resolutions, but directives

Crisis Committees

A directive is almost a sort of mini-resolution; it is much

shorter and less formal than a resolution and does not require the same complicated voting procedure

Directives address specific issues, so they need specific purposes

An individual delegate or a group of delegates may submit a directive (this depends on the committee)

Directives are subject to friendly and unfriendly amendments

Delegates typically vote on directives at the end of committee sessions, but again, this depends on the committee

What is a Directive?

Committee: John F. Kennedy’s National Security Council

during the Cuban Missile Crisis o Scenario: President Kennedy has just been informed

that the CIA has gathered images of Soviet missile installations at San Cristóbal, NW Cuba. After a moderated caucus on how to initially respond to this new threat, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara submits this proposed directive:

Example Directive

§ Directive: Operation “Inteligencia”• Seeing as we only have preliminary

intelligence regarding these new Soviet military installations:

• The CIA will recruit 5 Cuban emigres in Miami, Florida, and prepare them to infiltrate Cuba• The agents are to be trained in an expedited program• Once prepared, send the agents to a country

to be designated by the CIA that still has commercial-bound flights to Havana, Cuba.• The agents are to rendezvous with Cuban

dissidents to set up operations, and will covertly move to San Cristóbal to gather human intelligence and relay it back to us

Crisis notes are different than directives A crisis note is a suggestion or action

submitted to the Dais by an individual delegate Crisis notes are used to introduce a new crisis

or change the dynamic of the committee Assassinations, movement of troops, sending

spies, etc. Delegates must be very aware of their powers

as stated in their character’s power portfolio; they can only do what their powers allow

Crisis Notes

o Committee: John F. Kennedy’s National Security Council during the Cuban Missile Crisiso Scenario: President Kennedy has just been informed that the CIA has gathered images of Soviet missile installations at San Cristóbal, NW Cuba.o During debate, CIA Director John McCone decides to take matters into his own hands. In an attempt to distract the Soviets, he decides to undertake operations in East Berlin.

Example Crisis Note

§ Portfolio Power: Sabotage• Objective: Suspicious of KGB

involvement in Cuba, look to distract the KGB by attacking their assets in East Berlin

• Direct CIA assets in East Berlin to begin compiling list of known KGB assets in the area.

• Covert ops assets, armed with silenced compact sub-machine guns, will look to track and take down at least 5 KGB agents.

Communique- a note sent to someone who does not

exist in the committee. These are given to the Chair and sent and answered by the Crisis Staff. These are good ways to set up meetings outside of committees.

Press Release- a general statement to the world regarding an individual delegate’s position, condition, etc. Press Releases about the committee as a whole must be approved by the committee. These aren’t particularly useful, unless a delegate

needs to do damage control about a rumor or provide information to the public about a crisis

Communiques and Press Releases

Once again, the NAIMUN training guide

includes all the rules and nuances of crisis committees.

A lot of the rules of crisis committees depend on the committees themselves; delegates in crisis committees need to do individual research and be ready for flexibility.

More Questions?