MUN Rules of Procedure

R u l e s o f P r o c e d u r e

1. LANGUAGE: English shall be the official and working language for the following committees:

General Assembly, ECOSOC Plenary and Commission on Sustainable Development, Security Council and UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board. Spanish will be the official language for OEA, Organizacion de los Estados Americanos.

2. POWERS OF THE SECRETARIAT:

The Secretariat will ensure that these rules are fully enforced. It will impose the necessary disciplinary measures in the case of non-compliance with the rules of behavior.

The Secretariat may, at any time, make either oral or written statements to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Security Council and their subsidiary bodies and functional commissions.

The Secretary-General will officially declare the opening and closing of the United Nations Conference.

Article 1

Powers of the Secretary-General, Sub Secretary-General and Aids:

a) To moderate the various bodies of the Model if necessary.

b) To maintain the needed communication in executive matters between committees when deemed necessary.

c) To intervene as a mediator in any body when considered appropriate.

d) To form part of the Chair of Approval for draft resolutions.

e) To be able to yield his/her attributions totally or partially to any other authority within the Model.

f) To grant access and accompany special observers to the Model’s various committees.

g) To suspend total or partially the questions, motions of order, of parliamentary inquiry and of procedure when he/she considers it necessary; it will be up to the consideration of the Chairmanship to reestablish them.

3. ATTRIBUTIONS OF THE AUTHORITIES:

Article 1

The Chairmanship shall represent the ruling authority inside the committee, and shall be composed as follows:

a) President

b) Moderator

c) Conference Officer

Article 2

The President shall be the highest authority of the committee; therefore, he/she shall have the exercise of all powers granted.

Attributions of the President:

The President of each commission will declare the opening and closing of each formal session, give the right of comment as considered pertinent , direct discussions during the sessions, ensure the observance of the Rules of Procedure and behavior, ask questions, announce decisions and decide upon Rights of Reply. 

He/she shall decide directly or propose on the decision making of:

a) The establishment of a time limit for speakers.

b) The closing the Speaker’s List.

c) The closing of the debate.

d) The suspension or adjournment of a session.

e) The definition of order in which the draft resolutions are presented.

f) The suspension of the sending of messages through the Ushers if he/she considers it necessary.

Article 3

Attributions of the Moderator:

The Moderator shall be the Member of the Chairmanship in charge of coordinating the debate by granting the right of speaking to Delegates and guiding the procedures of debate. He/She will replace the President in case of absence and assist the President in all its functions during sessions. 

Article 4

Attributions of the Conference Officer:

He/She will assist the President and Moderator in carrying out their functions; and will have the authorization to receive messages from the ushers, determine if their content is appropriate and call the President’s attention to it. During the official consults, or informal negotiations, he/she will be able to collaborate with the Chairmanship in everything needed to aid the delegation’s activities. The Conference Officer will coordinate the usher’s work.

Article 5

Attributions of the Ushers:

They shall assist the Conference Officer in carrying out his/her functions. Under his/her coordination, they shall confirm the votes of the delegations, resolve the inconveniences that the delegations present, and facilitate the communication of the delegations through written messages, whose content shall be reviewed and approved by the Conference Officer.

4. DELEGATIONS:

The denomination of “Member State”, “Representation” or “Delegation” may be used to call delegations. The members of these will be indistinctly called “Delegates” or “Representatives”.

Article 1

Guests that have been previously registered will be able to access the sessions of the different organs and commissions. The entrance shall be restricted to those who are not wearing the proper identification. Guests are kindly asked to not maintain contact with Delegates during sessions.

Article 2

The access to the committee’s session will be denied to the delegates who:

a) Are not carrying their proper identification.

b) Misbehave within the terms described in this document.

5. RULES OF CONDUCT: These rules maintain order, formality and diplomatic conditions during the Conference.

Article 1

All participants are permanently required to visibly wear their badge or identification.

Article 2

The treatment among Delegates, Members of the Staff, teachers and Faculties, as well as within the authorities of the Conference shall be strictly formal and respectful.

Article 3

Establishing direct communication between the different Delegations during the formal sessions within a forum shall not be permitted. Delegations will be able to communicate by sending written messages through the ushers, with the limitations provided by these rules.

Article 4

Delegates may not abandon the forum during a formal session. If necessary, the Delegate will be able to leave momentarily, informing the Conference Officer the reason for his/her doing and requesting the appropriate permission or aid from the Chairmanship.

Article 5

The schedule established by the Model’s Staff shall be respected, except in case that the Chairmanship has introduced modifications to it.

Article 6

The use of electronic devices which interfere with the debate shall not be permitted during session. If a Delegate finds himself/herself in the urgent need of using such device, he/she shall ask for the Chairmanship’s authorization first.

6. DRESS CODE: The dress code to access the committees shall be formal. For men, a suit, jacket and tie will be considered appropriate. Women should wear suit, skirt, dress or formal pants. Shorts, T-shirts, tennis shoes or caps are not allowed during sessions. In case a delegate does not follow these rules, he/she will receive a warning.

7. WARNINGS: Warnings are the sanctions imposed by the Staff to call the attention on behaviors that are inappropriate for a United Nations Conference. Violating the courtesy rules, interrupting the debate unnecessarily, not respectful attitudes and arriving late to a session are examples of behaviors that will generate a warning. If a delegate accumulates two warnings within the same session, he/she shall leave the chamber, and will not be allowed to be present until the next session. 

8. MOTIONS:

Article 1

All Delegates will be able to raise motions to the floor to ask for a situation or proposal to be considered during the sessions, having expressed the kind of motion required.

Article 2

There are four types of motions used for the debate’s development as well as a better participation of delegates in the different committees: Motion of Procedure, Motion of Personal Privilege, Motion of Order, and Motion of Parliamentary Inquiry.

MOTION OF PROCEDURE: This motion can be used to propose an option on procedure during the normal course of the debate. 

a) In order for the Chairmanship to consider this motion, there will have to be at least a Delegate who seconds it. The Delegation that asked for this motion may not second it.

b) The Motion of Procedure cannot interrupt a Delegate or the Chairmanship when he/she is addressing the floor or when a procedure is already in process. The motion can be made only while the floor is open.

c) The Chairmanship may deny, accept or vote the proposal. In case of voting it, abstentions will not be allowed. The motion will pass with the existence of an absolute majority in favor (for majority types, see Rule 

MOTION OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE: This motion will be used whenever a delegate experiences personal discomfort, which impairs his/her ability to participate in the proceedings. The motion cannot be denied until it has been heard. It may interrupt a speaker as well as the Chairmanship. The Motion of Personal Privilege must be used with the utmost discretion; moreover, it is preferred to send this motion to the Chairmanship by written means. This right may be restricted at any moment by the Chairmanship.

MOTION OF ORDER: During the discussion of any matter, a delegate may raise a Motion of Order to call on the improper application of the parliamentary procedure. The Moderator, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, shall immediately decide upon the Motion of Order. The Moderator may overrule these motions, whenever these are dilatory or improper; such a decision is not refutable. A Representative raising a Motion of Order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion. A Motion of Order may only interrupt a speaker when the speech itself is not following proper parliamentary procedure. When a Delegate is not respecting the official position of the country represented, no representative may raise a Motion of Order but can signal so in a written form to the Delegate that is making an inappropriate statement.

MOTION OF PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY: When the floor is open, a delegate may raise a Motion of Parliamentary Inquiry to ask the Moderator a question regarding the Rules of Procedure.

a) A Motion of Parliamentary Inquiry may never interrupt a speaker.

b) Motions of Information do not exist. Delegates wishing to ask substantive questions should do so during Caucus or by written form.

PRIORITY: Motions shall be considered in the following order of preference:

A) Motions which may interrupt a speaker:

a. Motion of Personal Privilege

b. Motion of Order

B) Motions which are in order only when the floor is open:

a. Motion of Parliamentary Inquiry

b. Motion of Procedure

C) Procedural motions that are not debatable:

a. Adjournment of the Meeting

b. Suspension of the Meeting

c. Caucusing

d. Moderated Caucus

e. Resolution

D) Procedural motions that are applicable to a Resolution under consideration:

a. Closure of Debate

b. Postponement of Debate

E) Other procedural motions:

a. extraordinary sessions of questions

b. Resumption of debate

c. Roll Call Vote

9. AGENDA: The first order of business for the Committee shall be to establish the Agenda. The possible motions of procedure and their use at this time are as follows: Motion of Procedure: in order to open “Topic Area A” or “B”. The motion must be seconded.

A Speakers List for and against opening such Topic Area will be automatically established. The Delegation who called for the motion, the one who seconds, and any other delegations who wish to speak in favor of opening the Topic Area selected will be placed in the Speakers. List specified for it. The Delegation who called for the motion will be the first in the Speaker’s list; the one who seconded it will go next and then the other delegations in the order established by the Moderator.

Delegations who wish to speak against such opening may do so by asking to be placed on the Speakers. This list requires a minimum of two Delegates for and two against. If there is not a minimum of delegates in the Speakers List, the committee will proceed to an immediate vote on the proposed Topic Area. The time limit for this Speakers List will be 30 seconds.

Delegations may only speak in favor or against the opening of the proposed Topic Area; therefore, Delegations may not refer to other topics on the Agenda. Delegations must always speak in third person, as they are representing States. A Motion of Procedure in order to close the Speakers. List (and proceed to voting the proposed Topic Area) will be in order after two delegates in favor and two against have already spoken. This motion must be seconded. If the option is seconded, a separate Speakers List will be opened. This list is established only for those who are against closing the Speakers List on the opening of a proposed Topic Area. A minimum of two Delegates is necessary for this Speakers List to open. If this criterion is not followed the procedure will be to immediately vote on closing the Speakers. List to open the proposed Topic Area.

The time of this Speaker’s List will be of 30 seconds. Delegations may only speak against closing the Speakers List. Delegations may not refer to any topic on the Agenda. A Motion of Procedure in order to close the separate Speakers. List will be in order after two Delegates have spoken. The motion must be seconded and will immediately be placed to vote. If this motion is not seconded, the previous procedure shall continue.

After this list is closed, the Speakers List in favor or against opening a proposed Topic 

Area will be voted. If the voting passes, the Speaker’s List shall be closed; if the voting does not passes, the Speakers List in favor or against opening any proposed Topic Area shall continue.

After closing the Speakers List in favor and against the proposed Topic, the Topic Area will be voted. An absolute majority is required. If the Topic is approved, a new Speakers List will be opened. If the Topic Area is rejected, the second topic will be opened immediately and a new Speakers List will be opened.

10. DEBATE: Once the Agenda has been determined one continuously opened Speakers List shall be established for the purpose of the general debate. This Speakers List shall be followed during all debate on the Topic Area, except when suspended by procedural motions, amendments, or the introduction of a resolution.

Article 1

All the sessions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, as well as their subsidiary committees will be public unless the body decides otherwise; this decision must be approved with an absolute majority (for majority types, see Rule 38). However, this decision must depend on exceptional circumstances.

Article 2

No Delegate shall speak without the previous permission of the Chairmanship. The President or Moderator will call to order any Delegate who makes non relevant statements regarding the debate. If a Delegate exceeds the time limit or if his/her comments to another delegate are prejudicial, he/she will also be called to order.

11. SPEAKERS’ LIST: The Committee shall have at all times an open Speakers List on the Topic Area being discussed. Separate Speakers Lists shall be established as needed for other procedural motions including the debate on amendments or resolutions. A State may add its name to the Speakers List by submitting a request in writing to the Chair through the Ushers; States may only request the later if it is not already on such list. The names of the States shall always be posted for the Committees convenience.

12. TIME LIMIT ON SPEECHES: The President may limit the time allowed for each speaker. The minimum time limit is 30 seconds. When a delegate exceeds his/her time, the Moderator will call the speaker to order without delay. A Delegate may propose a time limit with a Motion of Procedure that should be seconded and approved by an absolute majority. The Chairmanship can rule this motion as out of order.

13. YIELDS: A Delegate granted the right to speak on a substantive issue may yield his/her time in one of three ways: to another Delegate, for questions, or to the Chairmanship.

a. Yield to another Delegate. His/her remaining time shall be given to another Delegate — if he/she had previously agreed to do so with the speaker Delegate. If the Delegate does not accept, then the Delegate who yields shall receive a warning.

b. Yield to questions. The rest of the Delegate’s time shall be used to answer questions. Questioners shall be selected by the Moderator and limited to one question with right to one follow-up. The Moderator shall have the right to call to order any Delegate whose question is, in his/her opinion, rhetorical or not designed to obtain information. Only the Speakers answers to questions shall be deducted from the remaining time. It is the Delegate’s decision to answer as desired as far as he/she demonstrates a diplomatic attitude.

c. Yield to the Chairmanship (Chair). Such a yield is made when the Delegate does not wish to make any other use of his/her time; this yield does not affect procedure. Only one yield is allowed: Yields are in order only on a substantive speech. A delegate must declare any yields by the conclusion of his/her speech. If the time of the speaker has expired, he/she may not yield. Follow-up questions should be approved by the Chairmanship and may be restricted at any moment.

14. EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF QUESTIONS: Any Delegate may move for a Motion of

Procedure to open an Extraordinary Session of Questions immediately after a Delegate has concluded his/her speech. This motion will be in order when the remaining time has not been yielded to questions. The delegate who introduces the motion must establish the number of questions. The motion must be seconded first then accepted by the speaker. The motion will be submitted to vote and it requires an absolute majority to be approved. It is in order to establish one follow-up per question as long as it is related to the Delegate’s answer to the question or to the Delegate’s speech. 

15. COMMENTS: If a substantive speech involves no yields, the President may recognize delegates, other than the initial speaker, to comment for 30 seconds on the specific content of the speech just concluded. Commentators may not yield any time. No comments shall be in order during debate on procedural motions. The time allotted for comments shall be of 30 seconds. If a Delegate’s time has expired, the motions for comments will be out of order. Comments shall strictly follow a diplomatic behavior.

16. RIGHT OF REPLY: A Delegate whose personal or national integrity has been impugned by another Delegate may request a Right of Reply in a written form to the Chairmanship. The President’s decision whether or not to grant the Right of Reply is not refutable. A Right of Reply constitutes recognition of the offense, not a license to respond. A Right of Reply to a Right of Reply is out of order. The Delegate who has offended another country shall stand upfront the committee and exclusively present its apologies. Any delegation not attending to a diplomatic posture during this procedure will result in a warning.

17. SIMPLE CAUCUS: A Caucus is an informal meeting among Delegates where direct communication can be established. A Motion of Procedure to open a Caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open. The delegate must briefly explain its purpose and specify the limit of the Caucus, not exceeding twenty minutes. The motion shall be immediately voted. A majority of Members present and voting is required for passage. The Moderator may overrule the motion and his/her decision is not subject to appeal.

18. MODERATED CAUCUS: A Motion of Procedure to open a Moderated Caucus is in order at any time when the floor is open. The Delegate must briefly explain its purpose and specify a time limit for the Moderated Caucus, not exceeding twenty minutes. The purpose of the Moderated Caucus is to facilitate a substantive debate at critical junctures in the discussion. With that goal in mind, the Moderator will temporarily suspend the Speakers. List and call on Delegates to speak at his/her discretion. The Delegate who petitioned the moderated caucus and the one who seconded it shall be the first and second speakers to address the floor during the Moderated caucus. Once raised, the motion shall be voted immediately, with a majority of Members present and voting required for passage. The Moderator may rule the motion out of order and his/her decision is not subject to appeal.

19. WORKING PAPERS AND DRAFT RESOLUTIONS:

Article 1

The delegates may propose working papers for the committee’s consideration. Working papers are intended to support the committee in its discussion and facilitate the drafting of resolutions. They do not need to be written in the resolution format and require the signature of at least 33.3% of delegates of the committee to be considered. A State may be signatory in more than one working paper. Singing a working paper represents the States will to discuss the ideas expressed in the document, and not necessarily their acceptance. Working papers require the signature of the President for them to be copied, distributed or presented to the committee. A representative of the bloc that made the working paper shall step upfront and read it. After the working paper has been introduced, a Motion of Procedure for a Moderated Caucus with the objective of discussing the working paper would be in order.

Article 2

The Delegations will write the draft resolutions in order to present them to the Chairmanship of Approval. The drafts shall have a minimum of 66.6% of the Member’s signatures. The State Members will only be able to give their approval to one of the daft resolutions for every subject debated.

Article 3

The draft resolution will be based on the issues debated on the Speakers List and official consults.

Article 4

From the drafts presented, the Chair of Approval will accept the draft resolutions that cover the requirements stipulated in the Resolution Format Guide in order to be placed under consideration of the State Members of the committee.

a) The Chair of Approval may introduce modifications in the form, but not in the content of the draft as well as to those resolutions approved by the committee.

b) These modifications shall be communicated to the committee for their examination.

Article 5

When presenting a draft resolution to the Chair of Approval, the State Members that sponsor it shall also inform which Delegations will present the draft to the committee in case that the draft resolution is accepted.

Article 7 The Chairmanship will be able to call a maximum of three Delegates to present the draft resolution to the committee. These Delegates will have 3 and a half minutes each to defend the draft after which they may be submitted to 5 questions; however, the Chairmanship may recommend other proceedings. The Moderator will select the Delegates that will ask these questions.

Article 8

There are two possible modalities to debate a draft resolution: a Moderated Caucus or a debate with a Speakers List in favor, about and against the draft resolution. The Chairmanship will decide the modality; it may also change it if and when necessary, previously acknowledging the committee.

Article 9

During the draft resolution’s Speakers List, each speaker will have up to two minutes to state his/her comment 

Article 10

To close the Speakers list in favor, about and against the draft resolution, a motion to close the debate is necessary. This motion will be in order under consideration of the Chairmanship and it needs to be seconded.

Article 11

When the Speakers List in favor, about and against the draft resolution is closed, a formal voting will take place. The voting will consist of three phases.

21. CLOSURE OF DEBATE: When the floor is open and at least two Members of each side have spoken, a Delegate may move to close the debate on the Agenda, resolution or amendment under discussion. When closure of debate is moved, the Moderator may recognize up to two speakers against the motion. No speaker in favor of the motion shall be recognized. Closure of the debate requires the support of an absolute majority of the Members present and voting. If the committee is in favor of closure, the President shall declare the closure of the debate and from this moment the draft resolution will be referred to as Resolution. The Chairmanship will then recognize two speakers in favor, two against and two about the Resolution to address to committee. After this procedure, the Resolution will be immediately submitted to formal voting.

22. ROLL CALL VOTING: After debate is closed, any Delegate may request a roll call vote. Such a Motion of Personal Privilege must be seconded. When this motion is approved, the observers must leave the Committee. In a roll call vote, the Moderator shall call the Delegates in alphabetical order following the next three sequence procedure:

a) First sequence: during the first sequence, Delegates may vote for, against, abstain or pass. Those who voted for or against may ask for a right of explanation.

b) Second sequence: a delegate who passes during the first sequence of the roll call must vote during the second sequence for, against or abstention. Delegates may request the right of explanation of their votes during either the first or second sequence. This right will take place after the second round is over; the Delegates shall have the right to briefly explain their vote.

c) Third sequence: the Moderator shall then call for vote changes; no Delegate may request a right of explanation. After all Delegates have come to a definite vote, the Moderator shall then announce the outcome of the vote.

Note: Non-Member Representatives will not have the right to vote during this procedure. (PALESTINE)

23. VETO: In the Security Council exclusively, the five Permanent Members (United States of

America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Republic of France, People’s

Republic of China, and Russian Federation) have the power to overrule a vote in favor of a resolution by using their veto right. The veto right shall be exercised by voting against the draft resolution. An abstention shall not be considered as a veto. If a Permanent Member exercises its veto right, the resolution shall be rejected.

24. ADJOURNMENT OR CANCELLATION OF THE MEETING: Whenever the floor is open, a

Delegate may move to the adjournment of the meeting or session (to suspend all committee functions for a determined time). The Moderator may rule such motion out of order; these decisions shall not be subject to appeal. Such motions shall not be debatable but shall be immediately voted and shall require a qualified majority to pass. A Motion of Procedure to cancel the meeting shall be out of order prior to the lapse of three-quarters of the time allotted for the last meeting of the committee.

25. APPEAL: A Delegate in turn, with the exception of those matters that have explicitly stated to be non refutable, may appeal any decision of the Moderator. The Moderator may speak briefly in defense of the ruling if the President has considered the motion to be in order. The appeal shall be voted, and the Chair’s decision shall stand unless overruled by a majority of those members present and voting. This motion shall not be seconded. An against vote indicates support of the Chairmanship’s ruling; a for vote indicates opposition to it.

26. POSTPONEMENT AND RESUMPTION OF THE DEBATE: Whenever the floor is open, a delegate may move for the postponement of debate. The motion shall require the vote of a qualified majority to pass and shall be debatable to the extent of one speaker in favor and one opposed. Resumption of debate shall be done by moving for it whenever the floor is open.

27. RECONSIDERATION: A Motion of Procedure to reconsider a vote is in order when a resolution or amendment has been adopted or rejected, and must be made by a Member who voted with the majority on the substantive proposal. The Moderator shall recognize two speakers opposing the motion after which the motion shall be immediately voted. A two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting is required for reconsideration.

28. MAJORITIES: There are three types of majorities used during the Conference in the parliamentary procedure:

a) Qualified Majority: Represents the vote of two thirds (66.6%) of the Members present and voting.

b) Absolute Majority: Represents the vote of 50% + 1 of the Members present and voting.

1. Relative Majority: Represents one more vote in favor of a determined posture than that of the votes against it.