The UN and MUN

What is the UN? 

"UN" stands for "United Nations." The UN was formed after World War II by the Allies, who had just won the war. Originally it had 51 members, it has 193 today. The United Nations have five main purposes, which are;

1) To keep peace throughout the world

2) Develop friendly relations between nations

3) Solve global issues such as poverty and promote human rights

4) Coordinate global efforts to achieve the above goals

5) Preserve the national sovereignty of all member nations

The largest committee of the UN is the General Assembly (GA), where all 193 members are represented and all votes have equal weight. However, the UN has other decision-making bodies focused on more specific issues, such as the the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which has 54 member nations, the Human Rights Council, which has 47 member nations, and the Sercurity Council, which has 15 member nations (10 elected for 10 year terms and five permanent: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America). Also note that the Security Council is the only body that can authorize the use of force and also that the permanent countries, known as the P5, have veto power over resolutions, meaning a 'no' vote from them automatically fail a resolution. 

What is MUN?

"MUN" stands for "Model United Nations." It is normally an extra-curricular activity present in many American and international colleges, high schools, and middle schools. Thousands of students participate in MUN clubs throughout the world. MUN procedure is very similar to that of the United Nations. Delegates, the term used for students who participate in MUN, represent different delegations and discuss pressing global issues by researching, writing resolutions, and speaking in favor of their solutions to the topic at hand, formally known as resolutions. The end goal is to solve the problems discussed by passing a resolution. For this, it is necessary that countries find a solution that many people can agree with. It is important to note that MUN is constantly changing and improving due to its growth and popularity among students. 

What is a Crisis?

Crises are fictional simulations in real time created by the conference's leadership. They are usually based on the actions and decisions of delegates and have a guest act as a character, such as a newscaster or governmental figure, to inform the delegates of the crisis. Crises have no limits; they can include new countries, scientific discoveries, extra-terrestrial beings and even unearthed historical happenings. Afterwards, delegates may ask POI's to the guest and will have to edit their resolutions and regroup with delegates. The original committee is redirected to a Crisis Committee, meaning the committee recenters all resolutions and speeches around the crisis. There are usually 1-2 crises per conference. 

Crises require delegates to truly align with the ideals of their country and stay in character. The Chair and Crisis Director created the crisis to allow all delegates to thrive within their country's perspective. Delegates must stay flexible and be ready to speak. 

It is important to note that delegates cannot motion to site sources during a Crisis as it is fictional and the delegates go based off of their country's perspective. However, delegates can motion to site sources should the speaker bring up previous, factual matters.