PisayMUN IV

Scope

• For clarification, all committee sessions will be done through in-person setups. Each campus will send a delegation of six (6) — each representing a country of their own in five separate committees— one to four (1-4) Dais, one (1) chaperone/coach, and one (1) TWG. PisayMUN IV shall follow an in-person mode of implementation.

• The following committees will be participating in the PisayMUN IV:

  • • UN Women (UNW)

    • UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)

    • UN Development Programme (UNDP) 

    • World Health Organization (WHO) 

    • Animated Commission for Smart Cities (ACSC)

• The PisayMUN IV shall follow the focus of Smart Cities. Each committee shall follow a sub-theme that features a focus on smart cities and adheres to the respective committee’s functions. 

Delegations

• Each campus will send a delegation of six (6) — each representing a country of their own in five separate committees — and one to four (1-4) Dais. 

• Each campus is allowed to send the following number of delegates for each committee:

  • UN Women (1 delegate)

  • UN Environmental Programme (1 delegate)

  • UN Development Programme (1 delegate) 

  • World Health Organization (1 delegate) 

  • Animated Commission for Smart Cities (2 delegates)

• Each entered delegate shall represent different countries in their committee. No two delegates will share a single country in their committees.

Quorum

• Two-thirds (2/3) of the attending delegations in a given committee are needed to be in attendance in order to establish a quorum. The Committee proceedings may not start until this quorum is achieved. If quorum is not reached by the schedule set by the Dais, the Secretary-General will be responsible to decide on the measures to be taken.

Decorum

• The delegates are required to maintain the utmost level of professionalism during conference proceedings. Violations of the provided decorum and/or the PSHS Handbook and Code of Conduct shall merit delegates with a warning from the Dais.

• Meritance of three (3) warnings shall incur the Dais authority to sanction delegates according to the chair’s discretion. Such sanctions that may be incurred are:

  • revoking of speaking rights;

  • expulsion of meeting presence; and

  • further discussion of behavior in a meeting with the secretariat and MUN Director/s.

• Such level of professionalism is therefore inclusive of, but not limited to, the following parameters:

  • • Dress Code

      • Delegates are strictly required to wear business casual attire in committee proceedings. Delegates are provided with their own placards for their respective delegations. Delegates are required to wear the ID provided by the Dais for the entirety of the committee proceedings. In virtual meetings (should there be any), delegates are required to equip the prescribed virtual background for the event. 

    • In-Session Decorum

      • Delegates are required to attend the committee sessions in accordance with the schedule provided by the PisayMUN Dais as approved by the TWG.

      • Negotiations may be addressed to either entity but will be up for discussion regarding accommodations.

      • Delegates are not allowed to leave any litter on their stations once committee proceedings have been adjourned.

      • Delegates are not allowed to interrupt fellow member states while they are speaking.

      • Delegates are only allowed to speak once recognized by the presiding Dais in the session.

      • Delegates may request bathroom breaks from the presiding Dais of the session and will be granted at their discretion.

      • Delegates are required to leave their IDs at their stations for their bathroom break.

      • Badgering of fellow delegates in any way shape or form is strictly prohibited in all session proceedings.

      • Note passing will be done through the support staff. The delegates must write their notes in a pad provided to them. They should place the country they wish to deliver it too and give the note to the support staff for passing. The same goes for their replies.

      • Delegates are only allowed to use their laptops during unmoderated caucuses for the sole purpose of writing their draft resolutions. The delegates are only allowed to communicate through in-person interaction or via the Google Spaces chat room provided by the Dais. The presence of delegates in the GDoc will be monitored by the Dais.

• Language

  • • Delegates are strictly prohibited from the use of any language other than English during committee proceedings and the writing of Position Papers, Working Papers, and Draft Resolutions. Inappropriate language is also barred from being mentioned in all forms of discourse. Use of first-person pronouns is strictly prohibited. Therefore, third-person pronouns and phrases such as “The delegate/delegation of [Country] …” should be used. No translation services will be provided under any committee. Non-conformity toward these language guidelines shall also merit warnings from the presiding Dais in the session.

Setting the Agenda

• Motion to Open the Debate

  • This will be the first motion the chair will accept. Raising this motion will indicate that the delegates are ready and the session is cleared to proceed.

• Motion to Set the Agenda

  • Two (2) subject topics will be identified in pre-conference materials. Upon the formal opening of debate procedures, delegates may motion to set the agenda, putting forward one of the two topics to be discussed first and briefly stating the justifications. Procedural voting will then commence.

    • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to set the agenda. The delegate would like to propose that the order of discussion for this session would be [Topic A], then [Topic B]. This would …”

• Second the Motion

  • If a delegate wishes to support a procedural motion for it to be in order, they should raise their placard / virtual hand and wait for them to be recognized by the Chair.

    • • “The Delegate of [Country] seconds the motion to set the agenda to…”

• General Speakers List

  • A General Speakers List (GSL) will be opened at the start of new topics where all delegates will be required to speak. Five-minute long GSLs will also be opened throughout the session to accommodate delegates who wish to speak about topics not specifically belonging to the agenda in moderated caucuses. Mid-session GSL may be recommended at the discretion of the chair but will need a motion for them to be in order.

    • • For the opening GSL, the order of speaking will be alphabetical. 

      • For the mid-session GSL, speaking will be in order of Chair recognition of delegates.

• Speaking Time

  • The standard speaking time for all speeches will be set to 60 seconds. However, a motion may be raised to change this to either 30 or 90 seconds.

Caucusing

• Motion for Moderated Caucus

  • A motion set forward by a delegate to open a formal speakers’ list to discuss certain aspects of the issue at hand. The delegate must specify: 

    • • the duration of the moderated caucus; 

      • the topic to be discussed; and

      • individual speaking time. 

    • This will require a procedural vote.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for a 20-minute moderated caucus with 2 minutes speaking time to discuss the best way to help developing countries manufacture their own pharmaceutical products”

• Motion for Unmoderated Caucus

  • A motion by a delegate to freely discuss with other delegates without formal supervision and facilitation. While raising this motion, the time must be specified. This is normally used to start drafting committee resolutions.

    • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for a 20-minute unmoderated caucus to freely discuss the topics mentioned in the moderated caucus”

• Debate in Vacuum

  • Topics in caucuses will be considered as “debates outside vacuum”—discussion will be centered solely on the given agenda. Considerations rooted to topics outside the main agenda (e.g. pandemic, social equality) will still be heard but points not under the topic may be discarded upon the Chair’s discretion.

Yields

• • The delegates may yield their remaining time to the chair, a fellow delegate, or for questions; however, a minimum of 30 seconds must be left for yields to fellow delegates and/or questions to be considered. There shall be no double yielding.

    • • • “The Delegate of [Country] yields their time to the chair.”

        • “The Delegate of [Country] yields their time to the Delegate of [Other Country]”

          • The delegate yielded to may accept or deny the yield.

        • “The Delegate of [Country] yields their time for questions."

          • Questions and answers should be brief; however, no timer will be set for the dialogue.

          • If no points are raised, the time will be automatically yielded back to the chair.

Motion to Suspend Meeting

• • • Used to temporarily suspend the session. This must be raised by the delegates before proceeding to a break (e.g., lunch break).

      • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to suspend the meeting in the interest of a lunch break”

Motion to Adjourn the Debate

• • • Used to end the debate on a subtopic without a substantive vote. This is raised to set aside a subtopic for the moment and a motion for reconsideration must be approved to reopen the agenda.

      • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to adjourn the debate on [subtopic]”

Motion for Reconsideration

• • • Used to reconsider a subtopic that has not been concluded or that which the delegates have not reached an agreement earlier in the meeting

      • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for reconsideration of [subtopic] since an agreement has not been reached earlier in the meeting”

Motion to Close the Debate

• • • Used to end all discussion on the topic to move to an immediate vote on all draft resolutions. Prior to procedural voting, one to two speakers may opt to speak “for” and “against” when a motion to close debate is in order.

      • • "The Delegate of [Country] motions for the closure of the debate”

Chair's Discretion

• • • The Dais will have the authority to overrule certain motions deemed unfitting in the interest of time, and/or meaningful discussion with regard to the rules of procedure.

      • Motions to Suspend Debate will be considered only if made within 10 minutes of the scheduled time for recess. 

      • Additionally, Chairs may make suggestions for succeeding agenda.

On Points

• • • Delegates may raise points of personal privilege, parliamentary procedure, order, information, and clarification.

      • Points of personal privilege and parliamentary decorum may be raised anytime.

      • Points of parliamentary procedure and order may be raised as long as there is no delegate currently speaking.

      • Points of information and clarification may be raised as long as there is no delegate currently speaking or when the floor is made open for questions. These may be discarded at the sole discretion of the chair.

Right of Reply

• • • In addition to responses to prompts directed to certain delegates, delegates may also raise motions to exercise their right of reply in between caucuses when their country was alluded to, either explicitly or implicitly. Granting the right will be at the sole discretion of the chair. In the interest of time, the reply will be limited to 30 seconds only.

Points

• The points that may be raised during session proceedings are as follows:

  • Point of Parliamentary Decorum

    • Used in response to personal attacks and rude comments directed to a delegate during committee sessions.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of parliamentary decorum as [reason].”

  • Point of Order

    • Used to correct an error in procedures; no voting required.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of order…"

  • Point of Personal Privilege

    • Used when a delegate feels personal discomfort that hinders a delegate's ability to participate in a Committee.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of personal privilege to [request]."

  • Point of Parliamentary Inquiry

    • Used when a delegate wishes to inquire about the procedures.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of parliamentary inquiry [question]."

  • Point of Clarification

    • Used to clarify definitions and abbreviations.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of clarification; this delegate would like to clarify the definition of [term].”

  • Point of Information

    • Used when a delegate wishes to ask a question to another delegate. It should be phrased as a question and does not require votes.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to raise a point of information… [question]."

Motions

• The motions that may be raised during session proceedings are as follows:

  • Motion to Set the Agenda

    • To set the agenda, delegates should raise this motion to the chair at the beginning of the session after the General Speakers’ List.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to set the agenda of this committee in the following order: [Topic 1] and [Topic 2].”

  • Motion for an Extension

    • Used to extend moderated and unmoderated caucuses, NOT the committee sessions.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion for an extension of the [caucus] by [duration] for [reason].”

  • Motion to Adjourn the Meeting

    • Used to end the meeting; used only on the final day to end the committee for the year. This motion needs to be seconded

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion the adjournment of the meeting.”

  • Motion to Suspend the Meeting

    • Used to suspend the session temporarily. This must be raised by the delegates before proceeding to a break (e.g., lunch break). This motion needs to be seconded.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] motions to suspend the meeting in the interest of a lunch break.”

  • Motion to Limit the Scope of Debate

    • A motion set by a delegate to restrict the scope of the debate to a certain topic, resolution, or amendment.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion to limit the scope of debate to [topic].“

  • Motion to Introduce Working Paper

    • Used to introduce a working paper after debates.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to introduce working paper [Working Paper Title]...”

  • Motion to Introduce Draft Resolution(s)

    • Used to introduce a draft resolution in front of the committee. 

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion to introduce draft resolution/s [Draft Resolution Title(s)]…”

  • Motion for Unmoderated Caucus

    • This motion can be divided into two types:

      • For Discussion

        • a motion by a delegate to freely discuss with other delegates without formal supervision and facilitation. While raising this motion, the time must be specified. This is normally used to start drafting committee resolutions.

          • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for a [duration] unmoderated caucus to freely discuss the topics mentioned in the moderated caucus.”

      • For a Writing Session

        • a motion by a delegate to freely author their working paper and/or their resolution paper.

          • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for a [duration] unmoderated caucus in the interest of writing the working papers.”

  • Motion for Moderated Caucus

    • a motion to set forward by a delegate to open a separate speakers’ list to discuss certain aspects of the issue at hand. The delegate must specify 

      • the duration of the moderated caucus; 

      • the topic to be discussed; 

      • individual speaking time. 

        • • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for a [duration] moderated caucus with [individual speaking time] speaking time to discuss [topic].”

  • Motion to Reopen the General Speakers List

    • A motion used to reopen the GSL on a certain topic at hand. 

      • “The delegate of [Country] motions to reopen the General Speakers List.”

  • Motion to Appeal to the Chair

    • To challenge the chair’s decision; the delegate should explain their reason for the appeal, and if the chair still rejects the proposition, voting is required. 

      • The Delegate of [Country] would like to make an appeal to the chair to…"

  • Motion for Reconsideration 

    • Used to reconsider a subtopic that has not been concluded or that which the delegates have not reached an agreement earlier in the meeting. This motion needs to be seconded.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for reconsideration of [subtopic] since an agreement has not been reached earlier in the meeting.”

  • Motion to Adjourn the Debate

    • used to adjourn the debate on a topic without a substantive vote. This is raised to set aside a topic for the moment and a motion for reconsideration must be approved to reopen the agenda. This motion needs to be seconded.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to adjourn the debate on [topic].”

  • Motion to Close the Debate

    • Used to end all discussion on the topic to move to an immediate vote on all draft resolutions; when a resolution was reached. This motion needs to be seconded

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions for the closure of the debate.”

  • Motion to Introduce the Unfriendly Amendment

    • A form of an amendment that is not unanimously voted upon by all corresponding sponsors. The introduction of the unfriendly amendment is followed by a moderated debate between two (2) For and two (2) Against speakers which will be facilitated by the Chair. Voting procedures will begin after the debates. 

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion to introduce the unfriendly amendment…”

  • Motion to Introduce the Friendly Amendment

    • A form of an amendment to a draft resolution that is unanimously voted upon by all corresponding sponsors. This type of amendment is immediately approved.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion to introduce the friendly amendment…”

  • Motion to Adopt by Acclamation/Unanimous Decision

    • Adopt a draft resolution as a body by a consensus; the Chair will ask for any dissensions.

      • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to motion that [Draft Resolution Title] be voted unanimously."

  • Motion to Divide the Question

    • Used to split a subject into several parts which are capable of standing alone as a complete proposition without the context of the other subtopics.

      • “The Delegate of [Country] motions to divide the question [Question] into [Subtopic 1], [Subtopic 2]... as [reason].”

• Other Points or Motions

  • The other miscellaneous points/motions that may also be used in session proceedings are as follows:

    • Second the Motion

      • If a delegate wishes to support a procedural motion for it to be in order, they should raise their hand/placard and wait for them to be recognized by the Chair.

        • “The Delegate of [Country] seconds the motion to …”

    • Right of Reply

      • Used by delegates to address points of information and points of clarification to certain delegates in between caucuses when their country is alluded to, implicitly or explicitly.

        • "The Delegate of [Country] would like to exercise their right of reply in response to …. "

Precedence List

• When multiple points and/or motions have been raised, they shall be considered according to the precedence list shown below. Points or motions of higher precedence (i.e., higher on the list) shall be heard first before those that are lower in order. In general, more disruptive motions/points are given higher precedence. 

  • • Point of Parliamentary Decorum

    • Point of Order

    • Point of Personal Privilege

    • Point of Parliamentary Inquiry

    • Motion to Set the Agenda

    • Right of Reply

    • Point of Clarification

    • Point of Information

    • Motion for an Extension

    • Motion to Adjourn the Meeting

    • Motion to Suspend the Meeting

    • Motion to Limit Scope of Debate

    • Motion to Introduce Working Paper

    • Motion to Introduce Draft Resolution

    • Motion for Unmoderated Caucus

    • Motion for Moderated Caucus 

    • Motion to Reopen the General Speakers List

    • Motion to Appeal to the Chair 

    • Motion for Reconsideration 

    • Motion to Adjourn the Debate

    • Motion to Close the Debate

    • Motion to Introduce Unfriendly Amendment

    • Motion to Introduce Friendly Amendment

    • Motion to Adopt by Acclamation/Unanimous Decision 

    • Motion to Divide the Question

• Recognizing that special scenarios regarding motion/point setting may arise during the session, the following protocol shall be followed:

  • For motions of the same kind, the motion with the longer duration is more disruptive and takes higher precedence.

    • • e.g., A Motion for Unmoderated Caucus of 20 minutes takes higher precedence than a Motion for Unmoderated Caucus of 10 minutes.

  • For motions with the same type and total duration (i.e., equal disruptiveness), precedence shall be based on the order that it was proposed.

    • • e.g., Delegation A proposed a Moderated Caucus of 10 minutes ahead of Delegation B, thus taking higher precedence.

  • For proposed unmoderated and moderated caucuses of the same total duration, unmoderated caucuses take higher precedence.

    • • e.g., A Motion for Unmoderated Caucus of 15 minutes takes higher precedence than a Motion for Moderated Caucus of 15 minutes.

  • When multiple points of the same kind are raised, precedence shall follow the order in which they were raised or, in case of emergency situations, by the Chair’s Discretion.

    • • e.g., When a Point of Privilege regarding discomfort due to room temperature is raised before a Point of Privilege requesting a bathroom break, the former shall be recognized first.

The Position Paper

• Position papers are documents that summarize the country’s stance on the committee’s topic. Each delegation has to write and submit their position paper before the conference. The paper can have one (1) but not exceeding two (2) pages (references excluded) with the following specifications:

  • • Must be in an A4 sized paper

    • Use Times New Roman font size 12 

    • 1.5 line spacing justified

    • 1 inch margin on all sides

    • With pagination

    • With references in 7th Edition American Psychological Association or APA citation format

• Submitted position papers that would exceed the set limit of 2 pages (excluding references) will have a deduction of 3 points per additional page and a fraction thereof.

• Please refer to Annex X of the  PDF version of the Rules of Procedure for the Prescribed Template with a short description of the components of the paper. Position papers will be checked using Turnitin. Papers not abiding by the following standards will be disqualified for any award:

  • • Should have a similarity index of 10% or less

    • NOT CONTAIN an entire paragraph with more than seven (7) phrases copied from the original document.

• The submission for the position paper would be on the Google Forms and the deadline would be on October 14, 2024, a month before the conference.

The Working Paper

• The working paper is a document that compiles the committee’s stances, ideas, and proposals. This has no specific format; the delegates may freely write rough drafts in a blank Google Docs document provided by the Dais through Google Spaces and organize ideas in any way they wish to.

The Draft Resolution

• ​​After the closure of the debates, delegates would need to move on to the presentation of all submitted draft resolutions. 

• A 15-minute reading time would then be given by the Chair for the delegates to examine the draft resolutions and prepare their suggested amendments. 

• Presentations of the draft resolution would be on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

• Delegates must note that each committee can only approve a maximum of two (2) resolutions, and once this limit has been reached, any excess proposal can no longer be entertained. 

• A sample draft resolution is shown in Annex Y of the PDF version of the Rules of Procedure for the delegates’ reference, but the official draft resolution format will be provided by the Dais during the conference to avoid pre-writing. Likewise, the same document shall be monitored by the Committee Dais at all times; the assigned Committee Dais may be the support staff and/or rapporteur.

• The draft resolution will not be divided into articles or sections.

• The Security Council will follow the same procedures for drafting their clauses.

  • • Sponsors and Signatories

      • Sponsors are delegations that agree and support the draft resolution. They will also be responsible for introducing and presenting the created draft resolution. Signatories are countries that do not fully support but recognize and consider the written draft resolution. Each draft resolution will contain sponsors and signatories. Delegates cannot be both a sponsor and a signatory. The minimum number of sponsors for each paper is two (2) while the maximum number is five (5). There is no maximum number of signatories for the draft resolution, but a minimum of two (2) signatories is required.

    • Amendments

      • When an amendment is introduced, sponsors must raise a motion for a unanimous vote. If there are objections, the amendment is considered unfriendly, otherwise, the amendment is friendly.

        • Friendly Amendment

          • A form of an amendment to a draft resolution that is agreed upon by all corresponding sponsors. This type of amendment is immediately approved.

        • Unfriendly Amendment 

          • The opposite of a friendly amendment, where the amendment does not receive the unanimous approval of all sponsors of a draft resolution. This would proceed to a moderated debate made of one to two (1-2) Fors and one to two (1-2) Againsts delegation, facilitated by the Chair. After the debates, it would proceed to voting procedures.

    • Mergers

      • If two (2) or more resolution papers have been introduced, delegates may be asked to combine the resolutions into one paper, especially if both blocs have similar ideas and redundant clauses are present. In this case, the maximum number of sponsors will be ten (10) while the minimum number of sponsors will be four (4).

      • The submission for the Resolution will be via a Google Form (to be released during the summit proper) in PDF format.

• Writing Sessions

  • There will be two (2) writing sessions during unmoderated caucuses allocated for writing the working paper and the draft resolution. Writing working papers and draft resolutions prior to the conference is strictly not allowed. 

Voting Procedures

• If the voting procedure has begun, delegates may no longer leave the room, or do anything that may disrupt the procedure such as and is not limited to lobbying, crosstalk, or substantive debate. All interactions must take place through the Dais. Delegates are prohibited from talking to each other. 

• The Modes of Voting is categorized into two:

  • Procedural Voting

    • A Simple Majority is required wherein one-half plus one (1) of all delegates are present. May be used for the following:

      • • Motions to set the agenda;

        • Motion for moderated caucus;

        • Motion for unmoderated caucus;

        • Motion for reconsideration;

        • Motion to limit the scope of debate

        • Motion to appeal to the chair;

        • Motion to divide the question;

        • Motion to introduce working paper;

        • Motion to adopt by acclamation/unanimous decision;

        • Motion for an extension;

        • Motion to adjourn the debate;

        • Motion to close the debate;

        • Motion to suspend the meeting; and

        • Motion to adjourn the meeting.

• • Substantive Voting

    • The given matters shall require a two-thirds (⅔) majority of the members present and voting. May be used for the following:

      • • Voting of resolutions;

        • Motion to introduce unfriendly amendments;

        • Motion to introduce draft resolution(s); and

        • Decisions of the General Assembly.

    • Delegates will vote on all submitted draft resolutions after the closure of the debate; the voting is preceded by the respective Committee Chairs.