The Basics

Getting Started-A Video Intro to Model UN

There are many great videos that can introduce you to model UN. Consider this video presented at the Sandwich High School Model United Nations XI in the spring of 2017:

Participating in a model UN requires you to master three skills to be successful: presenting your nations position, engaging in diplomacy to achieve your nation's goals, and using parliamentary procedure to support your efforts.

Presenting your nation's position.

Keys

• Finding your nation's position on a topic is easier than you think!
• A position paper is a message, not an essay!
• You can take the "Position Paper Tips" to heart!

There are many approaches to presenting your position, but whether you are a delegate who can speak off the top of your head, or a delegate who need to read a prepared statement to get things started, there are a number of steps you should take when it comes to writing a position paper.

Step 1: Know the nation you represent.

With the wide range of resources online providing information about nation, getting the basics about your nation's social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic and geographical background is relatively easy, even if you have to do this rapidly.

The Wikipedia is often a good place to start for two reasons-its nation histories provide a great amount of detail, and when you type in "foreign Relations of (your nation) into the Wikipedia search engine, you will go to a page that helps you understand who your allies are and what kind of foreign policy you have. The Wikipedia also has links to nation home pages that can provide greater details-as well as actual information on positions your nation has on certain topics.

The website for the United States Department of State is superb: its country reports address a wide range of issues each nation faces around the world, as well as painting a thorough picture of conditions within a nation. Use the CIA World Factbook along with this, and you have both description and hard statistics to draw from.

One source you should not underestimate is the Infoplease Almanac online-as a source that allows you to access background about a nation quickly, Infoplease is excellent. Use Index Mundi along with this, and you have all the stats you will every need to know about your nation.

Step 2. Find out how your nation's position on the topic you are debating.

Twenty years ago, students often wrote to the embassy of the nation they represented to find out its position on a topic. You can still do this, and suing email may draw very swift response-unlike twenty years ago when it might be weeks-or longer before you received a response. Many of the larger nations have websites for their foreign affairs departments where they present policy statements on various topics. as these have improved, the quality of the info they present has improved with them. It is wise to take a look at these.

One way of drawing all this information out into the open quickly is to go to your favorite search engine and type in the name of your nation and the subject your are debating (such as "The United States and North Korea's nuclear program"). What usually flows is a list of articles from newspapers, blogs, and scholarly articles. Go hunting for quotes, statements and summaries of what a nation is doing or saying about the topic. Sometimes you strike gold, sometimes you come a way with one sentence that speaks to your nations position. In both cases, you will have information that presents a position.

This process can be refined if you use a nation's country code at the end of your search request. For example, if you want to know more about Japan and nuclear weapons, type "nuclear weapons.jn" into a search engine. the articles that come up will tend to address Japan's position on nuclear weapons, either with government statements or news stories that address Japan's position. A list of country codes can be found by typing in the name of the search engine you use and "country codes."

Step 3. Putting it all together-the Position Paper.

Some students can write a position paper in just thinking on their fee, some need to write it all down. In either case, a position paper is your chance to be heard, and the following format presented on the United Nations Association of the United States website is as good as you will find anywhere:

"A good position paper will include:

A brief introduction to your country and its history concerning the topic and committee;

How the issue affects your country;

Your country's policies with respect to the issue and your country's justification for these policies;

Quotes from your country's leaders about the issue;

Statistics to back up your country's position on the issue;

Actions taken by your government with regard to the issue;

Conventions and resolutions that your country has signed or ratified;

UN actions that your country supported or opposed;

What your country believes should be done to address the issue;

What your country would like to accomplish in the committee's resolution; and

How the positions of other countries affect your country's position.

Position Paper Tips

Keep it simple. To communicate strongly and effectively, avoid flowery wording and stick to uncomplicated language and sentence structure.

Make it official. Try to use the seal of your country or create an "official" letterhead for your position paper. The more realistic it looks, the more others will want to read it.

Get organized. Give each separate idea or proposal its own paragraph. Make sure each paragraph starts with a topic sentence.

Cite your sources. Use footnotes or endnotes to show where you found your facts and statistics. If you are unfamiliar with bibliographic form, look up the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines at your school's library.

Read and reread. Leave time to edit your position paper. Ask yourself if the organization of the paper makes sense and double-check your spelling and grammar.

Speech! Speech! Do you plan to make an opening statement at your conference? A good position paper makes a great introductory speech. During debate, a good position paper will also help you to stick to your country's policies.

Let the bullets fly. Try not to let your proposals become lost in a sea of information. For speechmaking, create a bulleted list of your proposals along with your most important facts and statistics so that you will not lose time looking for them during debate."

At first glance, it looks like this is a mountain of information to present, but when you consider the UNA/USA'a sample position paper, you will see that keeping it simple and to the point is quite possible-

"Committee: International Labor Organization

Topic: Globalization and Development

Country: Romania

*This sample position paper was submitted by the delegation of Romania at the 2007 UNA-USA Model UN Conference in New York City.

In the past two decades the rapidly growing world trend has been toward globalization. With the emergence of the internet as a means of communication and the increasing accessibility of international trade physical barriers are not the only barriers withering away. Protective tariffs are plummeting and free trade agreements are becoming more prevalent. Romania appreciates that globalization creates favorable situations for expansion of commercial as well as economic assets. In the past year Romania has seen a foreign direct investment (FDI) increase of 199%. Inward FDI increased from EURO 234 million in 2005 to EURO 699 million in 2006. However, Romania realizes that increased globalization does not automatically produce more equality.

Globalization and Development can contribute to the advancement of the overall international human condition; however, the delegation of Romania recognizes that without proper regulation the potential for advancement will remain limited to an elite few individuals, businesses, and nations. Unless checked and aimed toward the common good, globalization cannot effectively serve the global community. Crucial in dealing with the complexities of globalization, good governance must act with solidarity and responsibility. Romania believes that in involving people in globalization we must promote moral values, democratic principals, inclusive global political culture, institutions that safeguard both individual civil rights and inherent freedoms, and the common good. In addition, coping with the influx of information from globalization governments must act with solidarity and insight. Access to digital education will undoubtedly result in the confidence of citizens in their respective administrations and allow for a greater degree of transparency, and therefore a lesser degree of corruption.

Romania believes the multinational business community has the ability and the obligation to support pertinent values in human rights, labor standards, and environmental preservation. As stated by the president, Mr. Traion Basescu, Romania feels a "heartfelt attachment to multilateralism, as an effective instrument designed to identify the adequate answers to the challenges brought by globalization."

Romania is party to the majority of multilateral treaties and conventions identified as such by the Secretary General in the context of the Millennium Summit in 2001. Romania has always supported innovative and effective ways of establishing cooperation within and between regional organizations. As one of the newest members of the European Union, Romania is an active member of the World Trade Organization, and looks forward to offering its support to the redirection of globalization to best benefit the global community. "

This is a straightforward statement that reflects solid research and uses vocabulary relative to the topic. The vocabulary you use will match the details you are addressing-so don't be alarmed if you write a position paper that is worded differently than this. Think about the basic components-how your nation sees the issue, what your nation thinks should be done about the issue, and what, if anything, your nation has done about the issue in the past.

Engaging in Diplomacy

Keys:

• When it come sto your position, you are not alone!
• Find your allies, and work with them..
• Don't forget "Part 3!"

Engaging in diplomacy begins with identifying nations in a committee that agree with you, identifying nations in a committee disagree with you, and identify nations in the committee that undecided on the issue or leave and positions that share elements of your position and the position of nations that oppose it. This will be relatively easy to do as you wish listen to the opening speeches of delegates in a committee. One way of getting an idea about nation positions before you go in is to access that Wikipedia site that deals with the foreign relations of urination. It's a great site to tell you your friends are. It will also help you identify what nations you have conflicts with. It will not cover every nation that might be in your committee, but it will probably alert you to the major nations in a committee and how they relate to your nation and its positions.

Any research you do news articles and so forth will certainly help you identify what nations are with you and what nations are against you. That research however may not reveal who the players are were in the middle of the road. These nations are votes that you're likely going to need to get what you want any resolution formulated by committee. One of the first things you really have to do as a diplomat is listen carefully to what everybody is saying so you can determine first of all what nations think the way they do, and then how many of them think the way they knew. In any committee, every nation has equal power when it comes to voting. The only sin exception is something like the United Nations Security Council. So put listening as the first skill you need to develop as a delegate.

The second skill you need to develop and apply his negotiating. Debate provides information about positions, but negotiation takes place during "unmoderated" caucuses where everyone takes a time often debate to get together in groups to talk about what they want. Usually the first of these caucuses involve nations that agree with each other getting together to make sure they're on the same page about what they want. If you are a new delegate engaging model UN for the first time this will help you determine to what degree the delegates who agree with you have fully thought out the position. As everyone talks about what they want, a theme is something that you believe be part of any solution, speak up! What you say is probably something that you they missed, or the other delegates in your group might be a little quiet want to make sure get in there as well. If debate is not your strong point, this is a chance to be heard by people who count without the pressure of getting up in front of everybody in the committee.

After you have established what nations would like to see in a solution, then the fun begins as you try to negotiate with nations in the Polish you over what they want. This is where you have to use those "think on your feet skills"-as you are hit with possible solutions, you have to process in your brain whether or not urination or nations actually benefits from other suggesting. It is always wise to work with delegates who represent your position so that you have as many brains as possible trying to determine whether any proposal is good for all the nations you agree with.

This kind of give-and-take has two parts that often repeat themselves over the course of the day. Part one is negotiating with the other side, and part two involves getting back to consult each other over whether or not the proposals you heard from the other side are good.

Lost in this can be a “part three.” Part three is where you go around the other delegates to make sure they'll accept what you want-delegates were probably in the middle of the road and need to be convinced that your proposals are good ones. If you involve these middle ground delegates and what you want, might find an easier path to achieving your goals.

The last part of diplomacy involves preparing a resolution, the formal document delegates vote upon that defines a solution to a problem. Delegates will often use a "working paper"-a simple list of ideas that can be presented to a committee to give everyone a chance to discuss solutions in debate before attempting to write a resolution. Sometimes delegates in a committee produce large numbers of working papers, sometimes very few. It depends on how things go-and what committee chairs will allow. Regardless, your chances of passing a resolution generally increase if you working with delegates who started out either in the middle ground or opposed to you on many of the issues discussed. And if you are a new delegate, beware-you might work all day and pass nothing if diplomacy cannot get enough people to agree!

You also have to pay close attention to the rules as the resolutions are developed...

Using Parliamentary Procedure.

• Rules support Communication.
• There are many opportunities to make your point even during voting procedures
• Know what goes into a resolution, and voting on a resolution!

Parliamentary procedure is basically a way of structuring communication. As a delegate, one of the keys to your success as a diplomat is getting your point across. Most students like to use a moderated caucus for this. In a typical moderated caucus delegates are provided with anywhere from 30 minute the second two of one minute to speak, and they are recognized to speak by simply raising their nations placard and being recognized by the committee chair. The advantage of unmoderated caucuses is that you speak to one point concerning the issue, and you can immediately respond to something other delegates say. Delegates can use moderated caucuses to further their own interests by attempting to have the moderated caucus talk about what they believe is the most important subjects that needs to be addressed concerning issue.

The problem with a moderated caucus is that you do not have much time to be persuasive. Another form of debate that is not often quested by delegates is to use a speaker's list with the speaking time of two minutes. Moving to open a speaker's list, like moving to open a moderated caucus, allows a delegate to bring attention to a single point concerning the debate, but it can also be used to bring attention to a wide number of points that need to be discussed. Another advantage-it provides you with more time to speak, and not only can you use this time to be more persuasive, but you may you to questions or comments from delegates to provide you with a greater opportunity to promote your position. The time available for a speaker’s list at a typical Saturday Model UN Conference is going to be brief, but it might allow anywhere from 5 to 10 speakers to make their points and help give delegates a clearer idea of how to proceed, when resolving a conflict.

Debating a resolution is where parliamentary procedure can be critical. As resolutions are brought forward delegates have the right to motion to amend the closet. Amendments can be used to change the actions being proposed by the resolution, and also the pre-ambulatory clauses that define that action. The preamble to her clauses are critical: as a whether you're calling for something to be done or demanding that it be done represents two very different approaches to a solution. Amendments can change the character of a proposed resolution in a way that supports the interests of a nation or group of nations that believe the solution must be adjusted in their favor.

Delegates also should be aware that there are a number of different voting procedures on resolutions they should know. They have the right on any resolution to "divide the question." Let’s say that there are six operative clauses in a resolution. Let's say that you like the first three causes and you don't like the last three clauses. You can motion to divide the question and vote on only the clauses you like. Sometimes model UN committee chairs will allow two speakers for such a motion into speakers against. If you have not used diplomacy before you make this motion to get other delegates on your side this opportunity to speak can help your cause. If enough delegates are with you, then you use parliamentary procedure to get the resolution worded the way you want it.

Another way to use parliamentary procedure when it comes to voting, is to make a motion for a roll call vote. In a roll call vote delegates have the right to say yes, no, yes with explanation, no with explanation, they may pass on the first round of voting, or they may have staying. Voting with the right to explanation give you one last chance to make your case. Passing on your first vote allows you to see with the all the other delegates are thinking before you make your explanation. After everyone has voted, the chair will ask if anyone wants to change their vote. Warning: if you abstain you do not have the right to change your vote.

One of the keys to mastering this entire process is understanding how to write a resolution in the resolution writing guide on this site, pay close attention to the parts of a resolution, and the language that is used to support. Pre-ambulatory and operative clauses do much to define what you're doing, and can mean the difference between having a resolution accepted by delegates, or rejected by delegates.

Bottom line: use the rules to the fullest, and you stand a greater chance of achieving your nation’s objectives!