Welcome to the first-timer page of COMUN. Through this page, we aim to guide you as you get started and explain the basics of a Model United Nations. We would love to meet you in person at our conference!
But first, what is a MUN:
A MUN is a similation of the United Nations where delegates represent a country in a committee.
How to start?
Step 1
Read research report
A good start in preparing a MUN is to read the research report. The chairs have written a report for every issue in each committee which includes a general overview on the topic, list of history and other relevant information. You can find the resolution report Committees & issues
Step 2
Knowledge of your country
Collect some general information about your country. Look up for some recent news-articals. What are relevant themes, what are your countries allies?
Step 3
Involvement in issue
Now you know more about the issue and your country, do some research about how your country is involved in the issue, what is its perspective, which resolution has your country supported?
Step
Last preperations
With the information you have collected you are now ready to find a solution on the issue. Write a speech or a clause. Good luck!
General overview
To understand the view of your country it can help to seek information on the following topics:
- Geography (area, location, population)
- Cultural aspects (main religion, official languages, ethnical groups)
- Defence (militairy independence, nuclear wapons, amount of soldiers)
- History and political live (stable regime, former colony, main events last few years)
- Economy (GNI , debt, resources)
- Influential position
To help you get started, we have created a template that allows you to collect the most important information:
Usefull links
To get to know more of your issue and your country you can use different links which would help you to get some information about your issue:
Committee related
Some committees of the UN have their own site where they place actual news, these are listed bellow.
UNESCO: https://www.unesco.org/en
UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org
WHO: https://www.who.int
UNFCC: https://unfccc.int
CSW: https://www.unwomen.org/en/how-we-work/commission-on-the-status-of-women
UNDP: https://www.undp.org
General news
https://www.un.org/en (‘unbiased’)
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook (USA)
http://cnn.com (USA)
http://bbc.com (British)
https://www.aljazeera.com (Asia)
https://www.africanews.com (Africa)
Example resolution
Pre-ambulatory clauses
Example
Alarmed by the fact that since the escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia over 2,406 children have been killed,
Pre-ambulatory phrases
| Affirming | Having adopted |
| Alarmed by | Having considered |
| Approving | Having considered further |
| Aware of | Having devoted attention |
| Bearing in mind | Having examined |
| Believing | Having heard |
| Confident | Having received |
| Contemplating | Having studied |
| Convinced | Keeping in mind |
| Declaring | Noting with regret |
| Deeply concerned | Noting with deep concern |
| Deeply conscious | Noting with satisfaction |
| Deeply convinced | Noting further |
| Deeply disturbed | Noting with approval |
| Deeply regretting | Observing |
| Desiring | Reaffirming |
| Emphasizing | Realizing |
| Expecting | Recalling |
| Expressing its appreciation | Recognizing |
| Expressing its satisfaction | Referring |
| Fulfilling | Seeking |
| Fully alarmed | Taking into account |
| Fully aware | Taking into consideration |
| Fully believing | Taking note |
| Further deploring | Viewing with appreciation |
| Further recalling | Welcoming |
| Guided by |
Test your knowledge
Operative clauses
Example
1.
Calls upon all member states to collaborate to provide humanitarian aid to innocent victims by, for example, but not limited to:
a. deploying experienced doctors and medical staff to affected areas to:
i. provide immediate emergency care to the injured and other non-military victims,
ii. train local civilians in basic first aid skills by enabling them to assist the wounded,
iii. offer medical advice and support to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and chronically ill,
b. supplying medical resources to ensure the delivery of essential medicines, medical equipment, and other hospital supplies,
c. supporting the establishment of healthcare facilities true assisting in setting up and equipping hospitals and care centers in strategically designated locations, ensuring adequate healthcare access for victims;
Operative phrases
| Accepts | Encourages |
| Affirms | Endorses |
| Approves | Expresses its appreciation |
| Authorizes | Expresses its hope |
| Calls | Further invites |
| Calls upon | Further proclaims |
| Condemns | Further reminds |
| Confirms | Further recommends |
| Congratulates | Further requests |
| Considers | Further resolves |
| Declares accordingly | Has resolved |
| Deplores | Notes |
| Designates | Proclaims |
| Draws the attention | Reaffirms |
| Emphasizes | Recommends |
| Encourages | Regrets |
| Endorses | Reminds |
| Expresses its appreciation | Requests |
| Expresses its hope | Solemnly affirms |
| Further invites | Strongly condemns |
| Deplores | Supports |
| Designates | Takes note of |
| Draws the attention | Transmits |
| Emphasizes | Trusts |
Amendmend
When a country supports a clause partly, it can change a part of the clause by striking/adjusting/adding parts of the clause.
Amendmend to the second degree: a amendmend to an amendmend.
Rules of Procedure:
- Motion: a delegate submits a motion so set the agenda, whereafter another delegate has to say ‘second’
- “Motion to move to the previous question”: move to the next part of the debate.
- “Motion to move into voting procedure”: going to vote about the last part where is talked about.
- “Points” are procedural interruptions. The goal is to keep debates manageable. Delegates can raise their placards and then say “point of.”
- Point of Personal Privilege: delegate is uncomfortable, for example due to hot temperatures, or cause they want to use the toilet.
- Point of Information to the Chair: delegate has a question to the chair to verify information that is spoken about.
- Point of Parlementary Inquiry: delegate has a question about the Rules of Procedure/agenda.
Test your knowledge about Rules of Procedure!
Score: 0
Mistakes: 0
Order of debate
Roll call: at the beginning of each session delegates have to let know there presence: delegates can respond with ‘present’ or ‘present and voting’, if said ‘present and voting’, they can no longer abstain when they are in, they have to be in favor/against.
Lobbying time: before the debates delegates are going into lobbying time. They can walk freely around and discuss their solutions and idea’s on the issue.
Speech: during the debates delegates are going to hold speeches to work on the resolution.
- Opening speech: the person who has written the resolution is going to give an opening speech, in which he describes the resolution and explains why it is essential to vote in favor.
- Closing speech: at the end a delegate is going to explain why this resolution is necessary or why it should be removed.
POI: Point of Information, after a speech delegates can ask questions to the delegate about the speech, the speacher gets the question from the chair: “does the delegate open themeselve for any POI’s”, answers are:
- Not at all
- Yes, but limited to ‘x’
- Any at all
During the debates you can only communicate by notes, which you could rise high, whereafter the admins would bring them around.
Voting procedure: delegates are going to vote, they can vote against/abstain/in favor.
Unmoderated caucus: delegates have some free time/break.
Speeches
As a delegate you can give a speech to submit an amendmend or to show your view on the topic and convince other countries to support that view.
- Every speech starts with: “honourable chair, dear delegates and following admins”
- At the end of a speech the chair asks “how does the delegate wish to yield the floor”, whereafter the delegate can respond with “to the chair” (the chair choses the next speaker) or “to the delegation of…” (thas delegate is going to hold the next speech)
- During the speech delegates refrain from personal pronounce and direct dialogue, instead they can use:
- We
- The delegate of
We have made a powerpoint with usefull tips:
SEXI:
- State: start with a statement.
- Explain: support your statement with arguments, providing brief intermediate steps to clarify.
- Illustrate: Show with an example why your statement is correct.
Rhetorical divises
| Alliteration | Allusion | Anaphora | Antithesis |
| Apostrophe | Asyndeton | Chiasmus | Climax |
| Epistrophe | Ethos | Hyperbole | Imagery |
| Irony | Juxtaposition | Litotes | Metaphor |
| Metonymy | Onomatopoeia | Oxymoron | Parallelism |
| Pathos | Personification | Polysyndeton | Rhetorical Question |
| Simile | Synecdoche | Tricolon | Understatement |
| Zeugma |
Analyze the Speech
Select the appropriate category for each sentence: S: State Ex: Explain I: Illustrate Other: Does not fit any of the above Additionally, click on individual words to identify rhetorical devices.
Score: 0
