Preparation & Research

The first part in preparing for the Model UN experience is to conduct extensive research. It is important to remember that a delegate’s goal is to faithfully represent his/her country, be knowledgeable of the topic at hand, and know about the UN system. Research is normally broken down into three parts: Country Information, Topics at Hand, & General UN Information.  

Conference Statements

For the Model U.N Conference students will develop Preliminary Statements and Policy Statements. 

Preliminary Statements (aka Opening Statements): seek to define your delegation’s general goals relative to the theme of the conference. It is, in essence, an agenda-setting tool. Your statement should be about 1/2 to 1 full page in length and should take no more than one minute to read.

Preliminary Statement Format

The paper should begin with a statement of greetings to the other delegations and address three items in general ways:

1. How the conference theme impacts the global community from your country’s point of view

2. How the conference theme impacts states with similar issues and problems as your own

3. Basic goals your delegation wishes to achieve at this conference and general ideas on how they might be resolved 

Policy Statements (aka Position Papers): were adapted from the UNA-USA website www.una-usa.org. This is information outlining each delegation’s policies on one of the topics being discussed. These papers help delegates organize their ideas and share their foreign policy with the other delegates.  This is due one week before the conference on February 24th, 2023. Your statement should be approximately 1.5 to 2  single-spaced pages, plus a works cited page.

Policy Statement Format

The policy statement should include a brief introduction and comprehensive breakdown of the country’s position. The policy statement should include:

  1. A clear statement of policy on each topic
  2. The represented country’s background on the topic, including;
    1. political and/or foreign policy
    2. action taken by the specific government in relation to the conference topic
    3. conventions and resolutions that the county has approved related to the conference topic
    4. quotes taken from speeches made by heads of government
  3. The type of resolution the delegation’s country hopes to sponsor or approve

Resolutions

Actions of the United Nations are expressed in resolutions submitted in draft form under the sponsorship of one or more delegations. Resolutions may simply register an opinion, or may recommend action to be taken by a UN organization or related agency. Only the Security Council may create “decisions” which legally bind Member States to a certain course of action. 

United Nations resolutions follow a common format.

Resolution Format

Each resolution has three parts: 

  1. The Heading
  2. The Preamble
  3. The Operative Clauses

Resolutions are one long sentence with commas and semicolons throughout, and with a period at the end. The first word in each clause should be underlined, and each clause in the preamble should end with a comma. All operative clauses end with a semicolon except the final clause which ends with a period.  

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