THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING YOUR RESOLUTION
- Create a bloc with countries holding positions compatible to yours. Pass notes or utilize unmods to discuss solutions.
- Convert solutions into operatives. Write preambs if time permits.
- Format your working paper! Create a header with the committee name and sponsors. Look for signatories from your bloc as well as other blocs.
- Submit working paper to chairs, who will (hopefully) approve and type them down. If there are two many working papers submitted, the chairs may give the committee time to merge them together. At this time, delegates can also submit amendments if they so wish.
- Introduce the draft resolutions and, if applicable, all amendments to the committees. Chairs may allow time for a Q&A period and/or speeches made for and against the draft resolutions.
- Voting procedure! Get ready to pass your resolution!
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY
Resolution: A document, voted on by committee members, that contains all the issues that the committee wants to solve and the proposed solutions to that issue.
Draft Resolution: A draft of the resolution that has not yet passed through voting procedure.
Working Paper: The Draft Resolution before it is approved by the chairs and introduced to the committee.
Blocs: Groups of countries that form, formally or informally, with the ultimate purpose of writing a working paper together.
Sponsors: The authors of a resolution
Signatories: Other delegates in the committee who do not necessarily agree with the resolution but would like to see it debated
Pre-ambulatory clauses (Preambs): Clauses that outline why the committee is working on the issue and what has been done in the past. Preams usually include past UN resolutions, treaties, or conventions related to the topic, references to the UN Charter or other international frameworks and laws and general background info formation or facts about the topic, its significance, and its impact. Preams are not as important as operative clauses, and can be very brief; as PEAMUN is a one-day conference, we do not strictly require working papers submitted to chairs to contain preambs.
Operative clauses: Clauses that state the solutions that the sponsors of the resolution proposes to resolve the issues.
Amendment: a written statement that adds, deletes or changes an operative clause in a draft resolution. The amendment process is used to strengthen consensus on a resolution by allowing delegates to change the operative clauses (the pre-ambulatory clauses can not be modified). There are two types of amendments:
Draft Resolution: A draft of the resolution that has not yet passed through voting procedure.
Working Paper: The Draft Resolution before it is approved by the chairs and introduced to the committee.
Blocs: Groups of countries that form, formally or informally, with the ultimate purpose of writing a working paper together.
Sponsors: The authors of a resolution
Signatories: Other delegates in the committee who do not necessarily agree with the resolution but would like to see it debated
Pre-ambulatory clauses (Preambs): Clauses that outline why the committee is working on the issue and what has been done in the past. Preams usually include past UN resolutions, treaties, or conventions related to the topic, references to the UN Charter or other international frameworks and laws and general background info formation or facts about the topic, its significance, and its impact. Preams are not as important as operative clauses, and can be very brief; as PEAMUN is a one-day conference, we do not strictly require working papers submitted to chairs to contain preambs.
Operative clauses: Clauses that state the solutions that the sponsors of the resolution proposes to resolve the issues.
Amendment: a written statement that adds, deletes or changes an operative clause in a draft resolution. The amendment process is used to strengthen consensus on a resolution by allowing delegates to change the operative clauses (the pre-ambulatory clauses can not be modified). There are two types of amendments:
- A friendly amendment is a change to the draft resolution that all sponsors agree with. After the amendment is signed by all of the draft resolution’s sponsors and approved by the committee chair, it will be automatically incorporated into the resolution.
- An unfriendly amendment is a change that some or all of the draft resolution’s sponsors do not support and must be voted upon by the committee. This also refers to delegates who did not write this resolution at all but see potential in it as long as several changes are made to it. The sponsors of the amendment will need to obtain a required number of signatories in order to introduce it. Prior to voting on the draft resolution, the committee votes on all unfriendly amendments.