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Schoolhouse Fall Model United Nations 2024
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General Considerations

During committee session, Delegates are expected to exercise diplomatic courtesy when addressing members of the committee and the dais.
All remarks to the committee must be made to the Chair.
All delegates must be recognized by the Chair before speaking.
All remarks must remain relevant to the topic discussed.
All delegates will use diplomatic and respectful language when addressing the committee.
Any Delegate wishing to make a motion must raise their hand and wait until being recognized by the chair before speaking.

The Dias

The daises of the committees shall be composed of a Chair and Co-chair. The competence of the dais may not be questioned by Delegates.

Parliamentary Proceedings

Committee activities and debate shall start when at least one quarter (1/4) of the Delegates are present.

Attendance

Attendance shall be conducted by a Roll Call at the beginning of every committee session. A motion to begin roll call vote must be moved by a delegate at the beginning of the session. Delegates shall establish their presence in the committee in either of the two following manners:
Present and Voting: A Delegate that is declared Present and Voting must vote in favor or against all substantive matters.
The delegate cannot abstain from voting after having declared Present and Voting.

Present

A Delegate that is declared "Present" shall vote in favor, against or may abstain on any substantive matter.

Agenda

The Agenda reflects the order in which topics will be addressed by the committee. This is the primary order of business to be considered by the committee in the first session.

Speakers’ List

A Speakers' list is opened following a Motion from a Delegate and the subsequent approval of the Chair. The Speakers' List identifies the Delegates who will have the floor of the house for two minutes to state their countries stand on the given agenda. Delegates may be added to the speakers' list by -
Motioning the chair.
Sending a note to the chair, requesting to be added.
Delegates may only be on the speakers' list twice at any given time, and may not be listed back to back.
Example: Motion to open Speakers' List setting time at ninety seconds per speaker.
At the end of a speech made on the Speakers' list a Delegate may yield to either Questions or Comments or both.
To Question: Delegates wishing to ask questions shall raise their placards and wait to be recognized by the Chair. The Speaker can choose to answer or not to answer the question posed to him or her.
To Comment: The Speaker can yield to comments from other Delegates. The Speaker cannot respond to these comments.
To the Chair: If the Speaker does not wish to yield to neither questions nor comments he/she can yield it to the chair.

Caucusing

There are two types of Caucuses – Moderated and Unmoderated
Moderated Caucus: A moderated caucus is a form of debate where the Speaker’s list is set aside and speakers will be called upon by the Chair. The moderated caucus proposed must be an issue which has relevance to the agenda being discussed. A motion for a moderated caucus may be made by any delegate, and a motion must include a time limit for the caucus, as per speaker’s time for the caucus and the purpose for the caucus. A moderated caucus is entered by the vote of a simple majority of the committee.
Example: The delegate of XYZ would like to raise a motion to begin a moderated caucus on the topic Global Warming in developing nations in Asia, total time - 20 minutes and per speaker time - 1 minute.
Unmoderated Caucus: An unmoderated caucus is a suspension of the rules allowing Delegates to converse freely. Just as in a moderated caucus, a motion must include a time limit and purpose for caucusing. The caucus requires a simple majority to pass. All caucuses are at the discretion of the chair and may be ruled out of order. This time period can be used to draft resolutions.
Example: The delegate of XYZ would like to raise a motion to begin an unmoderated caucus for fifteen minutes.

Points

Point of Personal Privilege:

A Delegate may raise a Point of Personal Privilege if a matter impairs him/her from participating fully in committee activities. The Dais shall try to effectively address the source of impairment. This point may interrupt a Speaker. For example: If the Delegate cannot hear or understand the Speaker or needs to be excused from the House.

Point of Order

There are 2 types of points of order: 1) Factual Inaccuracy – If the speaker makes a statement that is factually incorrect. For example: “The sun rises in the west.” 2) Logical Fallacy – If the speaker makes a statement that is logically fallacious. For example: “Snowbell is a cat. Snowbell has blue eyes. Therefore, all cats have blue eyes.”

Point of Information

A Delegate may rise to a point of information to supply the house with factual information, to contradict facts or to provide further information that will prove useful for the debate. This point may interrupt a speaker.

Right to Reply

A Delegate who feels that his/her country or person has been insulted or its sovereignty by another Delegate may raise a Right to Reply. Disagreement with the content of a Delegate's speech is not grounds for a Right of Reply. The Chair will recognize the Right of Reply at his/her discretion. Should the Chair rule the Right of Reply out of order, his/her decision cannot be appealed. The Chair may also request that the Delegate submit his/her Right of Reply in writing for further consideration before granting it. The Chair might choose to set a time limit for a Right to Reply. No delegate may call for a Right to Reply on a Right to Reply.

Majority

Unless otherwise specified, no motions are debatable and all require a simple majority (1/2) vote to pass.

Resolutions

The passing of resolutions is the main point of a MUN session. All debates are geared towards the final resolution which is a document showing the consensus reached through debate. All resolutions generally require a special majority (2/3rd) to be passed in the house.

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For more information, join the training session where these will be explained in detail! ​
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Also read: a) Training Guide for Delegates b) Rules of Procedure


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