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1.1 The Secretariat shall be composed of the Secretary-General, the Secretary-Parliamentarian, the Under Secretaries-General, the President(s) of the General Assembly, and their respective representatives.

1.2 Any member of the Secretariat may address any committee/council at any time on issues of the conference.

1.3 The Secretary-General shall serve as the presiding officer of the conference. The Secretary-General shall act with the authority of the Secretariat and may at anytime revoke the credentials of any delegation or delegate found to be acting in a manner contradictory to these or other governing rules or laws.

1.4 The Secretary-Parliamentarian shall serve as the presiding officer of the conference in the absence of the Secretary-General or with the authority of the Secretary-General. The Secretary-Parliamentarian shall serve as the final interpreter of procedural rules described herein.

1.5 All decisions rendered from a committee/council’s Dais may be appealed to the President(s) of the General Assembly, the Under Secretary-General for Select Committees, the Secretary-Parliamentarian, or the Secretary-General by notifying the body’s Chair or Delegate Services.

1.6 Decisions rendered by the Secretariat maintain the highest precedence during the Conference, followed by these Rules in appropriate order of precedence, the decisions of the Dais, and finally the Charter of the United Nations.



2.1 The Dais of each committee/council shall be composed of the Chair, who shall serve as the presiding officer of the body, and the body’s staff, as established by the Secretariat.

2.2 The Chair shall at all times preside over the committee when present and in session. The Chair may relinquish control of debate to a Moderator in certain committees or councils. The Chair shall at all times, however, have authority over the actions and decisions of the Dais staff, including the Moderator.

2.3 The Chair may have Vice Chairs, who shall assist the Chair in his/her duties. The Vice Chairs shall assist delegates in procedural issues and in drafting resolutions. On issues of a delegation’s policy, the Vice Chairs shall refer a delegate to Home Government.

2.4 The moderating officer may rule any motion or point dilatory or out of order and may impose an initial limit on speaking time, amendable by the body. Any points/motions deemed dilatory shall not be appealable.

2.5 Appealing a decision of the moderating officer shall be made first to the Chair and then to the appropriate member of the Secretariat. A motion to appeal a decision of the Chair to the body may be refused by the Chair if it is either dilatory or out of order.



3.1 All delegates accredited by the Secretariat shall receive appropriate credentials upon registration.

3.2 Delegates wearing their credentials shall not have their diplomatic privileges or rights questioned except with authority of the Secretary-Parliamentarian or Secretary-General. Delegates shall at all times be required to wear their credentials when in session.

3.3 Delegates accredited by the Secretariat shall at all times during the Conference be treated with diplomatic courtesy.

3.4 Changes in delegation assignments must be made with the approval of the Under Secretary-General for Registration.



4.1 English shall be the working language of the Conference.

4.2 Each committee/council shall be allowed to pass one resolution per topic.

4.3 Quorum shall be the presence of a majority of delegations recognized by the Secretariat. Quorum shall be determined by the Dais through a roll-call at the start of a session.

4.4 The agenda of the committee/council shall be set by the Chair, but the order may be changed by the body.

4.5 The Dais shall open a Speakers List at the beginning of the first session. When in general debate of a topic, the moderating officer shall recognize speakers in the order that they are listed. No delegation may be on the list more than once at any particular time. Any delegation may be added by notifying the Dais.

4.6 Speeches, except procedural speeches, may be concluded with:

a. Yield to Questions - The moderating officer may recognize questions from the body (in the form of Points of Inquiry) to be answered by the speaker. The duration of the answers given shall be counted in the total time of the speech. All questions shall be directed through the Chair.

b. Yield to Another Delegation - A delegation may yield its remaining time to another delegation, which must relinquish the floor when finished.

c. Yield to the Chair - The remaining time shall be relinquished to the Dais.

Speeches must be germaine to the topic at hand. Should a speech be particularly and clearly offensive to the personal or national dignity of a delgate, that delegate may request a Right of Reply of the Chair in writing, citing the specific language used that was found to be insulting. The Chair may grant such a Right and allow the reply for a specified amount of time. The decision of the Chair shall not be appealable.

4.7 Motions and points may be recognized between speeches by raising a placard. Only points should be raised vocally by saying, “Point.” Only a Point of Order may interrupt a speech.

4.8 A resolution may be introduced to the body when it is signed by twenty-five (25) per cent of the number of delegations recognized by the Secretariat, receives the approval of the Dais, and has been copied. Authors of the resolution shall be considered Sponsors and may be counted dually as Signatories. Once introduced to the body, “friendly amendments” may be submitted to the Dais, which amend the resolution with the consent of the Sponsors. Once introduced, the Sponsors shall have, by custom, the first opportunity to speak about the resolution. Non-friendly amendments may only be introduced once the resolution has been moved to the floor. They shall be required to have earned the signatures of fifteen (15) per cent of the number of delegations recognized by the Secretariat and the approval of the Dais before introduction.

4.9 A simple majority shall be defined as there being more “yes” votes than “no” votes. A two-thirds majority shall be defined as there being twice as many “yes” votes as “no” votes. On procedural votes, a delegation must vote “yes” or “no.” On a substantive vote, a delegation may vote “yes” or “no,” abstain, or pass (during a roll-call vote). If a delegation passes, it will be asked for its vote at the end of the order and must at that time vote or abstain. A delegation may vote with a right of explanation if the vote seems in contradiction to the policy of the state being represented. The moderating officer will ask for those states wishing rights of explanation after the votes have been recorded and before the totals are announced.



*** The points and motions described below are listed in order of precedence. Only one point or motion of equal precedence may be entertained at a time, and points or motions of higher precedence should be indicated by raising a placard after the moderating officer has entertained a point or motion of lower precedence.

5.1 Point of Order - This point may be raised at any time and pertains to the conduct of delegates. It should be raised only when a delegate is out of order or when a delegate cannot hear a speaker. It may also be used when a vote total has been announced that a delegate feels is close enough to request a recount. Recounts are only in order, however, on placard votes and at the discretion of the Chair.

5.2 Point of Information - This point requests information of the Dais pertaining to the work of the body or a rule of procedure.

5.3 Point of Inquiry - This point may be raised after a speaker yields to questions. It is used to ask a question of the speaker related to the speech just given.

5.4 Motion to Comment - This motion is only in order if a speaker does not yield after concluding a speech. The moderating officer may entertain up to two (2) motions to comment, which allow for 30 second speeches pertaining to the speech just given.

5.5 Motion to Adjourn - This motion adjourns the body for the year. This motion requires a second, is not debatable, and needs a simple majority.

5.6 Motion to Suspend - This motion suspends the body between sessions. This motion requires a second, is not debatable, and needs a simple majority vote.

5.7 Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus - This motion temporarily suspends the session for a specified amount of time. It requires a second, is not debatable, and needs a simple majority vote.

5.8 Motion for a Moderated Caucus - This motion brings the body into a moderated debate on the issue on the floor for a specified amount of time. The moderating officer recognizes speakers for a specified amount of time, whose speeches must be yielded to the Chair upon completion. This motion requires a second, is not debatable, and needs a simple majority vote. This motion may not be made once debate has been closed.

5.9 Motion to Change the Order of the Agenda - This motion changes the order of the topics to be considered. The topic on the floor would be left aside until the new topic was resolved, tabled, or the order was changed again. The work of the body on the first topic would be left as-is until the topic was reopened. This motion requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and needs a simple majority vote. This motion may not be made once debate has been closed.

5.10 Motion to Table a Topic - This motion tables a topic until reopened with a Motion to Reconsider or the second topic is resolved. This motion requires a second, in debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and needs a simple majority vote. This motion may not be made once debate has been closed.

5.11 Motion to Table a Resolution - This motion tables a resolution until it is reopened with a Motion to Reconsider. This motion requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and needs a simple majority vote. This motion may not be made once debate has been closed.

5.12 Motion to Close Debate - This motion closes debate on a specified resolution and brings that resolution to a vote. This motion requires a second, is debatable (two against), and needs a simple majority vote. Once closed, the following motions are in order:

a. Question of Competence - This motion requests the body first vote on whether it is competent to deal with the issues addressed in a resolution. This motion requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and requires a simple majority. Speakers in favor will argue that the body is competent. Speakers against will argue that the body is not competent. A “yes” vote on a question of competence indicates the belief that the body is competent to deal with the issues addressed in the resolution. If the motion fails, the resolution is effectively tabled. This motion may be reconsidered pursuant to rule 5.17.

b. Motion to Divide the Question - This motions may be made to request that specified operative clauses be divided out of a resolution and voted upon individually. If an operative clause fails to receive a majority vote, it is left out of the resolution when the resolution is voted upon as a whole. This motion requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and needs a simple majority vote. If the motion passes, the body then votes on the operative clauses it has divided out.

c. Motion for Adoption by Consensus - This motion requests that the body adopt the resolution by consensus, meaning that no delegation objects the the resolution. A delegation may abstain, but should a delegation object, the motion is out of order.

d. Motion for a Roll-Call Vote - This motion requests that the Dais conduct a roll-call vote on the resolution. This motion requires four (4) seconds to be accepted.

All amendments introduced to the body before the debate was closed shall be voted upon first, in reverse order of introduction. After amendments have been voted upon, accepted divisions will be voted upon, finally followed by the resolution as it stands after amendments and divisions. Motions 5.12.b and 5.12.c are only in order before the final resolution is to be voted upon.

5.13 Motion to Appeal a Decision of the Chair - This motion appeals a decision of the Chair to the body. This motion requires the consent of the Chair. If accepted by the Chair, the Chair and the Delegate shall each be given one (1) minute to present their argument to the body. This motion needs a simple majority vote.

5.14 Motion to Introduce an Amendment - This motion brings an amendment that has been submitted to the Dais with the appropriate number of signatories to the floor for general debate and vote when debate is closed on the resolution. No second is required.

5.15 Motion to Introduce a Resolution - This motion brings a resolution to the floor for general debate that It requires a second, is not debatable, and needs a simple majority.

5.16 Motion to Limit Debate - This motion limits speaking time. It requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two opposed), and needs a simple majority.

5.17 Motion to Reconsider - This motion reconsiders a previous decision of the body on motions 5.10, 5.11, and 5.12.a. It requires a second, is debatable (two speeches in favor and two against), and needs a twothirds majority vote.

Rule	Description	Interrupt Speaker	Second	Debatable	Vote
5.1	Point of Order	Yes	No	No	No
5.2	Point of Information	No	No	No	No
5.3	Point of Inquiry	No	No	No	No
5.4	Motion to Comment	No	No	No	No
5.5	Motion to Adjourn	No	Yes	No	1/2
5.6	Motion to Suspend	No	Yes	No	1/2
5.7	Motion for Unmoderated Caucus	No	Yes	No	1/2
5.8	Motion for Moderated Caucus	No	Yes	No	1/2
5.9	Motion to Change the Topic Order	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.10	Motion to Table a Topic	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.11	Motion to Table a Resolution	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.12	Motion to Close Debate	No	Yes	2 con	1/2
5.12a	Question of Competence	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.12b	Motion to Divide the Question	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.12c	Motion for Adoption by Consensus	No	(No Objections)	No	No
5.12d	Motion for a Roll-Call Vote	No	Yes	No	No
5.13	Motion to Appeal a Decision of the Chair	No	(Chair Consent)	Yes	1/2
5.14	Motion to Introduce an Amendment	No	No	No	No
5.15	Motion to Introduce a Resolution	No	Yes	No	1/2
5.16	Motion to Limit Debate	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	1/2
5.17	Motion to Reconsider	No	Yes	2 pro, 2 con	2/3