KSUHSMUN

Delegate Information
Introduction

Each delegate to the Kennesaw State University Model United Nations faces a challenging task. The delegate must be knowledgeable and skilled in a vast number of topics. These topics range from being able to negotiate with large numbers of people to understanding the details of his/her country's views on three very complicated problems that face the United Nations. The amount of study and determination that a delegate puts into his/her role as an ambassador from another country is easily apparent When that delegate works hard on making alliances with historical allies, can speak on an issue without asking him/herself if the words are the true words of the nation they represent and, when, with the help of other nations, a resolution can be passed that will solve one more of the problems facing our world today, then that delegate has met the challenge that has been placed before him/her and has learned that people working together can accomplish great feats.

As a voluntary participant in a group enterprise, each delegate should feel a deep sense of responsibility for the success of the Kennesaw State University Model United Nations. No matter how many hours the Secretariat spends on preparing the background guides or the committee topics, only the delegates can insure that constructive and informed discussion of the issues concerned will take place. This simulation is not designed for the Secretariat to teach the delegates about the tasks of the United Nations; it is a tool that allows the delegates to teach each other about our world via the knowledge and skills that they have learned through careful study.


Delegate Role-Playing at a Model UN

A Model United Nations is an educational tool. Its primary purpose is to inform its delegates about the United Nations and the problems of international relations. This includes giving delegates an understanding of how diplomacy, bloc politics, and caucuses operate.

The prevailing misconception is that a Model UN is a "mock" United Nations, i.e., that it should exactly duplicate the real UN in both procedural and substantive content. The failure of this concept is that it does not allow for individual initiative or creativity, It is a mechanical reproduction of the statistical facts of the United Nations' operations and, as such, can only make the delegate aware of what has been done by the UN, but not how or why the United Nations operates.

The KSUHSMUN seeks to provide a medium for "creative diplomacy" where delegates can experience the problems and frustrations of international politics. This is where role-playing is most important. A mistaken notion of role-playing is the idea that any deviation from the verbally espoused policy of the nations represents a wrong. This view fails to consider the realities of the politics of a given nation. The speeches of the delegates at the United Nations are not always the concrete declarations of policy that some may believe them to be. Some deviation from these policies might be acceptable under certain conditions.

Ideally, the delegates to the KSUHSMUN should, therefore, attempt to anticipate these deviations and incorporate them into the realities of the United Nations. If the delegates will use their imagination and cast themselves realistically into the roles of the country they are representing, the Model UN will be the educational toot that it is intended to be.

Important to the concept of role-playing is the problem of the hypothetical situation. It has been noted that many of the issues vital to international peace and security have not been considered in the United Nations. It is believed that presenting some of these problems to the Model UN would add a great deal of interesting and substantive debate. It would also allow for the use of "creativity diplomacy" in the Model United Nations framework.

In considering a hypothetical situation, the delegates are asked to debate the agenda items as an extension of their policy as it could conceivably occur if those agenda items were introduced on the floor of the United Nations. Simply because a particular agenda item has not been discussed before the United Nations does not mean that it cannot be discussed by the Model United Nations.

 APPROPRIATE DRESS

To assist in maintaining a formal atmosphere, the Model UN delegates' dress should be in keeping with the dress of a delegate to the actual United Nations. All delegates are required to wear Western business attire (at least a dress shirt, nice slacks, and a tie for the young men and careerwear for the young ladies). Anyone not dressed appropriately, according to the Secretariat, will not take part in any committee sessions.

 LANGUAGE

The language used in debate in the Model United Nations is formal and is in keeping with the language used by the diplomats in the actual United Nations. Derogatory comments should never be made about a delegate as a person or an individual - although, on some occasions, comments are made about nations, politics, history, etc. In general, the atmosphere is very formal and polite. The committee chairpersons will set the tone for the sessions and will be using phrases and language appropriate to a United Nations session. It will be helpful to listen to the way they speak. Most delegates team very quickly how to properly phrase their statements and motions. The only language to be used is English.

ICJ Delegates
The following recommendations have been made to allow these ICJ delegates a greater part in the KSUHSMUN experience:

 · ICJ delegates double as the second delegate in the General Assembly or the Security Council.

 · These delegates volunteer to work as pages for the Secretariat.

 Unacceptable Behavior
Past simulations have shown that it would be helpful if a list of actions that are deemed improper or counter-productive to the goals of the KSUHSMUN be presented for the delegates. The penalty for such actions is left to the discretion of the Secretariat and the faculty advisors.

 · Any type of board or computer game being played in a committee during sessions.

 · Any actions to start or agitate hypothetical wars, assassinations, terrorist attacks, nuclear exchanges, etc. There are enough real events that fit these criteria without adding more to the kettle.

 · Excessive note-passing that is not germane to the simulations. The pages have enough to do without passing love letters and telephone numbers from delegation to delegation.

 · Delegates are not allowed to leave the university building floors assigned to the KSUHSMUN during sessions.

 · Any delegate calling for a roll-call vote right before lunch. No, this not a rule, but to your chairs it should be.
· Gavel thieves will be shot! Enough said.

 · Lost Placards are charged to the schools, as well, so don't lose them!

 · This list is subject to change without notice, as we think up more things.

 Debate

Debate is, without a doubt, the most important function of the United Nations. Through debate, each nation has a chance to express its views on international issues, to comment on the positions taken by other nations, and to prepare a solution. Indeed, it is argued that the role of the UN, as a forum for international debate, has contributed to the easing of world tensions.

While general policy debates are held at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly, they are the exception rather than the rule. Most debates in UN organs center on a single agenda topic and, more specifically, upon resolutions which have been proposed concerning that topic.

Debate in UN organs differs in several important respects from "formal" debating practices. The most important difference is the multi-polarity which naturally results from the many viewpoints held by so manycompeting nations. The distinction between "pro" and "con" positions is often hazy, since some nations may support a given proposal more strongly than others or may do so for different reasons. Also, evidence requirements are not so strict. Yet, while denunciation and propaganda are common in UN speech writing, they are generally considered less impressive than the adroit use of factual information and logical argument.

 Such substantive debate requires more advance preparation but is obviously more valuable.

Due to the shortage of time inherent in any Model UN, most speeches will be relatively short and impromptu in nature. Since it is impossible to anticipate the direction of debate or the nature of proposals considered, delegates are ill advised to prepare lengthy speeches in advance of the Conference. Once a delegate gains the floor during a session, there is a real chance that the prepared speech will be either irrelevant or repetitious in the context of earlier debate. With the obvious exception of the first speaker on a topic, delegates must be able to react to the flow of debate preceding their speeches. Weaker arguments of allies must be bolstered while repeated claims of opponents must be refuted. Thus, delegates must be flexible in their preparations. Good organization is essential. Additionally, it is usually possible to pre-write segments (short) for debate on a given issue. Those few relevant segments may then be worked into the context of a larger impromptu speech.

In the past, delegates had the right to yield time to other delegates. As of the 1992 KSUHSMUN, the right to yield time to another delegate was removed from the KSUHSMUN rules of procedure. The United Nations no longer allows yielding during debate, so, for the sake of accuracy, this rule was also withdrawn from our simulation.

Since the most important function of the KSUHSMUN is debate, freedom of speech is naturally highest in importance. It is generally considered poor practice to call for the closure of debate when it is obvious that a number of delegations still wish to speak. There is no point in saving time if it is at the expense of constructive debate.