UNA-USA
General Rules of Debate
The decisions of the Chair are final, unless overridden by the Secretariat.
Only the Chair, a member of the house recognized by the Chair for a point or motion, or the speaker holding the floor has the right to speak.
The Chair may, if circumstances warrant it, extend or reduce debate times, limit the number of presenting sponsors or signatories, and rule any motions dilatory should they upset the flow of debate.
Except by a decision of the Chair or Secretariat, there will be no suspension of the rules or changes in the order of debate.
Direct conversation between delegates is prohibited, and must take place through the chair or through note-passing.
All delegates must adhere to the GECMUN Code of Conduct as identified on the onboarding form for the conference. Should an individual go against any of the terms outlined in the code, disciplinary measures will be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the rest of the participants of the conference.
Agenda
The agenda is the main topic that will be debated inside the committee;
The agenda is set by student officers and the secretariat;
A motion to set the agenda will be out of order for single-agenda committees.
Roll Call
The chair shall start each session by conducting a roll call where delegates may respond either present, or present and voting. Delegates will be called in alphabetical order.
Present: the delegate is present in the committee and has the right to abstain during substantive voting procedures
Present and Voting: the delegate is present in the committee and does not have the right to abstain during substantive voting procedures
Non-Governmental Organizations and Observer States may only state Present during roll call.
The quorum is set to ⅔ of the committee.
If a committee has not met the quorum, the chair should report back to the secretariat for further instructions.
Opening Speech
All delegates are required to present a maximum 90 seconds speech at the start of the conference.
Delegates are encouraged to present their country or character’s stance and potential resolutions.
Once a delegate has spoken, any time remaining will be yielded back to the chair.
Speakers' List
The Speakers’ list serves as the default for the committee if no points or motions are voiced by delegates. There is no limit on the amount of delegates who can be added to the list, but a country may not be added if they are already currently on the list; they may only appear once on the list at any given time.
Delegates can be added to the list at any time during a committee session by notifying the Chair to be added.
The default speaking time for a delegate is one minute, but this can be left to the discretion of the delegate who proposes to open the list. Should the entire speaking time not be elapsed by a delegate, they must explicitly yield their time back to the Chair.
Yielding
Delegates may yield the remaining time of their speech (from a speakers’ list and an authorship speech) in the following ways under the discretion of the chair:
Yield the time back to the chair,
If there’s 30 or more seconds left, yield to Points of Informations:
Delegates shall specify the number of Points of Informations, or to any and all delegates
Follow-ups are allowed, but not to the second degree,
If there’s 30 or more seconds left, yield to another delegate:
Pre-yielding agreements are not required,
Yielding to a second degree shall be out of order
Resolution
When sufficient debate has occurred, delegates must move to begin compiling ideas into a first draft of an eventual resolution.
Draft resolutions require sponsors and signatories, the specific number of each being up to the discretion of the chairs based on the quorum of each committee.
When the draft resolution is complete, sponsors must submit them to the Chair for feedback and preliminary edits. After feedback, the draft resolution can then be put upon the floor for further discussion.
Delegates are able to motion to present draft resolutions to the rest of the committee. During this point in time, the committee is now able to read through each proposed clause.
Amendment
After all draft resolutions have been presented and any motions for question period have been entertained, delegates who wish to modify any resolutions may put forward amendments. There are three types of amendments that delegates can submit:
Add: these are the most constructive types of amendments that can be made to a resolution and are thus highly encouraged. These add new content to a resolution by adding a new clause, sub-clause, or sub-sub-clause.
Modify: These amendments replace a certain section of a clause, sub-clause, or sub-sub-clause with something else.
Strike: These types of amendments are discouraged due to their unconstructive nature, but can sometimes be necessary when the flaws of a clause, subclause, or sub-sub-clause are too overwhelming to be fixed.
When the floor is open, a delegate wishing to entertain their amendment may raise their placard and, if called upon, state that they believe they have submitted an amendment. Amendments are categorized into two categories: friendly and unfriendly.
A friendly amendment indicates that all sponsors on a particular draft resolution accept and agree with the amendment that is being proposed. In this case, the committee does not need to vote on the amendment, it is automatically approved and added to the resolution.
An unfriendly amendment indicates that at least one main sponsor disagrees with the grounds of the amendment, and that it must be voted on by the entire committee on whether or not it is added to the draft resolution. For this type of amendment, the Chair may entertain speakers for and against.
Voting
There are two types of voting procedures:
Procedural vote,
Substantive vote,
A procedural vote pertains to all procedural matters including (in the order of precedence):
Motion for a moderated/unmoderated caucus (½ Majority),
Motion to modify speaking time (⅔ Majority),
Motion to table debate (⅔ Majority),
Motion to resume debate (⅔ Majority),
Motion to adjourn the meeting/session (⅔ Majority),
Motion to suspend the rules (⅔ Majority),
A procedural vote pertains to all substantive documents including:
Draft resolutions,
Friendly/unfriendly amendments,
Abstentions on procedural votes are out of order:
Delegates who have responded “present and voting” during the roll call may not abstain from voting.
Right of Reply
When the delegate feels that his/her national/personal integrity has been violated or threatened by another delegate, he/she may send a note to the chair to request a right of reply. Once granted, the delegate may speak for 30 seconds:
Under the chair’s discretion, the accused delegate may respond to the right of reply.
Points
Point of Personal Privilege
Delegate may rise this point when a delegate experiences personal discomforts (ex: voice of the delegate or chair, temperature of the room)
It may interrupt a speech only when the delegate cannot hear the voice of the delegate on the podium.
Point of Order (Point of Parliamentary Procedure)
Delegates may raise this point when a delegate feels that the debate is not following the correct procedure.
It may interrupt a speaker only when the speech itself is not following proper procedure.
Point of Inquiry
Delegates may raise this point and ask the student officer when he is confused or not aware of the proper Rules of Procedure.
This point cannot interrupt a speaker.
Point of Clarification
This point is used when a delegate wants clarification regarding the content of the speech to the speaker, usually after operative clauses of a resolution and amendment are read out.
Delegates may use this point when they are not able to understand the resolution due to the terminology, acronyms, abbreviations of words or audibility of the speaker.
Point of Information
This point is used when a delegate has a question in regards to the content after a speech.
The point must be in a question form, and may occur during a Speakers’ List or when a delegate opens the floor to Points of Information.
Motions
Motion to Extend the Speaking Time
The default speaking time without a Motion to Extend the Speaking Time is 90 seconds.
The motion shall be immediately put to a vote, and requires a simple majority to pass.
If the motion passes, the General Debate of the committee must be carried out by abiding by the speaking time.
If the motion fails, the committee continues to debate with the previous speaking time.
Motion to move into a Moderated Caucus
A delegate must specify the purpose, total duration time, and individual speaking time.
Procedural voting must be taken and requires a simple majority to pass.
The student officer may change the time limit or rule the motion out of order.
Since the General Speakers’ List will be suspended, delegates will deliver their speeches in their own seats with designated speaking time.
There is no yielding in a Moderated Caucus.
A Moderated Caucus cannot be finished until the designated time has elapsed.
The maximum duration for a Moderated Caucus in GECMUN is 30 minutes.
Motion to move into an Unmoderated Caucus
A delegate must specify the purpose and total duration.
Procedural voting must be taken and requires a simple majority to pass.
The student officer may change the time limit or rule the motion out of order.
Unmoderated Caucus is a time for delegates to freely move around, have informal debate with fellow delegates, or write draft resolutions.
The maximum duration for the Unmoderated Caucus in GECMUN is 20 minutes. However, this can be changed under the chair’s discretion.
The maximum duration of an unmoderated caucus for the purpose of drafting resolutions is 40 minutes.
Motion to Introduce a Draft Resolution
In order to be approved, a draft resolution must have 30% of the committee as a signatory.
Being a signatory means that a delegate would like to DEBATE about a draft resolution, not necessarily that they AGREE on a resolution.
Student officers and the Secretariat Approval Panel will approve the draft resolution.
After the approval, the draft resolution will be printed and distributed to the delegates.
Delegates may raise a Motion to Introduce a Draft Resolution and the delegate shall introduce the Resolution.
The delegate who raised the motion must read out only the operative clauses of the draft resolution and deliver an authorship speech for 5 minutes.
Delegates may ask for a Point of Clarification after operative clauses are read out.
After giving the authorship speech, the delegate may answer Point of Information or yield to another delegate for the remainder of the time.
After this process is completed, the draft resolution is formally introduced and may be discussed.
More than one resolution may be introduced.
Draft resolution remains on the floor until a Motion to Close Debate on the Resolution passes.
Motion to Introduce an Amendment
A delegate may introduce an amendment to any resolution whenever the floor is open.
An amendment must either ‘Strike,’ ‘Change/Modify,’ or ‘Add.’
Amendments must be approved by the student officer.
The delegate who raised the motion must read out the amendment and deliver an authorship speech for 3 minutes.
Delegates may ask for a Point of Clarification after the amendment is read out, unless an amendment is a ‘Strike’ amendment.
Delegates may ask for a Point of Information, or yield to another delegate after an authorship speech.
Amendments to the second degree are not in order.
Only one amendment can be debated at a time.
Motion to Table Debate on an Amendment, a Resolution or an Agenda
Delegates may raise a motion to Table Debate on a resolution or an amendment.
After this motion is entertained, the chair will entertain two speakers for, and two speakers against the motion. When the speeches are done, the committee will proceed into a procedural vote on the motion.
When the motion passes, the committee will suspend debate on the current resolution/amendment, and move onto debate on a new substantive document.
Motion to Resume Debate on an Amendment, a Resolution or an Agenda
Delegates may move back to debate on the previous substantive document through the Motion to Resume Debate.
After this motion is entertained, the chair will entertain two speakers for, and two speakers against the motion. When the speeches are done, the committee will proceed into a procedural vote on the motion.
When the motion passes, the committee will resume its debate on the previous resolution/amendment that was being discussed.
Motion to Close Debate on Amendment or Resolution
When a delegate believes that there has been enough debate on a substantive document, a delegate may raise a Motion to Close Debate to end the debate and move into voting procedure.
After this motion is entertained, the chair will entertain two speakers against the motion. When the speeches are done, the committee will proceed into a procedural vote on the motion itself.
If the motion passes, the committee will directly move into a substantive vote on the resolution/amendment at hand.
Motion to Adjourn the Meeting
When there are less than 30 minutes remaining in the session, a delegate may move to adjourn the meeting.
A Motion to Adjourn the Meeting must specify at which point in time the meeting will be resumed, except for the last session on the last day of the conference.
The student officers may rule on this motion.
This motion shall be put to an immediate procedural vote, and requires a simple majority to pass.
Motion to Suspend the Rules
This motion can be raised when a delegate feels impracticality, health problems, or other problems regarding the Rules of Procedure.
A delegate may make a Motion to Suspend the Rules, specifying the rule he wants to suspend, the purpose, and total duration.
This motion shall be put to an immediate vote, and requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
This motion must be approved by the Secretariat before it is implemented.
Order of Precedence
Point of Personal Privilege
Point of Order
Point of Inquiry
Motion to Set the Agenda
Motion to Suspend the Rules
Motion to Adjourn the Session/Meeting
Motion to Modify the Speaking Time
Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus
Motion for a Moderated Caucus
Motion to Introduce a Draft Resolution
Motion to Introduce a Draft Amendment
Motion to Table Debate on ResolutionAmendment
Motion to Resume Debate on Resolution/Amendment
Motion to Close Debate on the Resolution/Amendment
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