RADMUN DELEGATE HANDBOOK - RULES AND TIPS

To help you get used to some of the lingo used in Committee (it’s not as complicated as it seems!):

• Committee- this refers to the room you are debating in, usually with one delegate from each country, each of which debate a different genre of topics. 
• Resolution- this is the document that the debate is based around, used in the UN to put measures in place to solve the issue. The debate ends in a vote where the committee decides whether it passes or not. (The resolution may be referred to as a ‘res’) 
• Opening speech - the very first speech of the debate, made by the delegate who has submitted the resolution, persuading people to vote for the resolution. 
• Yield- at any point in the debate, once you have made a speech, you can yield the floor to another delegate rather than leaving it to the chair to decide who to speak next. So you might want to make some alliances with other countries to help your point get across and make new friends!
• Open debate - after the opening speech, anyone can make a speech for or against the resolution, or submit an amendment. At the end of a delegate’s speech, they will be asked Points of Information. 
• POI (Point of Information) - at the end of a speech, the chair will ask the floor for any POIs, which are essentially questions to clarify arguments made in the speech or in the resolution, or an argument for or against the speech which can be phrased in the form of a question. 
• Amendment- this is something you propose to be added to resolutions to improve the resolution, and thus helping the resolution to pass. All amendments must state clearly the line or lines in which the amendment is to be made; the clauses which are affected by the amendment; the kind of amendment e.g. strike, insert, strike and insert, add. The committee will then carry out debate for the amendment on its own rather than the resolution as a whole, taking speeches for and against, until the committee votes on it. If it is passed, it becomes part of the resolution. 
• Point of information to the Chair- this can be made in between speeches and points of information but can NOT interrupt a speaker. It is used to point out a major factual error in the debate such as if a delegate said that ‘Ireland is a state in America’, in which case someone could shout, “Point of information to the chair”. 
• Point of personal privilege- this is ONLY to be used when something is practically wrong with the debate, e.g. you cannot see the amendment or cannot hear the speaker, etc. 
• A Point of Order -  This may relate to the procedural matters only.
• Voting procedure - at the end of each debate, the final speech will be made once the chair asks for ‘closed debate’. After this, the committee will vote on whether the solution will be passed or not by raising their placards for or against. It’s up to you whether you want to say yes or no, based on yours and your country’s opinion. If you want, you can abstain, which essentially means you aren’t taking either side.  

This should be most of what you need for committee, keeping in mind that you will likely debate three or four resolutions a day, so make sure and research each of your topics if you can. Also keep an eye on your country’s views, to avoid voting for something they wouldn’t agree to, but this shouldn’t completely disrupt the debate.