MUN Basics
What does the UN do?
Founded in 1945 after WWII and made up of 193 member states (countries), the United Nations functions as an international organization with five main purposes:
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Maintain International Peace and Security
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Protect Human Rights
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Deliver Humanitarian Aid
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Promote Sustainable Development
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Uphold International Law
The U.N. is separated into 5 main sections called organs, each with unique responsibilities and powers.
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General Assembly: The policy-making organ, all member states are represented.
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Security Council: Maintains international peace and security with 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent.
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Economic and Social Council: Reviews policies and sets goals surrounding economic, social, and environmental issues
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International Court of Justice: The judicial organ settles international law disputes.
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Secretariat: Made up of the Secretary General and many U.N. staffers who run the everyday work of the U.N.
What is Model U.N.?
Model United Nations (MUN) is an academic/extracurricular activity in which students simulate the workings of the U.N. through committees while learning about international relations and diplomacy. Participating in Model U.N. helps students to improve their writing, speaking, debating, and teamwork skills.
What is GA and how does it work?
Model U.N. GA committees are simulations of the United Nations’ General Assembly.
Most GAs start with a global issue that the delegates must address by thinking of creative and comprehensive solutions. This is achieved through a series of moderated and unmoderated caucuses; Essentially, a GA is made up of lots of speech-giving, debate, voting. On top of this, delegates will write down their solutions by creating Draft Resolutions. A Draft Resolution is then voted on, and the committee ends. Typically these committees are large in size and have many countries represented. Therefore, collaboration, teamwork, and good communication skills all come in handy when in GA.
Getting Started with MUN
The MUN at Clark team has put together handouts to help delegates prepare for the experience of entering a GA committee for the first time. Delegates may find it helpful to print these and bring them to the conference for reference.