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Committee Structure and Policies

Committee structure
1. Dais members: The Dais members consist of the Chairperson, Vice
Chairperson and Rapporteur. The Dais has complete control of the proceedings
and direct the flow of debate.
2. Delegates: Each member state or observer state is represented by a single
delegate. Delegates are reminded to address their Committee and Dais in
accordance with parliamentary procedure (UNA-USA Rules of Procedure is
applied in this particular conference).
3. Observers: A limited number of observers are allowed in the Committee at a
certain appropriate time. Observers cannot raise points, questions, vote, give
speeches, and/or interrupt the proceedings of the Committee. Observers are
required to follow the Dais instruction.
Policies
SAIRAM MUN 2.0 aims at contributing to the building and strengthening of
international youth community as well as promoting solidarity and cooperation
among international citizens. Therefore, it is necessary that specific rules are
enforced in order to maintain a safe and open environment at all times.
Participants who violate any following rules will be subject to suspension or
expulsion from all SAIRAM MUN 2.0 events. Therefore, participants are
expected to have read and acted according to these rules during the entire
conference.
• All SAIRAM MUN 2.0 events are conducted in English.
• All participants must dress in Indian Attire while attending the meeting.
• All participants are required to be punctual. Participants are expected to
inform the Dias members in case of anticipated late arrival or early departure.
In case of unanticipated circumstances, please notify the Dais members as
soon as possible
• All participants are reminded to converse in a respectful manner with other
participants and board of dais.

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FLOW OF DEBATE

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RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. Rules Governing Agenda
 Roll Call
At the beginning of each session, the Dais members will conduct Roll Call in
English alphabetical order. Member States may reply “present” or “present
and voting,” where present and voting means the Member States are not
entitled to abstention on substantive votes. Observers are required to reply
“present.” If a delegate is not present during Roll Call, he/she is not
recognized until the Dais members are notified. Notification is done through
passing a written note to the Dais stating the attendance status.

 Setting the Agenda

The first order of business shall be a Motion to set the Agenda. In this
particular conference, the Committee has only one topic that will be
considered to have been automatically adopted without debate.

2. Rules governing Debate

 Formal Debate
After the Agenda has been set, the committee will open a continuous General
Speakers’ List (GSL) to begin Formal Debate. Any Delegate wishing to be added
to the General Speakers’ List can send a written note to the Dais or raise their
placard when the Dais asks if there is any Delegate wishing to be added to the
GSL. Delegates are not allowed on the GSL twice simultaneously. In order to
be removed or re-added to the GSL, delegates must send a written note to the
Dais. This GSL is applied for all debate on the Agenda item, except when
superseded by procedural Motions such as those for Moderated and
Unmoderated Caucuses. Should the General Speakers’ List elapse, debate
shall be considered finished, and the Committee will move into closing
procedures.

 Motions
A specific proposal made by delegates to move the debate in a certain
direction, which will be voted by the committee. Below is the list of Motions
for your perusal.

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TYPES OF MOTION

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The motions below shall have precedence in the following order over all other proposals
or motions before the committee:
a. Point of Personal Privilege
b. Point of Order
c. Point of Inquiry
d. Point of Information

e. Introduction of a Draft Resolution

f. Motion to Suspend Debate
g. Motion to Table Debate
h. Motion for Closure of Debate
i. Motion to Adjourn the Meeting
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3. Rules governing Speeches

 Right to Speak:
Delegates must obtain the permission of the Dais in prior to addressing a
Committee with the exception of Unmoderated caucuses. The Director may at
their discretion call a Delegate to order if his/her speech irrelevant to the
subject under discussion; is considered personally offensive to any party, or
otherwise infringes upon the sovereignty of a Member State.

 Time Limit on Speeches:

For the GSL, the Dais will entertain motions to set the speaking time, and such
motion needs a simple majority to pass. Should the Dais not explicitly state a
different speaking time for the GSL, the default time limit is 90 seconds. When
a Delegate exceeds the allotted time, the Dais may call the speaker to order.

 Yields: If a Delegate granted the right to speak on a substantive issue (not

during a caucus) has time remaining at the end of his/her speech, the
Delegate may yield in one of three ways.
 Yield to another delegate: allows the second delegate to use the
remaining time and elaborate on points previously mentioned by the
first without further yielding. In a double delegation, turning the floor
over to a co-delegate of the same delegation is not a yield.
 Yield to questions: allows delegates to ask the delegate who just
finished speech questions. The Dais will call upon delegates who have
questions. Follow-up questions will be allowed only at the discretion of
the Dais. The Dais can call to order any delegate whose question is
rhetorical and misleading. Only the speaker’s answers to questions will
count toward the remaining speaking time.
 Yield to the chair: means that the Dais will absorb all of the remaining
time. Only one yield is allowed per speech. There are no yields allowed
if a delegate is speaking on a procedural matter. Delegates cannot
yield if they run out of time.

 Right of Reply:
A delegate whose personal or national integrity has been impugned by
another delegate’s statement may raise a Right of Reply. The Dais will grant
the Right of Reply at his/her discretion; this decision is not open to appeal.

 Points:
 Point of Inquiry - if delegates have questions for the Chair;
 Point of Information-if delegates have questions for a delegate after
his/her speech
 Point of Personal Privilege- if delegates feel personal discomfort

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 Point of Order-if delegates believe that the Chair has made a

procedural mistake.

4. Rules governing Written Proposals

 Working Paper:
Working Papers are intended to aid the Committee in its discussion and
formulation of Resolutions and need not be written in Resolution format.
Delegates may propose Working Papers for consideration by raising a Motion
to Introduce a Working Paper. Working Papers are not official documents and
do not require signatories or vote of approval.
NOTE: Delegates should note that the Working Paper is not a necessary
precursor to the Draft Resolution; Delegates wishing to introduce entire Draft
Resolutions may do so directly without trying to first introduce the Draft
Resolution as a Working Paper.

 Draft Resolution:
A Draft Resolution consists of three main parts:
 A list of Sponsors and Signatories
 Preambulatory Clauses
 Operative Clauses

A Draft Resolution may be introduced when it receives the approval of the

chair. A Draft Resolution is required to have at least 30% of the committee’s
Member States as signatories, and at most 20% of the committee’s Member
States as sponsors, each to be listed in alphabetical order.
Once a Draft Resolution has been approved, delegates may move to
introduce the Draft Resolution by raising a “Motion to introduce a Draft
Resolution.” Such motion requires a simple majority to pass. More than one
Draft Resolution may be on the floor at one time, but only one Resolution
will be adopted.

Sponsors: They are the principal authors of the document and agree with its
substance. Sponsors control a draft resolution and only the sponsors can
approve immediate changes.

Signatories: They are countries that may or may not agree with the
substance of the draft resolution but still wish to see it debated so that they
can propose amendments.

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Preambulatory clauses: They are historic justifications for action such as past
resolutions, precedents and statements about the purpose of action. The
preamble of a draft resolution states the reasons for which the committee is
addressing the topic and highlights past international action on the issue.
Each clause begins with a present participle and ends with a comma.
Example: Recalling resolutions Outer Space Treaty of 1967, General Assembly
Resolution A/RES/39/59, A/RES/55/32, A68/189.

Operative clauses: They are policies that the resolution is designed to create
and what the committee will do to address the issue. Operative clauses
identify the actions or recommendations made in a resolution.
Each operative clause begins with a verb and ends with a semicolon. After
the last operative clause, the resolution ends in a period.
Example: 1. Highly recommends a regulation on the production, stockpiling
and the use of lethal space to-surface and space-to-space weapons;

 Panel of Authors:
After a Draft Resolution has been introduced, any of its Sponsors may call for
a Panel of Authors to be convened to answer questions raised by the
Committee relating to the Draft Resolution. The Dais shall set a time limit of
no more than 20 minutes during which members of the Floor may ask short
questions of the Sponsors for the sole purpose of clarifying the content or
meaning of the Resolution.

 Amendments:
An Amendment is a proposal that adds to, deletes from, or revises the
operative clauses of a Draft Resolution. Delegates may amend any Draft
Resolution that is on the Floor. An amendment must be approved by the
Chair and must contain a certain number of signatures, decided by the Chair.
Amendments to amendments are out of order; however, an amended part
of a draft resolution may be further amended.
A Delegates can raise a “Motion to Introduce an approved Amendment”
whenever the floor is open; such motion requires a simple majority to pass.

 Friendly Amendments indicate the support of all the Draft

Resolution’s Sponsors and thus will automatically be added to the
original Draft without needing a house vote.
 Unfriendly Amendments do not indicate the support of all the Draft
Resolution’s Sponsors. General Debate will be suspended, and the
Chair will call on up to 2 speakers ‘for’ and 2 ‘against’ the Unfriendly
Amendment, followed by a substantive two-thirds majority vote for
the Amendment to be added to the original Draft Resolution.

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5. Rules governing Voting

 Procedural Vote:
Each member of the Committee, including Observers, shall have one vote on
a procedural Motion. Abstentions are not in order. Delegates will express
their vote by raising their placards, and a simple majority of those present is
required unless explicitly stated elsewhere in these Rules.

 Substantive Vote:
A substantive vote is voting on draft resolutions and amendments. Each
member of the Committee, excluding the Observers, shall have one vote.
Members may vote Yes, No or Abstain; Members which declared
themselves present and voting cannot abstain. In the case of a Roll Call vote,
Delegates may also pass, however, if they elect to pass on the first call, they
are not permitted to abstain on the second call. Delegates may also vote with
rights.

 Voting on a Draft Resolution:

Once the committee closes debate on an Agenda Topic and there are no
more amendments on the floor—OR at Chairs’ discretion, due to time
constraints—the committee will move into a substantive voting procedure on
the Draft Resolution. Each delegation (or single delegate) will have 1 vote,
either ‘For’, ‘Against’ or ‘Abstain’.
The only motions and points that will be in order are as followed:
 Motion to Move into Voting Procedure
 Motion to Roll Call Vote
 Motion to Divide the Question
 Motion to Divide the House

6. Suspension of the Rules:

These rules may only be suspended following a majority vote. Any motion to
suspend the rules is subject to the Chair’s discretion.

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LIST OF PREAMBULATORY CLAUSES

LIST OF OPERAVTIVE CLAUSES

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SAMPLE RESOLUTION
Resolution GA/3/1.1

General Assembly Third Committee

Sponsors: United States, Austria and Italy

Signatories: Greece, Tajikistan, Japan, Canada, Mali, the Netherlands and Gabon
Agenda: "Strengthening UN coordination of humanitarian assistance in complex
emergencies”
The General Assembly,
Reminding all nations of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, which recognises the inherent dignity, equality and inalienable rights of all
global citizens, [use commas to separate Preambulatory clauses]
Reaffirming its Resolution 33/1996 of 25 July 1996, which encourages Governments to work
with UN bodies aimed at improving the coordination and effectiveness of humanitarian
assistance,
Noting with satisfaction the past efforts of various relevant UN bodies and
nongovernmental organisations,
Stressing the fact that the United Nations faces significant Financial obstacles and is in need
of reform, particularly in the humanitarian realm,
1. Encourages all relevant agencies of the United Nations to collaborate more closely with
countries at the grassroots level to enhance the carrying out of relief efforts; [use
semicolons to separate operative clauses]
2. Urges member states to comply with the goals of the UN Department of Humanitarian
Affairs to streamline efforts of humanitarian aid;
3. Requests that all nations develop rapid deployment forces to better enhance the
coordination of relief efforts of humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies;
4. Calls for the development of a United Nations Trust Fund that encourages voluntary
donations from the private transnational sector to aid in funding the implementation of
rapid deployment forces;
5. Stresses the continuing need for impartial and objective information on the political,
economic and social situations and events of all countries;
6. Calls upon states to respond quickly and generously to consolidated appeals for
humanitarian assistance;
7. Requests the expansion of preventive actions and assurance of post-conflict assistance
through reconstruction and development. [last clause to end with full-stop]

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