Each MUN conference has a procedure and follows this procedure throughout the conference. One of the most common procedures is the THIMUN procedure.

What is the THIMUN procedure?

THIMUN procedure is greatly recognized in the United Nations. Most of the international MUN conferences follow THIMUN or procedures affiliated with THIMUN.

Rules of the THIMUN procedure has been developed and used for more than 40 years. It has been very useful to facilitate good debate and ensure that delegates come up with efficient solutions worth publishing and sending to the United Nations.

 

What are the diplomacy and general rules of the THIMUN procedure?

 

*All participants must speak the official language of the conference.

*Delegates must stand while speaking.

*Male delegates must wear a jacket when they have the floor.

*There must be no direct conversation between delegates.

*Note passing is not allowed during the voting procedure. All notes should be checked by the admin staff in order to avoid non-related notes.

 

What are the key terms of THIMUN?

 

General Assembly(GA): Committee involving all delegates from all countries.

House: All members of the meeting except for the chair.

Chair: Person who directs the committee.

Admin: Secures the door and counts votes during the voting procedure. They provide note-passing in the committee. They also provide water, notepaper, etc. if needed.

NGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations.

Delegate: Representative of a country or an NGO.

Ambassador: Representative of a delegation. The ambassador is chosen among the delegates of a country. They make a speech during the opening ceremony.

Floor: Place that delegates take to talk.

Roll Call: Attendance at the beginning of every session.

Present: Delegates must say “present” and raise their placard in order to indicate their presence during the roll call.

Placard: The sign that identifies your country.

Yield: To give up your time on the floor.

 

Points:

1. Point of Information; When a delegate is done giving their speech, the chair asks them if they are open to any points of information. A delegate can say ‘any and all’ to accept all questions from the committee or they can set a limit by stating how many questions(‘only one, five…) they will accept. They can also say ‘no’ if they don’t want to answer. It is also used if a delegate has a question about something that is not clear or something that is not understood in the committee. This point can be directed to the chair or a delegate.
2. Point of Order; Used when a delegate believes that there was a mistake regarding the rules of procedure and to let the chair know about an improper procedure.
3. Point of Parliamentary Procedure/Inquiry; Used when a delegate has a question to the chair about a rule or the proceeding of the debate.
4. Point of Personal Privilege; When a delegate has discomfort about a situation that needs to be solved, they yell out ‘point of personal privilege due to…’. Generally used when the delegate cannot hear the speaker or they want the window to be closed, etc.

 

Motions:

 

1. Motion to move into the voting procedure; Used when a delegate wants to skip debating on a resolution
2. Motion to move to the previous question; Used in a close debate when a delegate wants to move to the against speeches from in favour/for speeches or move to the voting procedure from the against speeches.
3. Motion to approach the chair; Used when a delegate wants to come beside the chair.
4. Motion to follow up; Used when a delegate wants to ask a further point of information to the speaker on the floor. But “motion to follow up”s are not allowed in the THIMUN procedure.

 

Second: Used when a delegate supports a motion

Objection: Used when a delegate is against a motion

Lobbying:

 

Delegates discuss ideas in order to write a draft resolution. Delegates are allowed to walk in the committee and use their mobile phones in order to look up for details for the draft resolution during lobbying.

 

Clause:

 

A resolution consists of clauses. There are two types of clauses.

 

1. Preambulatory Clause;

 

To illustrate the issue, you should provide official figures. You should also emphasize the difficulties that have been encountered in the past.

A preambulatory clause needs to begin with a present or a past participle or an adjective. You may mention past and recent situations.

*All preambulatory clauses must end in commas(,)

Preambularity Phrases

Affirming	Expecting	Keeping in mind	Reaffirming
Bearing in mind	Fully alarmed	Noting with regret	Realizing
Declaring	Fully aware	Noting further	Recalling
Emphasizing	Guided by	Observing	Taking note

 

1. Operative Clauses;

You may explain different methods and different approaches to the same problem through clauses

*The opening phrases of all operative clauses must be underlined and be numbered

*All operative clauses must end in semi-colons(;)

*Sub-clauses must be lettered [a), b), c), d),…]

*Sub-sub clauses must be in Roman Numbers [i), ii), iii), iv),…]

*Punctuation of a sub-clause or a sub-sub clause must be a comma(,) if they do not end the clause

Operative Phrases

Accepts	Calls upon	Further invites	Recommends
Affirms	Draws the attention	Further reminds	Regrets
Authorizes	Emphasizes	Notes	Supports
Calls	Encourages	Reaffirms	Urges

 

Resolution:

A resolution is a simple solution to the topic on the agenda. A resolution consists of clauses that are a formal statement of the proposed solutions to a UN Council or Committee. A resolution should not state the policy of a country. Resolutions must be debated and voted on.

Main Submitter: Country that writes and introduces the resolution.

Co-Submitter: Countries who sign a resolution as they want the house to debate on the resolution (even if they do not support it).

Amendment:

An amendment is written to add, change or strike out a clause in order to strengthen the resolution. Amendments occur in a close debate and they will be voted on.

Voting:

Voting procedures are when the resolution or amendment is voted by the house. During the voting procedure, interruptions are not allowed except for the point of orders that are related to the conduct of the voting.

In favour/For: This vote is used when it is preferred to pass the resolution.

Against: This vote is used when it is preferred to fail the resolution.

Abstain: This vote is used when it is preferred to neither pass nor fail the resolution.

Veto: The power of the “P5” countries to refuse approval of a draft resolution. Veto rights are only allowed in the Security Council.

Differences Between THIMUN and HMUN Procedures

HMUN Procedure	THIMUN Procedure
There is a time limit to speak	There is no time limit unless slows down the debate
Delegates must give motion in order to select a topic from the agenda to debate on (Moderated caucus)	Chair decide which topic will be debated on
Unmoderated Caucus	Lobbying
There is a General Speakers’ List(GSL) to determine the order of the speakers by the chair	When the floor is open, delegates raise their placards in order to speak and they may take the floor since they are recognized by the chair

 

Dila KADIGİL

The Writer of MUNTurkey.com

Email: dilakadigil@gmail.com