Welcome back delegates!
First off, congratulations to all of you who have submitted your position papers for research awards! We are excited to read through each paper and gauge your understanding of the topics so far. For those of you interested in position paper feedback with the chairs, be sure to sign up for our office hours at this link.
How to: THIMUN
Here are BMUN’s guidelines for THIMUN procedure. As mentioned in the UNHRC newsletter, you won’t be expected to know every little detail. However, we encourage our delegates to read through the whole guide at least once to gain a better understanding of what to expect during committee. At the very least, each delegate should have a basic understanding of amendments to the first and second degrees, as amendments will constitute a large part of our resolution debates.
For any questions about the guide, please comment below, email us, or come to office hours where we can help explain and familiarize you with THIMUN procedure before the conference. For a full review of THIMUN, we would also encourage you to come to BMUN”s THIMUN workshop on the first day of conference (before opening ceremony). Some of our UNHRC chairs will be there as well, so be sure to swing by and get your last-minute questions answered about procedure!
Moving onto expectations and flow of committee! THIMUN procedure moves relatively quickly in terms of drafting resolutions, before allowing the committee to take its time carefully debating and modifying the drafts through amendments. Because of this, the general schedule and flow of committee is as follows:
Friday night: Lobbying & Drafting Resolutions
Delegates come into committee with ideas for solutions, which they begin to discuss in a large “unmod” that spans the whole night.
Blocs tend to form relatively quickly, so it may be useful to do some research beforehand on countries that have similar stances or policies as your delegation.
All resolutions are submitted by the end of the night.
Saturday: Resolution kick-off, debates, and amendments
When delegates return to committee on Saturday, they can expect to begin debate on the resolutions. We tend to switch up the order of debating resolutions based on topics — resolution A/1, resolution B/1, resolution A/2, resolution B/2, etc.
The main submitter is expected to present their resolution and be able to answer any Points of Information to the Speaker from fellow delegates.
In the meantime, the rest of the delegates in committee should be proactively asking questions, submitting amendments, or preparing to make speeches on the resolution or amendment at hand. Notes can be passed between delegates via Huxley to discuss yielding, amendments, and more.
When the floor is open during debate on resolutions or amendments, delegates can motion for an unmoderated caucus to discuss resolutions/amendments with each other before voting.
Overall, we want to see as many delegates speak as possible! Whether that is for points of information, speeches, or motions, we want our delegates to interact with each other and truly engage with our topics.
During breaks, the chairs will offer opportunities for individual feedback based on your speeches, comments from chairs, and overall performance in committee.
Sunday morning: More resolutions and post-committee activities
On Sunday, our committee continues debate and voting on resolutions and amendments.
Delegates should continue asking questions, submitting amendments, and making speeches on the resolutions and amendments. Please note that your chairs will prioritize amendments to add and modify over amendments to strike.
If time permits, the chairs will hold a college Q&A panel for delegates following the adjournment of committee.
The chairs will also offer opportunities for individual feedback based on your progress and performance from the whole weekend at BMUN.
Committee awards will be announced at closing ceremony.
And that’s it for now! We hope this post addresses some of your questions about THIMUN procedure and what our committee will look like at BMUN. As usual, please comment below or email us at unhrcbmunlxx@bmun.org for any questions or position paper extensions. Be on the lookout for our UNHRC weekly newsletters, blogs, and upcoming office hours!
- Karissa
Comments
Post a Comment