Clark College Rules of Procedure
The Rules of Procedure of all Organs and their subdivisions as revised at the XXXIX Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York shall be accepted as the basic standard for Model United Nations of the Far West. The Rules of Procedure for MUNFW are composed of two (2) distinct parts: the actual rules as adopted by the Membership Committee of the MUNFW and the Guide to Participation which details the actual procedures to be followed and further explains the rules themselves. This interpretation is a composite of rules used by the General Assembly in New York, past MUNFW practice, decisions of past Rules Committees, and interpretations of the Host Secretariats.
The Host Secretariat shall update the Guide to Participation as necessary to reflect changes made in the Rules of Procedure by the previous year's Rules Committee and give interpretations for all special committees and councils unique to that particular Session. All interpretations/changes made by the Host Secretariat in the Guide to Participation shall be forwarded to the Rules Committee for its evaluation. In the event of direct conflict between the actual numbered Rules of Procedure and the Guide to Participation, the actual Rules of Procedure as adopted by the Membership Committee shall take precedence, but otherwise the interpretations in the Guide to Participation shall be considered as binding as the actual Rules of Procedure.
All references in the Governing Documents to Rules of Procedure shall apply to the Guide as well.
All conflicts on interpretation of the Rules of Procedure and non- administrative sections of the MUNFW Governing Documents and the UN Charter that may arise from time to time during the Annual Session shall be decided by the Chair of the organ or its subdivision when the conflict arises. However, such conflicts may be referred to the Secretary- General for further review in the following ways:
a. Through the chair of a delegation;b. Through the presiding officer of the Rules Committee;c. Through the presiding officer of the body in which the conflict arose.
Those conflicts referred to the Secretary- General shall then be referred to the Rules Committee (see the appropriate sections of the By- Laws and Governing Documents on the Rules Committee). In the event of a conflict on interpretation of the Rules of Procedure, the Rules Committee may be requested to offer its interpretation. The interpretation offered by the Rules Committee shall be immediately binding unless or until the Membership Committee initiates action to overrule the decision of the Rules Committee.
The Rules Committee shall submit amendments to the Rules of Procedure to the Membership Committee in any matter where a conflict has arisen from faulty wording. The Rules Committee may recommend changes in the Charter and By- laws of MUNFW to the Membership Committee when necessary to clarify procedural matters. The Rules of Procedure for all organs and their subdivisions may be amended by a decision of the Membership Committee on the recommendation of the Rules Committee. Changes made in the Rules by the Membership Committee will become effective at the next Session of the MUNFW.
The Rules of Procedure perform several basic functions for a Model United Nations Conference:
a. They are the procedures by which business is to be conducted;b. They delineate the responsibilities and functions of the presiding officers;c. They outline the means by which conflicts can be fairly and equitably resolved;d. They ensure that the proceedings have a degree of predictability, and equal opportunities for participation.
The Rules of Procedure shall be used at all meetings of the bodies of MUNFW; these bodies may not utilize other rules, suspend the rules, or amend the existing rules.
Any member seeking recognition to make a motion, make an inquiry, or raise a point of order, must rise and state the rule under which he/she seeks recognition. If the Chair ascertains that the point which has been raised is not in fact a legitimate procedural point of order, it is as if the point were never raised. The Chair has not made a ruling by declaring it inadmissible, since it was not a point to begin with. The Chair may only rule on legitimate procedural points of order. Bearing this in mind, there can be no appeal of the Chair in such a case since no ruling was made on a procedural point.
These Rules of Procedure shall be used for all bodies of the MUNFW, with the exception of the Security Council and World Bank.
Definition of Terms:
1. For the purpose of the Rules, the term "Chair" shall indicate the presiding officer of a body (e.g. the President of the General Assembly);
2. The term "Vice-Chairs" shall indicate the Chair's flanking officer(s);
3. The term "Body" shall be defined as any assembly or meeting of the MUNFW;
4. The capital letter "P," the first part of the numeric rules designation, stands for "procedure" (not to be confused with "procedural motion").
5. The statement "two speakers in favor and two speakers against" means that there may be up to two speakers in favor of a motion, normally including the proposer, and up to two speakers opposed to the motion, but there is not a requirement that there must be two speakers in favor or two in opposition.
The Secretary- General shall appoint a Chair and one or two Vice- Chairs of each committee. These Officers shall not vote. Chairs shall indicate to the Body the manner in which they wish to be addressed (President, Chairman, Chairwoman, Chairperson).
If the Chair finds it necessary to be absent during a meeting or any part thereof, he/she shall appoint a Vice-Chair to take his/her place. Acting as Chair, the Vice- Chair shall have the same powers and duties as the Chair.
Subject to these rules and to Article 12 of the MUNFW Bylaws, the Chair shall have complete control of the proceedings of the body, and the maintenance of order at its meetings; this includes the right to request that the Secretary- General remove from committee any delegate who is in flagrant violation of the MUNFW Charter or its Bylaws.
In addition to other functions listed elsewhere in these rules, the Chair shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting, direct its discussion, ensure the observance of these rules, accord the right to speak, put questions, and announce decisions. In the course of discussion of an agenda item, the Chair may propose the following procedural motions:
1. The limitation of the time to be allowed to speakers;2. The number of comments and inquiries following each speech and the limitation of the number of times that each representative may speak on any matter under consideration;3. The closure of the speakers' list;4. The suspension of the meeting (P-27);5. The adjournment of the meeting (P-27);6. The postponement of the agenda item under discussion (P-28);7. The adjournment of debate on the item under discussion (P-30);8. The closure of the agenda item under discussion (P-29).
There is no provision under these rules allowing a delegate to propose motions 1, 2, or 3; only the Chair may propose them. However, under P- 25 Information, a delegate may ask if the Chair would do so. (The word "propose" connotes making a motion, and such a motion made by the Chair shall be subject to the normal processes of the Rules of Procedure). Motions 1, 2, and 3 are not debatable and shall be put to a vote immediately. Motions 1 and 2 above may be reproposed and revoted without reference to P-15 (Reconsideration of Proposals).
Subject to rule P-25, the Chair shall rule on points of order. The Chair, in exercise of his/her functions, remains under the authority of the body. The Chair's rulings may be appealed (P-25 Appeal) with the exception of rulings on the Right of Reply (P- 24).
After the conclusion of their business, all main committees, and any other body that chooses to, shall give a report of their work and findings to the General Assembly. This report, and any other presented to the General Assembly upon its request, shall be presented by a Rapporteur.
A Rapporteur shall be elected by secret ballot early in the session. The Chair shall initiate early in the Session an initial secret ballot which shall serve as the nominating procedure. The two delegates receiving the highest number of votes shall be the nominees. A second secret ballot shall be taken immediately to elect one of the nominees to the position of Rapporteur by a majority vote. In case of a tie, there shall be a runoff conducted until one of the candidates receives a majority. The election of the Rapporteur is not debatable. The election of the Rapporteur may not be reconsidered unless an irregularity in voting is discovered by the Chair.
The duties of the Rapporteur shall be to present to the Secretary- General the order of the resolutions of the Rapporteur's committee for Plenary Session and the list of speakers for each resolution, subject to rule P- 37 (Selection of Speakers to Plenary Session). The Rapporteur orally presents the body's report to the Plenary Session. The Rapporteur may either represent his/her country, thereby retaining the right to vote in the committee or designate another member of his/her delegation to take the Rapporteur's place as a delegate in the committee.
If, during the Plenary Sessions of the General Assembly, the President or the Assembly, by a majority vote, decide to request information about the conclusions reached by a body, the Rapporteur of that body will be invited to speak before the Assembly on the matter. This report may be given precedence over all other business subject to Rule P- 26 (Order of Procedural Motions). The President of the General Assembly, at his/her discretion (P- 3), may allow the Rapporteur to answer questions from members of the Assembly.
The Secretary- General, or a member of the Secretariat designated by him/her as his/her representative may, at any time, make either oral or written statements to any body concerning any question under consideration by it.
A majority of the members credentialed to a body shall constitute a quorum. The Chair shall determine if a quorum is present. A quorum must be present for any decisions to be taken or for any matters to be put to a vote. However, the Chair may declare a meeting open and permit the debate to proceed when at least one third of the members of the body are present. The presence of a majority of the members shall be required for any decisions to be taken.
If a representative doubts the presence of a quorum or majority, the representative may ask the Chair, under P- 25, for a ruling.
Each Member State of the MUNFW shall have one vote in every body to which that State has been admitted as a voting member. This admission shall be determined by the Secretary- General only. No member or delegate may cast the vote of another member.
Approval of the Agenda - - General Assembly and ECOSOC: At the opening of each Session, the provisional agenda shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval. If there is no objection to the approval of the agenda, the Chair may declare the agenda adopted. ECOSOC will approve its own agenda in a similar manner at its opening meeting.
Deletion of Agenda Items - - General Assembly and ECOSOC: If there are any objections to the adoption of an agenda item, that item shall be subject to a separate vote. Debate shall be limited to two speakers in favor of and two speakers against deletion. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers. A two- thirds majority is required to delete the item from the agenda. After all objections have been dealt with in this manner, the body shall vote on the adoption of the agenda as a whole, or the Chair may, with the consent of the body, declare the agenda adopted. A simple majority is required to adopt the agenda.
After adoption of the agenda by the approving body (GA or ECOSOC, as applicable), bodies other than the General Assembly and ECOSOC shall not introduce new agenda items on their own initiative.
Supplementary items are items added to the agenda prior to its adoption. Additional items are those items placed on the agenda after its adoption.
Any Member State, principal organ of MUNFW, or the Secretary- General may, prior to the approval of the agenda during the regular Plenary Session, request the inclusion of supplementary items on the Provisional Agenda. Proposers of supplementary items must supply explanatory memoranda and any basic documents or draft resolutions along with the proposed item to the Secretary- General for duplication and distribution to all members.
These items shall be placed on the agenda if the approving body (GA or ECOSOC) so decides by a majority of the members present and voting. Debate shall be limited to two speakers in favor of inclusion of the supplementary item, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote. The chair may limit the time for debate.
Additional items of an "important and urgent character," proposed during the session after the agenda has been approved, may be placed on the agenda if the approving body (GA or ECOSOC) so decides by a two- thirds majority of the members present and voting. Debate shall be limited to two speakers in favor of inclusion of the additional item, including the proposer of the motion, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote. The chair may limit the time for debate.
The Secretary- General may request inclusion of an Additional item on his/her own initiative. Requests for the inclusion of Additional items from Member States must be submitted to the Secretary- General accompanied by a list containing the signatures of the Permanent Representatives of a majority of the Member States, an explanatory memorandum, and, if possible, by basic documents or a draft resolution to give evidence of the "important and urgent character" of the item. Additional items may be placed only on the agendas of the GA and ECOSOC, but these bodies may then allocate an item to one of their subsidiary bodies.
Each body shall normally consider items in their order on the agenda. After the approval of the agenda and prior to general debate, proposals for reordering the agenda items are in order. They shall be voted on in the order in which they are proposed. Once voting on the reordering of proposals has begun, no new proposals shall be accepted. The first proposal to receive a majority vote shall be the order of consideration. If none receives a majority vote, the Secretariat's order shall stand. Proposals to reorder agenda items are not debatable.
Once the agenda has been adopted, an item of urgent and important character may be placed immediately before the General Assembly or ECOSOC (P- 9, Additional Items). Upon completion of consideration of the urgent item, the body shall resume its business from the point at which the new item was introduced.
The General Assembly shall consider the items on the agenda which have been allocated to the Main Committees by means of committee reports, which may contain recommendations for Assembly action in resolution form. These reports shall be presented by a rapporteur (P- 4 Election and Duties of Rapporteur).
The order of reports will be determined by the President of the General Assembly in consultation with the Chairs of the reporting bodies.
Resolutions, while initiated by individual members or groups, are basic statements of the body's policy. (For more information on resolutions, refer to the Guide section of the Delegates' Handbook.)
A motion is considered an amendment if it adds to, deletes from, or revises part of a proposal. Amendments which merely add a negative to alter the intent of a proposal shall not be considered amendments and are not admissible. Preambulatory clauses may not be amended. Amendments to amendments are not allowed. Sponsors may not amend their own proposals.
Resolutions and amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat through the Chairs who shall circulate copies to all delegations. Debate on resolutions and amendments should not commence before copies of all resolutions and amendments have been made available to all Member States; however, at the Chair's discretion, the Chair may permit resolutions and amendments not previously circulated.
If two or more resolutions relate to the same agenda item, the body shall consider them in the order determined by the Secretariat unless it decides otherwise.
Proposals to reorder resolutions are in order after the conclusion of Substantive Debate on the topic and before voting on any of the resolutions has begun. Proposals for reordering the resolutions shall be voted on in the order they are proposed. Once voting on these reordering proposals has begun, no new proposals shall be allowed. The first proposal to receive a majority vote shall be the voting order. If none receives a majority vote, the Secretariat's order shall stand.
After commencing to vote, the body may decide whether to vote on the next resolution. A "vote not to vote" (decision not to vote) on a resolution requires a simple majority. Decisions whether to vote or not to vote on resolutions must be made for each resolution individually.
The General Assembly has the following four options regarding the Committee Reports. Any of these motions are in order after the Rapporteur's report. If one is proposed and fails, any of the remaining three are then in order. If the second and third options fail also, the remaining option is automatically adopted by the Assembly.
1. A representative may move to discuss the Committee Report with debate limited to five minutes for and against each resolution (refer to P- 37, Selection of Speakers to Plenary Session). This motion is not debatable, and shall be voted on immediately. A simple majority is required to pass this motion. If the motion passes, the Chair shall call upon speakers according to the list presented by the Rapporteur of each committee, alternating between those speakers in favor and those against the resolution. The resolutions shall be presented in the order selected by the committee (P- 36 Order of Presentation). There is no provision for members of the Assembly to speak on the substance of the resolutions. After the presentation, the resolutions will be voted upon immediately.
2. A representative may move to vote on each resolution in the committee report individually, without debate on either the report or the resolutions. This motion is not debatable; it requires a simple majority to pass.
3. A representative may move to vote on all resolutions collectively, thereby adopting or disregarding all resolutions in the committee's report in one vote. This motion is debatable, with two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
4. A representative may move merely to take note of the Committee's report. This option precludes voting on all of the resolutions. This motion is debatable with two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
Resolutions represent the decision of the General Assembly only when the Assembly has adopted them by the required majority.
This motion is in order any time after the beginning of substantive debate. This motion does not pertain to agenda items. It should concern itself only with the jurisdiction of the body to act on the issue discussed in the motion in question.
Subject to rule P- 26 (Order of Procedural Motions), any motion calling for a decision on the competence of a body to discuss or to adopt a proposal submitted to it shall be put to the vote before a vote is taken on the proposal in question. Decisions on competence are debatable with two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
Proposals shall be defined as:
1. Procedural motions;
2. Resolutions,
3. Substantive amendments.
A proposal may be made by any member of the body. Procedural motions are introduced orally, discussed, and voted upon without written presentation. Procedural motions may be withdrawn at any time before voting on them has commenced.
Resolutions shall be submitted within one half hour after the end of general debate on the agenda item. Amendments shall be submitted by the end of substantive debate on the agenda item; however, if substantive debate is adjourned before the speakers' list is exhausted, the Chair shall immediately accept all remaining amendments. Such amendments may be introduced (read) by the proposer at the discretion of the Chair, but there shall be no further debate on them. Resolutions and amendments are normally introduced verbally during substantive debate, but they are considered formally introduced upon being accepted and numbered by the Chair.
No resolution or amendment shall be discussed or put to a vote unless it has been submitted to the Chair in writing and copies of it have been circulated to all delegations by the Chair. However, the Chair may permit short amendments to be discussed and voted upon if they can be easily communicated to the delegates, even though such proposals have not been previously circulated. The Chair shall determine what constitutes a short amendment.
Any member may sponsor a resolution. A member may ask to be added to the list of sponsors of an existing resolution. Sponsorship of a resolution, or withdrawal of sponsorship of a resolution, will be allowed only up to the time at which substantive debate is concluded on the item. However, sponsors may withdraw their sponsorship of a resolution prior to voting on it, if their resolution has been amended; this does not apply in the event of a friendly amendment. (Friendly amendments are discussed in the Guide to Committees.)
If sponsorship of a proposal has been withdrawn, and no member wishes to sponsor said proposal, the whole proposal shall be considered withdrawn. If a proposal has been sponsored by two or more member states, all sponsors must agree to withdraw sponsorship for the proposal to be considered withdrawn. Once a resolution has been passed by a body, the body itself becomes the sponsor of the resolution.
When a proposal has been adopted or rejected, it may not be reconsidered at the same session unless the body, by a two- thirds majority of the members present and voting, so decides. Permission to speak on a motion for reconsideration shall be accorded only to two speakers opposing the motion, after which it shall be immediately put to the vote. It requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers. A motion to reconsider a proposal may be made only once for the same proposal.
The division process is a means to remove operative paragraphs from a resolution. Preambulatory paragraphs and amendments may not be divided (deleted). A motion for division is in order only immediately prior to voting on a resolution or a resolution as amended.
The division process has two parts: first, if a delegate moves for division, the body decides whether or not it is willing to consider proposals for dividing out (deleting) particular operative paragraphs from the resolution as amended. The paragraph(s) are not specified in this motion. If there is no objection to the motion to consider divisions, the motion will be adopted. If an objection is made, the motion shall be voted upon. Debate will consist of two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
If the body decides it will consider motions for division, as described in the preceding paragraph, then a specific motion for division is in order. The motion should specify which operative paragraph(s) the proposer wishes to delete from the resolution. If there is no objection to a specific motion for division, the motion will be adopted and the paragraph(s) deleted. If an objection is made, the motion shall be voted upon. Debate will consist of two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a simple majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers. After the first specific motion for division is considered, additional specific motions are in order and will be handled in the same manner as the first. Only one such motion may be on the floor at any one time.
After all motions for division have been considered, those parts of the resolution which remain shall be put to the vote as a whole. If they pass, the resolution is adopted. However, if all operative paragraphs of the resolution were deleted through the division process, the resolution shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole.
If an amendment is moved to a proposal, the amendment shall be voted on first. If there are no objections to the amendment by the sponsor(s) of the proposal, the Chair may declare the amendment a friendly amendment, and the proposal shall stand as amended. If there is more than one amendment to a proposal, the amendments shall be voted on in the order numbered by the Secretariat. However, where the adoption of one amendment automatically implies the rejection of another amendment, the latter amendment shall not be put to a vote.
After all motions for amendments of a proposal have been dealt with in this fashion, the body shall vote on the proposal as amended.
All substantive decisions shall be made by a simple majority of members present and voting. All procedural motions shall require a simple majority of members present and voting to pass, except where specifically stated otherwise.
For the purposes of these rules, the phrase "members present and voting" means members casting an affirmative or negative vote. Members which abstain from voting are considered as not voting.
If a vote is equally divided on matters other than elections, the proposal shall be regarded as rejected.
All bodies shall normally vote by a show of placards. The Chair may obtain approval of a procedural motion by statements which permit approval without a formal vote, i.e., "hearing no objections," "with your consent."
On any substantive proposal, a delegate may request a roll call vote. The request must be made before the vote has begun. This request is a procedural motion requiring a majority vote in the General Assembly; the request is granted automatically in all other bodies. The roll call shall be taken in the alphabetical order of the English names of the members, beginning with the member whose name is drawn by lot by the Chair. The name of each member shall be called in any roll call, and the member shall respond with "yes," "no," "abstention," "yes with explanation," "no with explanation," or "pass." Only one pass will be allowed per delegate per vote. The result of the voting shall be inserted in the record in the English alphabetical order of the names of the members. A delegate may choose to change his vote before the result of the vote has been entered into the record.
After the result of a vote has been entered, a member may explain his/her vote. The Chair may limit the time for debate.
Immediately prior to the commencement of the voting, the Chair shall read the title and number of the proposal to be voted upon. After the Chair has announced the beginning of voting, no member shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting (P- 25 Point of Order), or to withdraw sponsorship of a resolution that was amended, which has to be moved immediately after it was amended (P- 14 Withdrawal of Sponsorship).
During discussion of each agenda item, the normal conduct of business shall include a period of speeches for general debate on the item, as well as a period for substantive debate on the resolutions and substantive amendments submitted for the item. The Chair may propose the time limits for speeches (P- 3 General Powers of the Chair). Substantive debate shall not begin until all resolutions have been formally introduced (P- 17 Voting on Resolutions and Amendments).
No representative may address the body without having previously obtained the permission of the Chair. The Chair shall call upon speakers in the order in which they have signified their desire to speak. The Chair may call a speaker to order if his/her remarks are not relevant to the subject under discussion, or if the representative has exceeded the allotted time. No delegate may interrupt a speaker except on a point of order. Such a point shall pertain to the delegate's right to speak.
Short comments may be allowed only on the previous speech and at the discretion of the Chair. The Chair may propose the time limits for short comments (P- 3 General Powers of the Chair).
When time allotted to a speaker is limited, a representative may yield a portion of that time to another delegate. This yielded time must be utilized at the time it is yielded. Any representative on the speakers list may request that his/her country's name be placed at the bottom of the speaker's list as it stands at that moment.
The right of reply is a privilege granted by the Chair, not a right assumed by a Member State. At his/her discretion, the Chair may accord the right to reply to any member if a preceding speech has contained extraordinary comment bearing directly on the national or personal dignity of the delegate concerned, and shall limit the time accorded for reply. Granting of the right of reply shall not be debated or be put to a vote; a Chair's decision to deny the right of reply may not be appealed.
Any delegate rising under P- 25 must state specifically the point to which he/she is rising.
If a representative wishes to obtain a clarification of procedure or a statement of the question before the body, the representative may address a point of information to the Chair who shall answer it without delay.
During debate, a representative may wish to ask a question of another representative. Such a question shall be addressed to the Chair and shall be germane to the item under discussion. The delegate to whom the question is directed then may decide whether he/she wishes to answer the question at that time, respond to it in writing, or refuse to accept the question.
If the representative wishes to accept the question, he/she shall direct the answer to the Chair. At no point may a delegate address another delegate directly. The Chair may rule whether the question is germane.
If a representative wishes to raise a question or make a request relating to the organization of the meeting, the comfort of its members, or the conduct of its members and officers, the representative may rise to a point of personal privilege. The Chair may then take such action as the Chair deems necessary.
A representative may not interrupt a speaker during formal debate to rise to a point of personal privilege, nor may the representative speak on the substance of the matter under discussion.
During the discussion of any matter, if a representative believes that the body is proceeding in a manner contrary to that specified in one of the Rules of Procedure, he/she shall rise to a point of order immediately, which shall be recognized by the Chair without delay. The Chair shall rule on that point of order immediately in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Article 12 of the Model United Nations Bylaws.
A point of order, raised at any time, shall refer to the matter at hand at the time only. A representative rising to a point of order may not speak on the substance of the matter under discussion.
Appeal
A representative may appeal a ruling of the Chair. The appeal shall be put to a vote immediately, and the chair's ruling shall stand unless overruled by a two- thirds majority of members present and voting.
Exceptions: rulings under P- 6 and P- 24 are not subject to appeal. The decision of the Chair on whether or not a motion is dilatory may be overruled by a simple majority.
Only the Chair may rule that a motion is dilatory in nature. A dilatory motion shall be defined as any motion which seeks to obstruct or thwart the will of the body, or to obstruct or thwart the progress of the meeting. The ruling by the Chair that a motion is dilatory means that the motion is considered not in order at this time. This ruling is subject to appeal and may be overruled by a simple majority, but the appeal must be made by a delegate other than the representative whose motion was ruled dilatory.
Subject to rule P- 25, the following procedural motions shall have precedence in the following order over all other proposals before the meeting:
1. to suspend the meeting (P- 27),
2. to adjourn the meeting (P- 27),
3. postponement of debate (P- 28),
4. adjournment of debate (P- 30),
5. closure of agenda item (P- 29).
During the discussion of any matter, a representative may move for the suspension or the adjournment of the meeting. Such motions shall not be debated but shall be immediately put to the vote; they require a simple majority to pass. Any motion to suspend the meeting shall specify the time period for which the meeting shall be suspended. No official business may take place while the body is in suspension. When the meeting has reconvened, the business of the meeting shall continue from the point at which it was suspended.
Adjournment of the meeting is defined as meaning that all business of the body contained in the agenda has been completed, and would only be moved at the last meeting of the body.
Postponement of debate may occur only in reference to agenda items. A motion calling for postponement of debate shall state the time at which debate on the agenda item shall continue. If debate is postponed, the body shall move on to the item with the next highest priority in the order of business.
Debate on this motion shall be limited to two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a simple majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
At any time, a representative may move for the closure of the agenda item under discussion, whether or not any other representative has signified his/her wish to speak. Permission to speak on closure of the item shall be accorded to two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
Subject to P- 15, no further action on the agenda item may be taken after closure of the agenda item has been adopted. If an agenda item is closed, the body shall move on to the item with the next highest priority in the order of business.
During the discussion of any matter, a representative may move the adjournment of debate on the item under discussion. Permission to speak on adjournment of debate shall be accorded two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a two- thirds majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers.
If general debate is adjourned, the next item of business shall be substantive debate on the same item. If substantive debate is adjourned, the Chair shall immediately ask for all remaining amendments. The next order of business shall be voting on the resolutions on the same item.
A Credentials Committee shall be appointed prior to the beginning of each session. It shall consist of nine members representing diverse regional and ideological blocs appointed by the Secretary- General. The Credentials Committee may examine the credentials of any delegation whose credentials have been challenged and report its findings to the General Assembly without delay. Then, in a timely manner, the General Assembly shall decide on action regarding the recommendation of the Credentials Committee.
A representative may challenge another representative's credentials if there is a major discrepancy between the latter's vote on a proposal and the Member State's actual policy on that item according to that Member State's policy statement. A motion to challenge credentials is in order at any time after a discrepancy has been detected and has to be submitted to the Chair in writing, explaining the discrepancy and offering proof of the violation, and bearing the signature of both the permanent representative of the challenger's state and the permanent representative of the challenged state.
The Chair, in turn, will inform the body and the Secretary- General of the challenge, and will submit the challenge report to the Credentials Committee.
Once a delegate's credentials have been challenged, his whole delegation's credentials will be considered challenged and all delegates of the Member State will be seated provisionally in accordance with P- 32 (Provisional Admission).
Any delegation whose credentials have been challenged (P- 31) shall be seated provisionally with the same rights as before the challenge, until the Credentials Committee has reported in accordance with Rule P- 31 and the General Assembly has given its decision.
While the Security Council is exercising in respect to any dispute or situation the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, no body shall make any recommendations with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security Council so requests. Bodies may discuss but not vote upon such matters. A suspension of more than twenty- four hours by the Security Council will be considered its final action, allowing all bodies to resume voting on those questions.
The Secretary- General, with the consent of the Security Council, shall notify the General Assembly at each session of any matters relative to the maintenance of international peace and security of which the Security Council is seized. He/she shall also inform the General Assembly, and all other bodies, immediately after the Security Council ceases to deal with such matters.
The one exception to this is provided for in the "Uniting for Peace" resolution adopted by the UN on 3 November, 1950. This resolution provides, among other things, that if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of its permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace in a case where there appears to be a threat to peace, breach of the peace, or acts of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to make recommendations for collective measures to Member States, including the use of armed forces when necessary to maintain international peace and security.
Any non- member state or organization may be invited to assume Observer status and may observe the workings of any body of the MUNFW, at the discretion of the Secretary- General.
Observers shall be limited to rising under P- 24 unless "invited to participate" in the debate (P- 38 or P- 39).
Immediately after the opening of the first Plenary meeting and immediately preceding the closing of the final Plenary meeting of each Session of the General Assembly, the Chair shall invite the representatives to observe one minute of silence dedicated to prayer or meditation.
Each Main Committee may determine the order in which resolutions on an agenda item shall be presented in Plenary Session. This is done at the last committee meeting, provided more than one resolution has been passed on any agenda item discussed by the Committee. The Rapporteur shall transmit this information to the Secretary- General and President of the General Assembly as soon as it is available.
Each body which is submitting a final report on its work to the General Assembly shall determine a speakers list for each resolution to be debated in the Plenary Session. The Rapporteur shall transmit this information to the Secretary- General and President of the General Assembly as soon as it is available.
If the General Assembly decides to discuss the committee's report, under the provisions of P- 12, option 1, debate in Plenary Session will be limited to five minutes allocated to speakers for the resolution and five minutes allocated to the speakers against the resolution. This time shall be equally divided among the speakers on each side.
These five minute blocks will be awarded to speakers in favor of and against each resolution individually.
Observer Nations or other organizations may be invited to participate in debate in any body (except ECOSOC) by that body. Debate on this motion shall be limited to two speakers in favor of the motion, including the proposer, and two speakers against. After debate, the motion shall be immediately put to the vote; it requires a simple majority to pass. The Chair may limit the time allowed to speakers. Once invited, the Observer Nation(s) or Organization(s) shall be limited to rising under P-23, P-24, P-25 (all six points) only, and do not acquire the right to vote.