Below are explanations of the more difficult questions on the MUN Advisor Certification Exam.
Which of the following is NOT a source of funding?
Many put down “The United Nations,” which is not correct. The UN has an annual budget financed by “assessed contributions”of Member States, as well as separate budgets for development programs and peacekeeping operations. The correct answer was “NGOs,” which is important for correcting a common misperception amongst students. See pages 17-18 of your Guide.
What are the 5 work areas of the UN?
Peace and Security, Development, Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs, and International Law. See page 15.
What defines simple majority?
The definition of “simple majority” may differ between conferences. In page 86, we define simple majority as “more yes votes than no votes.” However, several chose the response “more yes votes than no votes and abstentions,” which is incorrect; if abstentions are counted, then they are effectively no votes. In “procedural motions” (motions for moderated caucus, unmoderated caucus, etc.) this is a moot point because delegates are not allowed to abstain, i.e. all delegates must vote either yes or no. But on “substantive motions” (votes on resolutions and amendments), delegates are allowed to abstain, and so the precise definition of simple majority is important.
What are the 6 ways a delegate may vote during a Roll Call Vote?
Yes, No, Abstain, Yes with Rights, No with Rights, Pass. See page 96.
Rebecca is researching Past International Actions. What types of sources she should look for to help answer this section? List at least 3. (Hint: They correspond to the stages of UN decision-making.)
The stages of UN Decision Making are:
- Debate
- Negotiation
- Action
- Implementation
- Reporting
Rebecca should try to find sources that correspond to the sources above, such as:
- Speeches
- Events (Outcome documents, notes/minutes of meetings)
- Resolutions (as well as treaties, conventions, agreements, protocols)
- Websites of UN programs
- Reports (particularly reports by the Secretary-General or their Special Representative, as well as committee reports)
Rebecca is researching her Country Policy. You want her to use sources exclusively from US government websites. Which departments or groups within the US government would be most useful to her on this topic? List at least 3. (Hint: UN4MUN also recommended specific types of government websites.)
Acceptable answers included any references to relevant US government departments/groups, including the State Dept., the US Mission to the UN, the Department of Defense, the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department, the CIA, FBI, etc. I would have also accepted more general references to government ministries or groups; in particular, the UN4MUN web page that we reviewed specified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission to the UN as sources.
Rebecca is studying a sample resolution. She asks, “What is the difference between a sponsor and a signatory?” What defines a sponsor and a signatory?
Most of you were correct in saying that a sponsor is a delegate who helps write the resolution and supports it. However, several said that a signatory agrees with the resolution or helped write part of it, which are not correct responses. A signatory is a delegate who believes the resolution is qualified enough to be submitted to the chair and presented to the committee for debate. The signatory may or may not agree with the resolution or have any role in writing it. Signatories are important because many conferences require resolutions to have a minimum number of sponsors and signatories before they can be presented to the committee; typically, a resolution does not have enough sponsors to meet this minimum threshold, so they need additional signatories in order to meet the minimum. The purpose of having this minimum is to ensure that the committee actually wants to debate the resolution. In the real UN, however, there is no formal minimum requirement; a single Member State can submit a resolution (referred to as “tabling” a resolution) per the Charter’s principle of national sovereignty; requiring signatories would actually be seen as an infringement on this principle.
In her position paper, Rebecca wrote, “Poverty is one of the root causes of terrorism.” How would Rebecca turn this into a preambulatory clause? Write the clause below.
In her speech, Rebecca plans to say, “Member States should increase support and funding for anti-poverty programs in countries that have the highest rates of terrorism.” How would Rebecca convert the statement above into an operative clause? Write the clause below.
In both of these questions, the format of the preambulatory and operative clauses was important, Specifically, preambulatory clauses ends with a comma. Operative clause begin with a number and end with a semicolon.
Rebecca is studying a sample amendment. She asks, “What is the difference between a friendly and unfriendly amendment?” What defines a friendly amendment and an unfriendly amendment?
An amendment is “friendly” is every sponsor of the resolution is also a sponsor of the amendment. Upon submission, a friendly amendment automatically amends the resolution. Any other combination of sponsors makes an amendment “unfriendly,” including a) missing one of the resolution’s sponsors as a sponsor of the amendment, b) having amendment sponsors comprise all of the original resolution sponsors plus any additional sponsors, and c) having amendment sponsors that don’t include any of the original resolution sponsors. Unfriendly amendments are subject to voting procedure.
