SofIMUN 2013 Rules of Proceduresofimun.org/SOFIMUN2012-Rules_of_procedure-UN.pdf · 2015-12-22 · SOFIMUN FOUNDATION Special rules of procedure applicable to the UN Security Council

SOFIMUN FOUNDATION

Special rules of procedure applicable to the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council

WRITTEN BY MR. EMMANOUIL BATISTAKIS, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF SOFIMUN 2013 Based upon the Rules of Procedure of ThessISMUN with the help of ThessISMUN Association and mr. Dimiter Mandradjiev, used in BISMUN 2013.

SOFIMUN

Sofia International Model United Nations

Edition: VI/2013

Period: 3-10 August 2013 Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Website: www.sofimun.org Foundation: www.foundation.sofimun.org

E-mail: [email protected]

“Search Of Future Ideas, Models Us Now”

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General Provisions

1. The SOFIMUN Rules of Procedure (hereinafter the “Rules”) are not subject to change and shall be considered

adopted prior to the beginning of the conference.

2. In a case of conflict between a general rule of the Rules and the special rules of an organ, the latter shall prevail.

3. The Secretary-General may alter and change the rules on his own discretion by informing the delegates and the

chairperson.

4. Language- English is the official working language of the conference. Usage of other languages is prohibited during

the sessions. If any documents in a language different than English is presented in front of a committee it cannot be

accepted unless an official SOFIMUN translation takes place.

5. Credentials- The SOFIMUN Secretariat has accepted the credentials of Delegates or Observers prior to the opening

of the conference. Actions relating to the alteration of rights or credentials of any Staff Member, Delegate or

Chairperson may exclusively be initiated by the Secretary-General.

6. Delegates - Each Member State to an organ shall be represented by one (1) Delegate.The Delegates shall have

speaking and voting rights on all matters in the organ they belong to.

7. Observers- The Representative of an accredited SOFIMUN observer (Non-governmental Organization or

International Organization or Country) shall have the same rights as a Delegate except that he/she may not vote on

substantive matters and may not sign nor sponsor Draft Agendas, Resolutions and Amendments.

RULE 1- Chairpersons

1.1 Chairpersons -The Board of all SOFIMUN Committees shall be composed of two chairpersons (hereinafter

“Chairs”).

1.2 Competence of the Chairpersons - The competence of the Chairpersons may not be questioned by the delegates, at

any time and for whatever reason.

1.3 Authority of the Chairs -The Chairs shall exercise ultimate authority over their respective committee, presiding in

an equitable and objective manner. The Chairs also reserve the right to propose a motion at any given time, which

will help the work and procedures of the committee move forward and should be take seriously into account by the

committee. In case of disruptive or dilatory behavior of any participants, the Chairs reserve the right to take any

appropriate action. As well the Chairs will have as responsibility to ensure that delegates are accurately representing

the position of their countries with respect to substantive issues and topics. The Chairs reserve the right to take

appropriate actions to ensure the proper representation of country-policies by the delegates.

1.4 Responsibilities of the Chairs - The Chairs are responsible for all procedural matters pertaining to the committee,

including but not limited to, moderating debate, determining the applicability of rules and, if necessary, clarifying

the meaning of the existing rules without needing any approval of the committee. As well the Chairs shall also be

responsible for ensuring relevancy of the content and format of the Working Papers before their submission for

verification by the Secretary General or the Under Secretary Generals.

Rules of Procedure

of the Committees of the

General Assembly

of the United Nations

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SPECIAL RULES APPLICABLE TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL

RULE 1 - Secretariat

1.1 Authorities of the Secretary General- The Secretary General or his/her authorised Deputy

Secretary Generals (USGs) may attend Security Council sessions and cannot be excluded from

the proceedings. The Secretary General may authorize his Deputies to act in his place at

meetings of the Security Council.

1.2 Responsibilities of the Secretary General- The Secretary General, or his USGs acting on his

behalf, may make either oral or written statements to the Security Council concerning any

question under consideration by it, at any time. Proposals of the Secretary General or the USGs,

although non-binding, are considered of high importance and delegates are highly expected to

abide by them. The Secretary General shall also be responsible for the preparation of

documents required by the Security Council.

1.3 Requesting the Presence of the Secretary General- Delegates may request the presence of the

Secretary General, or the USGs acting on his/her behalf, during debate on a substantive matter

in order to express their opinion on the issue at hand. Any statements made by a member of

the Secretariat are considered as representing the opinion of all members of the Secretariat and

that they act in favor of the United Nations, which they represent at all times during the

conference.

RULE 2 – Voting

2.1 Number of votes- Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.

2.2 Counting the votes - Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by

an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the members. Decisions of the Security Council on

substantive matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the

concurring votes of the permanent members.

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RULE 3 - Presence of a non-council-member

3.1 Requesting the presence of a non-member of the Council – A delegate or a Chairperson may

propose to invite any Member of the United Nations not a Member of the Security Council and

any State not a Member of the United Nations to attend a meeting of the Security Council. The

proposal shall be put to vote. A majority of Delegates present and voting is required for the

proposal to pass.

3.2 The Security Council may appoint a Commission or Committee or a Rapporteur for a specified

question.

RULE 4 - Special motions applicable only to the Security Council

4.1 Motion to Declare a State Party to the Dispute - A Representative of a Member of the Council

may move to declare a state-member of the Security Council party to the dispute debated at

the time in the Council. The delegate who moves will have to provide sufficient justification. The

Chair will recognize one (1) speaker for and one (1) speaker against this motion. A state which is

party to the dispute shall not have any voting rights during the voting procedure on a draft

resolution. Its vote shall be counted as an abstention by the Chair, under paragraph 3 of Article

52 of the Charter of the United Nations. The vote on this motion is a substantial one.

4.2 Motion to Declare the Vote Substantial- This motion may be entertained on any procedural

motion. The aim of this motion is to change the required vote on the procedural motion into a

substantial vote. On a substantial vote, all delegates who are “present” may abstain, and, even

more important, the required majority for that motion to pass is nine including the five

concurring votes of the Permanent Members. This gives the Permanent Members the possibility

to veto a normally procedural motion. As soon as any member introduces this motion, the other

(procedural) motion is thereby declared substantial. The chair will then ask, whether there is

any objection to declare the motion substantial. If there is objection the Council will vote on

whether to re-declare the motion procedural. The vote to re-declare the motion procedural is

a substantial vote.

4.3 Motion to Conduct Business in Closed Session - This Motion serves to preserve the privacy and

confidentiality of the Security Council meetings. This Motion requires Simple Majority to pass.

Once passed all non-members of the Security Council are required to immediately exit the

room. This includes all auxiliary personnel such as Journalists, Observers, Advisors etc etc. The

Chairpersons and the Secretary General, as well as his/her USGs, are not affected by this

motion. The Security Council may, or may not, allow for the Administrative Staff to remain in

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the room. No communication with the outside world, whatsoever, is allowed. The only possible

means of communication is through the Secretary General and his Deputies.

4.4 Motion to Conduct Business in Public Session - After a Motion to Conduct Business in Closed

Session is passed, the Security Council may conduct business again in Public through a Motion

to Conduct Business in Public. This Motion requires Simple Majority to pass.

4.5 Uniting for Peace - In any cases where the Security Council, because of a lack of unanimity

among its five permanent members, fails to act as required to maintain international peace and

security, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately and may issue any

recommendations it deems necessary in order to restore international peace and security. If not

in session at the time the General Assembly may meet using the mechanism of the emergency

special session (ESS). The procedure may take place after the 2/3 majority of the countries

present in the BISMUN committees make a request towards the Secretary General. The

resolution created by the mechanism of the "emergency special session" (ESS), is considered as

a procedural matter so the P5 members of the council do not have the ability to block the

adoption of a draft resolutions.

RULE 5 - Statements

5.1 The Security Council may choose to issue a Presidential Statement on issues which do not

warrant a resolution. This statement is formally from the Chairperson of the Security Council,

but is drafted by the organ.

5.2 This statement must be accepted by a consensus of the Security Council.

5.3 These may either be produced as a “Presidential Statement” or as a more strongly worded

“Presidential Statement of Consensus”.

RULE 6 - Self Governance of the Security Council

The Security Council reserves the right to decide internally, in cooperation with the Secretary General

or his/her Deputies, acting on his/her behalf and the Chair, on matters not covered in the present Rules

of Procedure. Ultimately the decision of the Secretary General or the Under Secretary Generals

outranks that of the Council.

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SPECIAL RULES APPLICABLE TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

RULE 1 - Special Rapporteur

1.1 The Human Rights Council (hereinafter ‘UNHRC) may appoint a Special Rapporteur, an

independent expert or a working group to examine, monitor, advice, and publicly report

on a situation specific country or territories, entitled as country mandates, or on a

thematic issue of human rights violation, entitled as thematic mandate.

Documents

SofIMUN 2013 Rules of Proceduresofimun.org/SOFIMUN2012-Rules_of_procedure-UN.pdf · 2015-12-22 · SOFIMUN FOUNDATION Special rules of procedure applicable to the UN Security Council