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United Nations) resource center. TheResource Center
The goal of
Where to Start? Let's start with understanding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A great resource for this is the:
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Welcome to the Middle School TAIMUN (Taiwan Model United Nations) resource center. The goal of this site is to provide students and teachers with ideas, suggestions and links to resources to "Get Started" with Model United Nations. We believe that Middle School students are as aware as High School students about issues of global resource scarcity, human rights abuses, nation-state conflicts, poverty and the need for education for all. The First Annual MS TAIMUN Conference in May 2010 hopes to provide the first opportunity for Middle School students in Taiwan to participate in actively finding solutions to a few of the challenging global issues of the 21st century.
Where to Start? Let's start with understanding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A great resource for this is the:
{UDHR.png}

Welcome to the Middle School TAIMUN (Taiwan Model United Nations) resource center. The goal of this site is to provide students and teachers with ideas, suggestions and links to resources to "Get Started" with Model United Nations. We believe that Middle School students are as aware as High School students about issues of global resource scarcity, human rights abuses, nation-state conflicts, poverty and the need for education for all. The First Annual MS TAIMUN Conference in May 2010 hopes to provide the first opportunity for Middle School students in Taiwan to participate in actively finding solutions to a few of the challenging global issues of the 21st century.

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The short introduction and the links to various questions such as "How the UN Works" and "What the UN does for Peace" could be dividing between students for short presentations or trivia games.
CyberSchoolbus Provides many different links to activities that are helpful for "Getting Started"
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SOCIAL JUSTICE is a theme that students generally take to heart. The link below provides suggestions of how to ask the "tough questions" about issues of equity and civic responsibility.
Social justice is the principle of positive peace that complements the notion of peace as the absence of direct and institutional violence (negative peace). Students can begin to explore issues of social justice by asking questions such as:
Why is it not possible for human civilisation, with its abundance of natural, economic, technological, and cultural resources, to provide adequately for the basic needs of all people on the planet?
What are the roots of world hunger and poverty?
What is the current distribution of the world’s wealth and how did it get that way?
What is the average level of education for citizens of the world’s poorest countries? The world’s richest countries?
What is the impact of globalisation on rural communities throughout the world? On organised labour? On the fulfilment of human rights?
How does pollution affect the lives of women, men, and children in developing countries? In industrialised countries?
What is the impact of long-term military presence on the environment? On child and maternal health?
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/peace/frame3_4.htm

Debate Procedures:
Debate Guidelines Points:
1. Point of Personal Priviledge:
Refers to the comfort and well-being of the delebate.
May only interrupt the speaker if it refers to audibility. (can you hear?)
May not refer to the content of the speech.
Is not debatable.
Does not require a second.
2. Point of Order:
Refers to procedural matters only i.e. if the chair makes an error in the order of debate or in the setting/observing of debate time.
May not interrupt the speaker.
Is not debatable.
Can only refer to something that just happened, other wise it is out or order, or invalid.
3. Point of Information to the Speaker:
Is a question directed to the delegate who has the floor, and who has indicated that they are willing to answer points of information.
Speaker asking the Point of Information may only pseak if recognized by the Chair.
Must be in a question form.
Only ONE question may be asked at a time. There should be no direct dialogue between speaker and questioner on the floor.
Follow ups: Follow ups are allowed, which means the delegate asking the questions may ask another if it pertains to the first question asked. This must be approved by the Chair.
4. Point of Information to the Chair:
Is a question to the Chair.
May NOT interrupt the speaker.
Can refer to almost anything, from issues to personal priorities.
5. Point of Parliamentary Enquiry:
Point of information to the Chair concerning the rules of procedure.
May NOT interrupt the speaker.
Sample Debate:
For useful suggestions for informal practice debate see: pg. 96 Uniting the Nations through Model United Nations.

Writing a Resolution:
- Planning (adapted from www.mymun.org)
A resolution is a document with a very specific format which is often hard to follow. In this stage you will plan out your resolution. The best way to do this is divide a page into two sections. One should be for “Basic Knowledge” and the other “Action to be Taken”.
In the “Basic Knowledge” section, write down all the information that delegates might need to know to understand the rest of the resolution. This may include definitions, dates, names of documents, certain facts.
Reducing Pollution of Freshwater Sources
Stop over irrigation
Stage 2- Preambulatory Clauses
Now the information in the “Basic Knowledge” section can be transformed into parts of the first section of a resolution called the Preambulatory Clauses. A clause is simply a statement that is part of a sentence. An interesting fact about resolutions is that they don't have any periods (full stops), except for one at the very end. The preambulatory clauses of the resolution are separated by commas. This part of the resolution focuses on getting people up to date with your issue. It is a section composed of facts; not action or opinions. The clauses should start with preambulatory phrases, which are always italicized or underlined . Examples of preamublatory phrases (which are often only one word) are the following:
Affirming
Alarmed by
Approving
Aware of
Bearing in mind
Believing
Confident
Convinced
Declaring
Deeply concerned
Deeply conscious
Deeply convinced
Deeply disturbed
Desiring
Emphasizing
Expecting
Expressing its appreciation
Expressing its satisfaction
Fulfilling
Fully alarmed
Fully aware
Fully believing
Further deploring
Further recalling
Guided by
Having adopted
Having considered
Having considered further
Having devoted
Having examined
Having heard
Having received
Having studied
Keeping in mind
Noting with deep concern
Noting with approval
Noting further
Noting with regret
Noting with satisfaction
Observing
Reaffirming
Realizing
Recalling
Recognizing
Referring
Seeking
Taking into account
Taking into consideration
Taking notes
Welcoming
Sample preambulatory clauses:
Aware of the existence of Agenda 21 on the conservation and management of resources for development,
Alarmed by the recent lack of action from the UN member states in the area of toxic waste disposal,
Deeply concerned with the 20% increase in toxic waste production over the last 5 years,
Stage 3 – Operative Clauses
Now, transform the “Action to be Taken” ideas into the mosNewt important part of the resolution – the operative clauses. The operative clauses are what you think should happen. They suggest action and solutions to the problem given. Operative clauses are still not sentences, and are seperated with semicolons. Operative clauses are preceeded by a number and begin with operative phrases, that, like preabulatory phrases, are always italicized or underlined. Examples are:
Accepts
Affirms
Approves
Authorizes
Calls
Calls upon
Condemns
Confirms
Congratulates
Considers
Declares accordingly
Deplores
Designates
Draws the attention
Emphasizes
Encourages
Endorses
Express its appreciation
Express its hope
Further invites
Further proclaims
Further reminds
Further recommends
Further request
Further resolve
Has resolved
Notes
Proclaims
Reaffirms
Recommends
Regrets
Reminds
Request
Solemnly Affirms
Strongly condemns
Supports
Takes note of
Transmit
Trust
Urges
Uniting the Nations through Model United Nations Chp. 4 pg. 60-61
-Provide words and phrases to introduce both Premabulatory and Operative Clauses
-Structure of a Draft Resolution

Writing a Resolution:
Stage 1 - Planning
A resolution is a document with a very specific format which is often hard to follow. In this stage you will plan out your resolution. The best way to do this is divide a page into two sections. One should be for “Basic Knowledge” and the other “Action to be Taken”.
In the “Basic Knowledge” section, write down all the information that delegates might need to know to understand the rest of the resolution. This may include definitions, dates, names of documents, certain facts.
Example: If the topic was “Access to Clean Water”, some good basic knowledge would include:
Explanation of documents such as UNDHR
Facts such as "3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.."
In the “Action to be Taken” section, write down all the things that should be done to help improve the situation.
Ex.
Digging Wells
Reducing Pollution of Freshwater Sources
Stop over irrigation

Research Questions: pg. 43-44 Uniting the World Through Model United Nations provides clear and concise questions for research. The questions below are a little more complex but also useful for students.
http://www.unausa.org/munpreparation/research/countryinformation
What sort of government does your country have?
Committee Research Questions: www.unausa.org
http://www.unausa.org/munpreparation/research/conferencetopics
your country?
What has your country done to combat the problem?
What are the various “sides” in the debate?
Is there evidence or statistics that might help to back up your country’s position?
Links to Maps that can be useful for Country Background Research:
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