North Country Model United Nations
Monday, September 11, 2006
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Security Council Rules of Procedure
All
meetings of the Security Council shall be conducted according to these Rules of
Procedure. The Co-Secretary Generals shall decide upon all matters not clearly
defined by the President or. Rules may at any time be suspended or otherwise
changed by the President at his discretion in order to ensure the smooth
operation of the Security Council.
The
Co-Secretary Generals may, in advance of the conference, add members of the
Security Council for a number exceeding fifteen (15). The five (5) permanent
members shall retain their veto power, while the remaining nations will have
standard voting rights. Voting ratios will be changed accordingly and will be
announced at the beginning of the first session.
The
Security Council shall meet accordingly to the schedule set by the Co-Secretary
Generals.
Additional
meetings of the Security Council shall be held at the call of the President at
any time he/she deems necessary.
The
provisional agenda for the Security Council shall be determined by the President
in consultation with the representatives of the member states. The provisional
agenda shall be divided into topic areas. Each draft resolution shall be placed
under the heading of the appropriate topic area.
The
first item on the agenda shall be changes in the agenda.
Additional
topic areas may be added to the agenda if a dispute or situation is brought to
the Security Council under Article 11 (3), Chapter VII of the Charter, or if the
representatives so decide. Additional topic areas will be placed at the end of
the agenda.
The
order of the topic areas to be considered by the Security Council may be changed
by a motion to change the agenda. Two speakers may speak in favor of the motion,
two against. Passage requires a simple majority of members present and voting.
Each
member of the Security Council shall be represented at all meetings of the
Security Council by an accredited representative.
The
Co-Secretary Generals have accepted the credentials of all representatives in
advance of the first session; therefore, if a delegate questions the credentials
of a Council member, he/she will be ruled out of order.
Any
member of the United Nations who is not a member of the Security Council may be
invited by the President at the request of the Council to participate, without
vote, in the discussion of any question before the Security Council when the
President deems his/her presence necessary or relevant to the discussion.
The
President may invite to address the Security Council any person that he/she
considers competent to provide the Council with information.
The
President and Vice President of the Security Council shall be appointed by the
Co-Secretary Generals.
The
President shall preside over all meetings of the Security Council and, under its
authority, shall represent it in its capacity as an organ of the United Nations.
The
President shall not vote.
The
President may temporarily appoint the Vice President to the position of
acting-President, with all duties of the President.
In
addition to exercising the powers conferred to him/her elsewhere in these rules,
the President shall:
a)
Declare the opening and closing of each session;
b)
Direct the discussion in the meetings, interpret the Rules of Procedure, and
ensure the maintenance of parliamentary order;
c)
Accord the right to speak;
d)
Put the question to a vote and announce decisions;
e)
Limit the number of times a delegate may speak on a question;
f)
Open and close a list of speakers, or dispense with such a list;
g)
Limit the length of speeches;
h)
Close debate;
The
Co-Secretary Generals or a deputy in their behalf may at any time make to the
Security Council either written or oral statements concerning any question under
consideration.
The
Co-Secretary Generals may take whatever steps he/she deems necessary to further
the smooth and proper functioning of the Security Council.
A
quorum for the conduct of business shall be twelve members.
The
Security Council has the power to appoint a commission, committee, or rapporteur
to deal with a specific question.
English
shall be the official and working language of the Security Council.
A
Speaker’s List shall be formed under the direction of the President prior to
the discussion of each topic area.
No
representative shall address the Security Council without previously obtaining
the permission of the President.
The
President may call a speaker to order if his/her remarks are not considered
relevant to the topic under consideration.
The
President may impose limits of time upon each speaker.
A
delegate who has been granted the right to speak on a substantive issue (during
general debate or debate on an amendment) may yield in one of three ways:
a)
He/she may yield to another delegate. That delegate may use the remainder
of that time, but may not yield to another delegate, including the original
speaker, or to questions.
b)
He/she may yield to questions from the floor. Questioners shall be
selected by the President, and the number of questions shall be at his
discretion. The President will also decide which questions shall be asked of the
speaker.
c) He/she may yield to the chair if he/she does not wish to answer questions or have his/her speech commented upon.
Delegates
may propose resolutions for consideration on any of the topic areas. The author
or authors of a resolution are called its sponsor or sponsors, and the name or
names of the sponsor or sponsors shall appear in the heading of the resolution.
To reach the floor of the Security Council, a resolution must be signed by seven
member nations, the President, and the Vice President. Signing a resolution
indicates a desire to hear debate on that resolution, not support of it, and a
signer has no other rights or obligations. Sponsors shall be counted as signers.
After introduction of the resolution, it shall be considered the work of the
Security Council as a whole, and sponsor’s names will not be listed on the
final copy.
At
any time when the floor is open, a delegate may rise to introduce a resolution
dealing with any of the topic areas. A resolution may not be introduced until it
has the necessary signatures, has the approval of the President and Vice
President, and has been duplicated so that members and the staff have copies. At
the time of introduction, no substantive comments are in order. Resolutions
shall be numbered by the President for the purpose of reference.
At
any time during the discussion of a topic dealt with by a specific resolution
introduced to the Security Council, a member may move to amend that resolution.
Amendments must be signed by five delegates, the President, and the Vice
President. Upon the introduction of an amendment, debate on the resolution shall
be suspended. A speaker's list for and against the amendment shall be drawn up,
and discussion of the amendment shall take precedence. Amendments require
twelve-nation support to be incorporated into
a resolution. Once the Security Council has acted upon an amendment, the
previous speaker’s list shall be resumed.
If
the President deems an amendment to clearly violate the intent of the
resolution, he/she may declare the amendment out of order.
Tertiary
amendments are out of order.
During
the discussion of any matter, even when another representative is speaking, a
delegate may rise to a point of order to complain of improper parliamentary
procedure. The point of order shall be immediately decided upon by the President
in accordance with these Rules of Procedure.
A
representative may rise to a point of information, after a speaker has finished
speaking, but still has the floor. A point of information is a request for
information from the speaker. The President has the right to limit the number of
points of information.
A
point of inquiry is a question concerning procedural matters and is directed at
the President. A delegate may not interrupt a speaker with a point of inquiry.
Whenever
a delegate suffers personal discomfort that impairs his ability to follow
proceedings, he/she may rise to a point of personal privilege. A point of
personal privilege may interrupt a speaker but should be used with utmost
discretion.
The
President may, at his/her discretion, accord a right of reply to a delegate
whose personal or national integrity has been impugned by another delegate. The
representative should request a reply immediately after the offending remark.
The decision of the President is not appealable.
The
reply has a time limit of 30 seconds and shall be granted immediately following
the formal speech of the offending delegate.
A
right of reply on a right of reply is out of order.
A
motion, resolution, or amendment may be withdrawn by its sponsor(s) at any time
before debate on that motion has been closed, providing the item has not been
amended. An item, which has been withdrawn, may be immediately re-introduced by
another representative. Delegates may gain recognition of the President for this
purpose by use of a point of personal privilege, but only when the floor is
open.
The
decision of the President on a procedural matter, unless otherwise specified in
these rules, may be challenged by a motion to appeal. The challenging delegate
shall state his reasons for appeal, and the President shall explain his/her
ruling. The ruling shall then be put to a vote, and will stand unless overruled
by twelve member.
During
the discussion of any topic, a delegate may move to postpone debate on either
the entire topic or a resolution on that topic. Two representatives may speak in
favor of the motion and two against. Postponement requires twelve votes in
favor.
Once
any substantive motion has intervened after a postponement of debate, a delegate
may move to resume debate on that item. Two representatives may speak in favor,
two against. Resumption requires twelve votes in favor.
A
representative may move to close debate on a resolution under discussion
regardless of whether any other representatives have specified a desire to speak
on the resolution. This motion is only in order when at least two speakers on
each side have been heard or upon the exhaustion of the speaker’s list. One
representative may speak in favor of closure and one against. Closure of debate
requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting.
Once
a substantive motion has been adopted or rejected, a motion for reconsideration
may be made by a representative who voted with the prevailing side. One speaker
may speak in favor of this motion and one in opposition. Reconsideration
requires a two-thirds majority to pass. Once this has been achieved, the matter
shall be considered.
During
the discussion of any matter, a delegate may move to recess the meeting. The
President may refuse to entertain such a motion should he/she deem it in the
best interest of the Security Council. Otherwise, the motion will be put to an
immediate vote.
The
President shall entertain and decide upon a motion for adjournment. Adjournment
is in order only at the end of the conference.
After
debate on any resolution or amendment has been closed, a delegate may move to
vote separately on the operative parts of the proposal. If objection is made to
the request for division, the motion for division shall be voted on. The motion
is debatable to the extent of one speaker for and one against, and requires a
majority of members present and voting. If the motion passes, the proposal shall
be divided accordingly, and the individual sections shall be voted on
separately. Those parts of the substantive proposal which are subsequently
passed shall be recombined into the final resolution or amendment and be put to
a vote as a whole. If all the operative parts of the proposal are rejected, the
proposal shall be considered to have been rejected as a whole.
The
following motions have precedence over all principal motions and resolutions in
the order that they are listed:
a)
Adjournment (Rule 41)
b)
Recess (Rule 40)
c)
Point of Personal Privilege (Rule 32)
d)
Point of Order (Rule 29)
e)
Closure of Debate (Rule 38)
f)
Appeal (Rule 35)
g)
Point of Inquiry (Rule 31)
h)
Point of Information (Rule 30)
i)
Withdrawal of Motions (Rule 34)
j)
Postponement of Debate (Rule 36)
k)
Division of the Question (Rule 42)
l)
Amendment (Rule 28)
m)
Alteration of Agenda (Rule 8)
n)
Resumption of Debates (Rule 37)
Any
motion for the suspension or adjournment of the meeting shall be decided upon
without debate. All other procedural motions shall have two speakers in favor
and two opposed, unless otherwise stated in these rules.
Each
member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
Decisions
of the Security Council on substantive matters shall be made by an affirmative
vote of twelve members, including the concerning votes of the five Permanent
members. A negative vote by any permanent member forbids the passage of an item.
Decisions
of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by the affirmative
votes of the majority of members present and voting unless otherwise noted
within these Rules of Procedure.
Voting
on all procedural matters shall be done by a show of placards unless otherwise
decided by the President. Voting on all other matters shall be done by roll
call.
The
roll call shall begin with a nation selected by the President and continue in
English alphabetical order. When answering on a roll call, a member shall reply
either “yes”, “no”, "abstain”, or “pass”. A member who passes
during the first sequence of voting must vote during the second sequence. Two
passes shall be considered an abstention.
After
the President has announced the beginning of voting, no delegate shall interrupt
the voting except with a Point of Order dealing with the conduct of the vote
itself. During voting procedure, no one, delegate or otherwise, shall be
permitted to enter or exit the room until the outcome of the vote has been
announced. There will be no note passing or discussion during voting procedures.
Immediately
before compiling the results of a vote, the President shall ask for changes in
vote. Only one change per member shall be allowed. Representatives may change
their vote to include a vote explanation.
The
President may permit member to explain their roll call votes on substantive
matters, providing they asked for this right when voting. The President will not
permit a sponsor of an item to explain an affirmative vote.
Delegates
will be permitted to pass notes during the session, but only through one of the
pages. Notes must be signed on the outside by the country sending the note and
properly addressed to the country that is to receive it on the outside of the
note. Notes being sent
inter-committee will be read by the chair and must be approved before it is sent
inter-committee. Notes sent to the
chair may be ruled Dilatory, Absurd, or Frivolous by the chair and the sender
may loose his/her note passing privileges.
Any notes that have a sexual or
racial connotation or are personally insulting to another delegate will be
turned over to the appropriate faculty advisor and the delegate will be asked to
LEAVE THE CONFERENCE.
The
chairperson of the session may, at his/her discretion, place warnings on
countries for acts considered undiplomatic. These warnings may not be appealed.
The penalty system follows:
1st
warning
no penalty
2nd
warning
no speaking, voting, or note
passing privileges
3rd
warning
removal of delegate from the room
Warnings
given are for the duration of each session.
The
Presiding Officer may rule a member out of order as dilatory, absurd, or
frivolous. That member alone may appeal the ruling of the Chair. If this appeal
is upheld, that member will be considered in order. If this appeal is not able
to receive the support of 2/3 of the members, that member is out of order and
shall be denied all the privileges to address the body or move any motion while
that item of the agenda under consideration remains before the body. That member
shall be accorded only the right to vote on motions under consideration.
All
delegates have the responsibility of conducting themselves in a diplomatic
manner. Undiplomatic conduct will be looked upon with extreme disfavor by the
secretariat. Violation of this rule may lead to immediate expulsion from the
current function.