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Model United Nations Research at Stanford
Guide to Government Publications Series
CONTENTS
Each year approximately 60,000 high school and university students
participate in a variety of "Model United Nations" programs worldwide.
Each program is run independently, but goals common to all programs
are to increase international understanding and develop the art
of peaceful negotiation among potential national and international
leaders. Program participants are assigned a country that they will
represent in a simulated General Assembly session. Several international
political issues are identified by the group sponsoring the Model
UN session that will serve as the focus of discussions. Participants
meet, caucus, prepare policy papers, debate issues, draft and vote
on resolutions.
In order to successfully participate in the Model United Nations
program, participants must gain a basic understanding of the United
Nations--its structure and internal rules of procedure. They must
familiarize themselves with the foreign policy positions of their
assigned country, as well as its pattern of participation within
the United Nations. The country information that they will find
most useful includes: current political history; historical voting
patterns; speeches and statements from political leaders; resolutions
their country has sponsored; and groups of countries they have formed
coalitions with in drafting resolutions and voting on resolutions.
This guide identifies a seven-step strategy and key sources that
government documents reference librarians can use to assist Model
UN participants in their research.
- Familiarize yourself with the the country that you are
representing
A number of standard sources found in documents collections
are available for providing the current information they need.
Europa World Year Book (J106 E85 latest in Gov Docs
Reference; earlier in Green Stacks) is a particularly good source,
providing an overview of the country's government, recent history,
and economy as well as current statistical information. Alternatives
to this source include the United States State Department's
Background
Notes, (Gov Docs S1.123: ) and Statesman's Year Book
(JA51 S7 Gov Docs Reference--latest only). Two publication series
of the the Economist [Magazine's] Intelligence Unit are also
helpful: the annual Country Profileand quarterly Country
Report series (search Socrates for information on titles
available in Stanford libraries). The Country Profiles
provide a very current overview of domestic political and economic
policies for over 160 countries. Finally, the United States
Department of the Army Area
Handbook Series,(Gov Docs D101.22: ) provides an exhaustive
source of background information on the social, cultural, historical,
political and economic context in individual countries. However,
their publication pattern (only five to ten countries per year)
reduces their usefulness for all Model UN participants.
- Gather Background Information on the United Nations
Organization
Successful participation at a Model UN session requires a
baseline understanding of the United Nations organization itself,
including its structure and rules of procedures. Some very good
sources for obtaining this information include the latest editions
of two regularly-updated UN Department of Public Information
publications: Everyone's United Nations: A Handbook on the
Work of the United Nations (Gov Docs United Nations DPI/hdbk)
and Basic Facts about the United Nations (Gov Docs
United Nations DPI/991/). An excellent source for current information
on the organization's structure and membership is an annual
publication of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade, the United Nations Handbook(JX1977 A37 U5 Green
Library Stacks; latest in Gov Docs Reference). The rules of
procedure for each organ are published separately in the masthead
series. However, the latest version for each organ is conveniently
reproduced in the Chronology and Fact Book of the United
Nations: 1941-1991.(JX1977 A1 C5 Green Library Stacks;
latest in General Reference)
- Gather Background Information on the Assigned Issues
At the same time that Model UN participants immerse themselves
in the foreign policy stance of their assigned country, they
need to acquaint themselves with the international issue areas--and
the status of discussions at the UN in these areas--that are
on the agenda of their Model UN Session. The United Nations
Association--USA has published on an annual basis A Global
Agenda: Issues before the General Assembly (JX1977 A1 I79
Gov Docs Reference) which includes a good subject index and
references to UN documents related to all issues on the upcoming
agenda for the United Nations General Assembly. The United
Nations Yearbook (JX1977 A37 U65 Gov Docs Reference) provides
more detailed information and indexing for the entire UN organization
than is found in A Global Agenda, including selected
full-text resolutions and voting records. Another generally
underutilized source of background information is the annual
Annotated Preliminary List of Items to be Included in the
Provisional Agenda of the Regular Session of the General Assembly.
This document is shelved in the Government Documents UN collection
under the symbol number "A/sess.number/100". The document includes
the official preliminary agenda with corresponding background
information on the history of the issue within the UN and references
to related reports, resolutions, and meeting records.
For very current information, newspapers such as the New
York Times, The Times (London), Le Monde
and Le Monde Diplomatique include significant coverage
of United Nations activities as do magazines such as the United
Nations Chronicle and the Economist. And up to
date information about activities of the UN organizations is
available by searching
the United Nations Press Release database.
- Review Speeches at the UN by the Country's Representatives
Speeches and statements in discussions in meetings of the
principal organs of the United Nations (General Assembly, Economic
and Social Council, Security Council, Trusteeship Council)--and
their subsidiary standing and ad hoc committees-- are key sources
for establishing the international policy position of UN member
nations. To find references to statements by representatives
of a particular country, search the web-based
AccessUN database, inserting the country name into
the "author" field. (please note that the AccessUNdatabase
is a subscription service available to members of the Stanford
community)
- Review Policy Statements from the Country's Political
Leadership
There are other useful sources for locating official statements
of policy from foreign countries. Perhaps most important are
letters written by heads of state and foreign
ministers to the Secretary-General on issues of mutual interest.
To find references to these letters, search the web-based
AccessUN database, inserting the country name into
the "country" field.
A popular source for finding statements of official national
policy is the Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports
series which includes English-language translations of foreign
news broadcasts, press releases, newspaper articles, including
official government statements. The FBIS Daily Reports CD-ROM
is accessible at the Government Documents International/Foreign
CD-ROM Workstation. World News Connection is a web-based
version of a subset of the sources covered by the FBIS
cdrom. World News Connection is available on workstations
in the Jonsson Library as well as the Hoover Library's periodicals
room and the Law Library. Access to World News Connection
at these locations requires a password.. Ask at the reference
desk.
The British Broadcasting Corporation provides translations
in English of news reports worldwide, including statements of
government officials. These BBC Monitoring International Reports
(1996- ) are available online via Global Newsbank, a web-based
subscription service available to members of the Stanford community.
Other sources include newsletters and other information emanating
from the embassies of
foreign states in the United States.
- Study the Texts of Resolutions Sponsored by the Country
Model UN participants are interested in resolutions and draft
resolutions for several reasons. First, these documents serve
as examples for writing their own resolutions in terms of form.
But MUN participants are also interested in the content of the
resolutions that their own country has participated in sponsoring.
The official index for resolutions is UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM
(access at Government Documents International CD-ROM Workstation).
This quarterly publication contains a "Personal/Corporate Name"
index which identifies draft resolutions under each country
name and reference to specific document numbers in the masthead
documents series in which the draft resolution text can be located.
It is also possible to easily identify draft resolutions sponsored
by particular countries on selected topics by searching the
AccessUN database, inserting
the country name and phrase "draft resolution" into the "title"
field and desired topic in the "subject" field. A key advantage
of this database is that the retrieved reference will indicate
not only the resolution number, but also the names of the countries
that co- sponsored the resolution.
Draft resolutions that have been officially passed are first
printed in the masthead series (A/RES; S/RES; E/RES) and then
republished in a supplement to the Official Records for each
of the principal UN organs. The United Nations gopher includes
the full text for General Assembly resolutions,
Economic and
Social Council resolutions , and Security
Council resolutions. The most timely official index to General
Asssembly resolutions is an annual press release from the UN
Department of Public Information called Resolutions and
Decisions Adopted by the General Assembly during the First Part
of its...Session (Government Documents Reference unclassified)
This press release contains an excellent index to the resolutions
passed by the General Assembly during its longer session, including
the recorded vote and references to related reports.
- Develop an Understanding of the Country's Voting Pattern
Establishing the voting pattern for a nation in particular
issue areas at the United Nations is a challenge. The only source
for locating votes on draft resolutions in all of the four principal
organs is the record found in the summary ("SR") or verbatim
("PV") meeting record at which the vote on a draft resolution
is held.
For the record of all resolutions that have been passed, the
most current source for the General Assembly is the annual Resolutions
and Decisions press release cited above. Voting tables
for recent sessions of the General Assembly, Economic and Social
Council, and Security Council are available full text on UNBIS
Plus on CD- ROM. Selected key resolution voting records
are found in the United Nations Yearbook (Government
Documents Reference unclassified)
- An item is proposed by a country or countries for inclusion
in the provisional agenda of the General Assembly, or is held
over from the previous year.
- The item on provisional agenda is approved by the General Committee
of the General Assembly and assigned to one of the seven Main
Committees of the General Assembly or to the Plenary; the General
Assembly approves the recommendations of the General Committee.
- One of the main committees or Plenary discusses the item.
- Each member state gives its views in a general statement;
- A draft resolution is proposed;
- Amendments are proposed.
- The Committee votes on the draft resolution and amendments.
- If the draft resolution, as amended, is passed, the committee
reports to the General Assembly;
- If the draft resolution is not passed, the item is dropped.
- The General Assembly discusses the report of the committee and
its recommendation (which is the draft resolution which has passed
in the Committee)
- Further statements by member states may be made
- Further amendments may be proposed.
- The General Assembly votes on the draft resolution, as amended.
Last modified:
May 30, 2006
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