HOW TO WRITE A DRAFT RESOLUTION by THIMUN

I –What Is A Resolution?
Before an MUN Conference, you write one or two draft resolutions. The issues of the resolutions can be found in the agenda of the conference. With a draft resolution in your hand, you will participate actively during the debates. A resolution is initially a formal statement of a proposal to a UN Council, Committee or Commission. It consists of one long, but coherent, sentence divided into clauses and sub-clauses. A resolution should not represent the position of one country but rather of a majority of the UN member states.

II – How To Write A Resolution?
The language of a UN resolution is very formal, diplomatic and somewhat legalistic. In order to help you, please read the 4 following questions:

A – What is the preamble?
The preamble is the introduction of the resolution. It contains the background and the argumentation to the issue you have chosen.

B – How to write the preambulatory clauses?
You will write your references to former UN resolutions, ratified conventions, and/or declarations. You will provide official figures, the most recent ones possible, to illustrate the issue. You will congratulate countries and/or organizations (i.e. UN organizations, NGOs) which have worked on the issue. You will emphasize the difficulties that have been encountered in the past. You will need to begin the perambulatory clauses with a present or a past participle or an adjective. See the following list:

PREAMBULATORY PHRASES
Acknowledging, Affirming, Alarmed by, Approving, Aware of, Believing, Bearing in mind, Confident, Congratulating, Convinced, Declaring, Deeply concerned, Deeply conscious, Deeply disturbed, Deeply regretting, Deploring, 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 devoted attention, Having examined, Having received, Having studied, Keeping in mind, Noting further, Noting with appreciation, Noting with approval, Noting with deep concern, Noting with regret, Noting with satisfaction, Observing, Pointing out, Reaffirming, Realizing, Recalling, Recognizing, Referring, Reminding, Seeking, Taking into account, Taking into consideration, Viewing with appreciation, Welcoming

C – What are the operative clauses?
The operative clauses contain the policy statements of the body making the resolution. The clauses should be clear and unambiguous. They present by order of importance what the UN should do or what attitude it should adopt.

D – How to write the operative clauses?
This question is the most difficult one. You must ensure that your proposals are actually workable and that they fully reflect the existing policies of the country or agency that you represent. You encourage, and/or invite countries to sign/ratify a convention/declaration. You may propose, welcome or deplore all new situations. You may support, congratulate or refuse new proposals. You may confirm, regret what it is already existing. You have to begin the operative clauses with verbs in the third person singular of the Present Tense. See the following list.

OPERATIVE PHRASES
Accepts, Affirms, Approves, Asks, Authorizes, Calls for, Calls upon, Congratulates, Confirms, Declares accordingly, Deplores, Designates, Encourages, Endorses, Expresses its satisfaction,, Expresses its hope, Further recommends, Hopes, Invites, Proclaims, Proposes, Recommends, Regrets, Requests, Resolves, Seeks, Strongly affirms, Strongly urges, Suggests, Supports, Trusts, Transmits, Urges

Rather than just borrowing/copying clauses from UN resolutions or resolutions from previous conferences, you will be in a much better position to defend and debate during the conference if you write your own resolution from scratch.

III – How To Present A Resolution?
The heading, which appears on each page, must state specific information:
FORUM: you write down the forum you belong to.
QUESTION OF: you copy the issue of the resolution.
SUBMITTED BY: you write down the name of your delegation country or organisation.
The opening verb of each clause is underlined. There is a line-space between each clause. The lines of the resolution are NOT numbered. Each operative clause IS numbered. The sub-clauses begin with a), b), c), etc.; sub-sub-clauses begin with i), ii), iii), etc. Acronyms and abbreviation are written out in full the first time they are used. Each preambulatory clause is followed by a comma. Each operative clause is followed by a semicolon. There is only one full stop, that is, at the END of the resolution. Do make sure that you not only take a number of hard copies of your draft resolution but also an electronic version (e.g. USB, flashdisk, iPod, etc.). You should have enough copies to distribute to other members of his forum during the lobbying process.