Hello UN Security Council Delegates, Welcome to CHIPMUNC I!

I will explain some unique aspects of the UNSC to you: The UNSC operates in a different fashion than the other committees. During committee sessions, crises erupt, and the UNSC must maintain international peace, security, and stability. Current and time-sensitive issues are the UNSCs priority. Thus, the topic discussed in the background guide will be a secondary topic. Expect the committee to be fast paced and dynamic. Therefore, I highly recommend some extra research. This should be in the form of knowing your countrys bloc, its regional and global interests, and its allies. The crises can be related to a multitude of things; therefore, a broad knowledge base and adhering to country policy are your best tools. In the UNSC, some Conference Rules and Procedures are different: Time: Since the Security Council is a crises committee, we will either be working under real time conditions, or we will be fast forwarding through time. Your actions (in the form of communiqus, press releases, resolutions, or even inaction) will determine the path of the general crises. Roundtable Discussion: In the UNSC, there is a third type of debate. The roundtable discussion is essentially the frontier between moderated and unmoderated caucuses. When a motion for a roundtable discussion is introduced, the delegate must state its length and time. In this form of debate, any delegate may speak without recognition from the Chair. During the discussion, delegates must remain courteous. Only one delegate may speak at a time, and once a delegate finishes speaking, another may simply jump in. Delegates must remain mindful of the time, and the Chair may intervene if someone speaks for too long or off topic. Veto Power: Can only be used by the P5 (US, UK, France, Russia, and China) and is not applicable to procedural votes. Therefore, it may only be exercised when voting on a resolution, sending a communiqu, or authorizing a press release. Press Release: The purpose of these is to inform the public about the UNSCs stance or to discourage/encourage certain actions by the public. These can have a varied effect on the crisis. Communiqus: Individual delegates or the Security Council as a whole may contact countries, country leaders, NGOs, other leaders involved in a crisis, and several other organizations. The purpose for contact may be to request information about a crisis, request an opinion, request an action etc. The committee will mostly respond to UNSC communiqus given that these have the full weight of the UNSC. During the conference, individual delegates (or the Security Council) may be contacted at random as well. Delegates are free to share or keep the information to themselves. Resolutions: Due to crises and their continuity, the UNSC will pass several resolutions which do not require preambulatory clauses. The topic from the background guide may be addressed in this manner also (a resolution can focus on a single section/issue at a time rather than the whole topic to increase efficiency). The UNSC has a variety of tools- it can direct other UN bodies to act, enact sanctions, authorize military action by individual countries, deploy peacekeepers etc. The actions taken by the UNSC are binding on all UN member states, as established by the UN Charter. Gary Castellanos Director, UNSC Centennial High School