Social Sciences & Humanities Library

Model United Nations and United Nations Research University of California, San Diego

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. Researchers 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 to assist Model UN participants in their research.

1. 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 researchers need. Europa World Year Book is a particularly good source, providing an overview of the country's government, recent history, and economy as well as current statistical information. Additional sources include the United States State Department's Background Notes, in paper and online, and Statesman's Year Book. Two publication series of the the Economist [Magazine's] Intelligence Unit are also helpful: the annual Country Profile and quarterly Country Report series. The Country Profiles provide a very current overview of domestic political and economic policies for over 160 countries. For current news, consult the World News Connection on the Internet (see the Reference Desk for login instructions and password). Finally, the United States Department of the Army Area Handbook Series in paper and online provides an exhaustive source of background information on the social, cultural, historical, political and economic context in individual countries. Their publication pattern (only five to ten countries per year) reduces their usefulness for most Model UN participants.

2. Gather Background Information on the United Nations Organization

Successful participation at a Model UN session requires a basic understanding of the United Nations organization, including its structure and rules of procedures. 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 and Basic Facts about the United Nations. 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. 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.

3. Gather Background Information on the Assigned Issues

As 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 of the USA publishes an annual, A Global Agenda: Issues before the General Assembly 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 Yearbook of the United Nations 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. However, the Yearbook is published behind schedule; the latest version is the 1995 edition.

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. Current information about activities of the UN organizations is available by searching the United Nations News database.

4. 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 statements by representatives of a particular country, search the electronic United Nations Index UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM, the catalog of the Dag Hammarskjold Library in New York and the United Nations Office at Geneva. (access at RefNet terminals in the SSH Library).

5. Review Policy Statements from the Country's Political Leadership

There are other useful sources for locating official statements of policy from foreign countries. One commonly-used source 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 Index on CD-ROM is accessible at all CD-ROM InfoStations throughout the SSH Library.

Note that the FBIS Index covers the period 1977 through September 13, 1996. It refers the researcher to the full text documents which are available on microfiche in the SSH Reference area. Current news and information is found on the internet via World News Connection. NOTE: This search is restricted to UCSD users only. Click here for a sample search.

Other sources include newsletters and other information emanating from the Embassies of foreign states in the United States.

6. Study the Texts of Resolutions Sponsored by the Country

Model UN participants are interested in resolutions and draft resolutions for several reasons. First, they serve as examples for writing their own resolutions in terms of form. 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 United Nations Index UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM (access at RefNet terminals in the SSH Library). 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. The United Nations Index UNBIS Plus contains full-text masthead Resolutions from the General Assembly beginning with its 36th session (1981-), the Security Council beginning with its 29th year (1974-), and the Economic and Social Council from 1982. 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 website includes the full text for General Assembly resolutions, Economic and Social Council resolutions , and Security Council resolutions. Full-text UN Resolutions (mastheads) are now included on the United Nations Index on CD-ROM (access at RefNet terminals in the SSH Library). The full-text of a Resolution document is appended to the bibliographic citation and is noted at the beginning of the citation with the phrase "The full-text of this document follows its citation".

7. 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. Voting records are available on United Nations Index UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM, which contains the records for all resolutions which were adopted either without a vote or by roll-call or recorded vote by the General Assembly (A/) beginning with its 38th session (1983-) and the Security Council (S/) beginning with its 1st year (1946-). Selected key resolution voting records are found in the Yearbook of the United Nations (OPI/ Y37 SSH Docs UN Ref). Also see Voting practices in the United Nations ( published by the United States Department of State. It assesses voting on key issues on a country by country basis, by geographic region and bloc grouping, and in comparison with the U.S. voting record. Consult Roger for volumes in the series Nations on Record, published by the Canadian Peace Research Institute.

• 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.

The United Nations Index UNBIS Plus is a quarterly index which includes ten different databases providing access to United Nations and non-United Nations publications at the Dag Hammarskjold Library in New York and the Library of the United Nations in Geneva. The United Nations Index is a monthly index to all publications of the United Nations, many of which we receive in microfiche.

In addition to these CD-ROMs, try the new internet search engine developed by the Dag Hammerskjold Library, UN-I-QUE (United Nations Info Quest), a database designed to provide quick access to document symbols/sales numbers for UN materials (1946 onwards).

• United Nations
• The United Nations Cyber School Bus for Model UN Research
• UN-I-QUE (United Nations Info Quest)
• United Nations Scholar's Workstation (Yale)
• Foreign Government Websites
• Embassy Newsletters and Publications
• International Organizations Websites

• University of Arizona
• University of California at Berkeley

• American Model UN, Chicago
• University of California at Berkeley
• European Model United Nations
• Harvard University
• McGill University
• University of Pennsylvania

• U. S. Department of the Army Area Handbook Series
• U. S. Department of State Background Notes
• General Assembly resolutions
• Economic and Social Council resolutions
• Security Council resolutions