Rules of Procedure at HNMUN-LA

The Rules of Procedure at HNMUN-LA are vital to collaborative and effective debate. By providing structure and guidelines, they enhance the substantive excellence of our conference. These rules serve as the backbone of the committee moderation, all delegates must read and understand them fully. To facilitate this, we have prepared multiple resources to prepare delegates for conferences. This includes the Rules of Procedure in three languages, alongside introductory videos. Inside the Rules of Procedure you will also find guidelines on how to research, write a position paper, a resolution paper, debate strategies, and more.

Important Notes

HNMUN-LA is a one-of-a-kind conference. It is not only the most prestigious conference of its kind, it also has some differences with other Model UN conferences across the globe. We have created a list of important notes for both delegates and faculty advisors to know about the conference.

  • Evaluation

    • Evaluation at HNMUN-LA is holistic and occurs at the discretion of the committee director. All Director’s are fully trained by Harvard National Model United Nations. All of them are staff in both Harvard Model UN and Harvard National Model UN. Most of them compete for Harvard on the Intercollegiate Model UN Team.

    • Evaluation occurs solely on the actions of a delegate between when debate opens and when voting procedures end. It is primarily based (but not limited by) the following criteria:

      • Use of Parliamentary Procedure

      • Country or Position Representation

      • Speaking and Presentation

      • Leadership and Diplomacy

      • Resolution or Directive Writing

      • Bloc Building

      • For Specialized Agencies: Interactions with the Backroom and Crisis Notes

  • Position Papers

    • Position papers are due a week before conference via MUNager!

  • Operating as Two Distinct Circuits

    • HNMUN-LA offers committees for both University and High School delegates. Both of these are distinct and independent from each other.

    • There must be no ties between delegations in the University and High School circuits, this includes not having University delegates serve as Faculty Advisors for High School delegates.

  • Assistant Directors

    • HNMUN-LA offers limited spots for Assistant Directors at conference. Assistant Directors must have no direct ties to any delegations or delegates.

    • While Assistant Directors can offer an opinion to the Director, all Directors have final say with substantive matters.

    • All Assistant Directors have undergone a rigorous selection process and training.

  • Feedback

    • All delegate feedback can only be given directly to the delegate and on an individual basis by Dais members.

    • All substantive feedback regarding committees can be given only to Directors and Secretariat members.

  • Debate

    • Delegates must not speak about substantive or debate matters outside of committee.

    • Delegates must not bring pre-written clauses or resolution papers to committee.

    • Delegates must form blocs based on positions not based on personal ties to delegates.

      • This means that individuals from the same delegation must never align or decide their votes collectively, voting is an individual matter.

    • Delegates can not use technology within committee unless when using Google Docs to draft working papers and resolutions, and only when these are shared to the Dais in the committee folder.

  • Respect and Diplomacy

    • At all times, delegates must maintain a spirit of diplomacy and respect at conference. Especially when relating to conference staff and other delegations.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to send an email to committees@hnmunla.org.

Substantive Preparation

We have prepared a couple of videos that can help illustrate the rules of procedure, they can be found here.

Rules of procedure