Historical Council Rules of Procedure 11th – 17th July 2011
Introduction to the Historical Council Dear delegate, First off, we would like to warmly welcome you to the Historical Council (HC) of the 2011 edition of TEIMUN. The HC revolves around the simulation of an important event in diplomatic history, and this year, we will be re-enacting the Yalta Conference, 1945. From the 4th to the 11th of February, the leaders of the three principal Allied powers met in the seaside resort of Yalta, on the Crimea: Winston Churchill represented the United Kingdom, Franklin D. Roosevelt the United States, and Josef Stalin the Soviet Union. Yalta still ranks as one of the most important summits, and one of the most misunderstood, of the twentieth century. In the space of one week, the ‘Big Three’ broached a panoply of issues: the borders of the Soviet Union, Poland and Germany, the procedure and structure of the new United Nations, the war against Japan, the possible dismemberment of Germany, the question of reparations and the treatment of Nazi war criminals were all discussed. During TEIMUN, you yourself will step into the shoes of one of the men – sadly, they were all men – who had a hand in laying the foundations of the world after the Second World War. This brief document will serve to explain how the council is set up, how it will operate, and how you should prepare yourself for the conference. We do strongly advise you to read it, even if you are already familiar with MUN and with historical simulations in particular. Firstly, you will not be expected to simply play out history. We will start our simulation of the summit at 4 February 1945. Everything that has happened up to that date is given as historical fact. Beyond that, we do not have to stick to history. Part of the goal of the simulation is to see if it is possible to come up with different, and perhaps better, solutions than those that were actually reached. In order to do so accurately, you will have to try and forget some of the things you know. To take one example, the use of the atomic bomb against Japan and its surrender soon after had made the agreements at Yalta about Soviet participation in the Pacific war unnecessary. Yet at the time of Yalta, only very few were aware of the Manhattan Project, and none of them knew if and when it would be successful. It certainly helps to be aware of the post-Yalta history, but do not feel constrained by it: things could have gone differently. At Yalta, you will play the role of an advisor, cabinet member or senior military officer in one of the three delegations: the USA, the UK or the Soviet Union. Here, we have interpreted history a little liberally: in order to have interesting roles for every delegate, we have included a number of people that were not actually present at Yalta. As such, you will not only represent a country, but also a person. The character you play may have strong personal views on a certain issue, or he may be informed by the role he has in the cabinet (a Foreign
Minister will have different priorities than the Chief of Staff). Thus, there will be room for discussions both between the three different countries in plenary sessions, and within your delegation at routinely scheduled cabinet meetings in different rooms. The roles of the Big Three will be taken on by us, the three committee Chairs. The Big Three will chair the plenary session in turns, and each leader will chair meetings of his own cabinet. To prepare yourself for the conference, you will receive a briefing book from the leader of your delegation. This book contains background information on the war, your country’s diplomatic relations, the agenda of the conference, and your country’s policies and priorities. Each book is composed to reflect the priorities of your country: a major issue for the Soviet Union may just receive a mention in passing in the British briefing book, for example. The book is classified as top secret, and we mean it. If you are in the HC with friends, do not show it to them. The Soviet delegates in particular may want to ponder the consequences of such indiscretion. In addition to reading the briefing book, you are advised to make yourself broadly familiar, if you are not already, with the events leading up to, and during, the Second World War. Moreover, we expect you to have detailed knowledge of your country and the character you represent – although we recognise this is more difficult in some cases than in others. In your briefing book you will find a list of books, websites and articles for your consideration. Before the conference, you will be asked to submit a policy memo to your leader, outlining what you consider to be the key issues, and your policy recommendations. Any questions on the proceedings of the Historical Council can be directed to our email address: hc@teimun.org. We are eagerly looking forward to seeing you in July, for what is sure to be a unique, challenging and entertaining committee. See you at TEIMUN! Cees Heere, Laure Lusteau and Wesley Stuurman, Chairs, Historical Council
Appendix: Rules of Procedure The three summits of the ‘Big Three’ – Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam -, did not follow set rules of procedure. All three were small-scale conferences in which formality was quickly sacrificed to efficiency and familiarity, often to the frustration of accompanying officials. In that light, using formal TEIMUN rules would unfortunately be both anachronistic and impractical. We plan to structure the conference along the following lines. Please note well, that on issues of language, courtesy, dress code, attendance, and the authority of the Committee Chairs and the Secretariat, normal TEIMUN rules apply in full. For clarification of
the terms used in the following rules, we also refer you to the TEIMUN Rules of Procedure. 1. Chairing The three heads of delegation (Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill) shall chair conference proceedings in rotation. When occupying the Chair, the head of delegation shall take on chairing duties, while retaining his rights as head of delegation: he may make speeches, propose motions, and vote. When not chairing, the delegation leader shall have the same rights as any delegate. In his role as Chair, the Chairperson shall direct discussion, award the right to speak, and rule on points or motions. Decisions of the Chair are open to appeal, and can be repealed by a two-thirds majority following a procedural vote. 2. Delegations/Delegates Each country will be represented by a delegation of nine. Each delegate has the right to vote individually on procedural matters. Substantive matters require the approval of the delegation as a unit. Regular cabinet meetings will be scheduled during conference proceedings, but at any time it will be possible, at the discretion of the Chair, to motion for an adjournment of the conference (procedural, simple majority) for the purpose of a cabinet meeting.
3. Quorum At the beginning of every session, the Chair shall conduct a roll call by delegation in alphabetical order. Delegates shall establish their presence by stating that they are “Present”. There is no “Present and Voting.”Delegates arriving late will send a note to both the Chair and their delegation leader, stating their presence. The Chair will declare a meeting open when all three delegations have at least six (6) out of nine (9) members present. The presence of quorum is necessary for a substantive matter to be decided on. 4. Memoranda, declarations and the Conference Protocol. The conference will be able to produce two different documents: a memorandum and a declaration. A memorandum is the written record of an agreement between the parties. It has no formally dictated structure, but a point-by-point approach would be much appreciated. Memoranda considered too sensitive for public announcement may be declared secret. A declaration is a statement of intentions, which, like the Atlantic Charter, can be out of itself a very powerful document, but is not considered legally binding on any of the signatories. All memoranda and declarations signed by all three delegations will be combined into a single protocol, which, when signed and ratified, shall have the legal force of a treaty. Please note that none of the three leaders present have the de jure power to ratify a treaty or convention – although in practice, Stalin’s word is law in the Soviet Union. The Congress and the House of Commons will have to ratify
the protocol in order for it to be binding on the USA and Great Britain, respectively. In addition, any two parties will have the opportunity to conclude public or secret agreements with each other, or issue a joint declaration. All memoranda and declarations will be considered substantive. This means that they will need to be approved by a majority of the members of all three delegations, including the leader. 5. Agenda The first order of business of the conference shall be to debate how to structure the conference proceedings. Given the great extent to which certain issues, e.g. the new Polish and German borders, are interlinked, insisting on the structure as presented in the briefing book will not always be practical. In addition, certain issues will have a much higher priority for one delegation than for the others. Therefore, we advise you to find a way in which all issues can be dealt with in an efficient and streamlined fashion. The Chair will hear proposals on how to structure debate after opening the first plenary session. The agreement reached on the conference structure may be said to be informal and can be renegotiated if necessary. It will, however, require the approval of all three delegations in order for debate to function. 6. Debate Discussion will be conducted as open debate. There is no speakers list. If you wish to speak, you simply raise your placard until the Chair recognises you. Delegates can motion for a moderated caucus (procedural, simple majority required) to focus debate on a certain issue. When motioning for a moderated caucus, the delegate making the motion will state the duration, speaker’s time and topic. If he wishes the discussion to be moderated by anyone other than the current Chair, he will also specify a moderator. Informal discussion can take place during unmoderated caucus (procedural, simple majority). Moderated and unmoderated caucuses can be extended once, and the leghth of the extension shall not exceed the original duration. Any delegate is at liberty to distribute notes or maps illustrating their proposal to the committee. If he wishes to do so, he will announce this to the Chair. 7. Drafts In order to be voted on, any memorandum or declaration will first have to be formally introduced. A draft represents the views of an entire delegation, rather than a single delegate. Therefore, in order to be introduced, a draft is required to be read, approved and signed by the head(s) of delegation of the draftees. The draft may then be formally introduced through a motion (procedural, simple majority), and is at that point considered officially on the floor. The Chair shall arrange for copies to be distributed to the committee, and may call on one of the draftees to read the memorandum out loud. A draft memorandum cannot be amended while on the floor. Instead, if a memorandum needs to be changed, it
can be withdrawn by the delegation(s) that proposed them (no motion required), and re-introduced through a new motion. 8. Points Points of personal privilege, order and information are allowed. Only a point of personal privilege may interrupt a speaker. There is no right of reply. 9. Voting All declarations and memoranda require a formal vote before they will be entered into the conference protocol. When a formal vote is about to take place, the Chair will announce this to the committee. During a substantive vote, the Chair shall inquire of each delegation whether it assents to the proposed declaration or memorandum. A substantive vote requires the agreement of all three delegations to pass, and a delegation will be said to agree only when a majority of its members, including its leader, assents. There is no division of the question, voting with rights, or a roll call vote. When a memorandum passes, the issues covered in the memorandum shall be considered to be dealt with, and if necessary, the Chair shall re-open discussion on which issue to tackle next. 10.
Precedence
These are all the points and motions, in order of precedence: • • • • • • • • 11.
Point of Personal Privilege Point of Order Point of Information Motion to Appeal the Decision of the Chair Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus Motion for a Moderated Caucus Motion to Adjourn the Meeting Motion to Suspend the Meeting Alterations to the Rules
In case of a procedural issue not covered by these rules, the Chair will make a decision that he considers as complying with the spirit of these rules. In this event, the Chair will announce to the Conference that he makes use of this rule.