The United Nations and Model United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose membership consists of governments. It has six principal organs - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. In addition, the United Nations system includes thirteen specialized agencies that focus on social, cultural, economic, health, education and other humanitarian fields.

The United Nations system was established in 1945 after the Second World War and when the Charter was ratified by five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, United Kingdom, United States and the Russian Federation) and the remaining 46 signatory governments. The membership of the organization has increased significantly over the years.

The primary purpose of the United Nations are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; to foster international cooperation for solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems; to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these common ends. When governments sign and ratify the Charter of the United Nations they declare that they will abide by the provisions and obligations outlined in the Charter and in effect promise the international community to fulfill these obligations through peaceful means.

The Charter of the United Nations establishes the principles and diplomatic rules for the post World War II era. It provides a level playing field for intergovernmental negotiations and the way consensus on global issues can be fairly and honestly achieved. The U.N. validates the priority of diplomacy over the use of force in the heart of the United Nations. It is the currency of governments when they debate and negotiate the issues at the United Nations. Through diplomacy, the decisions of the United Nations are made and the common ends of the international community are determined.

The U.N. has a vast agenda that covers nearly all conceivable global concerns including the environment, human rights, education, economic and industrial development, women's issues, children's and youth's needs, drugs, disarmament, atomic energy, food and hunger, disaster relief, refugees, wars, and international law. The U.N. member states address these issues on a continuous basis and they often take years to reach a consensus on action plans or decisions.

The Model United Nations places you into the shoes of the U.N. diplomats. You address the same issues, in the same way, that the real diplomats confront them at the United Nations. The biggest difference between the Model U.N. and the U.N. is time. The U.N. works continuously year after year, while the Model U.N. lasts from a few hours to four or five days. The compression of time of the Model U.N. makes the simulation very intense and at times extremely frustrating.

To reach agreement on complex global issues at a Model U.N. is often very difficult and sometimes it does not materialize. The goal for both the Model U.N. and the U.N. is to reach a consensus in resolving global problems. The successful Model U.N. experience is measured by how well you negotiate and build consensus. It should enable you to learn what people in different regions feel is important today - their concerns and hopes for the future; major developments which are changing the world; how the nations of the U.N. can improve peoples' lives and create a fairer world system; and, skills and behavior which contribute to international cooperation.

Another important part of the Model U.N. involves the organization and administration of the U.N. simulation. The ways of conducting a Model U.N. range from small single classroom settings involving 15 to 30 students to large national inter-school conferences with over 2,000 students. The scale and scope of any Model U.N. is determined by the resources of the organizers and the anticipated number of students who will participate. One of the greatest assets of the Model U.N. is its simplicity. It doesn't necessarily require advance technologies, large budgets, or extravagant environs to be conducted. It can be held in either a regular classroom or a large convention hotel. No matter how large or how small, the Model U.N. must include a meeting place, officers of the U.N. body being simulated, rules of procedure, and a secretariat to serve the needs of the participants.