Draft Resolution 

Blog Description:

Some of the most asked questions related to MUN documentation revolve around DR.

This blog is a perfect guide to clear all your doubts, whether it be “What is a Draft Resolution?” “How to write a Draft Resolution” “ What is the format of a Draft Resolution” or simply to help you recall in brief about DR.

Let’s start with clearing up your very first concern “What is a Draft Resolution?” Draft Resolution or simply DR is a written proposal that delegates come up with to address a specific issue or problem mostly concerning their respective committee. It mainly contains the ideas, plans and proposals proposed by different countries that may be helpful in solving the issue,

keeping the spirit of collaboration and diplomacy alive throughout the committee sessions. Draft Resolutions are discussed, debated and voted upon throughout the committee. 

The Draft Resolution should be clear and concise, it is important to acknowledge that your wording does surely influence its acceptance among fellow delegates. The main aim of writing a resolution is to put down ideas in a clear and concise manner in accordance with the United Nations format.

Before moving forward let’s get you familiar with some terms related to DR

1. Role of signatory and sponsor

Signatory: Being a signatory to a resolution means that the delegate wants to see the document being debated upon within the committee.They don’t necessarily commit themselves to supporting it in the voting procedure. 

You can be a signatory in multiple DR but sponsor only for one document. 

Sponsor: Sponsors are generally the countries who have contributed in the drafting process of the document or see the policies of their countries mirrored in the resolution. Sponsoring countries play a very important role in presenting, supporting and promoting their document throughout the committee. 

You cannot be a sponsor in multiple DR but can be a signatory in many Resolutions at the same time. 

• Keep in mind that marking scheme for both sponsors and signatories differ as sponsors carry with them the main responsibility of presenting their DR throughout the committee whereas signatories only indulge themselves in seeing the document being debated upon in the committee. 

2. Preambulatory Clauses and Operative Clauses 

Preambulatory Clauses:The preambulatory clauses state all the issues that the committee wants to resolve. It may state reasons why the committee is working on this issue and highlight previous international actions on the issue. 

Pre-ambulatory clauses can include:

• Past UN resolutions, treaties, or conventions related to the topic.
• References to the UN Charter or other international frameworks and laws.

Accepted Preambulatory Clauses 

Acknowledging, Acting, Affirming, Alarmed by, Alarmed, Appreciating, Approving, Aware of, Bearing in mind, Believing, Concerned, Confident, Conscious, Considering, Contemplating, Convinced, Declaring, Deeply concerned, Deeply conscious, Deeply convinced, Determined, Emphasising, Encouraged, Expecting, Expressing appreciation, Noting with approval, Expressing concern, Expressing its appreciation, Expressing its satisfaction, Firmly Convinced, Fulfilling, Fully alarmed, Fully aware, Fully believing, Further deploring, Further recalling, Guided by, Having adopted, Having considered, Having examined, Having reviewed, Having studied, Having decided, Keeping in mind, Mindful, Noting further, Noting with deep concern, Noting with regret, Noting with satisfaction, Observing, Reaffirming, Reaffirming also, Realising, Recalling also, Recognizing, Recognizing with satisfaction, Referring, Regretting, Reiterating its call for, Reminding, Seeking, Stressing, Taking into account, Taking note, Taking note also, Underlining, Viewing with appreciation, Viewing with apprehension, Welcoming.

Operative Clauses:Operative clauses state the solutions that the sponsors of the resolution proposes to resolve the issues. The operative clauses should address the issues specifically mentioned in the pre-ambulatory clauses above it.

 Operative clauses can include:

• Legal frameworks, policies, and ideas proposed by delegates throughout the committee. 
• Different plans proposed by delegates in alliances that mirror the ideas of the resolution. 

Accepted Operative Clauses 

Accepts, Acknowledges, Adopts, Advises, Affirms, Also recommends, Also strongly condemns, Also urges, Appeals, Appreciates, Authorises, Calls upon, Commends, Confirms, Congratulates, Considers, Decides, Declares, Declares accordingly, Demands, Designates, Directs, Draws the attention, Emphasises, Encourages, Endorses, Expresses its appreciation, Expresses its hope, Expresses its regret, Further invites, Further proclaims, Further reminds, Further resolves, Has resolved, Instructs, Invites, Proclaims, Reaffirms, Recalls, Recommends, Regrets, Reiterates, Reminds, Renews its appeal, Repeats, Requires, Solemnly affirms, Stresses, Strongly advises, Suggests, Supports, Takes note of, Transmits, Trusts, Underlines, Underscores, Urges, Welcomes.

Now that we have expanded our vocabulary with a few terms related to Draft Resolution, let’s move forward to some exclusive tips from IndraprasthaMun to help you ace your Draft Resolution. 

1.   The Art of Negotiation in Resolution Drafting: Getting Everyone on Board

To frame a successful DR it is very important to start working on every aspect of it as soon as you enter the committee. Best DR are drafted when 

you form powerful alliances and get everyone on board.

• Start by identifying countries that share goals and views of your country. You may do this by paying attention to their speeches and discussions.
• Actively involve yourself in moderated and unmoderated caucus. 
• Come prepared with a basic outline or key clauses that you want to include in the resolution. This will help you in initiating discussions. 

2. How to Co-Author Resolutions: Tips for Collaborative Writing 

Writing Draft Resolutions is all about teamwork and diplomacy. Before you even start writing the resolution make sure that everyone on board with you is on the same page about what they’re trying to achieve. 

• Start off by using everyone’s strength. Some might be great at research, others at writing or editing. Assign roles smartly making sure everyone contributes.
• MUN sessions may seem to be a little hectic while drafting a resolution. But not to worry, make sure to keep track of time, you may do so by setting time limits to finish specific segments of DR.
• It’s very important to be diplomatic when working with others. Make sure that every team member’s ideas are heard and incorporated.

3. Reviewing and Editing Resolutions: Ensuring Clarity and Precision

Moving forward, while reviewing and editing a Draft Resolution it is very important to check the overall structure and organisation of the document while ensuring it follows standard UN format.

• Evaluate the clarity of language used and check for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. You may do this by assigning reviewing and editing duty to a few individuals in team.
• Ensure that operative clauses and demands are clear, specific and realistic. Make sure to check all the sources, and references are properly cited.

4. Resolving Conflicts in Resolution Drafting: How to Compromise

While drafting a resolution conflicts are bound to happen. It should be considered as a sign that all the delegates are passionate and thinking critically about the issues at hand.

However, in such situations it’s important to foster open and honest communication.  

• Listen to and understand each other’s perspectives and concerns. This will help you in identifying the key points of disagreements.
• Moreover, upon fostering open communication you can easily negotiate your way to finding common grounds. This can be done by proposing potential solutions and evaluating them together. 
• Determine which issues are non-negotiable for each delegate. Understanding these red lines can help shape a draft that addresses the most critical concerns for all sides.

5. How to Defend Your Resolution During Debate: Persuasion Techniques

Nextly, it is necessary to work on some strong persuasion techniques.

In MUN conferences you are marked for how you present your DR in debates and discussions. Key to successful resolution lies within the techniques you use.

• To start with, it is very important to know the content of your resolution precisely. Make sure that you are able to explain and defend your document, this will help you in  confidently answering counterarguments. 
• Establish credibility by citing reliable and verifiable sources. Support your points with facts, statistics, and references to international agreements. A well-researched resolution is harder to argue against.
• Think of potential criticisms other delegates might have. Prepare responses ahead of time that calmly address these concerns.

6. Common Pitfalls in Resolution Writing and How to Avoid Them

Making mistakes with resolution writing is a common phenomenon in Model United Nations, be it with first-time delegates or sometimes even experienced delegates. For this reason, it’s important for delegates to be aware of frequent errors to avoid them and ensure their resolutions accurately reflect their research and the committee’s discussions.

• MISTAKE 1: Confusing preambulatory clauses and operative clauses. Operatives are meant to be solutions while preambulatory paragraphs are supposed to provide context for the resolution. It is important to understand whether the clause you add to your resolution is a solution or a contextual clause.
• MISTAKE 2:  Using Wrong punctuation 

When writing an official document like a resolution, punctuation is very important. With the right punctuation, your document will make you look more official and will make people take you more seriously. 

• MISTAKE 3: Not understanding the mandate of a committee. 

The operatives specified in the document should be as per the mandate of a committee, sometimes while writing resolutions delegates mention solutions that resonates with other committee’s more.

These are some of the most commonly made mistakes while drafting a resolution. Make sure to pay extra attention to these points.

 “Experience is life’s best teacher, shaping us with every step.”

Think about this quote while drafting a DR, you may stumble and face difficulties in your way rather take them positively.

Remember to be confident and accurate with your factual information also, make sure to check your resolution for any grammatical  error before final submission.

    FORMAT OF DRAFT RESOLUTION 

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               DRAFT RESOLUTION 

Agenda: 

Authors:

Signatories:

NAME OF THE COMMITTEE 

    (Preambulatory and Operative Clauses)

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Attached below is a sample Draft Resolution.

        SAMPLE DRAFT RESOLUTION

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            DRAFT RESOLUTION 1.0

Agenda: Prompting and realizing post-conflict peace building measures with special reference to rehabilitation of  refugees, IDPs and asylum seekers

Authors: United States of America, New Zealand, Australia

Signatories: United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, India, Morocco

The United Nations Security Council,

Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the primary responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security,

Emphasizing the importance of inclusivity in advancing national peacebuilding processes and objectives in order to ensure that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account. The Council calls on the United Nations to support national efforts to include relevant national actors in peacebuilding activities and processes,  

Stressing the need for more coordinated, coherent and integrated peacebuilding efforts and emphasizing that better coordination between United Nations missions, United Nations country teams and other regional and development actors, including regional organizations, is of paramount importance in ensuring greater efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of critical peacebuilding tasks, further emphasizing the need for greater clarity on the respective roles and responsibilities of these actors in the delivery of critical peacebuilding tasks, based on their comparative advantages,

Has agreed as follows :-

1) Acknowledges that the refugee crisis has evolved into a global phenomenon and caused inter and intra-national deterioration of the socio-economic and humanitarian conditions;

2) Condemns the actions of the countries involved in ethnic as well as political armed conflicts giving impetus to the increasing influx of refugees from the sub-Saharan, European and South East-Asian regions;

3) Emphasizes however, that extensive screening and a security clearance process and applications for refugee resettlement can be denied on health-related grounds, criminal grounds, and security grounds;

4) Calls for an elaborate procedure wherein once an assurance of placement has been secured and medical examinations and security checks have been completed, Refugee Processing Centres must work together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to schedule and arrange refugee travel to the Destination preferably with escort if possible, via safe and secure routes;

5) Acknowledges that special attention should be paid to the health and security needs of women and children, including access to female health care providers and services, such as reproductive health care, as well as appropriate counselling for victims of sexual and other abuses;

6) Recognizes that rehabilitation and resettlement processes are a compelling instrument and symbol of international solidarity and burden sharing to find a durable solution for refugees who are unable to return to their country of origin for fear of continued persecution and do not have the option to stay in their country of asylum;

7) Recommends the establishment of Early Childhood Development Programme and a Teacher Emergency Package (TEP) for out-of-school refugee children who desired to return to school, as well countries to be provide refugees with pertinent knowledge regarding naturalization processes in order to ease integration of refugees in their respective host countries.

8) Calls upon member states to closely work with IOM, UNHCR, non-government organizations and the private sector for legal and physical protection, including access to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals;

9) Calls for the establishment of a monitoring body which will be a subordinate to UNHCR for regulation and a check on conditions, demographics and other statistical data in the refugee camps of member states, representatives from the refugee camps may be asked for cross-checking the corresponding reports by the monitoring body at their discretion for verification and authenticity of the reports sent by the member states;

10) Emphasizes that United Nations peacekeeping activities should be conducted in a manner so as to facilitate post-conflict peacebuilding, prevention of relapse of armed conflict and progress towards sustainable peace and development;

11) Strongly condemns targeted attacks against United Nations peacekeeping personnel from any party to the conflict ;

12) Calls upon the Member States to take all measures deemed necessary to strengthen United Nations field security arrangements and improve the safety and security of all military contingents, police officers, military observers and, especially, unarmed personnel;

13) Emphasizes the important role that effective and responsive leadership in United Nations country operations can play in bringing together the United Nations system around a common strategy for sustaining peace, and in this regard, stresses the need for more coordinated, coherent and integrated peacebuilding efforts, including among United Nations missions, United Nations country teams, and national, regional and international development actors, in ensuring greater effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of critical peacebuilding tasks;

14) Recognizing the need for United Nations peace building efforts to have adequate, predictable and sustained financing in order to effectively assist countries to sustain peace and prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict;

15) Emphasizes that United Nations peacekeeping activities should be

conducted in a manner so as to facilitate post-conflict peacebuilding, prevention of relapse of armed conflict and progress towards sustainable peace and development;

16) Calls upon the UNPBC and the Ad Hoc committee to formulate a comprehensive dynamic strategy which will encompass a set strategy to establish the Rule of Law and political stability in areas affected by armed combat and persecution; 

17) Calls upon the 6th committee of the GA to pursue the amendment of the mandate of peacekeeping forces and that they are recommended come to constitute more than just the placement of military forces into a ceasefire situation with the consent of all the parties, some suggestions include :-

a) Military peacekeepers may also be disarming or seizing weapons, aggressively protecting humanitarian assistance, and clearing land mines;

b) Peacekeeping operations also must involve more non-military personnel and tasks such as maintaining law and order, election monitoring, and human rights monitoring;

18) Appreciates Russian Federation for their efforts as a step towards conflict mitigation but expects not just the promises mentioned in the presidential statement, but the entirety of the A/RES/68/262 implemented along with the ICJ case 166.

19) Condemns the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation for :-

a) Illegitimate policies territorial policies pursued by Russia and China alike in Crimea, South China Sea, Arctic Region etc. 

b) Russia’s supply of lethal weapons and military support to the Assad Regime, which led to Syria becoming the largest country from where refugees and asylum seekers originate;

c) China’s systematic persecution of Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang and the arbitrary detention of over 1 million innocent civilians of the minority.