Hello all! We've noticed that some people are a little confused about how best to use the Discord-based UN this season. To help give a primer on the United Nations and how to interact with it in our game, Supergrass very kindly prepared the guide below, which has been reviewed by the mods and is now going up as an Official^TM UN guide for this season. Enjoy!

What is the United Nations? Where does it derive its authority? Why is it relevant?

The United Nations is an international organisation consisting of states from across the world. Membership of the United Nations has long been viewed as the authoritative way for a state to prove their statehood (although states that are not members exist, often for political reasons). It was formed following the Second World War by the victorious allied powers to govern relations and the international order as a whole.

The primary document that is relevant when dealing with the United Nations is the Charter of the United Nations. The document has been amended three times, but those changes are not important for the context of this document and can be safely ignored. This Charter forms the basis of international law, and governs the conduct of the organisation, and what states can do within the organisation.

During the entire Cold War, it has had a mixed record. Some argue that it is an ineffective bureaucratic and idealistic body, while others point to the humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts of the organisation. In reality, the United Nations is what the states themselves make of it. It can be used as an effective force for pressuring nations to amend their course without the use of arms, or it can devolve into endless debate and squables.

What are the organs of the United Nations?

There are two primary organs within the United Nations (along with the Economic and Social Council, a Trusteeship Council, an International Court of Justice and a Secretariat but these are not necessarily as relevant for our purposes).

The Security Council:

The Security Council composed of five permanent members (United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Republic of France and the Republic of China (Taiwan)), along with non-permament members, elected from each of the regional groups (Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, Latin America, and the Commonwealth). The Security Council is the main "decision-making" body of the United Nations. It has the power to declare aggressors, order nations to do something (or not to do something), and order the creation of peacekeeping operations. In the vast majority of cases, the resolutions of the Security Council are binding. When the Security Council is discussing a matter, the General Assembly cannot even make a recommendation on that particular topic (Article 12).

What is particularly unique to the Security Council is the voting system. The Security Council requires that all of the Permanent Five members approve a measure (or at least don't vote against it). (Article 27) Otherwise, that measure will fail if even one of them votes against it. This is colloquially known as "exercising veto power." Notably, the Security Council differs from the General Assembly in that it requires a supermajority of all members to vote yes (7/11, or 9/15 after the expansion) for a resolution to pass.

The General Assembly:

The General Assembly (UNGA) is composed of all member states and is the primary deliberative body for the United Nations. It has wide-ranging powers to make recommendations, investigations and control funding for UN missions (Article 13). It is crucial to remember that in the vast majority of cases, UNGA makes non-binding recommendations.

Resolutions:

Resolutions are actually how member states can get the UNGA or UNSC to do stuff. They form the backbone of the UN on CWP, and it's crucial that they are formatted correctly. Reslolutions are composed of two different types of clauses. Pre-ambulatory clauses and operative clauses. Pre-ambulatory clauses serve as the background for the resolution, whilst operative clauses are discussing what the resolution itself does.

Resolution formatting:

Any UNGA resolution should begin with the sponsor and the name of the organ as follows:

Sponsored by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

Now, when drafting your resolution, remember that it should flow as one sentence. No full stops until the end. Start with your pre-ambulatory clauses (an expanded list at the bottom). Provide background on the situation, and legal justification (if possible) for the resolution. Highlight the pre-ambulatory clauses as follows:

Recalling resolutions A/RES/4/1 and A/RES/4/2,

Aware that atomic energy if used for peace will lead to an increase in human welfare, but if used for war may bring about the end of civilisation,

Anxious to free humanity from the dangers that will continue to exist as long as States retain under their individual control the development of atomic energy facilities,

Convinced that an international cooperative effort can avoid these dangers and can hasten the development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy for the benefit of all peoples;

Note that no point were full stops used. Commas should be used at the end of clauses, and a ; should be placed at the end of the pre-ambulatory clauses. The rule of thumb is: if it sounds right, it is right.

When referring to a past resolution, try to use the mod-provided formatting for ease of reference.

Do not repeat a clause. If you have to repeat a clause, add a minor change to it such as "Further recalling".

Remember what body is discussing the resolution. If it is the UNGA, your operative clauses are more limited (in most circumstances. For further information refer to "Uniting for Peace")

Your operative clause should be the meat and bones of your resolution. It is the General Assembly's recommendation. Highlight your operative clause.

Urges all nations to join in such cooperative development and use of atomic energy for peaceful means,

Requests the creation of a special committee on atomic energy, composed of Egypt, Poland, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, Pakistan and Brazil to determine the scope and duties of an international agency, acting as an organ of the United Nations to control atomic energy for peaceful purposes,

Recommends that all nations, in the use of their rights of sovereignty, join in a mutual agreement, to limit the the individual exercise of those rights in the control of atomic energy to the extent required, in the light of the foregoing considerations, for the promotion of world security and peace and recommends that all nations agree to exercise such rights jointly.

A full stop only goes to the END of a resolution.

Pre-ambulatory clauses:

You can create your own pre-ambulatory clauses but this would be non-advisable as it is often hard to strike the right legal balance. Feel free to read up on UN Resolutions, and take clauses from there.

Some pre-ambulatory clauses include:

Affirming, Alarmed by, Approving, Aware of, Bearing in mind, Believing, Confident in, Contemplating, Convinced, Declaring, Deeply conscious, Deeply concerned, Deeply concerned, Deeply disturbed, Deeply regretting, Desiring, Emphasing, Expecting, Expressing its appreciation, Expressing its satisfaction, Fulfilling, Fully alarmed, Fully aware, Fully believing, Further deploring, Further recalling, Guided by, Having adopted, Having considered, Having considered further, Having devoted attention, Having examined, Having heard, Having received, Having studied, Keeping in mind, Noting with regret, Noting with deep concern, Noting with satisfaction, Noting further, Noting with approval, Observing, Reaffirming, Realizing, Recalling, Recognizing, Referring, Seeking, Taking into account, Taking into consideration, Taking note, Viewing with appreciation, Welcoming.

(This is not a definite list)

Operative clauses:

Some operative clauses include:

Accepts, Adopts, Affirms, Calls for, Calls upon, Congratulates, Considers, Condemns, Confirms, Declares accordingly, Designates, Draws the attention of, Expresses, Encourages, Endorses, Expresses its hope, Further invites, Further proclaims, Further recommends, Further reminds, Further requests, Further resolves, Have resolved, Notes, Proclaims, Reaffirms, Recommends, Reminds, Regrets, Requests, Resolves, Strongly suggests, Strongly condemns, Solemnly affirms, Supports, Suggests, Takes note of, Transmits, Trusts, Urges

(This is not a definite list. Bear also in mind that some of them, depending on the context of the resolution, may be incompatible with the General Assembly.)

Some operative clauses reserved for the Security Council (aside from a Uniting for Peace scenario), are:

Decides, Demands, Directs to, Designates

Where are Resolutions submitted?

All aspects of the United Nations are conducted on Discord. As a UN member state, you are provided with access to the correct channels. To post a resolution, you will go to either the General Assembly thread or the Security Council threat, click the bright blue "new post" button, and input your resolution with the draft discussion tag.

For your title, you will put [DRAFT] * name of resolution here *.

You must tag @UN Mod and either @UN Member State (for UNGA) or @UNSC @P5 (for the UNSC) to ensure your resolution is debated.

Uniting for Peace:

The Uniting for Peace (UFP) Mechanism is a controversial tool used to override the veto of the permanent five members. Whilst the legality of it has been a subject of controversy, it has become an accepted legislative measure subject to strict conditions to avoid misuse.

The mechanism allows for the usage of certain operative clauses ordinarily used by the Security Council and expands the power of the General Assembly to take action when the Security Council has refused to do so.

The following conditions need to be met for a resolution to be acceptably invoking UFP:

1) A veto has been invoked by one of the Permanent members of the Security Council, WHICH

2) Has resulted in the Security Council failing to act as required to maintain international security and peace,

Then the provisions of Uniting for Peace may be triggered by EITHER the affirmative vote of 7/11 members of the Security Council, OR by a majority vote of the General Assembly. After Uniting for Peace is triggered, the General Assembly meets in an Emergency Session that can recommend non-binding collective actions pertaining to the agenda item that led to UFP being triggered (that is, if UFP was triggered because of a vetoed resolution pertaining to the Korean War, the Emergency Session can pass resolutions relating to the Korean War). New agenda items can be added to the Emergency Session only by a 2/3rds vote of members present and voting (that is, not abstaining).