A one-screen Quick Guide if you’re nervous; the full rules if you want every detail.
If this is your first conference, you only need this one screen. Debate follows a simple, repeating rhythm — and the chair (your “dais”) is there to help you, not to catch you out. When in doubt, raise your placard and ask.
Almost every committee session moves through these steps. Once you’ve seen the loop once, the rest of the day feels familiar.
The dais reads the countries; you answer “present” so the room knows who’s here.
If your committee has more than one topic, delegates vote on which to debate first.
A running list of delegates who want to give formal speeches on the topic.
Delegates motion for moderated caucuses (structured) and unmoderated caucuses (free discussion) to dig into the issue and find allies.
Blocs put their ideas on paper — the proposed solutions the committee will vote on.
The committee refines the drafts through amendments and further debate.
When debate winds down, the committee votes on the draft resolutions to decide what passes.
That’s genuinely enough to take part with confidence. Everything below is the detail — read it if you’re curious, but you won’t be lost without it.
HTSMUN VI runs standard North-American parliamentary procedure — the same family of rules used across most high-school and university conferences. Chairs apply the rules with a light hand, especially for newer delegates.
01 Roll Call & Quorum
Each session opens with roll call. The dais reads each country in turn; when your nation is called, raise your placard and respond “present.” Roll call establishes who is in the room and counts toward quorum.
Quorum is the minimum number of delegates required for the committee to conduct business. Under HTSMUN’s approach, quorum is met when a majority of registered delegations are present, and debate may proceed once it is reached. If you arrive late, notify the dais by note so you can be marked present.
02 Setting the Agenda
When a committee has more than one topic, it must first decide the order of debate. A delegate motions to set the agenda to a particular topic; the committee then debates the order — typically with a short speakers list for and against — and votes.
Setting the agenda is a procedural matter, decided by simple majority. Once the first topic is settled, the committee remains on it until it chooses to move on. Committees with a single topic skip this step entirely.
03 General Speakers List
The General Speakers List (GSL) is the default, running list of delegates who wish to give formal speeches on the topic. It opens by motion at the start of debate and stays open throughout, returning the committee to formal speeches whenever a caucus ends.
To be added, raise your placard when the dais asks who wishes to be on the list, or send a note. When recognized, you speak for the set speaking time on any aspect of the topic. If you finish early, you may yield your remaining time — back to the chair, to questions, or to another delegate — following the dais’s direction.
04 Moderated Caucus
A moderated caucus is a focused round of short speeches on a specific sub-topic, run by the dais. Delegates raise placards and the chair calls on them one at a time. It’s the workhorse of committee — ideal for digging into a narrow question quickly.
To propose one, motion with three things: the topic, the total time, and the speaking time per delegate (for example, “a ten-minute moderated caucus with a speaking time of forty-five seconds on humanitarian access”). The committee votes by simple majority; if several moderated caucuses are proposed, the committee votes on the longest or most disruptive first, per the precedence order below.
05 Unmoderated Caucus
An unmoderated caucus suspends formal debate so delegates can move around the room, talk directly, form blocs, and draft papers together. There is no speaking order — it is the conference’s working time.
To propose one, motion with a single total time (for example, “a fifteen-minute unmoderated caucus”). The committee votes by simple majority. Use this time well: most working papers and draft resolutions come together during unmoderated caucus.
06 Points
A point is how an individual delegate raises a need or a question without making a formal motion. You may raise a point by placard at the appropriate moment; the dais will recognize you. Three points cover almost everything you’ll need:
When the rules are broken
Raised when you believe the dais or a delegate has departed from the rules of procedure. The chair rules on it. Use it to correct process, not to interrupt a speech you simply disagree with.
When you have a question
Raised to ask the dais a question about the rules or the state of debate — “what are we voting on?” or “how much time is left?” There is no such thing as a silly inquiry; ask freely. (Some conferences call this a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry.)
When your comfort is affected
Raised when something impairs your ability to participate — you can’t hear the speaker, the room is too cold, you need to step out. It is the only point that may, when necessary, interrupt a speaker.
07 Motions & Precedence
A motion is a formal proposal to do something — open a caucus, move to voting, and so on. When several motions are on the floor at once, the dais considers them in order of precedence: the most disruptive or specific motion is voted on first. You don’t need to memorize this — the dais manages the order — but here is the common sequence and what each motion does.
When two motions of the same type compete — say, two moderated caucuses — the one with the longer total time (the more “disruptive” option) is voted on first. The dais will always tell you what you are voting on before the vote.
08 Working Papers, Draft Resolutions & Amendments
A working paper is an early, informal sketch of a bloc’s ideas — a starting point, not yet a formal document. Once polished into proper resolution format and sponsored by enough delegates, it becomes a draft resolution: the formal proposal the committee debates and ultimately votes on. A resolution is written as a series of clauses — preambulatory clauses set the context, and operative clauses state the actions the committee proposes to take.
Once a draft resolution is on the floor, it can be changed through amendments. There are two kinds:
A change that all sponsors of the draft resolution accept. Because everyone who wrote it agrees, it is incorporated without a vote.
A change that the sponsors do not all accept. It is debated and put to a substantive vote of the committee; if it passes, it is added to the draft.
09 Voting Procedure
HTSMUN distinguishes two kinds of votes, and the difference matters:
When the committee moves to voting on substantive matters, the room enters a voting procedure: the doors are closed and debate stops. The dais calls for votes in favour, against, and abstentions. Any delegate may motion for a roll-call vote, in which the dais calls each country by name and records its vote individually. A resolution that passes is adopted by the committee.
10 Decorum
Diplomatic decorum keeps debate respectful and orderly. The dais may call a delegate to order for breaking it. The expectations are simple and apply to everyone equally:
Refer to yourself as your country — “the delegate of…” or “France believes…” — never “I.” Address other delegates the same way.
Raise your placard and speak only once the dais calls on you. One delegate has the floor at a time; the rest listen.
All formal debate is conducted in English so every delegation can follow and take part.
Debate the position, not the person. Courtesy toward fellow delegates and the dais is expected at all times — see the Policies & conduct guidance for the full standard.
Our crisis committee — the Meridian Crisis — uses the same foundations you’ve just read, but plays faster and looser. Instead of slowly building toward resolutions, the committee responds to a situation that keeps changing around it. If you’re in this room, here’s what shifts.
Before the conference, every registered delegation will receive a one-page printable version of this Quick Guide — the flow of debate and the most common motions, ready to bring to committee. Watch this page and your delegation’s email; we’ll post it here when it’s ready.
You know how the room works — the next step is knowing what your country will say in it. Still have a procedure question? Reach us any time at info@htsmun.com.