North Atlantic Council

Rules of Procedure

North Atlantic Council Rules of Procedure

Part 1 – General Rules

1. Introduction
The following rules apply to the North Atlantic Council (NAC) are to be considered
adopted in advance of the sessions. It is therefore of crucial importance for all
participants to understand the rules of procedure and abide by them for the duration
of the conference. You may find some variation from the rules applied in the actual
NAC; however, please note the Rules of Procedure presented below take precedence.
Abidance by these rules, and thorough knowledge thereof, are a prerequisite for the
success of the conference. Any decisions of the Chair made under these Rules of
Procedure can be appealed unless otherwise stated.

2. Language
English is the only official and working language of the Council.

3. Chairpersons
a. The NAC Staff consists of two Chairs. In the exercise of their functions stated
hereafter, they are subject to these rules and are responsible to the Secretary-
General.
b. The Chairs entertain equal authority in front of the Council and their cooperation is
governed by internal rules applicable to Staff members, as defined by the
Secretariat.
c. The Chair (any reference to the “Chair” hereafter includes both Staff members) will
have complete control of the proceedings at any formal meeting and will ensure
and enforce the adherence to these rules. In particular, the Chair will declare the
opening and closing of each meeting, direct discussion, accord the right to speak,
put questions, announce decisions, and rule on points of order. The Chair may also
propose the adoption of any procedural motion to which there is no significant
objection. In case of disruptive or dilatory behaviour of any participants, the Chair
reserves the right to take appropriate measures.
d. Decisions of the Chair are subject to appeal unless otherwise stated in these rules.
e. In case of a procedural issue not covered by these rules, the Chair will make a
decision that is considered compliant with the spirit of these rules. In this event,
the Chair will announce to the Council the use of this rule. Decisions taken by the
Chair under this rule can be subject to appeal.
f. A delegate may immediately appeal any decision of the Chair, with the exception
of those matters that are explicitly stated to be un-appealable. The Chair may
speak briefly in defence of the ruling. The appeal will then be put to a vote, and the
decision of the Chair will stand unless overruled by a two-thirds majority of those
members present. A “Yes” vote indicates support of the Chair’s ruling; a “No” vote
indicates opposition to that ruling. The Chair’s ruling will stand unless overruled by
a majority of “No” votes. This is a procedural vote, and thus all members present
must vote.

4. Delegations / Delegates
a. Each Member State will be represented by one delegate and will irrespectively be
afforded one vote.

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 b. Delegates are obliged to attend all sessions.
c. Delegates are expected to have carefully read these rules of procedure, and to
have thoroughly prepared for every session.
d. Delegates are obliged to comply with the dress code as set by the Board of
Directors during every official session. In case of non-compliance, the Chair has the
right to take appropriate action.
e. Delegates are expected to use courteous and respectful language towards the
Chair and their fellow delegates.

5. Secretariat
a. The Secretary-General or a member of the Secretariat designated by the
Secretary-General may attend Council sessions and make written or oral
statements at any time and cannot be excluded from the proceedings.
b. Proposals of the Secretary-General or any other member of the Secretariat
designated by the Secretary-General, although non-binding, are considered of high
importance and delegates are kindly requested to abide by them.
c. Delegates may request the presence of the Secretary-General or any other
member of the Secretariat designated by the Secretary-General during debate on a
substantive matter in order to express their opinion on the issue at hand. Any
statements made by a member of the Secretariat are considered as representing
the opinion of all members of the Secretariat and that act in favour of the United
Nations organization, which they represent at all times during the conference.

6. Representatives of other Councils & other Experts

a. Depending on the issue in discussion, delegates may ask for a representative of
another council or committee convening under the auspices to address the Council
and express the respective Council’s opinion on the issue. Such a request must be
handed to the Chair in written form, thoroughly explaining the reasons for this
action. It is at the discretion of the Chair to accept such a request.
b. Depending on the issue under discussion, delegates may ask for an expert on the
topic being discussed to address the Council. Such a request must be handed to
the Chair in written form, thoroughly explaining the reasons for this action. It is at
the discretion of the Chair to accept such request. Statements of such experts are
not considered as representative views of anyone else apart from the expert
him/herself and are therefore requested to be treated as such.

7. Participation of Non-Members
a. Non-members of the North Atlantic Council may participate in the debate of any
question whenever the Council and/or the Secretariat consider that the interests of
that member are especially affected.
b. Non-members are permitted to make motions, introduce Communiqués, and to
vote upon procedural matters. Non-members are not permitted to vote on
substantive matters.

8. Quorum, Attendance and Roll Call

a. At the beginning of each session, the Chair will conduct a roll call in alphabetical
order. Delegates shall establish their presence in the committee in either of the
two following manners:

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 i. Present and Voting: A Delegate that declares themselves "Present and
voting" shall vote in favour or against any substantive matter without the
possibility of abstention.
ii. Present: A Delegate that declares themselves "Present" shall vote in favour,
against or abstain on any substantive matter.
b. If participants arrive during or after the roll call, they are required to send a note to
the Chair. As long as participants have not informed the Chair of their arrival, they
will not be allowed to vote or deliver a speech. All participants who have not
informed the Chair of their arrival until voting procedure begins are not eligible to
vote.
c. Simple and two-thirds majority are defined by the roll call as this is taken at the
beginning of every session and announced by the Chair. The same applies for the
number of countries necessary for the submission of a draft Communiqué and an
amendment. Delegates are requested to notify the Chair in case of an urgent need
for abstention from the proceedings of the Council in order to modify the respected
numbers. In case majority numbers have changed, the Chair will announce the new
numbers before any voting on a substantive matter.
d. In case a delegation that has declared “Present and Voting” during the roll call is
not in the room during voting procedure on a substantive matter, its status
immediately changes to “Not Present” by the Chair in order to avoid a stalemate in
the proceedings. This is not accounted as abstention in voting.
e. Activities of the Council shall start when at least one quarter (1/4) of the
delegations are present, based on the registration list that will be provided to the
Chair by the Board of Directors. If quorum is not met within fifteen (15) minutes
after the scheduled starting time of the session, the NAC shall proceed with the
number of delegations present irrespective of the number of Delegates present.
Quorum shall be assumed when Council activities begin.
f. The Chair may at any time, and especially before entering voting procedures,
revisit the quorum at his/her own discretion.

Part 2 – Start of Debate

9. Minute of Silent Prayer and Meditation

a. At the very beginning and at the very end of each session there will be an
opportunity for a minute of silent prayer or meditation.
b. Any delegate may move for a minute of silent prayer or meditation before the first
roll call takes place or immediately after the debate has been adjourned. The Chair
will allow at most one motion at the beginning and one at the end of the session.
c. There is no debate on this motion. Any decisions concerning this motion are not
subject to appeal.

10.Substantive and Procedural Matters

a. Procedural Matters: Procedural matters are those matters relating to the structure
of the Council session. All Delegates must vote on procedural matters and no
Delegate may abstain. Roll Call Vote is not in order for procedural matters.

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 b. Substantive Matters: Substantive matters are those matters relating to the specific
topic at hand. Delegates that have established their presence at the initial roll call
shall act accordingly.

11.Setting the Agenda

a. At the beginning of the first session and immediately after the roll call, the floor
opens and the only motion in order will be for setting the agenda. Any other
motions made at that time will be immediately ruled dilatory without any
possibility of appeal.
b. There can be more than one motion for setting the agenda only if a different order
of debating the topics is proposed. The Chair will gather all such motions and deal
with them in the order they were made.
c. The Chair will allow two speakers in favour and two speakers against for the
motion that is on the floor, granting one minute speaking time to each one of the
speakers. Yielding of the remaining time of the speakers is not allowed in this case.
d. After the speeches, the Council proceeds to voting. The motion to set the agenda
requires a simple majority to pass. If the motion passes, the agenda is set in the
way proposed by the motion and no other motion on setting the agenda is
debated. This is a procedural matter.
e. If the motion fails, the Chair shall consider the next motion in order and repeat the
procedure laid out in paragraphs (c) and (d) of the current rule, until one of the
motions passes.
f. Setting the agenda has a deadline of one hour from the moment debate starts on
the first motion. If the Council fails to meet this deadline, the Chair in
communication with the Secretariat will set the agenda. This decision cannot be
appealed.
g. The order of the agenda set at the beginning of the conference shall remain for the
duration of the conference. If Delegates wish to revisit the agenda at a later time,
they can request to do so after a topic has either been completed and all
substantive matters voted on or if a topic has been tabled. The relevance of such a
motion shall remain at the discretion of the Chair.
h. In the event of an international crisis or emergency, the Secretary-General or
his/her representative may call upon the Council to table debate on the current
topic area so that the more urgent matter may be attended to immediately. After a
Communiqué has been passed on the crisis topic, the Council will return to debate
the tabled topic. If a Communiqué on the crisis topic fails, the Council may return
to debate on the tabled topic area only at the discretion of the Secretary-General
or his/her representative. In case the Security Council is debating the same crisis
topic at the same time with the NAC, the NAC is not allowed to make any
recommendations (pass a Communiqué) on the topic. A Communiqué on the crisis
topic can be passed only after the Security Council has closed (not tabled) debate
on it or if the Security Council is not dealing with the specific crisis issue.

Part 3 – Debate

12. General Speakers’ List

a. A motion from the floor will establish a continuously open General Speakers’ List
for the purpose of general debate on the topic area as defined by the agenda. This
General Speakers’ List will be followed for all formal debate on the topic area. The

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 default speaking time when in the General Speakers’ List is one minute per
delegation.
b. Countries wishing to be added in the General Speakers’ List can raise their
placards when the Chair calls for delegations to be added in the General Speakers’
List or send a written request to the Chair during the debate, provided that they
are not already on the List.
c. The Chair may call a Delegate to order if his/her speech is not relevant to the issue
being discussed.
d. The Chair will call to order any Delegate exceeding the allotted time for a speech.
e. When the General Speakers’ List is exhausted and no more countries wish to be
added on it, the topic fails and the Council will go into voting procedure. If no Draft
Resolutions have been introduced, the Council will immediately move to the next
topic on its agenda.
f. A General Speakers’ List for a different topic area of the agenda will not be opened
until the Council has moved to that topic.

13.Speaking Time in General Speakers’ List and Yields

a. A Delegate may move to change the default speaking time while in the General
Speakers’ List; the minimum speaking time is set at thirty seconds and maximum
at two minutes. Any motion that sets a speaking time that deviates from this
specific frame will be ruled out of order without possibility of appeal.
b. Delegations that do not use all of their time can yield their remaining time in one
of the three following ways:
i. Yield the remaining time to another Delegate: The remaining time will be
yielded to the delegate designated by the speaker; it is at the discretion of
the Delegate to accept the yield. If the Delegate does not wish to accept it,
the time is automatically yielded back to the Chair.
ii. Yield the remaining time to questions: When the time is yielded to
questions, the Chair will recognize other Delegates who will then ask their
questions. Each Delegate can ask only one question and the time remaining
counts only for the answers of the speaker. The Chair, according to the
remaining time, will define the number of questions. Follow-up questions
will not be allowed. The Chair may call to order any participant whose
questions are considered rhetorical or not designed to elicit information.
Cross talking is not allowed. If the speaker does not understand a question,
he or she may ask the Chair to call upon the questioner to repeat or
rephrase his/her question. The speaker is not obliged to answer the
questions directed at him or her.
iii. Yield the remaining time back to the Chair: If the speaker does not wish to
yield the remaining time to another Delegate or to questions, he/she can
yield the time back to the Chair. In this case the debate continues with the
next speaker on the list permitted to speak.
c. In case two Delegates represent a Delegation, yields from one Delegate of a
country to the other Delegate of the same country will be ruled out of order
without possibility of appeal.

14.Points
a. The following points are in order when the floor is open, unless otherwise specified:
i. Point of Personal Privilege: A Delegate may raise a Point of Personal Privilege
if a matter impairs him/her from participating fully in the activities of the

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 Council. The Chair or any other member of the Board of Directors and/or
Staff shall try to effectively address the source of impairment. This point
may interrupt a Speaker. However, this point should be used with the
utmost discretion.
ii. Point of Order: A Delegate may raise a Point of Order if a rule or procedure is
not properly observed by a Delegate and disregarded unintentionally by the
Chair or by a member of the Dais. The Chair will rule on the validity of the
point. A Delegate raising a Point of Order may not comment on the topic
under discussion. A Point of Order ruled dilatory by the Chair may not be
appealed. This point may interrupt a speaker only in the event that the
violation of the rule interferes with the proper process of the activities of the
Council. In any other case, the Delegate shall wait for the floor to be opened
to raise the Point of Order.
iii. Point of Parliamentary Inquiry: A Delegate may raise a Point of
Parliamentary Inquiry to request an explanation from the Chair on the rules
of procedure. This point may not interrupt a Speaker and is out of order
during a Moderated Caucus.
iv. Point of Information: A Delegate may raise a Point of Information to request
information or clarification of remarks relating to material or arrangements
of the meeting, documents, translations, etc. This point may not interrupt a
Speaker and is out of order during a Moderated Caucus.
v. Right of Reply: A Delegate who feels that another Delegate has insulted the
sovereignty or integrity of his/her state may request a Right of Reply.
Disagreement with the content of a Delegate's speech is not grounds for a
Right of Reply. It is at the discretion of the Chair to grant a Right of Reply
without possibility of appeal. A request for a Right of Reply has to be
submitted in writing to the Chair and no verbal request will be accepted. If
the Chair grants the Right of Reply, he/she will set a specific time limit for it
and will give the floor to the Delegate who requested it and will give the
floor to the Delegate when appropriate. When the Delegate is granted the
floor has to explain why he/she feels that his/her state has been offended. A
Right of Reply to a Right of Reply is out of order.
15.Motions
a. The following motions are in order when the floor is open, unless specified
otherwise (More motions are mentioned in the Draft Communiqués and Voting
sections of the rules):
i. Motion for a Moderated Caucus: A Delegate may move for a Motion for a
Moderated Caucus, thereby suggesting a change from formal debate to
moderated informal debate. A Delegate who moves for a Moderated Caucus
must suggest a time length of the caucus, speaking time and justification for
the motion. The Chair may suggest a more appropriate caucus length or
speaking time or may rule the Moderated Caucus out of order without
possibility of appeal. This is a procedural matter requiring a simple majority
to pass. If the motion passes, the committee will enter informal debate
where the Chair will recognize Delegates who raise their placards to speak
about the issue at hand. Yielding of remaining time and proposing motions is
not permitted during a Moderated Caucus. A Moderated Caucus will elapse
automatically if there are no further delegates wishing to speak.
ii. Motion for an Unmoderated Caucus: A Delegate may move for a Motion for
an Unmoderated Caucus thereby suggesting a change from formal to

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 Informal debate. The Delegate who proposes this motion must suggest a
length and justification for the Unmoderated Caucus. The Chair may suggest
a more appropriate caucus length and put it to vote or may rule the
Unmoderated Caucus out of order without possibility of appeal. This is a
procedural matter requiring a simple majority to pass. Once the motion has
passed, the committee will depart from the Speaker's List and Delegates will
conduct an informal discussion on the topic as specified in the motion,
without moderation.
iii. Motion to Extend the Moderated Caucus: A Delegate may move for a Motion
to Extend the Moderated Caucus if he/she feels that additional time would
benefit the work of the Council. The Delegate moving for an Extension of the
Moderated Caucus must suggest a length for the extension. The length of
the extension cannot be more than the original length of the caucus. The
Chair may suggest a more appropriate caucus length or speaking time and
put it to vote or may rule the motion out of order without possibility of
appeal. This is a procedural matter requiring a simple majority to pass.
iv. Motion to Extend the Unmoderated Caucus: A Delegate may move for a
Motion to Extend the Unmoderated Caucus if he/she feels that additional
time would benefit the work of the committee. The Delegate who moves for
an Extension of Unmoderated Caucus must suggest a length for the
extension. The length of the extension cannot be more than the original
length of the caucus. The Chair may suggest a more appropriate caucus
length and put it to vote or may rule the Extension of the Unmoderated
Caucus out of order without the possibility of appeal. This is a procedural
matter requiring a simple majority to pass.
v. Motion to Appeal the Decision of the Chair: See rule 3(f)
vi. Motion to Suspend the Meeting: A Delegate may move for a Motion to
Suspend the Meeting to halt all committee activities until the next scheduled
meeting time. Motions to suspend the meeting have to specify a purpose
and a time for reconvening. This should also be used for breaks such as
coffee breaks, lunch etc. The Chair may rule the motion dilatory without
possibility of appeal. If accepted by the Chair, it immediately applies.
vii. Motion to Adjourn the Meeting: A Delegate may move for a Motion to
Adjourn the Meeting in order to suspend all committee activities for the
duration of the conference. This motion will be in order only immediately
before the official ending of the Conference and will be ruled out of order if
made at any other given time without the possibility of appeal. If accepted
by the Chair, it must be voted upon immediately.
viii. Motion to Table Debate: A Delegate may move for a Motion to Table Debate
in order to end debate on a substantive issue without voting on any Draft
Communiqué that may be on the floor. If the Chair rules the motion in order,
two Delegates shall speak in favour and two Delegates shall speak against
before proceeding with a vote. A two-thirds majority vote is required for
passage. If the motion passes, substantive debate will stop and the
committee will proceed to the next topic on the agenda. The Speakers’ List
of the tabled topic seizes to exist and when the topic is revisited, a new
Speakers’ List is established.
ix. Motion to Return to a Suspended (Tabled) Topic: When the debate on a topic
has been tabled or closed, a Delegate may move for a motion to return to a
Suspended (Tabled) Topic. In that event, the Chair will entertain two

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 Speakers for and two Speakers against. A two-thirds majority vote is
required for passage. If the motion passes, debate on the dismissed topic
resumes and a new Speakers’ List is established for the resumed topic.
x. Motion to Close Debate: A Delegate may move for a Motion to Close Debate
in order to end debate on a substantive issue whereby the Council will enter
voting procedure on the Draft Communiqués on the floor. If the Chair rules
the motion in order, there will be only two (2) Delegates speaking against
the motion and none in favour. A two-thirds majority vote is required to pass
the motion to close debate. This motion also serves to close the Speakers’
List.

16.Working Papers
a. A working paper is an informal document used by the Delegates to work on
building a Draft Communiqué. It contains general ideas and proposals on the topic
discussed and its purpose is to facilitate the proceedings by outlining a more
concrete framework for discussion.
b. A working paper does not need to be written in Communiqué format and will be
distributed at the Chair's discretion when requested by a Delegate.
c. A working paper does not need to be formally introduced. However, if its author
wishes, he/she can ask from the Chair the time to read it to the Council. The Chair
will rule on this request without possibility of appeal.
d. No maximum number of working papers that can be on the floor at the same time.
The Chair will give different numbers to the submitted working papers to avoid any
possible confusion when referring to them.
e. Submission of working papers is not allowed after closure of the General Speakers’
List.

17.Draft Communiqués
a. Proper Procedure: When in general debate on a topic, the Chair will ask the
members of the Council to prepare Draft Communiqués, following the format in the
respective guide. The Drafts will be submitted to the Chair, approved, signed and
coded. The Chair will then entertain a Motion to Introduce a Draft Communiqué,
which requires a simple majority to pass. Before voting on the motion, the Chair
will have the Draft Communiqué distributed to the committee, and at his
discretion, give one of the sponsors of the Draft the opportunity to read out its
Operative Clauses. A vote will then be taken. Agreement with the motion to
introduce the Draft Communiqué does not indicate agreement with its contents,
but only expresses a wish to see it debated on the floor. If more than one draft has
been submitted, the same procedure will be followed for all of them. The order in
which the Drafts are introduced is at the discretion of the Chair without any
possibility of appeal.
b. Draft Communiqués can also be submitted to the Chair whilst debating other Draft
Communiqués.
c. Draft Communiqués that do not comply with the following guidelines will not be
accepted:
i. Writing Format: The Draft Communiqué has to be written according to the
“How to write a Communiqué” guide.
ii. Sponsors: Each Draft Communiqué has to be sponsored by at least ten
percent of the countries present or present and voting. Sponsors are those
countries that have prepared the Draft Communiqué. A country that is

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 sponsoring a Draft Communiqué cannot sponsor another one on the same
topic; however sponsors claim no ownership of the draft and bear no
obligation to vote in favour of the draft when it is put into voting.
iii. Signatories: Each Draft Communiqué has to be signed by at least ten
percent of the countries present or present and voting in order to be eligible
for introduction. Signatories are those countries who wish to see the
respective Draft being introduced. Signatories are at the same time neither
considered as supporters of the Draft nor bear any obligation towards the
sponsors. A country can be a signatory to more than one Draft
Communiqués on the same topic.
d. If two or more Draft Communiqués are complementary or fairly identical, the Chair
may request the sponsors of these Drafts to combine them and re-submit them.
e. The sponsors of a Draft can request at any time to withdraw it from debate. If not
all sponsors agree with the withdrawal of the Draft, the sponsors who still wish for
it to be introduced and voted upon will be given a reasonable amount of time from
the Chair to find new sponsors. If they do not manage to do so, the Chair will
discuss with the remaining sponsors whether the Draft will be introduced.

18.Amendments to a Draft Communiqué

a. When in debate on a Draft Communiqué, amendments can be introduced. Before
introduction they require the approval of the Chair. Upon gaining the Chair’s
approval, one of the sponsors may make a Motion to Introduce an Amendment.
This motion requires a second and if received it applies immediately without being
put into vote. After the introduction of the amendment by the Sponsor, the Chair
will entertain two speakers in favour and two speakers against the amendment
with 1:30 minute each. After the speakers have taken the floor and concluded their
speeches the amendment will be put into voting.
b. Voting on an amendment is a procedural matter and a simple majority is required
for passage. Observers and NGOs are not allowed to vote on amendments.
c. If an amendment is accepted, the draft Communiqué will be changed accordingly.
d. Amendments that do not comply with the following guidelines will not be accepted:
i. Writing Format: Amendments have to clearly define their scope and follow
the layout presented in the “How to write an Amendment” guide.
ii. Sponsors: Each amendment needs to be sponsored by at least one-eight
(1/8) of the countries present or present and voting in order to be submitted.
e. There are no friendly amendments in the NAC.
f. Grammatical, spelling or formatting errors on a Draft Communiqué will be
corrected at the discretion of the Chair.
g. Amending the pre-ambulatory clauses is permitted only if such a clause is of
crucial importance to the Draft Communiqué and its adoption depends on it.
Acceptance of amendments on pre-ambulatory clauses is at the discretion of the
Chair without possibility of appeal.
h. The sponsors of an amendment can request at any time to withdraw it from the
floor.
i. Amendments to amendments are out of order but an amended part can be further
amended.

19.Voting
a. Proper Procedure for voting on Draft Communiqués: The following stipulations
apply during voting procedure:

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 i. Motion to Reorder the Draft Communiqués: In the event that there are
multiple Drafts Communiqués on the floor, the committee will vote by
default on Draft Communiqués in chronological order, i.e. the Draft
Communiqué introduced first will be voted on first. Only in the event that
the first Draft Communiqué fails, the committee will move on the second
and so forth. A Delegate may request to vote on the Draft Communiqués in
a different order. This motion requires a simple majority to pass.
ii. Motion to Divide the Question: Prior to the start of the voting process on a
Draft Communiqué, a Delegate may request a Motion to Divide the Question
to vote on an individual or group of operative clauses. A Delegate must
specify how he/she wishes to divide the operative clauses during his/her
motion. Should there be more than one motion to divide the question on the
floor, the Council shall vote first on the one that suggests the most radical
division and continue in this descending pattern. The Chair shall recognize
two Speakers in favour and two Speakers against the first motion to divide
the question for a speaking time of thirty seconds each. A simple majority is
required to pass the motion. If the motion passes, subsequent motions to
Divide the Question will be ruled dilatory and the committee will proceed to
vote on the Draft Communiqué in the manner suggested in the motion. If the
motion fails, the remaining motions made will be considered in accordance
with the above procedure. The divided section that fails during voting will be
taken out of the final Draft Communiqué; only those sections that have been
passed shall remain. The Council will then proceed to vote upon the new
final Draft Communiqué as a whole after all the divisions have been voted
on. If all operative clauses fail, the Draft Communiqué, as a whole, fails.
iii. Motion for a Roll Call Vote: Roll Call Voting is only in order for voting a Draft
Communiqué as a whole and not for voting on clauses if division of the
question exists. If this motion is made it is not put into voting and it only
requires to be seconded in order for it to pass. It is at the discretion of the
Chair to accept the motion with no possibility of appeal. If the motion is
accepted the Chair will ask the Member States of the Council to cast their
vote in alphabetical order starting from a random country. In a Roll Call
Vote, a Delegation may vote in favour, against, abstain (unless declared
“present and voting”) and pass. The Chair will place the Delegation that
passed at the bottom of the voting list. A Delegation that has passed once
during a voting sequence may not pass again but must vote definitively.
iv. Voting with Rights: A Delegate may request a right of explanation after
voting. Upon completion of voting, the Delegate will be permitted to explain
the reasons as to why he/she has chosen to vote a certain way; an
abstention is not a vote, and this cannot be made with rights. The Chair may
limit the speaking time at his/her discretion. Voting with Rights is only in
order when voting is held with a Roll Call Vote.
b. Each Delegation of the Council has one vote and must demonstrate its voting
intentions by raising its placard at the Chair's request unless there is a Roll Call
Vote.
c. No Delegate may vote on behalf of another Delegate.
d. The Council can pass only one Communiqué for every topic on the agenda.
e. Once a Draft Communiqué passes, the Drafts that have not yet been voted on fail
immediately. The Council adopts the first Draft that manages to attain unanimity.

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 f. During voting procedure on substantive matters, the doors of the Council close and
no one is allowed in or out of the room apart from members of the Secretariat.
g. Note passing is not allowed during voting procedures.
h. Once the Council adopts a Communiqué, the body moves immediately to the next
topic on the agenda.

Part 4 – Complementary Information

20.Provisional Precedence of Points and Motions (in decreasing order):

 Point of Personal Privilege
 Point of Order
 Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
 Point of Information
 Motion to Appeal the Decision of the Chair
 Motion to Set the Agenda
 Motion to Limit/Extend Speaker’s Time in the Speakers’ List
 Motion to Introduce a Draft Communiqué
 Motion for Unmoderated Caucus
 Motion for Moderated Caucus
 Motion to Suspend the Meeting
 Motion to Close Debate
 Motion to Table Debate
 Motion to Adjourn the Meeting

21.Depiction of Course of Debate

Set Agenda  Open General Speakers’ List … (Caucuses) … (Working Papers) …
(Preparation and Submission of Draft Communiqués) … (Motion to) Introduce a Draft
Communiqué  Introduce Draft Communiqué 1.1 … (Caucuses) … (Introduction and
debate of Amendments) …  Introduce Draft Communiqué 1.2 … (Caucuses) …
(Introduction and debate of Amendments) …  Close Debate and Proceed to Voting

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