For the first time in it’s four-year history, the MonWHO Secretariat is proud to provide delegates with the unique opportunity to experience, in real-time, what it is like to be a country’s Ambassador to the WHO facing a Level 6 Pandemic.
Delegates will need to respond to live updates from their home governments, deal with the critical eye of the media and NGOs, and weigh the consequences of the private interests of powerful pharmaceutical companies while attempting to maintain united global leadership as the stress of the crisis quickly takes a toll on international relations.
The overarching goal for delegates will be to develop comprehensive guidelines towards how Pandemics should be managed as a formal response to the panic erupting both in their home nation and internationally. All resolutions will be brought to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
Like at the real World Health Organization, delegates will need to balance developing solutions to crisis situations that affect individual nations with developing a united international response.
Delegates will begin to address the situation in one of four Regional Blocks (Americas, Africa, Europe & Western Mediterranean or South-East Asia & Western Pacific) before moving into a general Plenary session.
What is crisis simulation?
Crisis differs from ordinary MUN-styled simulations in one important aspect: While most committees are simulations of United Nations organs, such as the General Assembly, where delegates represent different countries and debate UN policy on international issues, crisis committee does not simply discuss topics, but also “crises”, which are pressing events designed by the conference staff that require the immediate attention and action of the committee.
Crisis is highly interactive because it actually responds to the committee, and each action of the delegates could have a heavy impact on how the crisis develops. Therefore, every delegate must weight his/her action carefully. Common considerations of delegates include: understanding the crisis and its implications, informing/not informing the press and public, undertaking immediate damage-control, and preventing future crises.
Crisis simulation provides realistic and actionable situations so that delegates can actually do something about the topic and receive feedbacks on their actions, thus probing their understanding of the issue by exploring various scenarios. After such experience, delegates often could incorporate their insights gained from the crisis into drafting the resolution. Although resolutions drafted after a crisis are usually more well-rounded, practical, and specific, delegates must always bear in mind that the resolution must also be generally applicable and not focus too much on technicalities. Overall, crisis simulation helps delegates to write better resolutions by exploring different courses of action in a realistic setting and offering feedbacks.
How does crisis simulation work?
Like ordinary committees, the regional blocs will convene as usual, discussing their topics of interest within the framework of the conference. However, while the delegates are debating, a crisis will emerge. The chair will declare a state of emergency and explain the crisis situation, usually accompanied by a press released distributed to the delegates. Then the delegates will need to motion to table the current debate, and focus on the crisis at hand, sometimes with a time-limit imposed. By default, in a state of emergency, a perpetual moderated caucus with 1 minute speaking time will be in order, though the delegates are always welcomed to motion for changes. Discussion on the crisis ends by the closure of debate, and after voting on any draft directives available, the committee will automatically re-open the previously tabled topic.
The following forms of paper will be available for delegates to use during a crisis:
1. Communiqués: Communiqué, as its name implies, is a form of communication. If you would like to plan a meeting with another regional bloc, send a communiqué. If you would like to have a report from your home government regarding the current status of a certain pandemic, send a communiqué. In fact, if you would like to communicate with anyone, whether within or outside the committee, send a communiqué, though it is at his/her discretion to reply or not. Communiqué can be sent on behalf of either individual delegates or the entire committee. For example, one committee might wish to speak with a World Bank official to determine whether the World Bank would be willing to provide subsidized loans to developing countries having trouble distributing a certain vaccine. The committee, after a majority vote, could send a communiqué requesting an audience with a World Bank representative, who would then be sent to the committee room. Communiqué will be a primary source of information during crisis.
2. Press Releases: While communiqué is often intended for individual audiences, press release conveys information to the international community. It can be used especially when the crisis involves a need to raise public awareness about a certain topic or try to win international backing. It also provides the means for you to let the international community know what you are thinking, and how you are going about your plans. However, as a tool of propaganda, press release does not need to be truthful. Like communiqué, press release can be published on behalf of individual delegates or the entire committee, and a majority vote is needed for the latter case.
3. Directives: Directive is the crisis version of resolution. It is used by delegates to order actions, and must be very specific and realistic. The drafting and voting of directives follow the same format and rules of procedures as resolutions, except that only operative clauses are needed in the body text (i.e. perambulatory clauses are not required). Directive is the most important form of paper in a crisis because it actually moves the committee along by causing different events to happen in the crisis. No matter how much discussing occurs in the committee room or in communiqués, no actions will be taken until a directive specifying certain action(s) is passed. As in the previous two cases, directives can also be written on behalf of individual delegates, instructing their home countries to take certain actions. These individual directives do not need to be voted on nor follow a certain format.
How to prepare for a crisis simulation?
Due to the unpredictable nature of crises, delegates will not know in advance when or how a crisis will emerge. Moreover, one major crisis can lead to a series of smaller crisis. However, by reading the background guide and analyzing the context of the simulation, you might be able to guess the general topic of the crisis and streamline your research. Generally, delegates rely on prior country research, instinct, and on-the-spot analysis to deal with crises. Whether or not you have previous MUN experience, you can successfully participate in crisis committees.
