How to write an MUN resolution: preambular and operative clauses

A Model UN resolution looks strange the first time you read one. It runs over a page or more, yet the United Nations' Model UN guide says "each resolution consists of one long single sentence." Once you know the pattern, it becomes one of the most useful tools you have in committee, because it turns a debate into a document others can sign. This guide explains the parts of a resolution, how to choose the right words, and the rules on sponsors and amendments that differ from one conference to the next.

The three parts of a resolution

National Model United Nations (NMUN) sums up the format: "Each resolution has a heading, preambular clauses, and operative clauses." The whole text is one sentence, held together by commas and semicolons, with "only one period at the very end."

The heading identifies the document. NMUN says it shows which committee the resolution is for, the topic, and who wrote and sponsored it. The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) uses lines such as "FORUM:", "QUESTION OF:" and "SUBMITTED BY:", followed by the body's name in capital letters and a comma, for example "THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,". Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) asks for a centred title in capital letters, then the committee, the topic, the sponsors and the signatories.

The preambular clauses explain why the committee is acting. The operative clauses say what it decides to do. The UN guide puts the difference neatly: preambular paragraphs "explain the basis for the action," and "some lack of precision" in them is tolerable. Operative paragraphs "express what the conference has decided to do," so precise, brief wording matters most there.

Writing preambular clauses

According to the UN guide, each preambular clause starts with a verb in the present participle, such as "Recalling," "Considering" or "Noting," which is capitalised and italicised, and each ends with a comma. They are not numbered. NMUN adds that preambular clauses cannot have sub-clauses. In practice the openers are not all present participles: NMUN says clauses "generally begin with present participles," and THIMUN says they may begin with "a present or past participle or an appropriate adjective," which is why phrases such as "Alarmed by," "Aware of" and "Deeply concerned" appear on its lists.

Common openers from the UN's own list include "Acknowledging," "Affirming," "Bearing in mind," "Concerned," "Convinced," "Emphasizing," "Guided by," "Recalling," "Recognizing," "Taking into consideration" and "Welcoming." If two clauses start with the same word, the UN tradition is to write "Further" before the second and "Also" before the third, as in "Noting," "Further noting," "Also noting."

Order matters too. The UN guide says a reference to the UN Charter goes first, references to past resolutions usually come second, then general observations about the issue, and any reference to a report goes last.

Writing operative clauses

Operative clauses begin with a present-tense verb, are numbered, and end with a semicolon, except the last, which ends with a full stop. THIMUN advises that each should contain "only one clear, unambiguous statement" of a decision. If a clause needs a list, sub-clauses are lettered and sub-sub-clauses use Roman numerals. NMUN, THIMUN and HMUN all say you cannot have just one sub-clause: if you use them, use at least two.

The verb sets the tone. The UN guide says "Requests" is "the most common and most neutral" opening, typically used to ask the Secretary-General to do something. "Calls upon" is stronger, and "Urges" is stronger still. "Demands" expresses the highest level of emotion "but is rarely used." When a General Assembly resolution asks the Security Council to act, the guide recommends "Recommends" or "Invites," to stay polite. THIMUN and HMUN go further and mark "Condemns" and "Demands" as reserved for the Security Council.

One rule catches many first-time drafters. THIMUN warns that operative clauses "can only call for things that the body concerned has the power to carry out." Only the Security Council can send peacekeeping forces, for example, so a General Assembly committee should write "Recommends that the Security Council send peacekeeping forces" instead of deciding to send them.

A short example

Here is an invented example, built to show the format rather than a real UN text. It shows the body's name, the preambular clauses and the operative clauses, and leaves out the other heading lines described above:

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recognizing that reliable internet access helps students continue learning when schools close,

Concerned that the cost of devices keeps many families offline,

1. Encourages Member States to include digital skills in national school curricula;

2. Invites Member States to share low-cost ways of connecting schools, such as:

(a) community internet centres in rural areas;

(b) shared device libraries run by schools;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to report on progress at a future session.

Notice the single full stop at the very end, the numbered operative clauses, the two sub-clauses, and the polite verbs. Nothing in it asks the General Assembly to do something it has no power to do.

From working paper to draft resolution

Resolutions rarely start as resolutions. At NMUN, delegates draft a working paper in a working group, widen it with other delegations, and submit it to the Dais for feedback. Once approved, it becomes a numbered draft resolution and is posted online, and NMUN removes the names of its sponsors and signatories, because draft resolutions are "the collective property of the Committee." Harvard Model United Nations India (HMUN India) describes working papers as a way "to collect and circulate delegate ideas" before they are moulded into formal documents.

THIMUN works differently. Delegates lobby in the first session, then a draft resolution must be approved by the Student Officer, who checks that it is relevant and within the committee's powers, and by an Approval Panel, which checks "the format, language and logical consistency."

Sponsors, signatories and submitters

The words differ by conference, and so do the numbers. At NMUN, sponsors are "the primary authors of the proposal," while signatories are delegations that want to debate it, and may even disagree with it. HMUN says signatories "need not support the document that they are signing," and a signature only shows "a desire to see the resolution out on the committee floor."

How many you need varies widely:

• NMUN: signatures equal to 20 per cent of the membership in attendance at the first session, with at least one sponsor.
• Harvard WorldMUN: no official sponsors, and 20 signatures in the General Assembly, 10 in the Economic and Social Council and regional bodies, or 5 in crisis committees.
• THIMUN The Hague: its 2026 manual requires 20 co-submitters, unless the Secretariat says otherwise.
• UMass Lowell's UMLMUN: at least two sponsors, and sponsors plus signatories equal to at least a third of the committee.

The real General Assembly has no minimum at all. The UN guide notes that some Model UN conferences require a set number of co-sponsors, but "there are no such limitations in the GA."

Amendments: friendly, unfriendly, or neither

At NMUN, a friendly amendment is one that all the original sponsors accept, so it is added without a vote. An unfriendly amendment lacks the support of all the sponsors, must be submitted before voting procedure with the required signatures, and is voted on. HMUN's Rule 29 says an unfriendly amendment needs a two-thirds majority (though another page of the same guide says there is no such thing as a friendly or unfriendly amendment, so check your committee's rules), while UMLMUN needs only a simple majority after two speakers for and two against. NMUN also says amendments cannot change preambular clauses or remove every operative clause.

Other conferences drop the distinction. WorldMUN has no official sponsors, so "there can be no friendly amendments." THIMUN The Hague's manual says plainly that there are no friendly amendments there: every amendment is debated and voted on, "even if it is only a change of one word." It allows an amendment to an amendment, but not one more level down. The UN itself does not use these terms. It calls changes proposed by the conference "amendments" and changes made by the sponsors themselves "revisions."

Pre-written resolutions and AI

Check this rule carefully, because conferences disagree. NMUN "will not accept any pre-written resolutions," and HMUN says all writing is expected "to take place during committee sessions." THIMUN's guidance, by contrast, tells delegates to write a draft resolution before the conference to lobby with, and expects it to be revised. THIMUN The Hague also says plagiarism from previous resolutions "is not accepted" and that using AI to write a full clause or resolution "is strictly prohibited and shall be deemed as plagiarism."

What resolutions do at the real UN

Two facts help you write more realistically. First, General Assembly resolutions "are considered to be recommendations" and "are not legally binding." The UN guide says only Security Council resolutions have the potential to be binding. Second, most are agreed without a vote. The UN guide says "roughly 80% of the GA resolutions are adopted by consensus," and that consensus "is not the same thing as being unanimous": countries can let a text pass while keeping reservations. When negotiators cannot agree on a passage, the disputed words go in square brackets, and the goal is a clean text with no brackets left.

The guide also notes that most Model UN resolutions are adopted by a vote, which "does not reflect how the UN has changed." Simulations that work by consensus, like a Model G20, are closer to how agreements are actually reached.

A checklist before you submit

• The text is one sentence: preambular clauses end with commas, operative clauses with semicolons, and there is one full stop at the end.
• Preambular clauses are not numbered. Operative clauses are.
• Each operative clause makes one clear decision and starts with a suitable verb.
• Nothing asks your committee to do what it has no power to do.
• If you use sub-clauses, there are at least two.
• You have checked your conference's rules on formatting, length, signatures and pre-writing. THIMUN, for example, allows at most 20 operative clauses, and THIMUN The Hague limits resolutions to three pages in Arial 12 point.

What to do next

Your resolution should grow out of your position paper. THIMUN says a well-written policy statement "will serve as the basis for your draft resolution." Our guide to MUN position paper format covers that first step, MUN rules of procedure explained covers how the vote works, and the MUN glossary explains the terms.

A Model G20 does not pass resolutions by vote. Delegates negotiate a shared communiqué by consensus, and our explainer on what the G20 does describes the real summit. To practise that kind of drafting, Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.