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Tips and Guidelines on Directives and Communiqués

Hi delegates!

 We are very excited to meet you. 

 Here are some tips and guidelines to help you write good directives and communiqués. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section. We will try our best to get back to you ASAP.

 General guidelines
  • Be clear and straightforward. Miscommunication may lead to unintended consequences
  • Don't be too vague or complex
  • Write legibly 
  • Be careful about writing on small pieces of paper - they can get lost!
  • Submissions will not necessarily be approved. Directives and communiqués will need to be in line with character and/or country policy. They should also follow the SMART framework
  • While assassinations are fun, it's all about diplomacy at the end of the day  
Personal directives
  • Can be made in secret and given directly to the chair without being voted on by the committee
  • This is how a delegate exerts personal power
Committee directives
  • Require signatories and sponsors
  • Usually voted on by moving into voting block 
  • Don't require pre-ambulatory clauses and often have 1 to 4 operative clauses
Format of a Directive

Directive Title (can be funny or serious)

*Sponsors: Entity 1

*Signatories: Entity 2, Entity 3, Entity 4, Entity 5
  1. Recommends operative 1;
  2. Moves to operative 2;
  3. Decides operative 3.
*If applicable

 Examples of active verbs
Example of a Directive

Title: Constitution Amendment

From: President Xi Jinping

To: Chair

1. Propose amendment to the constitution that removes the line that says the president and vice president "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms."

Communiqué
  • A formal message from a committee or delegate to be communicated to other bodies
  • If sent from committee, communiqués need to be approved by a majority vote
Example of a Communiqué

Dear President Fillmore,

We ask that the United States of America respect our 220-year-old policy of sakoku ("seclusion policy") and recall Commodore Matthew C. Perry from Japan.

Sincerely,
The Tokugawa shogunate on the behalf of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Go-Yōzei

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