European Parliament Delegate Guide

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The European Parliament is the directly elected legislative assembly of the European Union, representing EU citizens and making laws alongside the Council of the European Union.  

As a delegate in the European Parliament you represent a Member State, UN agency, or accredited NGO. Your responsibilities before and during the conference include researching your country/organization’s human rights record and policies, preparing an opening speech, drafting and negotiating clauses for draft resolutions, lobbying for support, and participating actively in moderated/unmoderated caucuses.

The Chairing Panel (President, Vice-President(s), and Rapporteur/Directing Chair) enforces MMUN rules, manages the speakers' list, rules on points and motions, facilitates caucuses, assesses procedural motions, and assists delegates in drafting and submitting amendments. Chairs should be impartial, clear, and consistent in applying procedure.

• Diplomatic language and mutual respect are mandatory at all times. Personal attacks or discriminatory remarks are prohibited.

• Formal business attire is required during committee sessions.

• Electronic devices are allowed for research and note-taking only. Social media during sessions is discouraged.

• Delegates must accurately represent their assigned country/organization policy and interests.

Roll Call: The Chair conducts roll call at the start of each session. Delegations answer "Present" or "Present and Voting." "Present and Voting".

Setting the Agenda: If relevant, the committee may vote to select the order of topics using a simple majority. The agenda is often set in advance, but Chairs should clarify any session-specific rules at opening.

Speakers' List: The primary form of debate. Delegates raise placards to be added to the list; speeches should be substantive and focused on the agenda topic.

Moderated Caucus: Requested for focused, time-limited debate on a sub-issue. A motion must specify total time, speaking time per speaker, and a clear purpose. Requires a second and a simple majority.

Unmoderated Caucus: Informal negotiation time for delegates to draft resolutions and lobby. A motion must specify the total time. Requires a second and a simple majority (or Chair approval).

• Points must be raised and wait to be recognized by the Chair before being stated.
• A Point of Personal Privilege regarding audibility may interrupt the speaker; other points may not.
• A Point of Order must reference a specific recent procedural error to be in order.

European parliament outputs are best framed as diplomatic, human-rights-focused draft resolutions or working papers. Resolutions should be inclusive, actionable, and grounded in human rights law.

Preambulatory Clauses:
Start with participles or descriptive phrases that recall background, legal instruments, or previous UN actions. Examples: 'Bearing in mind', 'Recalling', 'Recognizing', 'Deeply concerned by'.

Operative Clauses:
Begin with action verbs in the third person present: 'Calls upon', 'Urges', 'Encourages', 'Requests', 'Recommends'. Operative clauses should be numbered, clear, and implementable.

Friendly Amendments:
• Small changes agreed to by the sponsors of a draft resolution.
• With Chairs’ confirmation these are adopted without debate or vote in many MMUN procedures.
 

Unfriendly Amendments:
• Changes which alter or remove clauses without sponsor agreement.
• Must be submitted in writing, declared in order by the Chair, debated, and put to a vote before being incorporated.

Substantive votes (e.g., passing a resolution or unfriendly amendment): Simple majority of present and voting delegations unless the committee or conference rules specify otherwise. Abstentions are allowed unless a delegation answered 'Present and Voting' during roll call, in which case abstention is waived. Procedural motions generally require a simple majority.

Voting methods include placard vote (standard) and roll call vote (if requested and granted).

• Focus on human-rights-based approaches: centre the dignity, rights, and protection of individuals and groups rather than geopolitical advantage.
• Reference international human rights instruments (e.g., UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR) and relevant treaty bodies or Special Procedures where appropriate.
• Consider vulnerable groups and intersectional impacts when drafting clauses.
• Propose monitoring, capacity-building, reporting mechanisms, and international cooperation rather than punitive unilateral measures which HRC cannot implement alone.

• Bearing in mind

• Recognizing with deep concern

• Recalling

• Noting with appreciation

• Deeply concerned by

• Guided by

• Having considered

• Noting further

• Calls upon

• Urges

• Encourages

• Requests

• Recommends

• Calls for

• Affirms

• Decides to establish

• Research your delegation’s existing human rights record and publicly stated priorities.
• Build regional and cross-regional coalitions: human rights issues often require broad support.
• Draft realistic, evidence-based operative clauses that can attract co-sponsors.
• Use unmoderated caucuses strategically to write and refine draft resolutions.
• When speaking, be concise, reference legal frameworks, and offer practical implementation steps.

• Proposing vague or unenforceable actions.
• Using accusatory or politicized language that alienates potential co-sponsors.
• Submitting late or poorly formatted amendments.
• Confusing procedural points with substantive debate points.

• 'I move to open a moderated caucus of 15 minutes with a speaking time of 1 minute per speaker to discuss [sub-topic].'
• 'I move to enter an unmoderated caucus for 20 minutes for the purpose of drafting a resolution on [topic].'
• 'I move to close debate and move to voting procedure on the draft resolution.'