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2025 Handbook Introduction to the General Assembly
The General Assembly is the central deliberative organ of the United Nations. The General Assembly has been described as the nearest thing to a “parliament of mankind.” All Member States are members of the General Assembly and each delegation has one vote, regardless of size or population. The General Assembly makes recommendations on international issues, oversees all other United Nations bodies that report to the General Assembly, approves the United Nations budget and apportions United Nations funds. On the recommendation of the Security Council, the General Assembly elects the Secretary-General and holds the authority to admit and expel Member States. Voting in the General Assembly is ordinarily by simple majority, but most of the body’s work is adopted by consensus.
The General Assembly at AMUN The General Assembly at AMUN
The Conference exists to provide a safe and educational environment for both representatives and AMUN Secretariat members to grow and learn. The General Assembly simulations at AMUN are the most prevalent method for facilitating this. At the root of this is one of AMUN’s founding principles: to create the most realistic simulation possible by mirroring the United Nations’ structure and processes.
Due to time limitations on our simulations, AMUN has selected a set of two topics for each General Assembly simulation. We do this to help foster thorough discussion of each topic and to present representatives with a reasonable and fair playing ground regardless of the representatives’ experience levels.
General Assembly bodies use resolutions to help provide solutions and create pathways forward from the complex international issues under consideration. These are the principal documents produced by the General Assembly. They discuss the history of the topics before the body and suggest ways for the international community to address those issues. Every resolution must have at least one preambular and one operative clause, though most resolutions contain more. In addition to the requisite number of clauses, each resolution must be within the purview of the body. For more information regarding the crafting of resolutions please see the United Nations Documents Section of the AMUN Handbook. For more information on the purview of each committee, please reference the committee’s topic briefs in the AMUN Handbook.
Research and Resources Available Research and Resources Available
One of the most important responsibilities of a representative is to complete research before Conference. This research can greatly affect a representative’s experience in the simulation. AMUN has several suggestions for how to go about researching a State’s position, history and culture. These can be found in the Research and Preparation Section. AMUN also publishes research briefs specific to each simulation in the AMUN Handbook. These briefs are designed to provide an overview of each topic area and should be used to craft your delegation’s position on each topic at Conference.
Two types of staff are readily available to assist participants within a simulation: committee chairs and rapporteurs.
The committee chairs preside over the room and facilitate debate in each General Assembly simulation. They are experts on AMUN’s Rules of Procedure and are more than willing to help representatives understand and use the rules throughout the simulation. Chairs also observe substantive debate and keep track of the committee’s proceedings.
Rapporteurs review the written content produced in General Assembly simulations. They work with representatives to generate high-quality written work that meets the standards set by both AMUN and the United Nations. They also provide guidance on committee purview and will help representatives work resolutions into purview, should it be necessary.
Home Government is available to help representatives with several tasks. If a representative wants an in-depth review of their country’s position on the topics being covered in a committee, Home Government can conduct briefings to provide them the information they need to participate more fully in the simulation. Home Government also has the ability to furnish committees with roleplayers who provide information to the entire body as opposed to an individual representative. Secretariat members in each simulation can assist representatives in submitting an information request.
AMUN encourages representatives to publish written content to the rest of the Conference. The International Press Delegation (IPD) fields a team of student reporters that publish regular articles in the AMUN Chronicle, a periodical distributed to all Conference participants. Representatives may also submit letters to IPD editors that may be published in the Chronicle, give interviews to student reporters, or utilize IPD to host press conferences to spread information about their simulation’s work.
The General Assembly is the central deliberative organ of the United Nations. The General Assembly has been described as the nearest thing to a “parliament of mankind.” All Member States are members of the General Assembly and each delegation has one vote, regardless of size or population. The General Assembly makes recommendations on international issues, oversees all other United Nations bodies that report to the General Assembly, approves the United Nations budget and apportions United Nations funds. On the recommendation of the Security Council, the General Assembly elects the Secretary-General and holds the authority to admit and expel Member States. Voting in the General Assembly is ordinarily by simple majority, but most of the body’s work is adopted by consensus.
The General Assembly at AMUN The General Assembly at AMUN
The Conference exists to provide a safe and educational environment for both representatives and AMUN Secretariat members to grow and learn. The General Assembly simulations at AMUN are the most prevalent method for facilitating this. At the root of this is one of AMUN’s founding principles: to create the most realistic simulation possible by mirroring the United Nations’ structure and processes.
Due to time limitations on our simulations, AMUN has selected a set of two topics for each General Assembly simulation. We do this to help foster thorough discussion of each topic and to present representatives with a reasonable and fair playing ground regardless of the representatives’ experience levels.
General Assembly bodies use resolutions to help provide solutions and create pathways forward from the complex international issues under consideration. These are the principal documents produced by the General Assembly. They discuss the history of the topics before the body and suggest ways for the international community to address those issues. Every resolution must have at least one preambular and one operative clause, though most resolutions contain more. In addition to the requisite number of clauses, each resolution must be within the purview of the body. For more information regarding the crafting of resolutions please see the United Nations Documents Section of the AMUN Handbook. For more information on the purview of each committee, please reference the committee’s topic briefs in the AMUN Handbook.
Research and Resources Available Research and Resources Available
One of the most important responsibilities of a representative is to complete research before Conference. This research can greatly affect a representative’s experience in the simulation. AMUN has several suggestions for how to go about researching a State’s position, history and culture. These can be found in the Research and Preparation Section. AMUN also publishes research briefs specific to each simulation in the AMUN Handbook. These briefs are designed to provide an overview of each topic area and should be used to craft your delegation’s position on each topic at Conference.
Two types of staff are readily available to assist participants within a simulation: committee chairs and rapporteurs.
The committee chairs preside over the room and facilitate debate in each General Assembly simulation. They are experts on AMUN’s Rules of Procedure and are more than willing to help representatives understand and use the rules throughout the simulation. Chairs also observe substantive debate and keep track of the committee’s proceedings.
Rapporteurs review the written content produced in General Assembly simulations. They work with representatives to generate high-quality written work that meets the standards set by both AMUN and the United Nations. They also provide guidance on committee purview and will help representatives work resolutions into purview, should it be necessary.
Home Government is available to help representatives with several tasks. If a representative wants an in-depth review of their country’s position on the topics being covered in a committee, Home Government can conduct briefings to provide them the information they need to participate more fully in the simulation. Home Government also has the ability to furnish committees with roleplayers who provide information to the entire body as opposed to an individual representative. Secretariat members in each simulation can assist representatives in submitting an information request.
AMUN encourages representatives to publish written content to the rest of the Conference. The International Press Delegation (IPD) fields a team of student reporters that publish regular articles in the AMUN Chronicle, a periodical distributed to all Conference participants. Representatives may also submit letters to IPD editors that may be published in the Chronicle, give interviews to student reporters, or utilize IPD to host press conferences to spread information about their simulation’s work.