UNEP_workshop_(1).pdf

UNEP
Workshop by Muskaan Atif and Soha Ali Zaman

Sequence
DAY 1 OF UNEP WORKSHOP
Time: 10:30-10:55 (followed by breaktime till 11:25)
DISCUSSION TOPICS
1) Introduction to committee and topic
2) Introduction to basic terminologies
3) Layout of Committee sessions and MUN Format
4) Code of Conduct/ Dress code/ Rules
DAY 2 OF UNEP WORKSHOP 1) GSL
2) Explanation of topic
3) Moderated caucuses and motions to raise
4) Position paper
DAY 3 OF UNEP WORKSHOP 1) Working paper
2) Draft resolution
3) Solutions
DAY 4 OF UNEP WORKSHOP 1) Summary of DAY 1,2,3
2) Advantages and skills
3) Entertainment sessions/ Brownie points
4) Awards

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE and TOPIC:
UNEP:
United Nations Environment Programme is the world’s leading organisation in environmental protection. It deals in i) assessessing
environmental conditions and trends at the global, regional and national levels ; ii)developing international agreements and national
environmental instruments; iii) strengthening institutions for wise environmental management. It also helps nations reach sustainability
through its support of science based policy making and global advocacy.
TOPIC: Ethical Considerations of Artificial Intelligence in Environmental
Contexts
Though artificial intelligence plays a vital role in maintaining environmental protections at the same time it poses many ethical
considerations some of them being:
1.The energy consumption and environmental footprint of AI infrastructure and data centers,
2.Privacy and security of the provide data,
3.Ethical dilemmas(biasness and equity in access).
4.Long term impacts of AI in areas such as agriculture, transportation and energy.
5.The sense of awareness.

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC TERMINOLOGIES
Dias: The collective name of the chairs or the group of people leading the committee
Decorum: Proper etiquettes are expected from the delegates (no crosstalk)
Raise motion to open debate : Raise motion to establish Roll call
Every committee session starts with the roll call, without which quorum cannot be established. A delegate
may change her roll call in the next session the roll call takes place. During the roll call, the country names
are called out in alphabetic order and the delegate can answer by saying either Present or Present and
Voting.
1) Present - A Delegate can vote in Yes, No or Abstain to vote for the Draft Resolution
2) Present and Voting - A Delegate is bound to vote decisively, i.e., in a Yes or No. A Delegate cannot
Abstain in this case.
3) Abstention: When a Delegate is in doubt, or if his/her country supports a few points in the resolution and
is against the other points, a Delegate may Abstain. An Abstention counts as neither Yes, nor No, and that
vote is not counted during the total tally of votes

Quorum: the minimum number of members of a committee required for the committee
proceedings to start.
Motion: subtopics to be discussed ( reasons, causes, effects) or another type of motion is to pass a
motion to extend the moderated caucus time to time. If a motion passes, then the entire committee
is bound to that specific form of debate for that period of time. Raise motion to establish GSL
(General Speakers List): It is used for delegates to discuss the issue in a more general way.
Caucus: form of debate where speakers list is set aside and speakers will be called by the chair as they
raise their placards
Moderated Caucus: It is a formal debate where the Chairs are present. Different motions are raised
on which debates are done : “The delegate of China would like to raise a motion to discuss the history
of cybersecurity and cyber threats for total time 10 minutes and individual speakers time 1 minute”
Unmoderated Caucus: It is an informal debate where you can interact with other delegates.
Chairs are not present only the ACD is there. You can form blocs and write working papers and
draft resolutions during this.

Points:
Point of Personal Privilege: A delegate may rise to it whenever s/he experiences any inconvenience,
discomfort.
Point of parliamentary inquiry: A question from a delegate to the chair about the Rules of Procedure
(RoP) or anything else they don’t understand in the committee.
Point of Order: It is used to point out factual or a procedural error. Any violation by the chairs.
Right of Reply: When a delegate feels their country was insulted during another delegates GSL
speech, the can ask for Right of Reply. If approved by the chair, the insulted delegate gets a certain
amount of time to respond to the insult There is no Right of Reply to a Right of Reply.
Bloc: group of ally countries
Yield: if you have extra time left giving it to the chairs or to any other country, only during gsl
Stance: country’s link to the topic, county’s position/ relation/ opinion on the topic.
Permission to approach the dice( to get sticky notes in order for talking to their fellows since speaking
to each other is not allowed in mods)

Working Paper: The first draft of ideas in writing which is compiled by the different blocs. They
do not need to be written in resolution format but are often written as complete clauses.
Draft Resolution: The final draft of a working paper where the blocs combined policy ideas are
properly formatted and approved by the chair for both content and format. Once approved by the
chair they can be discussed and, after debate closed, voted upon. They have preambulatory and
operative clauses (discussed later)
Signatories: Delegates who support a draft resolution, or at least want to see it discussed. There is
no limit on the number of signatories.
Voting: by roll call
-Yes -No -Abstain
-Pass (you must vote yes or no during second round of roll call)
-Yes with right -No with rights (if the vote appears to constitute a divergence from the country’s
policy)
At the end of the day motion is raised to suspend the debate.
If debate is adjourned, debate is suspended for a particular committee session, discussion can be
resumed in the next scheduled session.
Teacher: Don’t call the chair teacher. It is incorrect and they don’t like it.
I; Don't use I to address yourself. Say ‘we’ or ‘The delegate of america..’

Layout Of committees and MUN Format
● Research for your allotment
● Take help from case studies/ Study Guides
● Write a position paper, to be submitted day before the event
● 2 DAY event
● DAY 1:Morning; opening ceremony
● Committee sessions starts
● Raise motion to establish Roll Call
● Raise motion to open debate
● GSL (General Speakers List) (names of countries who voluntarily raise placards)
● All delegates listed in GSL speak
● Moderated Caucus (formal session)
● Speak and bring up mods in first session/ Pass motions
● History and background related motions on day 1 ( causes/ reasons of the issue)
● Debates start as the ACD/CD passes motion, ⅔ majority required to pass motion
● Session continues, delegates continue to vote in favor or against motions and continue to debate
● Break ( relax and research or add more points before next session starts)
● If there’s more than 1 committee session on the same day, then raise different motions forit

● Committee session 2 starts continues in the same way
● Raise different motions now (problem and severity of the issue, consequences, effects)
● Entertainment session
● Social night
DAY 2
● Committee session starts
● Be diplomatic and form blocs
● 2 blocs formed 1in favor and 1 against the issue of committee
● Each block forms a draft (working paper) according to format write what has been discussed in committee
up till now (write working paper in unmod)
● Raise motion to present and discuss the working papers simultaneously
● 2 delegates from each bloc presents it to the whole committee
● Raise motions to discuss solutions
● Write draft resolution in unmod
● Discussion and voting on the draft resolutions
● Entertainment session
● Socials
● Award ceremony

Code of Conduct
1. Delegates are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times. Delegates found to
be disruptive will be asked to leave the conference and will not qualify for awards.
2. By signing up to attend BGC-MUN delegates are agreeing to be photographed by staff
3. The dress code for delegates is formal Eastern or formal Western attire. Delegates are
expected to dress in an appropriate and professional manner and those not abiding by the
dress code may be asked to leave. (Jeans are not allowed)
4. All delegates cannot challenge the decision of the chairs about results/awards.
5. Any form of harassment will not be tolerated and any offenders will be dealt with
immediately and strictly. Racism, sexism, or other offenses that hinder the inclusivity of all
delegates will not be tolerated. Delegates engaging in any of these activities inside or outside
of the committee will be disqualified from awards and reported to their Head Delegate.

6) The Secretariat reserves the right to immediately expel delegates from the conference for
unacceptable behavior including, but not limited to, inappropriate language, suggestive remarks,
obscene gestures or body language, violent physical outbursts, inappropriate actions, or
derogatory comments or notes made either in or out of committee.
7. In order to enhance and maintain a productive committee atmosphere, all cell phones
should be silent before the start of the committee. Electronic devices may be used outside the
committee room if necessary. If a delegate has a medical or family emergency and has a reason
to receive a call during committee, please inform the committee director before the session
begins. The Secretariat will grant exceptions to this policy if informed of any necessary
accommodations prior to conference weekend. Delegates are bound at all times to act in
accordance with good sportsmanship and in respect for fair play.

GSL(General speakers list)
● The Delegate of ___________ wishes to raise a motion to establish the GSL”
● NOTE: Individual speaker time in a GSL can be anywhere within the range of 60-120
seconds, and a multiple of 30 seconds. This motion is only in order can be changed only
before the First speaker in the GSL Speaks.
● After the agenda for the session has been established, a motion is raised to open the GSL.
This list is open throughout the duration of the discussion on that agenda. A new GSL is
established for each agenda.
● To speak in the GSL a delegate must intimate the dias, by raising his/her placard when the
dias asks for Delegates wishing to speak in the GSL. The countries’ names will be noted in
the order in which they will be making their speeches. After their GSL speech, a Delegate has
the option to Yield his/her time to a specific Delegate, Points of Information (questions) or to
the dias.
● May be established at the beginning of every committee session.
● If the committee fails to come up with news mods then the diass looks for a motion to
establish the GSL again.

What to say in GSL
1st Committee Session:
Talk about the definition of the topic, modes you want to discuss, what you expect
from the committee and your stance
Next GSL’s:
Summarize what has been discussed by the committee, mention what the committee
has failed to discuss, what you want the committee to move towards now (if this is the
last committee session before you make the draft resolution you can say that now we
should move towards solutions and discuss possible frameworks for ethical
consideration of artificial intelligence.

YIELDS: On conclusion of any speech in the GSL, a Delegate can choose to Yield in any one of the
following ways:
Yield to another Delegate: In case a Delegate has some time left to speak, and does not wish to utilise it,
then s/he may choose to yield the remaining time to another Delegate. This must be done with the prior
consent of the other delegate (taken either through chit or in person). The Delegate who has been yielded
the other’s time may use it to make a substantive speech, but cannot further yield the time.
Yield to questions: A Delegate may also choose to yield to Points of Information. The Executive Board will
recognise a certain number of Delegates wishing to ask questions regarding the agenda or the speech
made by the Delegate. It is upto the Delegate to answer the question. Ways of refusal include replying via
chit at a later time or discussing the topic during an unmoderated caucus.
Yield to the Chair: Should a Delegate yield to the Chair, any leftover time is considered null and the
Executive Board will move on to the next speaker in the GSL. Some Executive Boards may also request
the Delegate to answer substantive questions from them in case necessary for debate. This usually
happens when a country’s stance is crucial to resolution of the problems.

YIELDS: On conclusion of any speech in the GSL, a Delegate can choose to Yield in any one of the
following ways:
● Yield to another Delegate: In case a Delegate has some time left to speak, and does not wish to
utilise it, then s/he may choose to yield the remaining time to another Delegate. This must be
done with the prior consent of the other delegate (taken either through chit or in person). The
Delegate who has been yielded the other’s time may use it to make a substantive speech, but
cannot further yield the time.
● Yield to Points of Information: A Delegate may also choose to yield to Points of Information.
The Executive Board will recognise a certain number of Delegates wishing to ask questions
regarding the agenda or the speech made by the Delegate. It is upto the Delegate to answer the
question. Ways of refusal include replying via chit at a later time or discussing the topic during
an unmoderated caucus.
● Yield to the Chair: Should a Delegate yield to the Chair, any leftover time is considered null and
the Executive Board will move on to the next speaker in the GSL. Some Executive Boards may
also request the Delegate to answer substantive questions from them in case necessary for
debate. This usually happens when a country’s stance is crucial to resolution of the problems

Moderated caucus and mods to raise
● “The Delegate of Country would like to raise a motion for a moderated caucus on the Topic, for
time perimeters 10-1”
● Moderated Caucuses are meant to have specific topics of discussion so that one can narrow down
and try to address one sub-topic at a time.
● Sub-topics can be derived from the main agenda either by common themes/issues, region, legal
regime and political debate.
● It is generally advisable to keep documenting the suggestions being made so as to make a more
comprehensive Resolution in the Committee.
● The delegate proposing the motion must state its purpose and specify a time limit for the
moderated caucus as well as the speaking time per delegate. Example – “Delegate of Iran would
like to raise a moderated caucus to discuss ‘types of cyber threats that invade international peace’,
time perimeters 10-11,” , 10-1 would mean the total speaking time would be 10 minutes with only
1 minute individual speaking time, in this instance there will be 10 speakers.

● This motion needs a simple majority vote (50%+1) in order for it to pass. However, the
Executive may rule such a motion out of order if it is not worded properly or in case it is out of
the scope of the agenda.
● As the agendas can be quite multilayered, Delegates are urged to use moderated caucuses to
focus debate and discussion on parts of the main agenda so that it can be broken down and
resolved.
● A moderated caucus is presided over by the Executive Board, and Delegates wishing to speak
must raise their placards when asked, so that they may be recognised immediately after the
previous speaker.
● A Delegate can be recognised multiple times in a moderated caucus, but not immediately after
they have just spoken.
● The difference between a GSL and a Moderated Caucus Speech is that there is no provision for
Yields, thus, all the questions, answers and arguments have to be Fit into the time slot you are
given for the speech.
● Another motion is for the extension of a moderated caucus. It may be called for if any delegate
wishes.
● An un-moderated caucus would mean that Delegates can informally interact with their
co-Delegates without moderation by the Executive Board. They can utilise this time to discuss
pertinent issues within their blocs, or it can be used to frame draft resolutions, working papers
or amendments, depending upon the stage the committee is at.

Examples of Mods to raise
● The role of data privacy as an ethical consideration of AI in an environmental context.
● How unequal access to AI acts as a moral concern in an environmental context.
● High energy consumption of AI infrastructure and how that further acts as a threat to the physical
environment.
● How divided views on AI negatively affects its role in the digital environment.
● The role of AI as a political and geopolitical agent in the digital world and how this poses serious
diplomatic threats.
● The digital effects of neglecting ethical considerations of AI in an environmental context.
● The physical climatic effects of neglecting the ethical considerations of AI in an environmental
context.
● Past UN actions taken to address the ethical considerations of AI in environmental contexts.
● How we can make the role of Ai for the environment more sustainable.
● What sort of political actions can be taken to make AI more ethically acceptable for the environment>

RIGHTS
● Right to Reply: The Chair may recognise the Right of Reply only in instances of a grave
personal insult. Rights of Reply must be submitted in writing to the Chair as a first step,
CHITS
To Executive Board Chits:
● These are addressed to the Executive Board. In these chits, delegates convey their content
directly to the members of the Executive Board for evaluation. These chits when sent should
portray a proper analysis and should be related to the agenda to be called substantive. We
request you to highlight the points to make it easy for us to see your main points in the chits.
Points which you are not able to speak in your speeches, you can send them via chit.
● Format
To Executive Board
From ‘Your portfolio’
Your content

To Delegate Chits via Executive Board:
● They are addressed to another delegate but are first received and read by the Executive Board
and then forwarded to the mentioned delegate. They may consist of a question that the delegate
has or an answer/reply to a question or if a delegate wants an explanation regarding a point
spoken. These chits are sent to the Executive Board for them to be recognised and marked
accordingly.Use these chits when you have points of information from the other delegate. It is
important, in these chits, to make a demarcation where exactly you need to involve the
Executive Board Members.
● When you need clarification regarding a point that some other delegate spoke, instead of
sending via EB chits, send a chit to that delegate directly. Try involving Executive Board only
when you think that your discussion with the other delegate will guide the debate further or
when you feel the point that you have raised to the other delegate needs to be acknowledged by
the Executive Board Members.

Explanation of Topic
● Talks about the moral concerns that come with using AI for the environment.
● Causes
● Impacts and effects of these causes, e.g cyber-attacks on OT website public jeopardizes public
health systems, contamination of water.
● Definition of Key Terms:
● Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI refers to the development of computer systems capable of performing
tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and
decision-making.
● Ethical Consideration: Ethical considerations involve the evaluation of moral principles and values
when addressing a particular issue or decision-making process.
● Environmental Context: In this context, it refers to the natural world, ecosystems, and the overall
health of the planet, taking into account factors such as biodiversity, climate, pollution, and resource
management. The topic of the ethical consideration of artificial intelligence (AI) in an environmental
context is a multifaceted issue that intersects the realms of technology, ethics, and environmental
con

Position Paper
Position Paper: an introductory document
needed to clarify your stance, where your county
stands on the situation. A one single-spaced page
position paper. It has three basic parts: your
country’s national interests, your country’s
national policies, and your opinion on potential
resolution components.
● A brief introduction to your country and its
history concerning the topic and
committee;
● How the issue affects your country;
● Your country's policies with respect to the
issue, Statistics to back up your country's
position on the issue;
● Conventions and resolutions that your country
has signed or ratified; UN actions that your
country supported or opposed;
● What your country believes should be done to
address the issue;
● What your country would like to accomplish
in the committee's resolution; and
● How the positions of other countries affect
your country's position.
● How your country sees the
situation/problem in general
● Your country’s relation to the topic
● What you want to pass in your MUN
resolution

Sample Position Paper
During the early eighteenth century, the British parliament developed an increasingly criticised view of the wholely protectionist trade
policies of the nation and believed that the mighty economy of the United Kingdom would not be challenged in the international market.
As a result, by 1846 the trade system had transformed into a liberalized one.
This worked out for the nation until the ‘industrial revolution’ hit and the economy saw a huge drop in sustainable growth which led to
environmental kinks and a rapid increase in GDP which further led to inflation. Due to this in 1932, the UK dropped its free trade and
adopted protectionist policies, for instance, a 10% tariff was placed on imports.
Since then, the nation has productively worked on balancing its protectionism and liberalization policies for a healthy sustainable
growth rate that supports its trade dynamics. Consequently, the United Kingdom has now been named the 2nd most sustainable country
globally. Its free trade which is inclusive of protectionist policies has attracted nations like New Zealand and Australia to form trade
agreements with the nation.
In this committee’s resolution, the United Kingdom hopes to help nations worldwide through its cooperation and support to bring more
sustainable growth rates internationally and resolve the issues in today's trade dynamics such as inclusivity, poverty, debt and etc. It
hopes that other nations too live up to their duty with consideration to trade agreements and geopolitics.

SOLUTIONS
● Establish international ethical review boards within the UN.
● Promote ‘green ai’ with the help of incentives such as tax reduction
● International level plans for ai sustainability to ensure that no harm comes to
the physical and digital environment.
● Introduce a framework for example the AOA framework, A stands for proper
allocation of budget for the purpose, O stands for optimization of energy, A
stands for algorithm audits.
● International cooperation with institutions sch as UNEP, GDPR etc.
● Mitigating biases
● First world economies can ensure healthy access to AI in third world nations
to bridge the divide on access and views.
● Utilize AI to circulate our economy and managing digital waste.

Amendments
After the resolution is approved they are modified through amendments.
There are two types of amendments:
● A friendly amendment is a change to the draft resolution that all
sponsors agree with
● An unfriendly amendment is a change that some or all of the draft
resolution sponsors do not support and must be voted upon by the
committee

BLOC FORMATION
● The committee would be divided into blocs. You have to make sure the bloc you are in
doesn’t have countries who might be enemies to your own country. For example
Russia/Ukraine, N Korea/ S Korea could not be in the same bloc.
● Identify your potential allies and enemies
● After blocs are formed you will sit according to that
● Each bloc will have their own working paper and draft resolution
● Your diplomatic and negotiation skills will come in handy for you to have more people in
your bloc so that the draft resolution you make can pass as it requires ⅔ majority to pass.

DRAFT RESOLUTION
● Draft Resolution: a document that holds finality and is the official solution agreed to by the whole committee, it is on this document that failure or
success are dependent.( a paper is given that has format)
● 2/3 rd majority required to pass the draft resolution
● This is written during the unmoderated caucus
● Format is very strict and has to be followed
i) 11 font size
ii)After listing signatories address the general assembly
iii)Full stop should only be put at the end
iv) The ratio of the clauses should be 1:2
● It contains preambles and operatives, you first write about the things discussed by the committee and then moves towards solutions, frameworks you
want to recommend
● A draft resolution has sponsors who are the authors of the resolution and signatories whoever is the signatory agrees that they want this draft resolution to
be debated and voted upon.
● After each operative clause provide a brief explanation as to why this solution is necessary
EXAMPLE WILL BE PRESENTED

DAY 3
● Summary of Day 1,2,3
● Revise the most important points and format of documents
Advantages and Skills:
● Knowledge about International policies
● Fluency in public speaking and gaining of confidence
● Knowledge about what is going on around the world, what problems are going on
currently.
● Problem solving skills when you pass resolution and work towards solving the issue
● MUN shapes your personality in a way where your convincing power, persuasive
techniques and manipulative approach enhances.
● You learn to trick and counter criticize others when they attack or target you
● Everyone has to speak so fear of judgment, anxiety overcomes by itself
● You learn to provoke other countries and target them efficiently
● You learn to argue at the right point to your enemy countries by exposing them and also
keep good and healthy relations with countries that can benefit you.
● Enhances research and analytical abilities.
● Promotes teamwork and collaboration when you form blocs

Entertainment sessions and Brownie points
● Games like antakshiri
● Truth and dare
● Mimicry of other delegates or ACDS
● Singing of dance competitions
● You get brownie points if;
1. You participated and did well in games
2. Dressed well
3. Sung or danced well
4. If you showed a talent

Awards
1. Best delegate
2. Outstanding delegate
3. Honorable mention
4. Special Mention

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