United Nations Security Council Simulation Pre-Session

A training session on Model UN Conference was organized in Tehran by the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in cooperation with the Iranian Association of UN Studies (IAUNS). The Model UN Conference will simulate a session of the Security Council on “The appointment of the next UN Secretary-General”, AVA Diplomatic reports.

The full day session was held for more than 20 participants at the UN Office in Iran on 28 September 2016. The main session is supposed to be held in the end of October.

At the beginning of the traning a video clip on the “Selecting the Next UN Secretary-General” was screened for the participants.   Then Dr. Nasrin Mosaffa welcomed the audience and thanked UNIC for its continuous cooperation with IAUNS.

In her opening statement, the UNIC Director, Dr. Maria Dotsenko, emphasized the importance of the opportunities provided by the MUN, where participants can practice their communications, negotiations and consensus-building skills and learn more about UN values. She also briefed the participants on the procedure of selection of the 9th UN Secretary-General and about candidates.  She spoke about unprecedented transparency of the process, where candidates presented their platforms in front of the General Assembly.

From left, Ambassador Bagher Asadi; head of IAUNS, Dr. Nasrin Mosaffa; and UNIC Director, Dr. Maria Dotsenko

Ambassador Bagher Asadi, former diplomat and a member of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan’s “Panel of Eminent Persons on Civil Society and UN Relationships,” spoke about art of diplomatic negotiations, and work of the Security Council and how to hold a successful simulation.  He will play a role of the President of the Security Council.

During the afternoon session Ms. Bita Khaghani UNIC intern shared her knowledge about the MUN since she participated in MUN during the Public International Law course at the International Hague Academy in 2014.

Ms. Ghaemmaghami, UNIC Reference Assistant briefed the group on the Model UN Workshops, United Nations Association of the USA, UNITAR webpage and it’s e-learning opportunities on Drafting and Adopting United Nations Resolutions as well as its Workshop on Negotiating, Drafting and Adopting United Nations Resolutions. She also spoke about navigation through the Security Council website with the emphasis on its provisional rules of procedure, working methods handbook and different SC documents. Persian copies of the UN Charter were distributed among the participants.

“Participating in Model UN Conferences is a good opportunity for students to practice their knowledge and to bring law and policy out of the books and into the real world. It’s interesting to prepare the position paper together with my team and to organize similar Model UN simulations at my university,” said Ms. Marjan Ghanbari

During this training session the members of the 15 teams/delegations had the opportunity to exchange views with each other and with the UNIC staff towards preparing for the “Model UN Security Council”.