All attendees must sign the Liability form and/or Code of Conduct and agree to follow all CMUNCE Conference Policies. Any questions pertaining to Conference Policies should be directed to our USGs of Public Relations at public.relations@cmunce.org.
delegate reporting form
During conference, delegates may use the form below to report violations of CMUNCE's Conference Policies, Code of Conduct and Zero Tolerance Policy. This may include, but is not limited to, instances of discrimination, gender-based misconduct, bias, and bullying as well as substantive violations, such as pre-writing and plagiarism. This form may be submitted anonymously, but the Secretariat's response may be limited based on how much information is provided.
CMUNCE has instituted a formal Zero Tolerance Policy in regard to certain delegate and advisor conduct and behavior. Read more about this policy below!
Violations of the code of conduct
All CMUNCE delegates must sign the Code of Conduct prior to conference. The Code of Conduct states that delegates must adhere to all Conference Policies. If any delegate, advisor, or conference staffer believes they have witnessed any violation of these rules of conduct, they should report it to a member of the Secretariat, who will relay the information to the Secretary-General and Director-General. Once a report is received, the Secretary-General and Director-General will evaluate the incident and involve all necessary parties, such as advisors. Any violation of these rules of conduct may result in:
Disqualification from conference awards
Expulsion from the conference without refund
Barring of the delegation of the responsible delegate from future participation in CMUNCE
Any other punitive action deemed suitable and necessary by the Secretary-General
Following the resolution of the adjudication process, the Secretariat will send an Incident Report (IR) to involved parties as a formal written record.
The Secretary-General reserves the right to impose additional rules or alter existing rules at any time during the conference at their sole discretion. The Secretary-General also reserves the right to expel any delegate, delegations, school, or group thereof from the conference at any time for violating or failing to comply with the above regulations or for any other reason at their sole discretion.
Pre-writing and Plagiarism Policies
Pre-writing of directives, crisis notes, resolutions, communiques and any other written documents is strictly prohibited. Delegates are encouraged to research committee topics thoroughly prior to conference but may not bring in any clauses, wording or phrases to committee session.
Plagiarism includes the copying of sources and documents. All written work and presentations must be the direct voice of the author. Delegates are also not permitted to claim ownership over ideas, concepts, policies, documents and written work completed by other delegates. Individual delegates have ownership of their own work and its production/reproduction throughout committee session. Additionally, delegates are not permitted to collaborate or speak about committee-related matters prior to conference or during breaks. All written work by delegates is subject to checks via plagiarism softwares at the discretion of the Secretariat.
All substantive policy violations should be reported to the Chair or the assigned USG of Committees. Once a report is received, the Secretary-General and Chief of Staff will evaluate the incident and involve all necessary parties, such as advisors. Any violation of these substantive policies may result in:
A warning
Disqualification from conference awards
Expulsion from the conference without refund
Any other punitive action deemed suitable and necessary by the Secretary-General
Harassment and Gender-Based Misconduct Policies
Below is CMUNCE’s Statement on Misconduct, Anti-Discrimination, and Sensitivity:
The Columbia International Relations Council and Association and CMUNCE seek to make our conference and this committee a safe space in which all participants feel comfortable and welcomed. Consequently, we require our delegates to commit to the following policies:
(TW/CW: mentions of discrimination and gender-based misconduct) Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, islamophobia, ageism, ableism, and any otherwise prejudicial or and discriminatory statements or behavior will not be tolerated. Furthermore, CIRCA and CMUNCE have a zero-tolerance policy for gender-based misconduct in any form, including sexual harassment and abuse. All participants in this committee agree to refrain from any such activity and treat one another with courtesy and respect.
(TW/CW: mentions of violence, genocide, torture, suicide) Due to the nature of the activity, we recognize that violent subject matter such as war, colonialism, and terrorism are often discussed in Model UN committees. Delegates commit to treating these topics in a thoughtful and mature manner. Furthermore, utilizing instances of genocide, torture, sexual violence, suicide, and/or other sensitive subjects as a character’s crisis arc will not be tolerated in any conference-related content.
If any delegate fails to uphold these policies, they shall be subject to immediate investigation and intervention by the CMUNCE staff and Secretariat. Please do not hesitate to approach the Chair or Crisis Director of the committee if you experience or witness a violation of this agreement. Additionally, if you feel that any member of our conference staff is in violation of the aforementioned policies, please contact your Under-Secretary-General of Committees (USG of Committees), who will promptly escalate the issue. If you feel uncomfortable reporting misconduct yourself, please use the reporting systems on our website, cmunce.org, or contact your advisor.
Below are Columbia University and CMUNCE’s Definitions of Endangerment and Harassment:
We want to ensure that the community standards within CMUNCE are clear, and that our conference environment is educational, safe, healthy, and supportive. The following will not be tolerated under any circumstances:
Endangerment | Knowingly and/or recklessly endangering the health or safety of others or oneself is prohibited. The implied or express consent of the person against whom such violence or force is used will not be considered a justification for engaging in prohibited behavior. Prohibited behaviors include, but are not limited to:
acts that endanger human life or threaten physical injury;
unwanted physical contact with any person that reasonably places that person in fear of physical injury or danger.
Harassment | Harassing an individual for any reason is prohibited at Columbia University. Harassment is defined as unwelcome verbal or physical conduct/threat of physical conduct that, because of its severity or persistence, interferes significantly with an individual’s work or education or adversely affects an individual’s living conditions. Harassment of an individual may occur in person, via digital means, or through a third party. A single, isolated incident may qualify as harassment if, based on the facts and circumstances, the severity adversely affected an individual’s work, education, or living conditions. Gender-based misconduct of any kind including sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, stalking, gender-based harassment, and sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
Once a report is received, the Secretary-General and Director-General will evaluate the incident and involve all necessary parties, such as advisors. Any violation of these rules of conduct may result in:
Disqualification from conference awards
Expulsion from the conference without refund
Barring of the delegation of the responsible delegate from future participation in CMUNCE
Any other punitive action deemed suitable and necessary by the Secretary-General
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Delegates must arrive promptly to their assigned committee room. Attendance is taken at the beginning of every committee session and advisors will be contacted if delegates miss roll call. If a delegate must miss a session for any reason (prescheduled or emergency), they must have their advisor email the USGs of Public Relations at public.relations@cmunce.org (with the Chair CC’d) prior to the start of session.
Position Papers
All delegates must submit a position paper via the Position Paper Form by the beginning of the first committee session. Position papers should be approximately one typed page in 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced with one-inch margins. It should express your position’s opinions on the topics presented in your committee’s Background Guide. A good paper will also express some initial action that your committee may take and demonstrate some degree of outside research. Some non-traditional committees may have alternate requirements for position papers listed in their Background Guide. Questions regarding position papers should be directed to your Crisis Director/Chair.
Language and Dress Code
The official working language of CMUNCE and all committees is English. All delegates are expected to be dressed in Western Business Attire for all committee sessions and programming events (including on Sunday). Jeans and graphic t-shirts are not permitted. There is no dress code for advisors.
Technology Policy
Laptops and computers are not allowed in crisis committees. Paper/notepads will be provided in order to draft directives and crisis notes. As such, all research that delegates wish to bring into committee session should be printed out/handwritten. Delegates in General Assembly (GA) and specialized GA committees may use devices to draft resolutions at the discretion of the Chair. Delegates who opt to handwrite resolutions in GA committees will not be penalized in any way and paper will be provided upon request. In all committees, cell phone use and communication between delegates using technology during committee session is strictly prohibited.
The official document editing software of CMUNCE is Google Docs. All typed resolutions and working papers in General Assembly committees (pending Chair approval) must be on Google Docs. Other note-taking or document editing softwares are not permitted. The Secretariat may review the document editing history of all Google Docs relevant to committee throughout the conference.
Awards Policy
In order to qualify for consideration for committee awards, delegates are required to submit a position paper by the beginning of the first committee session. There are no position paper awards. The position paper should express the position's opinions on the topics presented in the committee's Background Guide. The Ad-Hoc committee is exempt from this requirement. During Closing Ceremonies, each committee will award four types of awards. The number of total awards varies on the size of the committee. The awards given at CMUNCE are:
Verbal Commendation
Honorable Mention
Outstanding Delegate
Best Delegate
The criteria for awards are holistic. Instead of focusing exclusively on the number of speeches given and directives sponsored, the dais and crisis team together determine the delegates who they believe have excelled in the following categories:
Poise and Public Speaking: During debate, chairs will be looking for delegates who can articulate their positions clearly, respond to the speeches of other delegates, and remain engaged in debate throughout the entirety of the conference. Chairs will also be looking for delegates who are respectful to and well-regarded by their peers and the dais.
Interacting with Crisis: The delegate has successfully worked with the crisis staff both by proposing their own action and participating in the plans of others. Because most of our delegates are new to crisis committees, we understand that there is a learning curve, and so one of the things we look for is how a delegate responds to suggestions from the crisis team.
Cooperating with Fellow Delegates: Just as a successful CMUNCE delegate must interact well with crisis, a strong delegate will also be working with their peers in order to move the debate forward. This involves responding to speeches during moderated caucuses, executive use of notes, and being productive during unmoderated caucuses.
With these criteria in mind, delegates are evaluated on a 50 percent front room, 50 percent back room rubric. Delegates are encouraged to request feedback on their performance prior to the start of committee sessions throughout the conference. Delegates are prohibited from asking CMUNCE staff why they did or did not receive an award following Closing Ceremonies.
In addition to individual awards, CMUNCE also presents Best and Outstanding Delegation awards in our two delegation categories (small and large). Delegation awards are calculated based on the number and type of award delegates receive.