Model United Nations of the University of Chicago : Research Resources

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2008-2009

Research Resources

• Stage I – Familiarize Yourself With Your Country
  • The best place to find general infomation regarding the country you will be representing at MUNUC is the CIA World Factbook managed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Free access to the World Factbook can be found at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.
  • Another excellent source of general information on a specific country are the Background Notes published by the U.S. Department of State and accessible on the World Wide Web at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/.
  • To find the permanent mission of your country to the United Nations in New York, go to http://www.un.int/missions/webs.html.

• Stage II – Understand Your Committee
  • Before diving into your committee topics, it is a good idea to understand exactly what your commmittee can and cannot do. For instance, only the Security Council can muster military force to resolve a threat to international peace and security. While you may wish to take a particular action, your committee may not be authorized to do so. However, new and inventive solutions are welcomed by MUNUC staff. Many of the organizations and committees simulated at MUNUC XIX have websites that are linked to their MUNUC committee webpage. Be sure to look them over.

• Stage III – Researching the Topic Areas
  • Once you are familiar with your country and committee, read your background papers to begin your research. Written by the Chair of your committee, they will provide a basic presentation of the central problems and several paths towards their resolution. Of course, the ultimate solution remains up to you and your fellow delegates to decide.
  • A great starting point for your research are the footnotes used by your Chair in the background papers. Starting this year, internet links will be placed by your Chair under the individual committee pages as a starting place. The bibliography may also serve as an excellent starting place for further research.
    • All UN Resolutions for the General Assembly and Security Council are available online at http://www.un.org and other places throughout the World Wide Web.
    • More comprehensive information can be found using The United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBISNET) at http://unbisnet.un.org/.
    • Statistical information can be found online using The Nation Master at http://www.nationmaster.com.

• Stage IV – Formulate a Country Position
  • The Position Paper is an important way of clarifying the position of your country in a clear and concise mannner, so as to make it understandable and widely accesible to the various Member States of the committee. All Position Papers will be made available at conference. If your Chair has not indicated their location in the committe room, please ask him/her to do so.

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Last updated: Wed Dec 12 21:04:00 -0600 2007