yig/kb/writing-resolution.md

title
Writing a Resolution

Note: This guide assumes you've already choosen a topic; if not, see Choosing a resolution topic.

The General Assembly, the largest law-making body of the UN, expresses its intentions and actions as a resolution. In this article, we'll learn how to write one.

A resolution is composed of two parts: the preambulatory (or preambular) and operative clauses. Preambulatory clauses provide background on why your resolution is needed, the problem it addresses, and sets the tone for the operative clauses. Operative clauses are the items of action; they are directives that countries agree to. (Only the Security Council has the power of passing mandatory directives.)

As an example, let's assume we're writing a resolution that condemns kicking puppies. (I would hope that you'd agree with the premise; if not -- that's an interesting opinion.) There was a recent puppy kicking event in the country of Madeupia, so let's note that:

Noting with concern the International Puppy Kicking Event held in Madeupia on 22 September 2024, where various kinds of dogs were subject to unconsionable acts of depravity and abuse;

This is a good example of a preambulatory clause -- it states background for the operative clauses. If someone asked you if people actually kick dogs, this is your response. It demonstrates the necessity of the resolution.

There also might be past resulutions about animal abuse or dogs, so it might be prudent to mention those, too:

Affirming resolution UNEP/5/1, which specifically emphasizes the value of animals and the contributions their welfare makes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,

You essentially want to create many of these preambulatory clauses to paint a vivid picture of the need of your resolution. If you want to see more verbs to go in front of your preambulatory clauses, check out the preambulatory verbs reference.

Once you're done writing your preambulatory clauses, you write:

The General Assembly hereby:

You do NOT write:

The Delegation of (your country here) hereby:

because the resolution is adopted by the Assembly. That's why there's a vote and stuff -- if a country wants to express a feeling it feels by itself, it can submit a Communique to the UN instead.

Now it's time to talk about operative clauses. These clauses are where the actual works gets done. I think a good first move is the condemn the country of Madeupia for their puppy kicking event:

Condemns, in the strongest terms, the affront to animal welfare perpetuated by the State of Madeupia;

Here are some other forms of clauses you might want to consider:

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on "Animal Welfare as it pertains to the advancement of the SDGs";

Expresses support of the Totally Real Animal Anti-Violence Directorate of the United Nations and their actions in response to this issue;

Recognizes the positive contribution of various Member States towards the resolution of this issue, including the Republic of Dog Lovers;

Do note -- when you're ending your resolution, your final clause ends with a period.

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution including recommendations for future action at the next session of the General Assembly.

For a full list of operative verbs, see the operative verbs reference.

One final note: if you use a comma in any of your clauses, all of the clauses (except the last one) have to end in a semicolon. This is because of the rules of Standard English.

Some other resources for resolution writing

• The UN's Model UN resources

The UN does say some different things in this article -- it talks about L-documents and agreement annotations and soliciting agreement from other delegations beforehand. That's not relevant to our conference, but it is still a good resource.

For an example of a finished resolution that is somewhat up to format, see the heading "Compilation Text as of 21 October 2016 (Rev. 3) The General Assembly".