Matters of Substance
General Requirements
The meaning or essence
of the resolution must be clear and to the point. By following
the suggestions below a draft resolution will meet the
requirements.
- Every draft
resolution will be clearly related to one of the topics
on the agenda. If it is not, it will be excluded from
consideration once submitted.
- Exception:
If a delegation wishes to make a proposal which does not
relate to any of the topics of the agenda, it may at the
first plenary session request that the agenda be amended
to include, as a new item, the topic it considers of
interest. If the Assembly approves a request, and the
agenda is amended accordingly, the proposal may then be
presented in the form of a draft resolution for
consideration in the appropriate committee.
- It is advantageous
for each student delegation to utilize the briefing
session with the Permanent Mission of the country it
represents to learn that country's official position as
related to the agenda topics. Draft resolutions should
reflect the country's special interest, e.g., access to
world markets for major exports, and the reasoning should
follow the scenario used by the Permanent Mission.
- If a draft
resolution calls for action of some sort, the operative
section (who performs the function or action) should make
clear the individual, body, or institution that is to
carry it out. The following are points to remember:
- The General
Assembly, as supreme organization of the OAS, may give
instructions to subordinate organizations, such as the
Permanent Council, the Inter-American Economic and Social
Council, the Inter-American Council for Education,
Science, and Culture, and the General Secretariat.
- When involving the
Inter-American Specialized Organizations, which have
their own deliberative bodies made up of representatives
of the governments, the Assembly generally issues no more
than requests.
- The General
Assembly can not give orders to the governments;
it can go no further than to "urge" them to
take action.
Action Implying
Expenditures:
Almost any decision for
action implies expenditure, if only the costs of a meeting. It is
necessary therefore, that the resolution indicates a source of
funding (savings to be realized from a particular budgetary
appropriation, voluntary contributions to be made by governments,
etc.). It is unrealistic to direct that the Secretary General
seek funding from private sources, unless the activity is one
where a particular area of the private section might have a
special interest.
Resembling
Resolutions:
When several draft
resolutions of a similar nature are presented on the same topic
of the agenda, it is desirable that a working group is
designated. The groups will be made up of representatives of the
countries that have submitted those proposals, to conciliate
differences and to present a single joint proposal. This working
group resolution will be sponsored by all of the countries
involved and will be submitted in the committee with the
strongest topic relevance.
Quality of
Resolutions:
A committee that
presents a few well-thought out draft resolutions for approval in
plenary session is doing a much better job than one that presents
a large number of ill-considered proposals which may duplicate,
or in some cases conflict with, one another.
