ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. 

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NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict. It is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations. A “NATO decision” is the expression of the collective will of all 29 member countries since all decisions are taken by the principle of consensus.

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In the NATO Committee, delegates shall represent one of the 28 member states. The working procedure of the Committee will be led by the Committee Directors, who will also prepare the Study Guide that will be published on this website prior to the Conference. Delegates must prepare a position paper, one for each topic, and submit it to the MUNLawS Academic team. Position papers will be reviewed and scored by the Academic team and shall greatly contribute to the final scores of delegates, upon which Committee awards will be based. Brief instructions on how to write a position paper will be attached in the Study Guides. Failure to follow these instructions or to meet the deadline for the submission of the position papers will result in negative points for the position paper. All delegates shall present their opening statement on the discussed topic after setting the agenda. Once every delegate presents their opening statement, which must not exceed 1 minute, a general speakers list will be established and the floor shall be open to points or motions, as described in the Rules of Procedure for the NATO Committee. Delegates recognized from the general speakers' list shall have no more than one and a half minute to address the Committee. The main goal of the Committee is to adopt a Communique on the Topic at hand, which is possible only through consensus. Issues that have not been discussed during formal debate may not be included in the Communique. Every delegate shall read the Rules of Procedure for the NATO Committee prior to the start of the MUNLawS Conference for a further detailed description of the procedure.

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