Motion to Reopen the Speakers List

In Model UN committees, the General Speakers List (GSL) is the default queue of delegates wishing to address the body on the topic under debate. When no delegates remain on the list, a chair will often announce that the list is exhausted and may close it, which can also trigger automatic movement toward closure of debate. A Motion to Reopen the Speakers List asks the dais to add the list back as an available speaking format so more countries can sign on.

Key practical points:

• Who can raise it: Any delegate recognized by the chair, typically during a procedural moment such as after a caucus ends or before a vote on closure of debate.
• Vote threshold: In most rulesets (including THIMUN-style and many Harvard/NMUN-derived procedures), it requires a simple majority of members present and voting. Some conferences treat it as a non-debatable procedural motion.
• Strategic use: Delegates move to reopen the list when they want to delay a vote, signal that substantive discussion is incomplete, or give smaller delegations a chance to put their position on the record before draft resolutions are voted on.
• Relationship to closure: Reopening the list is essentially the procedural opposite of a Motion to Close Debate. If debate has already been closed, reopening the list is generally not in order — the motion only works while the committee is still in substantive debate.

Chairs differ on whether speakers already on the previous list are automatically re-added or whether the list starts empty; delegates should clarify this with the dais. The motion is distinct from a Motion to Set a New Speakers List for a Different Topic, which is used when a committee moves to a second agenda item.

Because it is a low-stakes procedural tool, new delegates often use it to gain floor time and build a procedural track record with the chair.