A motion to suspend the meeting is a procedural device used during a Model UN committee session to interrupt formal speaking time and shift the body into a different working mode — typically a moderated caucus, an unmoderated caucus, or a brief recess. It does not end the session; it pauses formal debate until the suspended time elapses or the chair returns to the speakers' list.
Under most Model UN rules of procedure (THIMUN, NMUN, Harvard, and UN4MUN variants), the motion is in order whenever the floor is open and no speaker holds it. The delegate must specify:
- the purpose (e.g., moderated caucus on humanitarian corridors),
- the total duration, and
- for moderated caucuses, the individual speaking time.
The motion is procedural, requires a simple majority, and is non-debatable, though the chair may take a brief clarifying question. When multiple motions to suspend are on the floor, the chair generally orders them from most to least disruptive — longest unmoderated caucuses first, then shorter ones, then moderated caucuses — and votes on them in that sequence until one passes.
Delegates use suspensions strategically: unmoderated caucuses enable bloc formation, working-paper drafting, and informal negotiation, while moderated caucuses concentrate substantive debate on a narrow sub-topic. Overuse of suspensions is a common chair complaint, as it can fragment debate and stall progress toward a draft resolution.
This motion should be distinguished from a motion to adjourn, which ends the meeting entirely (often for the day or the conference), and from a motion to table or postpone debate, which sets aside a specific topic rather than pausing the session. In real UN practice, the analogous tool is the suspension of the meeting under Rule 118 of the General Assembly's Rules of Procedure.
Example
At NMUN New York 2023, a DISEC delegate moved to suspend the meeting for a 20-minute moderated caucus with 1-minute speaking time on autonomous weapons verification mechanisms.