In Model UN, the rapporteur report is the official record produced by the committee's rapporteur — typically the third member of the dais after the chair and director. It mirrors the function of rapporteurs in the actual United Nations system, where rapporteurs of bodies such as the General Assembly Main Committees or the Human Rights Council compile and present reports on agenda items to the plenary.
A typical MUN rapporteur report contains:
- The agenda items debated and the order in which they were addressed.
- A summary of the general debate, including major blocs, key country positions, and points of contention.
- The text or citation of draft resolutions and amendments introduced, along with their sponsors and signatories.
- Voting results — usually recorded as votes in favor, against, and abstentions, plus the names of delegations requesting roll call.
- Procedural milestones such as motions to extend debate, suspensions, or closure of debate.
The report serves several purposes. For conference organizers, it provides an institutional archive of what each committee accomplished. For delegates and faculty advisors, it supplies evidence used in awards deliberation, particularly for Best Delegate and Outstanding Delegation recognition. For continuing committees or multi-year conferences, it lets future dais members trace precedent.
Rapporteurs usually take notes in real time during formal debate, cross-checking speakers' lists, motions, and tallies with the chair. At larger circuits — such as NMUN, WorldMUN, or Harvard MUN — the report may follow a standardized template distributed by the secretariat, and is submitted to the Under-Secretary-General for Committees at the close of the conference.
The term is sometimes used loosely to refer to the position paper compilation or chair's report, but strictly speaking the rapporteur report is the post-session procedural record, not pre-conference research material.
Example
At NMUN New York 2023, each committee's rapporteur submitted a closing report to the Secretariat detailing the draft resolutions adopted and the voting blocs that formed during the final session.
Frequently asked questions
The rapporteur, who is the third member of the dais alongside the chair and director, drafts it based on notes taken during formal and informal debate.
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