Secretariat Directive

A secretariat directive is a procedural or substantive instruction issued by the conference Secretariat — typically the Secretary-General, Under-Secretaries-General, or assigned staff — that shapes how a Model UN committee runs or how a crisis arc unfolds. Unlike a delegate directive (which committee members vote on or submit individually in crisis), a secretariat directive comes from outside the committee room and is not subject to delegate amendment or vote.

In crisis committees, secretariat directives are the primary engine of the simulation. The crisis staff (often called the "backroom") drafts updates that introduce new events — a coup, a market crash, a battlefield development — and pushes them into committee as directives or news bulletins. These updates respond to delegate actions, escalate the storyline, or inject unexpected variables to test the room.

In General Assembly–style committees, the term is used more narrowly. A secretariat directive there might:

• Adjust the agenda or speakers list at the chair's request
• Issue a ruling on a procedural dispute the dais cannot resolve
• Communicate administrative instructions (dress code, awards criteria, deadlines)
• Deliver a simulated communiqué from a fictional UN organ or external actor

Secretariat directives are generally not debatable. A delegate who disagrees may raise a point of order or point of personal privilege, but the directive itself stands unless the Secretariat retracts it. This mirrors, loosely, the real UN Secretariat's role under Article 97–101 of the UN Charter, where the Secretary-General and staff serve the organs but do not vote.

Best practice at most circuits (NMUN, WorldMUN, HMUN, HNMUN) is for the Secretariat to use directives sparingly in GA committees and aggressively in crisis, and to document them in writing so delegates and chairs share a clear record. A well-timed secretariat directive can rescue a stalled debate; an overused one can rob delegates of agency.