withdrawn amendment

In Model UN procedure, an amendment is a proposed change to an operative clause of a draft resolution. A withdrawn amendment is one that the sponsor (or all sponsors, depending on the rules in force) formally removes from consideration before it is voted on by the committee. Once withdrawn, the amendment is treated as if it had not been introduced for voting purposes, though it typically remains in the committee record.

Withdrawals usually happen for tactical reasons. A sponsor may withdraw after informal negotiations produce a better merged text, after realizing the amendment lacks the votes to pass, or after the substance has been absorbed into a friendly amendment or a revised draft resolution. In some conferences, withdrawing an unfriendly amendment is a face-saving move that avoids a recorded defeat.

Rules vary by ruleset:

• Under Harvard/THIMUN-style rules, friendly amendments (accepted by all sponsors of the draft resolution) are usually adopted without a vote, while unfriendly amendments require a substantive vote unless withdrawn beforehand.
• Under NMUN rules of procedure, amendments may generally be withdrawn by the sponsor at any time before voting procedure begins on that amendment; once the committee has moved into voting procedure, withdrawal is typically no longer permitted.
• Under Robert's Rules of Order, on which many MUN rulesets are loosely based, a motion (including an amendment) may be withdrawn by the mover before it is stated by the chair without consent, and afterward only with the assent of the body.

Procedurally, a delegate withdraws by raising a motion or point and stating the intent to withdraw; the chair then announces the withdrawal. If co-sponsors exist, some rulesets require their consent. A withdrawn amendment can sometimes be reintroduced later by another delegate if it has not yet been voted on, provided signatory or sponsor requirements are met again.

Strategically, withdrawal signals flexibility and is often used in the final hours of a committee session to consolidate bloc positions around a single text.