Resources · Worksheets & checklists
Model UN Country Research Worksheet
Country research fails in a predictable way: hours of reading, no usable notes, and a delegate who still cannot answer "what would your country actually do?" This worksheet forces the research into the form committee requires, and the source table tells you exactly where each answer lives so you stop searching blind.
Budget about 90 minutes for a first conference. The finished sheet feeds straight into the position paper template.
Prints clean. Page chrome is stripped automatically.
Country profile
Complete the identity block for your country, then the topic block for each committee topic.
delegateacademy.com
Identity~15 minutes, mostly CIA World Factbook.
Country / committee
Government type and current leader
UN regional group and key blocs
Closest allies / tense relationships
Economy: main exports, GDP scale, donor or recipient of aid
One domestic fact that shapes foreign policy
Topic policyThe core of the sheet. Use the source table below.
Is this topic a problem inside your country? How big?
Votes cast on related resolutions (resolution + how you voted)
Treaties on this topic: signed, ratified, or refused
One direct quote from your government on the topic (with source)
Money: what your country funds or receives related to this topic
Committee-ready summaryWrite these last, from memory.
Your country's position in one sentence
Red lines: what you cannot support, and why
Three likely allies
Delegations likely to oppose you
Where to find each answer
Free, primary sources. Skip the AI summaries; chairs can tell.
| You need | Look in |
|---|---|
| Government type, leaders, economy, demographics | CIA World Factbook (search your country name + "factbook") |
| How your country voted on past resolutions | UN Digital Library, voting data section (digitallibrary.un.org) |
| What your country has said on the topic | General Debate statements and committee speeches via the UN Digital Library or your mission’s website |
| Treaties your country has signed or ratified | UN Treaty Collection (treaties.un.org) |
| Development and social statistics | World Bank Open Data and UN Data (data.un.org) |
| Regional group and voting blocs | UN regional groups list, plus organizations like the African Union, ASEAN, the EU, or OIC |
| Recent news on your country and the topic | UN News, Reuters, and one major newspaper from your country or region |
Research binder checklist
- This worksheet, filled in, on top.
- Your position paper, plus a printed copy of the background guide.
- One page of key statistics with sources, large enough to read at a glance.
- Printouts or summaries of two or three key resolutions on the topic.
- A map of your region, and a blank page for names of allies you meet in committee.
How to use this sheet
- 1
Do the identity block in the first 15 minutes
Government, region, allies, economy. It is quick, and every later judgment call in committee leans on it.
- 2
Spend most of your time on the policy section
A vote your country actually cast is worth more than a paragraph of general history. Two verified votes and one signed treaty beat any amount of background reading.
- 3
Write the "in one sentence" lines last, from memory
If you can state your country’s position without looking at your notes, you are ready to speak. If you cannot, the research is not done.
- 4
Bring the finished sheet into committee
This worksheet is the top page of your research binder. When a moderated caucus turns to a sub-topic, the allies and red-lines boxes are what you will actually look at.
Once the sheet is filled, the position paper guide shows how to turn it into the paper, and the first conference checklist places research inside the two-week countdown.