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Preambulatory and Operative Clauses: The Complete List
Every clause in a Model UN resolution starts with a phrase from a fixed menu. The menu below is complete, drawn from the UN's own drafting guidance for Model UN and the lists used at major US conferences, and grouped by what each phrase is actually for, because the real skill is not knowing the list, it is picking the right strength.
For how these clauses fit together into a full draft, see the resolution template and the annotated example in How to Write a Model UN Resolution.
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The grammar chairs enforce
Get these six rules right and your draft survives the dais read-through.
- One sentence. The whole resolution is a single sentence that starts with the body’s name: "The General Assembly," followed by every clause.
- Preambulatory clauses: keyword italicized or underlined, no numbers, each clause ends with a comma.
- Operative clauses: numbered, keyword italicized or underlined, each ends with a semicolon, and the final clause ends with the resolution’s only period.
- Sub-clauses are lettered (a), (b), (c), one element each.
- No bare repeats: alternate with "also" and "further" ("Requests", then "Further requests").
- Only operatives can be amended in standard procedure. If you might need to change it later, it does not belong in the preamble.
Preambulatory phrases
Why the committee is acting. Comma-ended, unnumbered.
Anchoring in precedent
Cite the Charter, past resolutions, treaties, and reports. Almost every resolution opens with one or two of these.
Recalling its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015 on the 2030 Agenda,
Stating the facts
Establish the situation on the ground, neutrally. These carry your topic background into the resolution.
Aware that access to safe drinking water remains uneven across regions,
Raising the alarm
Express concern, in escalating strength. Pick the mildest phrase that is honest; overclaiming here costs you moderate co-sponsors.
Deeply concerned by the continued displacement of civilians in the affected region,
Crediting work done
Acknowledge existing programs and allies. Useful diplomacy: a clause that welcomes another bloc’s initiative buys goodwill cheaply.
Welcoming the efforts of regional organizations to mediate the dispute,
Stating belief and intent
Bridge from facts to action: what the committee believes must happen. Usually the last preambulatory clauses before the operatives.
Convinced that lasting stability requires economic reconstruction alongside security guarantees,
Operative phrases
What the committee does. Numbered, semicolon-ended, ordered mild to strong.
Acknowledge and suggest (mild)
Low-commitment actions: noting reports, thanking bodies, floating ideas. Fine for building consensus; a resolution made only of these does nothing.
1. Notes with satisfaction the progress made under the existing reporting framework;
Recommend and urge (the GA workhorses)
The standard verbs for real action in General Assembly committees: creating programs, asking for funding, setting up follow-up. Most of your operatives should come from here.
4. Calls upon member states to increase voluntary contributions to the fund established in operative clause 2;
Handle with care (strong, mostly Security Council)
Binding or punitive language. By convention the GA recommends; it does not command. Chairs will strike these from GA drafts, so save them for Security Council simulations.
2. Demands the immediate cessation of hostilities in the border region;
A note on "Decides": the General Assembly does use it for its own internal affairs (agendas, sessions, budgets). What it avoids is the binding, Chapter VII sense that belongs to the Security Council.
Which phrase do I want?
The seven situations that cover most drafting.
| Cite a past resolution or the UN Charter | Recalling, Guided by, Reaffirming |
| Show the problem is urgent without overclaiming | Deeply concerned, Noting with deep concern |
| Credit an existing program or another bloc | Welcoming, Commending (preamb) or Endorses, Supports (operative) |
| Create a program, study, or body in the GA | Requests the Secretary-General to..., Recommends, Encourages |
| Ask for money | Calls upon member states to contribute..., Invites voluntary contributions |
| Set up reporting and follow-up | Requests ... to report to the General Assembly at its next session |
| Bind, punish, or authorize force (Security Council only) | Demands, Condemns, Authorizes, Decides |
Common questions
How many preambulatory clauses should a Model UN resolution have?
Three to six is typical for a student resolution: enough to cite precedent, establish the problem, and set up the operatives. Preambulatory clauses cannot be amended in standard procedure, so anything you may need to defend or change belongs in the operatives instead.
What is the difference between preambulatory and operative clauses?
Preambulatory clauses explain why the committee is acting: precedent, facts, and concerns. They are unnumbered and end with commas. Operative clauses say what the committee actually does. They are numbered, begin with a present-tense action verb, and end with semicolons, with a period after the final clause.
Can a General Assembly committee use "Demands" or "Condemns"?
By convention, no. The General Assembly recommends and urges; binding and punitive language like Demands, Condemns, and Authorizes is reserved for the Security Council. Most chairs will ask you to soften those verbs to Calls upon or Urges in a GA draft.
Can operative clauses have sub-clauses?
Yes. Complex operative clauses are broken into lettered sub-clauses (a), (b), (c), each carrying one specific element such as a mandate, a funding source, or a reporting requirement.
What if I need to use the same phrase twice?
Do not repeat a bare keyword. Alternate with "also" and "further": Requests, then Requests also or Further requests. The UN drafting guide itself prescribes this alternation.
How to use this sheet
- 1
Draft operatives first, then write the preambs to justify them
The operatives are the resolution. Once you know what you are proposing, choosing the three to six preambulatory clauses that set it up takes minutes.
- 2
Pick the mildest phrase that says what you mean
Strong verbs feel impressive and cost you votes. A draft full of Urges and Demands reads as grandstanding; Recommends and Requests with specific content reads as something delegates can sign.
- 3
Print the sheet for committee day
During unmoderated caucuses nobody has time to search for phrasing. The grouped tables are designed to be scanned while someone is talking at you.
The other sheet to have on the table in committee is the points and motions cheat sheet, and the position paper template covers the document you write before conference.