The Hague International Model United Nations


The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN), is the International Model United Nations conference that is annually held in The Hague, Netherlands towards the end of January each year. It was officially first founded in 1981 and steadily has become ever more larger, realistic and educational than ever. THIMUN now annually attracts around 3,800 students to its 5-day realistic simulation of the United Nations.

The Conference is designed to be a realistic role-play of the real United Nations in which all delegations and organisations are represented by students. These students come from all corners of the globe with differing nationalities and religious backgrounds, brought together by one cause, THIMUN. Over 200 schools participate regularly from over 90 different nations; the majority of which are English-Language-Medium schools, but a large portion attend schools where languages other than English are the medium for instruction. Students from such schools seek THIMUN as an excellent opportunity to expand, develop and put into practice their English language skills, on an informal as well as on a formal level. All participant students do vary in age from secondary school up to University age ranges, generally between 15 to 20 years of age.

Each delegation varies in size, depending on their status within the United Nations, such as the United Kingdom, it is one of the largest as it is a Security Council and ECOSOC member as well as all the other commissions. There are also Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) which generally are the smallest type of delegation, such as UNICEF, which only basis its opinions on topics regarding children. Each participating school sends a list to THIMUN of the delegations they would like to be. THIMUN then chooses which delegation that school will be assigned.

During the actual conference week, lobbying must be done between delegations, for the exchange of different points of view for the possibility of a resolution being formed in collaboration with countries and Organisations that want a say in a specific topic. This is informal and done in spare time. If diplomatic co-operation is achieved, a resolution on a specific topic may result, which means it must be prepared for debate. On the Wednesday and Thursday, all resolutions relating to each topic are debated in the whole of each of the relevant Commissions (i.e.  'The treatment of Gypsies and Travellers in Europe' would be debated within the Special Conference on Human rights). These resolutions would be voted upon and then failed or passed depending on the results. All countries have their own independent vote to cast. Resolutions passed by these various committees form part of the agenda for the General Assembly (GA) on the Friday. The GA also receives reports from the various Councils and Commissions. The reports and Resolutions of each Council and Commission are published in the Reports book and sent annually to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

The object of THIMUN is to seek, through discussion, negotiation and debate, solutions to the various problems of the world: questions of human rights, protection of the environment, economic development, disarmament, the problems of youth and of refugees, as well as the more critical issues of war and
Peace. The young delegates, in seeking solutions to these problems, can learn to break away from
narrow, national self- interest and develop true international co-operation. The research and preparation required, the adoption of views and attitudes other than their own, the involvement and interaction with so many other young people from around the world, all combine to give the young people a deep insight into the world's problems, to make them aware of the causes of conflict between nations and to lead them to a better understanding of the interests and motivation of others.