CAHSMUN strives to uphold a welcoming and productive learning environment for all conference participants, including delegates, staff, sponsor teachers. By participating in a CAHSMUN event, you agree to the following Code of Conduct and understand that failure to uphold this conduct may result in disciplinary action.

Those who believe they have experienced or witnessed violations of the Code of Conduct should speak to a member of the Secretariat or Board of Directors, or report the incident through the equity form. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Brandon Zhou, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at bzhou@cahsmun.org.

Conduct

Individuals participating in CAHSMUN events must abide by federal and provincial laws with respect to discrimination. Specifically, negative treatment on the basis of a protected ground under the BC Human Rights Code, toward any conference participant will not be tolerated. Participants must be respectful of differences of opinion.

Participants must refrain from bullying and harassment, including offensive or derogatory language or behaviour. This prohibited behaviour also includes any improper or unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or perceived as humiliating, offensive, degrading, or intimidating to other participants. This behaviour may be written, verbal, physical, or electronic in nature.

Professionalism and Attendance 

Participants are expected to be professional, respectful, kind, and courteous in their language, conduct, and appearance during CAHSMUN, including on social media and electronic communications. This includes dressing in appropriate attire, such as Western business attire, for committee sessions and other CAHSMUN events. 

Participants are expected to arrive at committee sessions and other related meetings on time as outlined by the Secretariat team. In the event of tardiness or absence, participants are expected to contact the appropriate people including staff members, Secretariat team, and sponsor teachers. Conference participants must refrain from disrupting committee sessions and other conference events.

Conference Protocols 

Participants must follow any security and safety protocols during the conference, including curfew, room capacities, and emergency evacuations, as directed by CAHSMUN and hotel staff. Conference participants must wear their conference name tags at all times throughout the conference weekend. Unauthorized guests are not permitted to attend CAHSMUN or be on conference premises. Participants must also refrain from capturing images, video recordings, or audio recordings without explicit verbal or written permission.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

CAHSMUN strives to foster a diverse, welcoming, and respectful environment for open and critical dialogue and learning. In order to create this environment, it is imperative that conference participants from all backgrounds are included, develop a sense of belonging, and are provided with equal opportunities through CAHSMUN. If you would like to request conference accommodations, please contact the Director of Logistics at logistics@cahsmun.org.

CAHSMUN encourages participants to be open-minded and meet new people from outside of their usual social circles. Please avoid forming cliques and using acronyms, jargon slang, idioms, or language which other participants may not understand.

Public Health and Safety

There is a zero tolerance policy for the possession, use, or distribution of drugs and alcohol, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cannabis, prescription medication used without authorization from a physician, illicit drugs or related paraphernalia, weapons, replica weapons, or other dangerous or illegal items or substances are not permitted. 

Due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies, CAHSMUN may impose health restrictions including vaccine, masking, and testing mandates.

Reporting Process and Procedures

Those who believe they have experienced or witnessed violations of the Code of Conduct should speak to a member of the Secretariat and CAHSMUN Board of Directors or report the incident through the equity form.

Violations of the Conference Policies will be investigated and addressed on a case-by-case basis by the CAHSMUN Board of Directors. Incidents will be addressed confidentially and all involved parties will be informed to the fullest extent possible. Those who fail to uphold this Code of Conduct may face disciplinary action, including but not limited to:

• Formal warning

• Apology to affected participants

• Temporary suspension of speaking privileges

• Disqualification from awards

• Removal from the conference

• Temporary or permanent ban from CAHSMUN and its associated events (Horizons, MiniEnterprize)

• Notification to their sponsor teacher, school, and other Model UN conferences in Vancouver

CAHSMUN recognizes the value in encouraging delegates to perform and complete extensive pre-conference research, and use their knowledge, critical thinking, and logic, to make decisions in committee sessions. As such, CAHSMUN will continue to enact its long-standing policy of prohibiting Internet usage in all committees, with the exception of the International Press Corps committee.

Delegates are not permitted to access the Internet on their laptop, cell phone, or other electronic devices including for research or non-academic purposes during any committee session, unless otherwise permitted by the dais. Laptops and tablets are only permitted for conference purposes. Delegates are permitted to use saved materials and resources with their device in “offline mode” or equivalent.

Delegates in violation of this policy may be subject to the following penalties:

• First occurrence: Warning from Staff.

• Second occurrence: Notification to Head Delegate/Sponsor Teacher.

• Third occurrence: Further penalty as appropriate, including but not limited to temporary suspension of speaking privileges and disqualification from awards.

Delegates needing to perform additional research can request to use their devices in the hallway through a written request to committee staff.

The open exchange of ideas plays a crucial role in debate. However, it is important for all delegates to acknowledge clearly when they have relied upon or incorporated the work of others. It is expected that all materials submitted to the conference staff before and during the conference will be the delegates’ own work. Delegates must always take great care to distinguish their own ideas and knowledge from information derived from sources through the proper citation of all quoted and paraphrased material. 

While generative artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT, or other artificial intelligence (AI) tools may be used as brainstorming and research tools, delegates are not permitted to produce final drafts of work using these technologies or use these technologies as a cited source. Delegates who have any concerns should consult their sponsor teacher or committee staff before the work is submitted. 

Please note that position papers will be run through plagiarism and artificial intelligence content detectors. If there is any evidence of using non-original work without citations, the delegate will not be eligible for an award and sponsor teachers will be notified accordingly. Any school that has multiple cases of plagiarism may be reconsidered for a School Delegation Award. It is the responsibility of each delegation to appropriately cite and ensure the accuracy of any submitted work. 

This policy is adapted from the Harvard University Guide to Using Sources.

CAHSMUN is first and foremost designed as an educational experience for high school students. We firmly envision the Conference to provide a platform for delegates to realize their potential in public speaking and policy debate, learn about international relations, and experience the challenges of high-stakes diplomacy first-hand. Above all, we hope that delegates leave CAHSMUN as better informed global citizens who are able to engage others in conversations about important world issues than when they first arrived. However, we also value the recognition of students and delegations that have contributed to the conference in exemplary ways.

There are four types of individual awards that delegates may be eligible for: Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, Honourable Mention, and Best Position Paper. Each committee dais, led by the Director, will determine the individual awards to delegates based on their committee performance. Exemplary delegates are distinguished by:

• Quality of research, as reflected in their position papers and debate;

• Quality of amendments, resolutions, and proposed solutions;

• Ability to accurately represent their nation’s interests and policies;

• Diplomacy skills in building consensus and compromising with others;

• Effectiveness in working in caucus and resolution groups;

• Persuasive skill in communicating with other delegates; and

• Responding effectively to crisis or external situations/sessions.

Such delegates push their committees forward and demonstrate the values of compromise and coexistence upon which modern diplomacy is based, balancing their individual interests against the goals of the collective body.

Please note that to be eligible for an award, delegates must submit a position paper to their Director(s) by the position paper deadline. Any delegate found guilty of pre-writing, plagiarism, or any violation of the Code of Conduct will be disqualified from award consideration.

Delegation Awards

CAHSMUN will also recognize outstanding overall performance by a delegation through the following five delegation awards: Best Large Delegation, Outstanding Large Delegation, Best Small Delegation, Outstanding Small Delegation, and Best New Delegation.

Points will be assigned to each delegate award based on the level of distinction. These points will be added to a total and weighted based on the number of delegates.

A small delegation is a delegation with less than the median delegation size. A large delegation is a delegation with higher than the median delegation size. Historically, the median delegation size has been 15-20 delegates.

CAHSMUN encourages delegates to prepare thoughtfully and compete fairly. Since AI tools can generate writing that replaces a delegate’s own work, CAHSMUN has set the following rules for AI use during committee.

During live committee sessions, delegates may not use AI tools to generate, rewrite, or improve content that will be delivered or submitted in committee. This includes speeches, moderated/unmoderated caucus talking points, resolution clauses, directives, press releases, and crisis notes.

The following are violations during committee session:

• Generating a speech using AI, even if you edit it

• Using AI to create arguments, rebuttals, or responses to questions in real time

• Asking AI to draft or rewrite clauses, resolution papers, or other documents

• Using AI to polish, improve, or make more persuasive a speech you are about to present

• Using AI-generated facts, statistics, quotes, or citations that you cannot immediately verify from a real source

AI may be used outside committee time for learning and preparation, such as:

• Explaining concepts (e.g., sanctions, UN bodies, historical context)

• Helping you practice by asking sample questions to test your understanding

• Organizing your own research notes into an outline before committee begins

• Checking grammar/clarity on writing you already produced before committee begins