Historical Committees in Model UN

A historical committee recreates a real body, such as a Security Council, a cabinet or a peace conference, on one day in the past, the freeze date, and you can draw only on what was known by that day. You take the seat your side held then and argue its position of the time, and from there the committee's decisions can take events somewhere new.

Updated Oct 25, 2026

  • Role seats: the five most named roles
  • Country seats: 66% of historical committee seats

Upcoming historical committee conferences

100 conferences

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How historical committees work in Model UN

What it is

A historical committee freezes a real body on a set day. American Model United Nations' Historical Security Council in 2026, for example, is set in 1956 and works only from information available up to 1 March 1956. Everything in the room follows that date, including who sits there and how many votes a decision needs. The Security Council had eleven members, not fifteen, and needed seven votes for a decision, not nine, until amendments to the UN Charter came into force on 31 August 1965.

How it runs in Model UN

History runs as written until your committee convenes. You argue from your government's point of view at the time, though the course it actually took was not necessarily the wisest. At American Model United Nations the historical council uses the same rules of procedure as the current one, and its staff must approve any action with effects outside the UN.

Seats follow the date too. The Soviet Union held the seat Russia holds today until December 1991, and a General Assembly set in 1962 seats 110 states, so many of today's members have no seat at all.

A historical cabinet or summit can also run as a crisis committee, where you play a character instead of a country. Some are set as far back as the BC era.

Who it suits

You will enjoy a historical committee if you like history and primary sources and can set aside what happened next: arguing the Soviet position in a 1956 Council means arguing it without knowing how the Cold War ended. It also suits you if you want to test a different choice and rethink how diplomacy played out. Plan for more research than a current topic needs, because every source you rely on must date from before the freeze date.

How to prepare

  1. 1

    Fix your date and your seat. The Security Council's list of elected members gives every term since 1946, so you can see who sat on the Council in your year, and its resolutions page, ordered by year, shows what it had already decided by then.

  2. 2

    Read what people read at the time. Periodicals and other primary sources from three to five years before your year give you a better feel for the period than later histories. The UN Library has digitized the main organs' documents from 1946 to 1993, and the country research guide shows you how to search the UN Digital Library by country, topic and document type.

  3. 3

    Date your position paper to the freeze date. The past-action and policy parts that the position paper guide walks you through both stop on that day.

  4. 4

    If it runs as a crisis, learn both tracks. The guide to crisis committees shows you how collective directives differ from private notes. In a historical cabinet, your portfolio powers are the real powers of your office on the freeze date, no more.

  5. 5

    Learn the voting rule of your year. In a Council set before the 1965 amendments, a permanent member's no is still a veto. Check in the MUN glossary which votes count as substantive, because only those can be vetoed.

Tip

Check who holds China's seat. Before 25 October 1971, when General Assembly resolution 2758 recognized the representatives of the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China sat in China's permanent seat.

Historical committee topics in Model UN

Of 803 historical committee topics on mymun, 27% are about armed conflicts, 25% about the Cold War and 5% about arms control and disarmament.

ThemeShare of topics
  1. Armed conflicts 27%

    Example: The Six-Day War, Conference of Global Youth

  2. Cold War 25%

    Example: Scenario: Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962, GSMUN Cyprus

  3. Arms control and disarmament 5%

    Example: Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq (2003), Hamburg Model United Nations

  4. World War II 4%

    Example: World War II: The Fate of the World in an Era of Global Conflict (1939–1945), DMUN: AMHS - Action, Mystery, History and Story

  5. Revolutions and independence 4%

    Example: Should colonies proclaim independence?, Second Continental Congress by MUN PSL

  6. World War I 3%

    Example: Establishing the terms of peace after World War I at Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Senec Model United Nations

  7. Peacekeeping and peacebuilding 3%

    Example: The Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920), Alba Iulia Model United Nations

  8. International law and justice 2%

    Example: Addressing possible war crimes committed by any actor, American International School - Riyadh MUN

From 803 historical committee topics on mymun. A topic can touch several themes.

Places named in historical committee topics

  1. Cuba 4%
  2. United States 3%
  3. Rwanda 3%
  4. Iraq 2%
  5. Iran 2%
  6. Afghanistan 2%
  7. Israel 2%
  8. Russia 2%

Share of 803 historical committee topics on mymun that name the place.

Recent historical committee topics

  1. Operation Blue Star: The siege of the Golden Temple and the crisis of national security

    The Terrestrial Model United Nations

  2. Scenario: Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962

    GSMUN Cyprus
    Cold WarArms control and disarmament

  3. The Situation in Syria and Possible Intervention (2013)

    Bonn International Model United Nations

  4. The Spanish Civil War: reform of international non-intervention and State sovereignty obligations — 25 September 1936

    International Model United Nations of Ecuador
    Armed conflicts

  5. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 14 October 1962: Managing the Escalation Between the United States and the Soviet Union and Preventing Nuclear War

    Hearald's Objective Lateral Debate Model United Nations
    Armed conflictsCold War

  6. The Six-Day War

    Conference of Global Youth
    Armed conflicts

  7. Coming up with an immediate solution to the Bosnian War Following the Fall of the Safe Area in Srebrenica on July 11th, 1995

    Perrott Hill British School Model United Nations
    Armed conflicts

  8. Antiwar Protest Strategy and Confrontation with Chicago Police

    Rockford Model United Nations

Historical committee roles in Model UN

Historical committee simulations on mymun filled about 17 seats. 66% of historical committee seats are countries; 20% of historical committee seat lists also name roles, most often heads of state and government (14%) and military commanders (10%).

  • Role seats: the five most named roles
  • Country seats: 66% of historical committee seats

Roles on historical committee seat lists

RoleShare of seat lists
  1. Heads of state and government14%
  2. Military commanders10%
  3. Ministers and cabinet members7%
  4. Diplomats5%
  5. Party leaders and legislators4%
  6. Business leaders4%
  7. Advocates and prosecutors2%
  8. Journalists2%
  9. Judges1%

Share of 696 historical committee seat lists on mymun that name the role.

Seat mix

66% of seats are countries

20% of seat lists also name roles

Historical Committees in Model UN: quick answers

How many delegates are in a historical committee?

As many seats as the recreated body had on its date, or as many roles as the scenario writes. Historical committee simulations on mymun filled about 17 seats.

What is the freeze date in a historical committee?

The day the committee is set: delegates may use only what was known by then. Membership follows the date too: a Security Council set in 1962 has 11 members, since the Council grew to 15 only in 1965.

Is a historical committee good for beginners?

Yes, if you like history: the record up to the freeze date is fixed, so research has a clear end. The hard part is arguing as your side did then, as the Soviet Union, not Russia, would in a 1962 Security Council.

Does a historical committee have to follow what really happened?

No: from the freeze date on, the committee's own decisions shape events, so its outcome can differ from history.