The North Atlantic Council (NAC)


The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the highest-decision making body of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is a voluntary alliance of 26 countries, which abide by its North Atlantic Treaty, signed on the 4th of April, 1949 in Washington, USA. This treaty is in many ways similar to the Charter of the United Nations; although NATO is first and foremost a military organization, it was established with high regard to the principles of peace and tolerance.

During our three-day conference, the NAC will discuss issues relevant to NATO. The issues of this year will be the role of NATO in the 21st century and the further expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe.

Even though the goal of LEMUN is to simulate the United Nations, it is very beneficial to the conference to add the NAC to our list of committees, as this Council offers an interesting new perspective into the world of international politics.

This year our NAC will be different from last year's, this to enhance the quality of the debate and to prevent the NAC from becoming an extended version of the Security Council. The important changes that have been made are listed below.

• The amount of lobbying time has significantly been increased, to make the debate go more smoothly and to prevent unnecessary and extensive use of veto power (each member state of the NAC has veto powers!).
• Resolutions have been replaced by statements. This means that delegates can submit parts of the statement, which will then be discussed in the same way as amendments. The president of the NAC will read the statements during the closing ceremonies.
• The amount of issues has been reduced to ensure there is enough time to debate the issues as thoroughly as possible.

Delegates in the NAC have to prepare themselves very seriously and a good preparation and a lot of MUN experience are required for this committee, this because you are firstly defending your own country's interest and only secondly are looking for the best solution. Doing this properly requires a lot of research and a thorough understanding of your country's policies and capabilities. We would like to stress that the NAC is not a suitable committee for first time delegates of for those who do not want to prepare themselves!

All the aspects mentioned above result in an interesting new committee, the North Atlantic Council, which will be a perfect example of LEMUN's credo: Fresh ideas, new solutions! As NATO consists of 26 Member States, so does the NAC. A complete list of all its Member States is listed below.

The following countries are represented in the North Atlantic Council:

• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

If you have any questions remaining regarding the NAC and its new procedures, please check the Instruction Booklet or contact the Deputy Secretary General Internal at lemun.studenthelp@gmail.com.

For further information concerning the real NAC or NATO, visit NATO's website: www.nato.int.