Assignment:
Position Papers/Policy Statements
As part of your preparation for the miniMUN, you will need to research and write two position papers/policy statements. You will need a paper for each of the topics in the General Assembly committee. Position Papers/Policy Statements are your preliminary position that you will be presenting at the conference. It demonstrates your competence and emphasizes the key points your state wants addressed by the committee. An excellent position paper includes
1. a background on the topic (including facts, quotes and statistics),
2. a clear statement and examples of your country's policy and actions on the topic, and
3. proposed solutions the country hopes to have adopted in resolutions.
Position papers/Policy Statements follow a particular format for each conference. You will be using the MUNFW format for the miniMUN conference. Below are the important points to include and follow.
1. Format
Samples of the format and style for miniMUN position papers/policy statements. Pay attention to the header (all capital letters, three lines: country name, committee name, Topic Title). Use the country's formal name on your position paper (e.g., not North Korea, but rather The People's Republic of North Korea). Overall format of the page: single-spaced, three paragraphs, one-page.
2. Subject Matter of Paragraphs
You need to cover several points in your paragraphs
a. Background / History of the Issue (first paragraph) "What is the problem"
Include quotes and statistics
Include information that your country feels is crucial to defining the issue (e.g. it is not wise to include something detrimental to your country's current activities)
Outline what is currently happening and problem areas
b. Current Activities (second paragraph) "What has been done"
Outline the UN and your country's activities regarding the issue
Include quotes, figures and examples
Example: What treaties or resolutions have been created, and has your country signed them? What has your country done, money donated, etc.?
c. Solutions (third paragraph"What does my country want done?"
Introduce concrete proposals your country suggests to address the issue
You must follow the position of your country, but you may be creative and realistic
Do not forget that all solutions need to be funded and you need to designate what UN organization(s) should be responsible to carry out your solutions, or how to coordinate with non-UN organizations.