1. Position Papers! Created by Richa Lal

2. What is a Position Paper? Essay that outlines and briefly describes your country’s/delegation’s stance on the topic being debated. Mechanism to organize your information and an easy way to prepare your opening statement or later speeches.

3. Structure of a Position Paper Clearly labeled Committee, Topic, and Country 1-1.5 pages in length 1 st Paragraph: Brief introduction detailing your country’s history (if any) with the issue. 2 nd – 3 rd Paragraphs: detailed analysis of your country’s opinion on matter, providing very specific claims on plausible resolutions. Closing: Re-establish your overall stance

4. What To Include in a Position Paper Anything Recent How the issue affects your country Security reasons, humanitarian issues, legality. Your country’s policies, and justification Statistics Actions taken by government QUOTES!!

5. What To Include in a Position Paper Resolutions signed/ratified by your country Bilateral & Unilateral Agreements, Treaties UN Actions supported or opposed by your country What your country believes should be done How other countries affect your country’s opinion/decision

6. Extra Notes Don’t be overly loquacious, aka don’t be overly wordy, and stick to your point, even if it ends up being repetitive. Be organized by giving each possible resolution Cite your sources! They love footnotes – show you didn’t just use Wikipedia.

7. Good Sources The UN Database for resolutions/any information Press conferences given by your country following a UN convention National newspaper articles The CIA information site for various statistics Foreign Ministry Websites (for each country) http://www.unausa.org/munpreparation