Teacher’s Guide: How to Write a Position

Paper?

Please note that for simplicity purposes, this guide assumes that the reader is a
delegate.

Writing a position paper might appear to be a daunting task, especially for new delegates.
But with enough research, you will find that writing a position paper will be easy and
useful. Your Position Paper is an essay detailing your country's policies on a particular
topic which is being discussed in your committee. Position papers are usually one to a
maximum of one-and-a-half Pages in length. Your position paper should include a brief
introduction followed by a Comprehensive breakdown of your country's position on the
topics that are being discussed by the committee. A good position paper will not only
provide facts but also make proposals for Resolutions. It is based on the extensive
research you have conducted and helps you organize and summarize your country's
previous actions and stance on the issue at hand. Make sure your position paper attends to
the questions and issues raised in your committee’s study guide, and that it answers the
questions posed by the guide. Delegates will be expected to use their Position Papers as
basis for their Position Statements in the opening session. Position Papers should
ideally be about a page long, or at maximum a page and a half long.
To write a position paper delegates must focus on the following points with regards
to the agenda issue in debate:

1. A good position paper will have a brief introduction concerning your allotted country
and its history with the committee and topic at hand;

2. It must include your country's policies and its justification for these
policies;

3. It may include quotes, statistics and previous actions from your country's
government;

4. If your country has been a party to resolutions, conventions or UN actions, your

position paper must highlight that;

5. Not only should your Position Paper focus on facts such as previous actions or
resolutions, but should also include proposals for the issue.

6. Particular emphasis should be laid upon how you believe the issue should be
addressed and what your country expects to accomplish in the final Resolution of the
Committee;

7. Further, an outline of the foreign policy should be given which draws attention to
how the position of other countries affects your country’s position.

The proposals stated in the position paper need not be lengthy, but should make it
apparent that the delegate understands the complexities of the topic under the discussion.
The committee Study Guides will provide a guide for the position papers and should include
questions or events which should be addressed in the paper.
A good position paper will include:

1. A brief introduction to your country and its history concerning the topic and committee;
2. How the issue affects your country;
3. Your country’s policies with respect to the issue and your country’s justification for
these policies;
4. Quotes from your country’s leaders about the issue;
5. Statistics to back up your country’s position on the issue;
6. Actions taken by your government with regard to the issue;
7. Conventions and resolutions that your country has signed or ratified;
8. UN actions that your country supported or opposed;
9. What your country believes should be done to address the issue;
10. What your country would like to accomplish in the committee’s resolution;
11. How the positions of other countries affect your country’s position

Do take note of these points while writing your paper:

Introduce with style. Make a great introductory statement so that you may use that during
your introductory speech.

Use proper English. Ensure that each new point is in a separate paragraph and the
grammar and spellings are correct.

Ex plain yourself, don’t complicate yourself . Keep the format, ideas and language simple.
The idea is for you to summarize your country's position in the committee.
Keep it simple. To communicate strongly and effectively, avoid flowery wording and
stick to uncomplicated language and sentence structure.

Make it official. Try to use the seal of your country or create an “official” letterhead for
your
position paper. The more realistic it looks, the more others will want to read it.

Get organized. Give each separate idea or proposal its own paragraph. Make sure each
paragraph starts with a topic sentence.

Cite your sources. Use footnotes or endnotes to show where you found your facts and
statistics.

Read and reread. Leave time to edit your position paper. Ask yourself if the organization of
the paper makes sense and double-check your spelling and grammar.

Speech! Speech! Do you plan to make an opening statement at your conference? A good
position paper makes a great introductory speech. During debate, a good position paper will
also help you to stick to your country’s policies

The proposals stated in the position paper need not be lengthy, but should make it
apparent that the delegate understands the complexities of the topic under the discussion.
Ideally, it should be a page long or at maximum a page and a half long.

On the next page, you will see examples of what a position paper might look like. There is
no particular format or style, but rather a suggested model for the document.
 Sample Position Paper 1.1

Committee: World Health Organization

Topic: Eradication of Polio
Country: The Democratic Republic of the Congo
School/University: Mavişehir 2 Doğa Schools
Delegate Name: Ahmet Şanlı

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as a nation still dealing with the
detrimental effects of the Poliovirus (PV), believes that the eradication of polio is not only
an essential step towards reaching the Millennium goals established in 2000, but also an
attainable goal in and of itself. Globally, there are only two regions in which PV is still
considered endemic: the Central African and Central Asian regions. The DRC strongly
holds the belief that with concrete, realistic pledges of aid by all member states and the
cooperation of affected- nations’ governments with WHO and other UN initiated programs;
the disease can be eliminated within this generation.

With the WHO as a leading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the
DRC believes it is essential that all member states of the WHO keep their promises
made at the GPEI’s establishment in 1988. Specifically, the DRC laments the increasing
funding gap for the program, and calls upon all nations, especially the developed nations, to
increase their monetary support of the program. The DRC also believes that an obstacle to
the goal of eradication is the lack of developed infrastructure. Therefore, the DRC also
pleads to developing nations to continue and augment their development aid to affected
nations so as to eliminate this hindrance. The DRC feels this is an essential aspect to any
resolution passed by the committee.

The DRC would also like to offer itself as a model for a successful implementation of an
eradication program. No longer has endemic within the DRC’s borders, PV decreased due
to the use of National Immunization Days (NIDs) – an effort that has begun in other African
nations, such as Nigeria – and a social mobilization program. The promotion of these two
elements is also necessary within a resolution. The major obstacle to the success of these
programs in the DRC was the Second Congo War (1998-2003), during which 5 of the 11
DRC districts were occupied by invading forces and much infrastructure was lost. Due to
this, the DRC feels that any resolution passed must contain some sort of reprimand for a
nation who prevents the continuation of any eradication program.
 Sample Position Paper 1.2

Palestine - Israel Conflict

Name: Leyla İnci
School/University: Cevizlibağ Doğa Schools
Committee: United Nations Security Council
Delegate: Russian Federation
Russia's role as one of the 'Quartet' gives Russia back a leading role in attempts to provide a
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russia advocated an international peacekeeping force for
the region in 1994, and recent statements suggest that Russia may favor its imposition by force.

Russia is a close neighbor of the Near East and Gulf region. Russia has built major power
stations, plants and dams – unique dams - in the region and there are many Russians there - there
are 800,000 former Russians and former Soviet citizens in Israel. Over 100,000 families in the Arab
world are related to families in Russia. Almost 20 million Russian Muslims regularly visit Mecca in
their tens of thousands.

Russia, as a great power, has two key roles with regard to the Middle East. Firstly, it is a close
neighbor, a major power with very broad interests, economic, political, spiritual, religious, and, of
course, military. Its second role is as a permanent member of the Security Council and a co-
sponsor alongside the USA in the Middle East peace process

The development of a much closer relationship between Russia and the West since September
2001 and the worsening situation between Israel and the Palestinians have given Russia greater
opportunity to pursue active diplomacy in the region in the hope of promoting a settlement. The
intensification of the dispute has led to calls within Russia and elsewhere for an international
peacekeeping force to keep the peace between the Palestinians and Israel. Such an idea was put
forward by then foreign minister Andrey Kozyrev as far back as March 1994, and Russian
participation was offered. On 6th July 2001, foreign minister Igor Ivanov stated that Russia
believes that an international presence in the Middle East "in a form acceptable to both Palestine
and Israel would help to check the dangerous tendencies in that region."

We believe that the mutual Israeli-Palestinian aggression has entered the stage where the
imposition of peace should be the single common line of the world community interested in a
Middle East settlement.
Committee: Disarmament and International Security
Committee
Country: The Democratic Republic of Y (Use your country's official name
here) Topic: Cyber Terrorism
School/University: Mersin Doğa Schools
Name: Hasan Yörüklü

Past UN Resolutions on the issue:

UN Resolution 65/2, 1408, Outer space Theory, Cyber terrorism Act 2010 The Democratic
Republic of Y, has always been a believer of the immense potential of cyber space to
bridge gaps, erase borders and advance mankind. Suffice to say, today Y has the world's
largest telecommunication infrastructure, as well as a significant percentage of its GDP (4%)
allocated towards research and development of technological infrastructure. Combine that
with the defense budget's allocation of 16% towards increasing our ability to defend our
cyber space and one can understand the importance of this valuable resource to the people of
Y. For this purpose Y does not support in the continuing exploitation of such a valuable
resource by terrorists and countries alike, in what is no doubt an act of aggression towards
other states.

We believe that every country should be safe from the hazards that a solicited attack on cyber
infrastructure can do. While the world has somewhat come to a consensus on cyber
terrorism, largely in part to the recently concluded round of talks in 2012, however a lot
needs to be done. Y's stance on this issue is steadfast because it has also been a victim to these
attacks. In 2009 Y's intelligence agency was attacked covertly by hackers from unknown
location. For 24 hours the entire database of the country's intelligence was under the control
of terrorists. For this reason we have joined the fight against cyber terrorism.
 Recommendations for the committee:
The Republic of Y suggests the committee to take into consideration the following points
for discussion and implementation:

Important Note: This is a sample Position Paper. The country, topic and solutions
are all artificial.

1. A proper universally acceptable definition of terrorism and cyber terrorism.

2. Guidelines for the proper recording and reporting of cyber terrorism acts.

3. International sanctions on countries and non-state actors found guilty of carrying out
cyber- attacks.
4. Assistance for states that don’t currently have the means to develop defenses against
terrorist attacks through the following ways:

a) Intelligence sharing between countries on best practices,

b) Aid both financially and transferring of knowledge;

c) Strengthening of infrastructure on a regional, bilateral effort (such as on the likes of

NATO and African Union)

5. Universal combined efforts to deal with cyber terrorism.

6. Global condemnation of cyber terrorism within or outside of a state's borders. The

delegation of Y will actively seek to have these solutions proposed to the committee, and
work towards a more peaceful world for all nations.