RESOURCES
POSITION PAPER
Essentially, Position Papers are a statement of your delegation's position on a certain matter. They help you sistematize and organize your knowledge regarding the topic, besides showing the chairs that you did your research correctly.
STRUCTURE
There is a standard format for MUN Position Papers, which consists of a header and three paragraphs.
Header: this is a synthesis of all the information about you and your delegation. It should contain the committee your country is in, the topic being discussed, your delegation, the school you go to and your name. Using bold font in this section is recommended.
Paragraph I: here, the history and background of the topic should be explained. This should not simply be a repetition of the background, but a review of the topic from the perspective of your nation.
Paragraph II: this is where you should explore the relation between your nation and the topic being discussed. Here, highlight what your country believes is important regarding the issue and try to include past actions and solutions it has taken on the matter. It would also be interesting to mention past UN resolutions your nation has adopted or signed on the same issue before.
Paragraph III: for this last paragraph, possible solutions your nation would like to see being discussed in committee should be highlighted. Here is the place to try and be innovative, and come up with ideas that haven't been considered yet but could solve the issue while still being advantageous to your nation.
FORMAT
SMUN Position Papers follow a simple format. The font must be Times New Roman in size 12, no coat of arms in the heading is required, spacing is 1.15 and it should not exceed the one page limit.
Bellow you can find a sample Position Paper, which illustrates better what was explained above.
Historical United Nations Security Council
Topic: The Cold War (1960’s and 1970’s)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Swiss School of Curitiba
Bernardo Berneck Malucelli
The Cold War is an “iron curtain” over Europe as well as an ideological conflict between the communist USSR and the capitalist USA. Violent escalation is yet to happen, but as soon as the clock ticks midnight, the world will be embroiled in the destructive power of nuclear weapons. The conflict began in 1945, after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the dropping of “Little Boy'' and “Fat Man'' atomic bombs on Japan. So far, the division of Germany, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949, the ascension of Communist China, the establishment of the Warsaw Pact, and the misacceptation of the United Nations (UN) intervention in the Korean War (1950–1953) are all events that brought the world powers closer to a third World War. With many proxy wars brewing, such as the Vietnam War (1955), the US has been aiding anti-cmmunist movements all over the world. Tensions have risen with provocations by both the US and USSR, putting the very existence of all states at risk, be they on the side of communism or capitalism.
The UK obtained nuclear power in 1952, thus becoming the third-ever nation to do so. Its intervention in the Suez in order to protect the rights of the Israelis and its process of decolonization have given signs of changing political tides. This is especially true as British efforts are being undermined by the United States and the Soviet Union. It is still undeniable that the UK remains a major player in world affairs, especially as the founder of NATO and the Commonwealth, which shows its continued militarily important role. As a P5 member of the UN Security Council, the UK approved measures that moved the world towards peace and against a communist apocalypse. Those measures included the likes of resolution S/RES/79, advocating for global disarmament, and resolution S/RES/82, which condemned North Korean aggression. This is coupled with its standing firm and denouncing all the vetoes issued by the USSR that blocked peaceful efforts, such as the vetoing of resolutions dealing with the Greek Civil War. In 1948, it contributed to both planning and sending aerial aid to Western-Berlin borderers which found themselves encircled by the tyranny of the Soviet Union.
In this committee, the UK will continue to pursue its aspirations of a peaceful world free of communist control through economic shock therapy, though it will not be the subject of the United States. It will be an active advocate for the removal of nuclear weapons that are in places able to strike it and in places that risk a further increase of tensions. Additionally, it will advocate for effective normalization treaties between both sides, with dialogue being the top priority, not destruction. This delegation also aspires to strengthen the UN apparatus, especially the Trusteeship Council, to be able to neutrally deal with worldwide elections along with stabilizing the current decolonization process. It will do so by garnering bilateral ideals support. This delegate will also continue its fight for a global disarmament effort that treats both sides fairly for the rule of international law to be respected. Furthermore, it wishes for a resolution that helps fund the reconstruction efforts of nations affected by proxy conflicts, be they communist or capitalist. For the United Kingdom, it is of the utmost importance that the free world prevails against the horrors of the new red ideology.