POSITION PAPER GUIDE
A) WHAT IS A POSITION PAPER?
A position paper is a brief statement of the perspective of the country you are representing in
regards to the topic(s) in your committee.
Purpose: allows the delegates an opportunity to clearly organize their research and define their
country’s policies, but it also permits other delegates to quickly determine their fellow committee
members’ stance on a topic.
If position papers are made available: read some! Then you can decide who is competent, and
who to ally with.
B) WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED?
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
 Look at the topic and given questions carefully
 Read the research guide provided
RESEARCH:
 International agreements relevant to the topic signed by your nation.
 Conversely, if your nation has not signed an important agreement for specific reasons,
the rationale for this might also be included.
 Will immediately allow countries to determine if your foreign policies are congruent
based on their status in regards to the agreement.
 The details of any topic-oriented international organisations of which your country is a
member– another easy way to determine alliances.
 A brief description of how the problem addressed within the topic has affected your nation.
 A brief description of any programmes or actions taken by your nation’s government and/or
government-approved NGOs and IGOs in regards to the problem.
 How your country would like to see the questions posed by the topic (especially those found
within the committee guide) addressed in a resolution.
The most important thing to remember is to be concise and accurate – there’s nothing worse than
another delegate questioning the accuracy of your own foreign policy!
C) FORM
At the TOP: four lines of information formatted in the following manner:
Committee:
Topic:
Country:
University:
Delegate Name:
 You may include the flag of the country in the header if you desire!
SET-UP NR 1:
 Paragraph 1: Outline Topic in General
 Serves the purpose of outlining the topic in general and providing insight into the root
of the conflict.
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Paragraph 2: Identify and Describe your Country
 Where your background research on the country pays off.
 Identify and describe your country (state how nation relates to topic of discussion /
how they were affected)
 Emphasize the extent to which change has taken place
 Hold off any normative judgments (no evaluation yet, just discuss)
Paragraph 3: Your Country’s Policies and Proposed Solutions
 Country’s policies and what caused policies to be enacted in the first place
 Address relative benefits (if any) and detriments of the development
 Why country acted as it did, and why it will continue to do so
 Outline state’s particular interest in the issue being discussed, and what needs to be
changed
 Discuss area of particular concern for the country in this topic (basis for the
resolution)
Paragraph 4: Summing It Up
 Restate country’s position
 Sum up what you hope to achieve (MOST IMPORTANT PART!!!)
SET-UP NR. 2:
 Paragraph 1: Issue and Position
 Clearly outline the main problems associated with your topic.
 Basic foundation as to the current situation associated with your topic.
 After generally describing the issue, give your country’s policy regarding the issue, and
state especially why your country supports that policy.
 Paragraph 2: Detailed Background Information
 Historical origin of the problem, particularly why the problem arose
 How does the issue relate to the international community and why is it of
international concern
 Previous actions taken to try and solve the problem (if any)
 Successes and failures of past actions and why they succeeded or failed
 Problems that continue to exist or ones that have not yet been addressed
 Paragraph 3: Proposed Solutions Regarding the Issue (MOST IMPORTANT PART!!!)
 Specific proposals regarding how to solve specific issue
 How each individual proposal will be implemented, including the feasibility
 Global impact of solving the problem or implementing these solutions
D) HOW LONG SHOULD IT BE?
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Limit it to ½ - 1 page.
Write a different position paper per topic (if the committee has two proposed topics, try and
have both fit onto a page – not including your name, country, etc).
E) SUBMITTING YOUR POSITION PAPER
Most conferences ask you to submit a position paper before the conference. Send it to the
correct email address, and respect the deadline!
Sources: OxiMUN Position Paper 2011; United Nations Assosciation of the USA; Vancouver MUN;
Washington Lee High School MUN
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