Position Papers

Please feel free to reach out to Samantha Moon at dg.committees@ymun.org if you don’t find the answer to your questions below.

What are position papers?

Position papers are a key part of each delegate’s preparation for the committee experience. It must outline the position of your country or character on the topic(s) of your committee, and effective position papers will include the ideas you may actually pass in your committee’s final resolution. Think of your position paper as a way to come into the conference with researched ideas about what you would like to do. Chairs will appreciate well-written and well-researched position papers which show that you are invested in the conference.

What should position papers include?

Successful position papers should include:

  • An explanation of the actions your country or entity has taken in the past to address the issue(s) the committee will discuss

  • A critical examination of the core problems your country or entity believes must be addressed in committee

  • Potential solutions and the challenges those solutions pose

Your position paper should leave the reader with a clear understanding of your position on the topics at hand and your potential actions in committee. The first paragraph should be an introduction about the history of the issue and/or your country. The second paragraph should be about the noteworthy actions your country has taken in the past on this issue. The rest of the page should be about your ideas to solve the issue. Cite your sources in the text of the position paper if they are particularly noteworthy (e.g., if you are using a previous resolution your committee has produced on the issue). Have fun, be creative, and explore your topics!

What is the format of position papers?

Your position paper must be one page long, in 12 point font and single-spaced. Delegates should write one paper per topic (two pages total). In the heading of the paper, please include the committee name, the country or entity you are representing, the topic of the committee, your name, and your school or delegation name. Additionally, delegates should refrain from using personal pronouns such as “I” or “we” if they are in a General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, or Regional Body. Please refer to the country they are representing in third person, e.g. “The United States of America believes…” Lastly, we have no specific guidelines for formatting of references. We ask delegates to do whatever is most convenient and comfortable for them, and to cite all of their sources in the way which is familiar to them.

What are some key questions to guide delegates’ research?

Topic guides are a great starting point for delegates as they begin their research, especially the resources and questions provided at the end of each (if you don’t know where topic guides are, ask your advisor). Beyond that, find reliable sources that answer questions such as:

  • What is the issue being discussed? What are the stakes and who are the stakeholders? Who are the various groups affected?

  • How does the issue affect your country or entity? Why does it matter to the people you represent?

  • What is my position on this issue relative to others? What are potential bloc positions? Which other countries or positions are ideologically or practically aligned with the views you represent?

  • How can the problem be solved? What challenges do you anticipate facing?

Submission Instructions

How should position papers be submitted?

We ask delegates to submit their position paper to the appropriate Google form below. Please double check that you are submitting to the correct organ’s form. If you are unsure about which organ you are in, visit ymun.org/committeeinformation.

General Assemblies

Economic and Social Councils

Regional Bodies

Specialized

Crisis

When are position papers due?

Position papers are required to be eligible for committee awards, but optional otherwise. To receive feedback, delegates must submit their position paper to their organ’s Google form by 11:59PM EST on January 1st, 2025. Once you have submitted your position paper and received feedback, there will not be a chance to resubmit, but delegates are encouraged to use the feedback they receive in committee.

To be considered for awards, delegates must submit position papers before the start of the first committee session on January 23rd, 2025. Position papers submitted between January 2-23, 2025 will not receive feedback, but will make delegates eligible for awards.

Example Position Paper

General Assembly for the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM)
Topic: Brain Drain
Central African Republic 
Delegate Name
School/Delegation Name

The Central African Republic has been burdened with wars and dictatorships since the 1960’s, and despite being endowed with internationally coveted resources such as expansive diamond minds, 73% of its population live on less than US $1 a day. During the past 15 years, life expectancy has declined from 45 to 35 years of age due to poor health care and the HIV/AIDS epidemic which plagues 35% of the CAR’s population. Moreover, the lack of essential drugs and vaccinations has contributed to the recent outbreaks of other diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio and water-borne viruses. The World Health Organization’s resident representative in the Central African Republic stated in a recent interview that the CAR’s health system is “very precarious,” adding that most health workers in rural areas have abandoned their posts because of the region’s insecurity and unpaid wages. 

Like Zimbabwe and other African nations, the “Brain Drain” migration of health care workers and other trained professionals to the more developed world is significantly contributing to the Central African Republic’s current health situation. Presently, the UN is appealing for $45 million for humanitarian assistance for the CAR, however, the nation anticipates receiving less than a third of that. The CAR recognizes that although there is a need for vaccinations and other salutary goods, the health care system will never be able to reach the thousands of people in need without the physical manpower provided by doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. 

At the center of the nation’s policy is the belief that without an international effort, there is no way of solving an international problem. The Central African Republic proposes a resolution which mandates that the subsidy paid by governments to train a doctor or nurse should be calculated, and repaid in an exact amount to the government if that person chooses to migrate. The cost would be paid by the country to which the person is migrating, as it is benefiting from the transfer of “human capital” trained at great cost by the country of origin. However, the CAR also recognizes that income alone will not be sufficient recompense for the lost immigrants and we therefore propose that in developing countries – with a population of migrating workers over a certain percentage – that trained individuals would have to serve a short number of years in their country of origin before being allowed to migrate to practice in a different country. 

The CAR also recommends that the UN channels funds through organizations like UNESCO, OECD and the World Bank to help improve the wages and living conditions of healthcare workers in third world countries, (like the CAR), who have no other means of financially motivating their citizens to remain and practice in their own nation. The CAR also plans on advocating for a higher percentage of the national GDP to be devoted to research, development, and the promotion of the sciences. Additionally, as an African nation encourages the whole continent to forge a partnership with the diaspora community of Africans worldwide. An effective partnership implies building capacity and exploiting existing capacity within the existing network of highly skilled and expertise African expatriates. Finally, the Central African Republic proposes a resolution that includes the creation of a database on brain drain and capacity building, thus creating knowledge blocks to complement national efforts in addressing deficiencies in education and training capacities as well as trying to maintain and effectively utilize them.