How to write a position paper?

1. What is a ‘position paper’?

Position paper is a brief summary of the point of view on the committee’s topic of your country. It
reflects the main aspects of the topic and also the involvement and position of the represented country.
It helps the delegate to become a well-prepared participant with a deep insight into the affected issue.
It is necessary to make a wide research on the topic in order to write a summary so it requires delegates
to spend time to know the topic even if they have a complete and complex solution of the problem.

2. What should it contain?

Generally, position paper answers to 4 questions:
- What are the different aspects of the problem?
- What has already done in order to solve the problem?
- How much is your country involved? What is your country’s standpoint?
- What can be a possible solution?

3. How to find the necessary information in order to answer to the question?

If you would like to become a “best delegate”-nominee you have to know your country in general.
There is the best website where you may find any necessary information:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

It also can be helpful if you visit the represented country’s Embassy in your country or just even look
through its website. Also the English (!) Wikipedia may be useful. If you study your country’s history,
you will get a general idea about its relation with other nations which are also inevitable in order to
find your allies and enemies quickly in your committee.

Here are some useful pages to research your topic:

www.un.org
www.bestdelegate.com
www.globalissues.com
www.globalpolicy.org

Usually you may find interesting articles about any kind of global issue in the world press. You should
definitely try to check BBC, CNN. Your specific committee probably has some other world press (e.g.
The Financial Times/The Economist for ECOFIN/ECOSOC)
Google is your friend; do not forget them!

4. International steps taken towards to solve the given issue:

You can search on the UN website for previous resolutions (and probably you will find a tons), also
international frameworks, agreements, treaties can be taken. May I suggest you the library to use?

5. Country’s point of view

There are two different options: your country may be involved directly or indirectly. If your country is
directly involved you can easily find its official point of view. In the case of indirect involvement and
after the long research on different aforementioned websites, check out the allies and enemies of your
country and their involvement and (flourish of trumpet) you have a point of view thanks for the
wonders of the globalisation.

6. How should it look like?

Officially it is a formal document with formal language. It can be helpful if you have to deliver a
speech and you are a bit unprepared at that very moment. In some conferences position papers are
published before the conference’s start so each delegate has an opportunity to find allies and similar
thread. So take it formal, no longer than 2 pages, and try to focus on the main parts of the problem!
 Position Paper sample

Body: Humanitarian Affairs

Issue concerning to: Promoting the creation of adequate laws safeguarding the international
adoption of children

Represented country: Libya

Delegate's name:

Motto: “Safeguard the best interests of the child.”

There were adoption laws in the antique states – kingdoms, empires – as well as in the Middle Ages.
The first widely recognized modern adoption law is The Massachusetts Adoption of Children Act and was
enacted in 1851. In this act the primary concern was the welfare of the child rather than the concern for the
continuity of the adopter’s family. Throughout most of history, adoption has mainly occurred for religious
purposes or to serve the needs of the adoptive parents, including their need to preserve and transmit family
lines or inheritance, to gain political power or to forge alliances between families. We can repute this act as
the first which focused on the children’s rights.
Adoption laws need to face many challenges and these issues are being debated currently in courts and
policy circles. These issues include permanency planning and the right of children to live in a family
setting, intercountry adoption, adoption by step-parents and other relatives, interracial adoption, the right to
have access to information of the birth family and the importance of protecting the anonymity of persons
involved in the adoption procedure.
Safeguarding the best interests of the child has become the main consideration in all decisions
relating to adoptions, as indicated in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Unfortunately not all national procedures affecting adoption have moved in the same direction. Despite
attempts at standardization, adoption laws in different countries continue to reflect specific historical
processes as well as differences in societal norms. One of the greatest differences is that the authority that is
charged with approving and granting adoptions differs among countries. Countries also have different
requirements for prospective adoptive parents and adopted children. The requirements differ in certain age,
marital status, residency and citizenship. The adopted child’s rights to respect and to inheritance have many
differences between countries. And we shouldn’t forget the acquisition of citizenship.
In our country, in Libya, domestic and intercountry adoptions are not permitted. Single male or female
permissions to adopt are not applicable. Age requirements for adopting parents and the child’s age of
consent for adoption are not applicable as well. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in
1993, although the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is not ratified yet. National legislations are
not applicable in governing adoption and the government body is not responsible for adoption approval.
Adoption indicators of Libya are unknown. These information are based on the United Nations’ Child
Adoption: Trends and Policies 2009 release.
The adoption laws in Libya don’t safeguard the best interests of the child, which is a really serious
problem since Libyan children are human beings as well and they deserve the same rights and the same
treatment as any other child around the world. We should make two main goals in order to find solution to
the problem and to safeguard the best interest of the child. The first goal should be about making
international legislations to govern adoption, making the government body responsible for adopting
approval, and last, but not least, permit of domestic and intercountry adoptions. And the second goal should
be about synchronizing national procedures and national legislations on the best way as possible in order to
reduce the greatest differences affecting adoption.
These steps could make a huge improvement in children’s rights, which is essential in order to
safeguard the best interests of the child.