Position paper guidelines

Hi guys! Here's a quick rundown of what the dais will be looking for in your position papers.

I'll only be going over some of the important aspects from the position paper guide, so please take a look at this first!

Firstly,  I received a few emails asking this question, so I wanted to clear this up: for double delegations it doesn't matter how you split up the work.  One person can take one topic, or you can work on both topics together. However, I advise that both members of the delegation be prepared to debate on both topics: it's important for dual delegations that both of you are contributing and speaking throughout debate, not just for a particular topic.

BMUN position papers include 4 sections:

• Past and Current International Action
• Common mistakes: 
• Only summarizing/restating the topic synopsis and not doing further research 
• Putting country policy here rather than international policy
• Country Policy
• Common mistakes:
• Leaving this section super short by saying "My country has no involvement with the topic", for example
• Talking about a non-related issue that is 'more important' to your country
• Proposed Solutions
• Common mistakes:
• Infeasible solutions, such as those outside the power of SOCHUM or that violate national sovereignty 
• Solutions only to a part of the issue 
• Solutions that are very broad and general, such as "increase awareness" or "raise funding". Where are you going to raise funding? What sort of methods does the UN have to increase awareness? 
• Response to Questions to Consider
• Common mistakes:
• Not answering these! 
• Not making it clear which questions you are answering. 

Here are some things that we will be looking for in particular for each topic:

UDHR: 

• Research on your country's track record with human rights. Looking at the UN treaty website would be helpful. 
• Identifying which category of rights is more interesting or more threatened in your country
• Research on rights that are not protected under the UDHR, especially if you address an area that was not expanded on in the topic synopsis OR do more research on LGBT, digital, and/or environmental rights
• Understanding of how the UN addresses human rights issues and specific solutions to make it more effective 

Overpopulation

• Acknowledging multiple causes behind population stresses
• Targeting most of the issues relating to overpopulation brought up in the synopsis in your solutions
• Specific research on your country's relationship to population
• Addressing the conflict between increased success and GDP versus its cost to the environment

If you have any specific questions about your paper or where to keep researching, feel free to comment on any of our blog posts or email us at sochumlxvii@bmun.org. Good luck!