My First MUN Training Conference Oct 13 2019

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 13, 2019 Welcome Delegates “Writing Your Position Paper” Topic: Climate Change Presenter: Tom Brannan

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 12, 2019 Writing for Model UN Part I: Writing Position Papers Part II: Writing Working Papers & Resolutions

Your success as a Model UN delegate will depend on two things: • What you know and • What you can do. q Your country, its government & its policies q The conference’s topics (usually two) q Prior actions by the UN on the topics q Allies and Adversaries q Conference rules q Researching your country and the conference topics q Writing a Position Paper with citations (footnotes) q Analyzing the issues (How is my country affected? ) q Staying in character q Working with other delegates / listening to their concerns q Writing Resolutions that address common concerns q Defending your Resolutions with reasoned arguments

Important Note: Your Position Paper Must Address All Topics Presented in the Background Guide MFMUN Background Guide This Background Guide lists two Topics: 1)Measures to Respond to Sea Level Rise 2)Renewable Energy Most GA Committees allow two delegates per country, making it easy to divide the research.

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 13, 2018 Five big questions about Position Papers: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) What are they? Why do we write them? Who is our audience? How long should they be? How do we write them?

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 13, 2018 1) What is a Position Paper? ü ü ü It’s an official policy statement reflecting your country’s position on a specific topic or set of issue/s that will be taken up by your assigned committee; Spells out how your country is or will be affected; Summarizes your country’s position (try to include quotes from your country’s leaders); Includes a brief profile of your country – its people, its government, its geography, its economy, etc. ; Identifies potential allies and essential solutions; Mentions past UN actions that are relevant.

2) Why do we write Position Papers? ü ü ü To demonstrate what we’ve learned about the country we represent; Translate our research into working papers and resolutions that advance our country’s interests and values; and So we can show our knowledge of the issues and our strategies for winning support from other countries. 3) Who is our audience? ü ü The Committee Chair The Secretariat, who make decisions about awards.

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 13, 2018 4) How long should a Position Paper be? ü Long enough to make clear your country’s values and interests and its position on the issues. 5) How do we write them? ü With clarity, evidence to support your position, and, yes, with footnotes. Cite your sources!!! And spell check and proofread before handing them in.

Before arriving at the Conference… Study the Background Guide. Position Paper Work together to write Position Paper & brief Opening Statements At the Conference, in Committee Opening Statement (Speech) Working Paper (Draft Resolution) Negotiation/Debat Resolution Rule: No Pre-Written Resolutions

Writing a typical Position Paper From the Conference Hosts: q Background Guide: topics and rules q Country assignment - BRAZIL q Committee assignment – ECOSOC (2 nd) UN Economic and Social Council Do your Research: q UN Charter & UN websites www. UN. org q 2 nd Committee (ECOSOC) https: //www. un. org/en/ga/second/ q World Factbook, CIA q Google: UN Environmental Programs (UNEP)

My First MUN Training Conference, Oct. 12, 2019 But…Before you start writing, read the Background Guide and review the “Key Questions for Consideration” (see p. 14 and p. 19) And do your research! Where to start? – un. org and google “UN Mission + your country” When you’re ready to write… First, create the “Header” – it tells the Chair vital information about you and your delegation.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. Country Name & Flag 3. 4. 5. 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. Country Name & Flag 3. Committee Name (DISEC) 4. 5. 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. Country Name & Flag 3. Committee Name (DISEC) 4. Conference Name (U of London) 5. 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. Country Name & Flag 3. Committee Name (DISEC) 4. Conference Name (U of London) 5. Assigned Topics 6.

Typical Front Page of a Position Paper The HEADER What’s here? 1. Title: “Position Paper” 2. Country Name & Flag 3. Committee Name (DISEC) 4. Conference Name (U of London) 5. Assigned Topics 6. Your Names

Position Paper Outline – Your Country: Republic of BRAZIL Topic: Measures to Respond to Sea Level Rise How is your country affected by this issue? M What course of action is your country proposing for the United Nations? What are some likely impacts of your proposal – positive and negative? What countries might be your allies? Who might oppose it? Will proposed strategies affect your country’s national sovereignty? What strategies will you use to promote your country’s position? Will your country be on the offense or defense?

Research on Republic of BRAZIL Source: CIA World Factbook 1. In October 2018, Jair BOLSONARO won the presidency with 55 percent of the vote and assumed office on 1 January 2019. 2. Population: 208, 846, 892 (July 2018 est. ) 3. Ranks 8 th in annual electricity generated as expressed in kilowatt-hours (567. 9 billion kwh in 2016) 4. Deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area. 5. Vast majority of people live along, or relatively near, the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of Sao Paolo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro. 6. Ranks 13 th in annual carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy, 513. 8 million Mt (metric tons) in 2017. 7. Ranks 197 th in electricity derived from fossil fuels (17%); ranks 2 nd from hydroelectric plants 64%, in 2017.

Position Paper – Republic of Brazil “In the search for prosperity, we are adopting policies that bring us closer to other countries which have developed themselves… Brazil is one of the wealthiest countries in biodiversity and mineral riches. Our Amazon is larger than the entirety of Western Europe and remains practically untouched – proof that we are one of the countries that best protect the environment. ” “At this time of year, the dry weather and the winds favor spontaneous and criminal fires. The sensationalist attacks we have suffered from a large portion of the international media due to the fires in the Amazon have awakened our patriotic feeling. It is a fallacy to say that the Amazon is the heritage of humanity and a misconception, as scientists say, to say our forest is the “lungs of the world. ” …One (France) or another country fell in with the press’s lies and behaved disrespectfully, with a colonist spirit. They questioned that which is most sacred to us: our sovereignty. --speech by Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro at the opening of the 74 th United Nations General Assembly, New York, September 24, 2019

Recent Actions by the United Nations: § UN General Assembly (GA)Resolutions relating to the protection of the global climate for present and future generations of humankind, including most recently, GA Resolution A/c. 2/72/L. 69 of 27 November 2017; and § The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Treaty Series, vol 1771, No 30822) and the Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, the primary international intergovernmental forums for addressing the threat posed by climate change, recognize the global nature of climate change and call for the widest possible international cooperation to speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and promotion of measures to adapt to the adverse effects of global warming.

Position Paper Outline – Your Country: Republic of BRAZIL Topic: Measures to Respond to Sea Level Rise How is your country threatened by this issue? M What course of action is your country proposing for the United Nations? What are some likely impacts of your proposal – positive and negative? What countries might be your allies? Who might oppose it? Will proposed strategies affect your country’s national sovereignty? What strategies will you use to promote your country’s position? Will your country be on the offense or defense?

Position Paper Outline – Your Country: Republic of BRAZIL Topic: Renewable Energy How is your country affected by this issue? M What course of action is your country proposing for the United Nations? What are some likely impacts of your proposal – positive and negative? What countries might be your allies? Who might oppose it? Will proposed strategies affect your country’s national sovereignty? What strategies will you use to promote your country’s position? Will your country be on the offense or defense?

Your Challenge TODAY (this afternoon): Negotiate with your fellow delegates a global response to climate change, by drafting and adopting in your committee one or more UN Resolutions that accomplish the following goals: 1) agreement on measures to address the major threat posed by climate change, specifically sea level rise, including the greatest possible international commitment to accelerate the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions; and 2) agreement on specific ways to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

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