Matthew Hanzel

Saya punya seorang teman yang mengatakan bahwa dalam MUN, position paper adalah tidak penting. Tentu kita harus ramai-ramai membantahnya, karena bagaimanapun juga position paper akan sangat menentukan apa yang kita lakukan pada suatu konferensi MUN.

Position paper merupakan suatu dokumen berisi bagaimana negara yang kita wakili memposisikan dirinya terhadap suatu isu, dan bagaimana negara yang kita wakili memandang isu tersebut. Position paper merupakan dokumen yang sangat ringkas, pada umumnya hanya setebal 1-2 halaman. Konferensi MUN yang berbeda menerapkan standar format yang berbeda-beda: ada MUN yang meminta diketik dengan 1 spasi, ada yang ganda. Ada juga beberapa konferensi MUN yang meminta position paper memiliki sitasi (sumber kutipan).

Bagaimana position paper menjadi penting? Dalam konferensi MUN, kita harus menyuarakan segala hal yang sesuai dengan posisi dan kepentingan negara kita di dalam konferensi tersebut, yang secara singkat dituliskan dalam position paper ini. Mereka yang membaca position paper pada umumnya mengharapkan bahwa kita selalu tetap pada posisi dalam position paper tersebut selama konferensi.

Position paper biasa mengandung:

• Posisi negara kita terhadap suatu isu
• Apa yang negara kita sudah lakukan terhadap isu tersebut (domestik/internasional)
• Solusi apakah yang kita tawarkan untuk isu yang sedang dibahas tersebut

Saya akan memberikan contoh position paper yang saya buat pada salah satu MUN beberapa waktu lalu. Itu mungkin bukan yang paling baik dan sempurna, namun semoga bisa membantu memberi gambaran. Lihat contoh di bagian akhir post ini.

I have a friend who said that position paper is not important during MUN. Of course, we all have to rebut such statement, since position paper is a very determinant factor in a MUN conference.

Position paper is a brief document consisting on how our country (the country that we represent) positions itself on an issue, and how the country positions itself on the issue. Position paper is very brief, usually around 1-2 pages. Different MUN conferences demand different formatting: some requires single space, some double space. There are also several conferences that demand citations to be also written.

How position paper is important? During the MUN conference, we have to voice ourselves in accordance with our position and our interest within the conference, which is briefly stated within the position paper. Those who read the position paper will expect us to stay in the position paper.

Position paper may contain:

• Our position on the issue
• What has the country done for tackling the issue (either inward or outward)
• What solutions that we provide to tackle the issue

I’ll give an example of position paper, that I made a few months ago for a MUN. It’s not the best, I believe, yet I’m trying to give an example on how position paper looks like.

POSITION PAPER

Country            : Republic of Ecuador

Committee       : Historical General Assembly (HGA)

Name                : Matthew Hanzel, Jason Robert

Topic Area: Apartheid

The Republic of Ecuador believes that all forms of discrimination based on inherent values of human being, such as ethnicity and race, should be all together eliminated from our World. Recalling the Resolution of UN General Assembly No. 3411 C (XX) (1975) which states that the crime of apartheid is a direct affront to the United Nations, this Delegation would like to press the United Nations on its support against apartheid.

The Republic of Ecuador believes in the valuation of human rights. The 1967 Constitution of Ecuador states in Article 13 that all rights granted by the Constitution are equal for all citizen of Ecuador, regardless of its different characteristics. Ecuador is a country with diversity of ethnicity, which granting equal rights and treatments to everyone regardless of its origins is also important for Ecuador’s existence and unity. This affirms the spirit of this Delegation as a founding member of the United Nations and signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

The Government of Ecuador supports and affirms the Resolution of the UN Security Council No. A/RES/392 (1976), condemning the Soweto Massacre of June 1976. However, after the event of Soweto Massacre in 1976, and after consulting the Special Report of the Special Committee Against Apartheid on “The Soweto Massacre and its Aftermath” (A/31/22/Add.1, 3 August 1976) this Delegation would like to further stress its condemnation against apartheid, while declaring that the United Nations should take further action after failing resolutions and conventions.

The Delegation of Ecuador would first press the United Nations to pass a Resolution further emphasizing apartheid as a crime against international law, a grave violation of human rights and a threat of international peace and security. The United Nations should then further affirm the recognition of the people of South Africa, together with the African National Congress (ANC) and the discriminated ethnic groups as the sole, rightful representation of the people of South Africa, demising the incumbent regime which rules South Africa with apartheid policies.

Besides that, the Delegation of Ecuador is committed to press a strong solution for the eradication of apartheid in South Africa. In order to eliminate discrimination in South Africa, upon which the Government of South Africa has no interest and willingness to prevent apartheid, this Delegation will propose to the United Nations for establishing an Independent Committee to assess, evaluate, and properly elaborate the implementation of apartheid policies in South Africa, while also determining possible solutions for eradication of apartheid in the near future.

This Delegation also believes that the United Nations should impose a mandatory economic sanction to South Africa, especially preventing international trade of arms and other commodities supporting coercive actions in domestic South Africa. Meanwhile, the United Nations should also provide economic aid only to the recognized representation of the South African people (Resolution A/RES/3151 G (XXVIII), 14 December 1973), which are the anti-apartheid movement and the people of South Africa that are repressed.

Upon the settlement of the issue, Ecuador would like to press the United Nations upon creation of an ad-hoc, independent human rights tribunal on South Africa, especially regarding the massacres and other crimes of humanity that prevents the freedom and integrity of human values of all South Africans. This proposal would further emphasize Ecuador’s international relations commitment in the eradication of any forms of discrimination to human beings.

To further increase the support, The Delegation of Ecuador would like to engage in interaction and communication with other countries in the South American region, and our fellow partners in Africa, supporting the possible solutions proposed by the Delegation of Ecuador, in order to halt the crime of apartheid as soon as possible.