Matthew Hanzel

Seorang teman pernah mengatakan pada saya bahwa dalam Model United Nations, position paper (kertas posisi) tidak penting. Tentu kita harus ramai-ramai membantahnya, karena bagaimanapun juga position paper akan sangat menentukan apa yang kita lakukan pada suatu konferensi MUN. Dalam artikel kali ini, saya akan memperkenalkan apa yang disebut position paper. Kita akan melihat lebih jauh mengenai dokumen ini dan bagaimana penulisannya dalam berbagai tulisan ke depan.

Sebagai pengantar, position paper (sering disingkat pospap atau kadang-kadang pp) merupakan suatu dokumen berisi bagaimana negara yang kita wakili memosisikan dirinya terhadap suatu isu, dan bagaimana negara yang kita wakili memandang isu tersebut. Position paper merupakan dokumen yang sangat ringkas, pada umumnya hanya sepanjang 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.

Sebuah position paper biasanya 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

Berikut ini merupakan sebuah contoh position paper untuk mengilustrasikan wujud dari dokumen ini.

Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia
World Trade Organization

Trade Protectionism

Being a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since before joining the United Nations (UN), Indonesia enshrines the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s goal of removing trade barriers, following the trend of greater freedom of movement for both goods and people in the twenty-first century. While the Indonesian government acknowledges that ultimately free trade is beneficial trade for all countries, exceptions should still be applied where trade protectionism allows developing economies to be prepared themselves when facing relentless competition globally.

Indonesia’s commitment to the global trade regime is exhibited by joining GATT in 1950 and subsequently WTO in 1995. Regionally, Indonesia is also an active participant in lowering trade barriers, such as through the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement as ASEAN’s founding member, ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (2002), and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (2004). These free trade agreements have allowed for, in some cases, more than 90% of goods to have their tariffs reduced or eliminated. Nevertheless, imports of foreign goods have disadvantaged Indonesia’s products, especially those produced at low cost and large scale. This has required the Indonesian government to enact policies that selectively protect the country’s domestic industries. Some of the required policies include introducing mandatory domestic composition for imported goods and select import tax. These limitations, however, are not meant to restrict free trade. Instead, it provides Indonesia sufficient room to allow its domestic industries to grow and build its competitiveness in an increasingly open economy.

The Indonesian government ultimately understands that elimination of trade barriers must remain an aspiration for all countries, while at the same time, exclusions should be applied to allow developing economies to build greater competitiveness. Therefore, Indonesia asks WTO to reaffirm its most-favored-nation principle and implementation, including such exclusion wherever it applies, allowing every economy to determine certain exclusion as sovereign. WTO should also continue to facilitate regional free trade agreements that allow economies to implement free trade according to their level of preparedness with the partners they are most confident in. WTO should also continue to assess the impact of limited trade barriers on the global freedom of trade, providing constructive inputs on how developing economies can still reap the benefits of free trade without facing excessive negative consequences from joining the global trade regime.Indonesia stands firm in cooperation with all countries in realizing a fairer, favorable free trade system that benefits all.