QUANG TRI MODEL UNITED NATIONS

MOCK MUN #1
POSITION PAPER GUIDELINE

1. WHAT IS A POSITION PAPER?

A Position Paper is a paper that demonstrates a country's perspectives and its course
of action on a given topic. Unlike the resolution, the position paper is submitted prior
to the conference and therefore acts as the chairs' first impression about your
understanding of the topic. A good position paper would get you prepared and ready
to act on your country’s behalf at the conference.

2. POSITION PAPER SECTIONS

a. Topic Background: a brief history of the assigned topic, current situation, domestic
and international efforts
b. Country’s Stance: In this part, the country’s point of view is exhibited by illustrating
its current situation, the impact it has on the country, and some past actions or
statements from the country’s government. For past actions, also remember to
mention whether the policy succeeded or not.
c. Suggested Solutions:
+ Delegates are encouraged to research as much as possible for this part. The
more specific your solutions are, the easier you advocate the proposed
solutions in the committee.
+ Your solution should be innovative and at the same time, realistic

3. REQUIREMENTS
Format requirements:
+ Word limit: 800 words
+ Format: font Times New Roman, size 11, line spacing 1.5
+ Citation style: MLA8
+ File name: [Committee] - [Country Name] - [Delegate Name] (Example:
UNICEF - Vietnam - Nguyen Dao Duy Bao)
+ File format: you can choose to submit your works in .pdf or .word
 Notes:
+ Plagiarism would be strictly forbidden, including the act of copying texts and
ideas from another source without citation or generating texts from artificial
intelligence. If your essay is found to be more than 50% plagiarized, you will
not be considered for an award at the conference.
+ Remember to include the full name of the committee (Ex: World Health
Organization - WHO), topic name, country name, and the delegate’s name in
the beginning of the essay.
+ Please carefully check your document's access if you submit your works in
Google Docs.
+ Late submission may result in the delegate not being considered for an award.
Please submit your Position Paper before 23h59 April 8th (Saturday) via the
attached google form. (https://bit.ly/3lWjzNL)
+ If you have any problems or questions, contact us through:
● Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/qtmun)
● Email: qtmun.quangtrimun@gmail.com

4. SAMPLE POSITION PAPER

Committee: Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Topic: Arab Spring
Country: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Delegate Name: Nguyễn Đào Duy Bảo

The Arab Spring is certainly one of the most dynamic movements of humanity at the
start of the 21st century, with a lot of events occurring in the Middle East and North African
(MENA) area. Starting from the anti-government rallies held on February 15, 2011, the
uprising from all over Libya proved a stressful relationship between the citizens and the
administration of Muammar al-Gaddafi (“Libya Revolt of 2011 | History, War, Timeline, &
Map.”). It came to a lot of consequences afterward such as the ongoing civil war, economic
collapse, and the detriment of living standards. Its impacts are still very relatable and
significant to the people in the region nowadays. Setting back the context to February 2011,
Libya needs to solve its internal problems before really moving forward to promote
international affairs.
 Before the revolution, Libya operated with an authoritarian government with
Muammar al-Gaddafi being the leader, who declared true independence for the country from
the Senussi Dynasty and removed the dominant foreign forces from the country. His main
mission was to bring benefits and wealth to all of the Libyans (Baspineiro “Libya: Before and
After Muammar Gaddafi.”). During his reign, the lives of the Libyans were improved
explicitly, resulting in the transformation of one of the poorest African countries in 1969 to
the continent’s leader in the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2011. Regarding the
country’s economy, Libya is known for its reliance on oil. According to the Atlantic Council,
oil (and to some extent gas) represents 65 percent of the country’s GDP, 96 percent of export
revenues, and nearly 98 percent of government revenues (Khan and Karim “The Libyan
economy after the revolution: still no clear vision.”). Therefore, a single spark of instability
could cause an extreme effect on the oil price and the entire state of the economy. The
inflation rate of Libya also changes vigorously according to that, from 2.5% in 2010 to 15.9%
in 2011 “Libya Inflation Rate, 1980–2020 - Knoema.Com.”. These statistics prove that the
uprisings would make a significant impact on the economy of the country.

On the other hand, the anti-governmental bodies are also one of the important causes
of the revolt. Compared to other countries in the region, Libya is considered to be more stable
but some were undergoing planned schemes towards the government that inflicted riots all
around the country to aim at the dictator al-Gaddafi (Pedde “The Libyan Conflict and Its
Controversial Roots.”) In reality, the benefits of the country from the oil revenue didn’t seem
to be equally distributed to all of the citizens, when one-fifth of the working class is
unemployed, and al-Gaddafi was just enjoying his massive wealth from the work of other
people “Libya’s Jobless Rate at 20.7 Percent: Report.”. al-Gaddafi is also known for funding
multiple terrorist groups and attacks globally, which makes it even more concerning when a
leader is trying to establish violence around the world.

At the conference, the most heating issue that needs to be addressed is how to find a
middle ground between the people and the government. The administration of al-Gaddafi has
to find its way toward a sustainable economy. The people should be treated equally, and the
government should not be seen as a kleptocracy. In order to address this, the government
should decentralize its power and focus more on narrowing the wealth gap among the
citizens. On an international scale, Libya should work with the African Union to establish
more connections regarding the Arab Spring movement. Using its internal resources, Libya is
expected to spend its fund on international cooperation and support for other countries in
humanitarian aid, instead of terrorism. In this way, Libya would be able to establish good
international affairs and healthy communications in the upcoming conference with ESCWA.

“Libya Revolt of 2011 | History, War, Timeline, & Map.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
www.britannica.com/event/Libya-Revolt-of-2011. Accessed 28 July 2021.

Baspineiro, Roxana. “Libya: Before and After Muammar Gaddafi.” TeleSUR English, 15 Jan.
2020,
www.telesurenglish.net/analysis/Libya-Before-and-After-Muammar-Gaddafi-2020011
5-0011.html. Accessed 28 July 2021.

Khan, Mohsin, and Karim Mezran. “The Libyan economy after the revolution: still no clear
vision.” Atlantic Council, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, 2013,
https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/169054/libyan_economy_after_revolution_no_clear_visi
on.pdf Accessed 28 July 2021.

“Libya Inflation Rate, 1980–2020 - Knoema.Com.” Knoema,

knoema.com/atlas/Libya/Inflation-rate. Accessed 28 July 2021.

Pedde, Nicola. “The Libyan Conflict and Its Controversial Roots.” European View, vol. 16,
no. 1, 2017, pp. 93–102. Crossref,
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12290-017-0447-5. Accessed 28 July 2021.

“Libya’s Jobless Rate at 20.7 Percent: Report.” Reuters, 2 Mar. 2009,

www.reuters.com/article/ozabs-libya-economy-jobless-20090302-idAFJOE52106820
090302. Accessed 28 July 2021.