KYIV UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION V KYIV INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS KIMUN 2013 THE SIMULATION GUIDE WRITING

A POSITION PAPER

What is a Position Paper and why do you need to write one? A Position Paper is a brief outline of countrys, international organizations, or NGOs policy concerning the topic in the committee. A good Position Paper should contain a clear statement of the countrys/organizations position on the topic, the reasons behind it, and a plan of action suggesting how to resolve the issue that is under discussion. Writing a Position Paper might appear to be a daunting, boring, long task, that seems to be killing your energy in a brutal way, especially for new delegates. But with enough research, you will find that writing a Position Paper will be easy and useful for your participation at the conference and your ability to play the role of a delegate adequately and enjoy the time during the debates. It will summarize your research on the topic and serve as a constant reminder enabling you consistent and coherent representation during the simulation. The Position Paper will be a part of your overall performance in the simulation and will serve us for your evaluation. It is very important to avoid writing something like How we were spending summer, thinking over the Syrian conflict. Also, avoid criticism, allegations and pointless statements that are not related to the topic and the discussed question. In addition, a Position Paper will help you use arguments while in debates. Each delegate must know the position of his/her country pretty well to be sure about the speeches, claims and words being used by a delegate and simply to know the topic. A Position Paper will be a useful plan for you during making draft resolutions, argumentation, making amendments and so on.

Here are the guidelines you should follow when writing your Position Paper

1. Form

All Position Papers should have a minimum length of 1 page and a maximum of 2 pages. Please do not write novels! The typing style must be Times New Roman at a 12 point size, single spaced. The top of the page should contain: Committee, Topic, Country you are representing, and Delegate Name. NOTE: Keep in mind, when writing the Position Paper, not to use first person. Instead of I think use expressions such as our government believes, our country, the country name etc.

2. Structure

In the first part of your Position Paper you should elaborate on the issue of your Committee.

Make sure to incorporate in this section: Major players and history of the current developments concerning the topic; Reference to the work the UN has already done on the topic, whether by specialized agencies, regional bodies or working with non-governmental organizations; References to past UN resolutions and international treaties (providing the specific number or name of that document and the year it was passed); References to the UN Charter, as appropriate for the topic; Quotations and statements made by your countrys officials on the discussed question.

In the second and most important part you should specify the official position of the country/organization you represent in respect to the issue under consideration, and the justification for this position. Focus on your national interests and discuss a possible solution for the issue that is appropriate for your countrys/organizations position. These are the points you should include: A brief introduction to your country and its history concerning the topic and committee; How the issue affects your country; Past statements from your countrys leaders about the issue if applicable; Actions taken by your government with regard to the issue; Conventions, resolutions and treaties related to the topic that your country has signed or ratified; UN or other international bodys actions that your country supported or opposed; How the positions of other countries affect your countrys position. If your country is a clear example of a successful UN program in action, a member of an affected group, emphasize it.

NOTE: If you have been assigned a country/organization that does not have a clear stance on the particular issue that is discussed, examine how your country reacted in similar situations and see what position it has on the issue in general. You can have your own ideas while developing this, but make sure that these ideas do not contradict with the policies of the country you represent.

3. What you should not do in your position paper?

Position Paper is not about your country in general or its national history, but rather about what your country would like to accomplish on the topic. Other countries do not care about your

internal issues, but rather are interested in where your country stands on the issue under discussion at the UN. So do not try to write a new book for a lesson of countrystudy or whatever. This is a serious document, that reflects your ideas, position, main points and is a fundamental element for your future resolution.

NOTE: Being on a four day simulation means that not everything a delegate has planned will actually occur. In fact, delegates must be prepared to modify their plans according to how the debate goes. Therefore, you must be fully aware of the national interest and objectives of your countries/organization as this will enable you to quickly and effectively respond to Committee conditions. Below you can see two examples of a position paper. Be attentive and pay attention to the lexical and stylistic constituent. The position paper has to be written in a formal style.

4. Examples

Committee: Disarmament and International Security (DISEC) Topic: Cyber Security Country: Norway The Kingdom of Norway is deeply concerned by the rapidly growing number of cyber crimes in the recent years. In the past two decades with the rising of the role of information technologies in the political, economic and social life worldwide cyber terrorism has become one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. It is a danger to the stability of Norways infrastruct ure and national security in particular as well as a threat to the whole world, touching upon all societies, all people and all countries. Today cyber crime is a business that exceeds trillion dollars a year. Norway hopes that joint efforts in solving this problem during the current conference will result in a significant decrease of cyber crime, and this will undoubtedly be very important for keeping peace and stability in the world. In order to carry it out the Kingdom of Norway requests cooperation within the international law and human rights standards. It is quite important that the UN, as the worlds most regulatory organization, leads these efforts and Norway will actively aim to strengthen UN in this behalf. The Kingdom of Norway welcomes the adoption by the General Assembly in 2009 of the UN resolution on cybersecurity, which claims the need for cooperation in protection of national, regional and international information-sharing. Furthermore, Norway refers to the UN resolutions of 3rd December 2000 and 19th December 2001 as crucial steps in combating cyber crime. However, Norway notes with deep concern that the cyber criminal activity expands and becomes more and more transnational. Moreover, all modern terrorist organizations have web-sites in the Internet nowadays and cyberwarfare is no longer science-fiction. The delegation of Norway recognizes that without regulation the potential threats by cyber crime will certainly rise. Unless countries take active roles in international cooperation actions, especially through police systems, to confront effectively the growth of cyber crime, the problem of cybersecurity will remain the burning problem of our century. Norway calls upon the UN to initiate a new project that could form a new information security management standard. What is more, we will pay special attention to considering alternative ways to improve a coordinated international information security policy. Norway participates in the majority of resolutions, treaties and conventions. We have always supported efficient and innovative decisions within the UN which were aimed at cooperation in international security, law, economic development and social progress. The Kingdom of Norway

urges all States to recognize the need for collective actions and close cooperation to do everything possible to confront the serious threats of cyber crime, which is a great danger to worlds society.

Committee: Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC) Topic: Cyber Security Country: Japan The world is recently undergoing tremendous changes. Owing to the information technology (IT) revolution in recent years, information and communication networks such as the Internet are becoming essential components across all facets of peoples lives. But unlike nuclear threat and others before it, the cyber threat was upon us with little warning and had a very short gestation period. Every year sees one million new issues, from worms to logic bombs, and that figure is climbing. Japan considers cyber-crime to be a three-headed hydra. The first reason is that its profitable. The second is that its low-risk. The third and most important is that its anonymous. Attribution is one of cyber-crimes trickiest problems. The basic protocols of the Internet dont allow for positive attribution, which is great for free speech, but makes things hard for law enforcement. It is worth mentioning, that this has been a period of extraordinary challenges for Japan. A little more than year and a half have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. The role of cyber-security was sharply reminded in a view of Japan being a highly wired state. Over 70% of households and over 95% of offices are connected to the Internet, and mobile phones are widespread with more than 93% of people using them. In 2010, the business-to-consumer ecommerce market was estimated at about Yen 8 trillion ($ 100 bn.)But still industrial espionage targeting global firms like Sony, Panasonic, Toyota, Honda and MHI is a serious concern. In September 2011, computers of Japanese private companies producing defense equipment were found infected with malware and legislative and administrative organs were also attacked in the same year. As a result, it became more obvious that cyber attacks on the information and communications networks of governments and militaries as well as on critical infrastructure significantly affect national security. As addressed by Mr. Yoshihiko Noda at the Sixty-Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly Japan reiterates its firm condemnation of these atrocious acts. In this regard Japan has set up a cyber-taskforce responsible for assessing threats to key infrastructure such as power production and water supplies. International peace and stability are indispensable foundations for achieving the stability and prosperity of Japan. It has a national CERT (JPCERT/CC), a cyber-strategy and participates in the informal CERT communities. In the Asia Pacific region, JPCERT/CC plays a leading role in the Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) and is a member of Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). Japan has served as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for ten terms and has been actively taking part in discussions towards the maintenance of international peace and security. On the international stage, Japan looks forward to enhancement of partnership with the U.S., which includes participation in Japan-U.S. IT Forum;

strengthening cyber planning functions of the Joint Staff Office to respond to increasing threat of cyber attacks; and dispatching personnel to study at Japanese and overseas graduate schools. JapanASEAN hold an annual Information Security Conference, and a China-Japan-Korea (CJK) framework coordinates cyber-policy between the countries mentioned. Japan recognizes and adapts to the militarys increasing need for reliable and secure networks and designates to build and enhance existing military alliances to confront potential threats in cyberspace. And in this regard further expands cyberspace cooperation with allies and partners to increase collective security. Japan further recommends to avoid the use of the words cyber war or warfare as they can lead to the militarization of cyber-space. Japan further calls upon all the nations concerned to enact, if they have not yet done so, and implement cyber crime and cyber security laws in accordance with their national conditions and by referring to relevant international instruments and recommendations/guidelines for the prevention, detection, reduction, and mitigation of attacks to which they are party. Including the ten recommendations in the UN General Assembly Resolution 55/63 on Combating the Criminal Misuse of Information Technologies. Furthermore, Japan draws attention to issues that must be debated in order to allow for an effective response to cyber attacks, which have become a new security challenge in recent years. For instance, there is still no wide consensus on the norms covering conduct of states and international cooperation in cyberspace. In consideration of these problems, debate should take place with the aim of promoting new efforts, such as formulating certain norms of conduct within cyberspace based on international consensus. Japan hopes to share its acquired knowledge and experience in the field of cyber security in accordance to its capacity as a member of the international community. In order to reach consensus in the future debates, Japan emphasizes on the importance of acknowledging that terrorist misuse of cyber space is a destructive and devastating form and manifestation of global terrorism whose magnitude and rapid spread would be exacerbated by the increasing cyber interconnectivity of countries. Furthermore it is crucial to mention that the proceeds from cyber crime may be laundered and/or used to fund terrorist activities. Thus Japan further invites the nations to enhance the capability for effective response to cyber attacks by strengthening the cyber defense systems and human resource development initiatives to defend against cyber attacks. Global threats continue to proliferate. It is essential to solve the root causes of these threats while taking steps to address them. Japan is prepared to share with the world its accumulated knowledge and skills, as a country which has learned to coexist harmoniously in the changing world environment. Japan will continue to respond to cyber challenges along and in further cooperation with its allies and partners in order to ensure a brighter and more peaceful future.