Table of Contents
About Position Papers
Position Paper Submission
Submitted Position Papers
About Position Papers
The position papers submitted here are formal, public statements of a delegation’s position on the topics under consideration in a particular committee. Position papers may serve as a starting point for negotiations and debate at the Conference. Well-crafted position papers can often take the place of formal opening speeches and allow Representatives to attend to the substantive work of their committees more quickly.
Ideally, position papers lay out a country’s position on an issue before the United Nations, focusing on what a specific delegation would like to address or accomplish at the UN, rather than describing a specific country’s experience with a certain issue. Please see "Research and Preparation" in the AMUN handbook for more information on writing position papers.
The position papers linked below demonstrate both the format and content of well-crafted position papers for AMUN. They were taken from actual position papers from past AMUN conferences, though the delegation names have been removed. Your delegation’s name will be included on the papers you submit to the 2023 AMUN Conference.
Per "Research and Preparation" in the AMUN handbook, each delegation should submit one complete position paper that covers all of the committees and topics for their delegation. Generally, position papers are about 300 words (one half page, single-spaced) per topic. Thus, in GA and ECOSOC Committees, the position paper for both topics is about a single-spaced page of text. These papers should not be formatted in any way (bold, italics, footnotes, etc.). Each topic for your country’s committee/council assignments should be covered. Some exceptions:
- Topics in Security Council simulations are not pre-designated. Delegations on the Security Council or Historical Security Councils should select the two or three topics that are most important to their country and submit a position paper (again, about 300 words) for each of those topics.
- Delegations choosing to take a seat on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) should also submit a position paper for that committee’s topics.
- Position papers are not required for either ICJ Judges or IPD Reporters.
Finally, please note that the complete position paper for your delegation should ONLY be submitted when all papers are available and ready to go. Please do not submit partial or incomplete position papers for your delegation(s).
Position Paper Submission
AMUN uses an online form for the submission of position papers. Papers are NOT submitted in hard copy. If the online form does not work, please contact the AMUN Executive Office (mail@amun.org) for instructions about submitting the delegation’s position paper via e-mail. If, on the day of the deadline, you have difficulty submitting a position paper, please e-mail your submission to mail@amun.org.
Position paper submission not yet available for AMUN 2023.
PLEASE NOTE: This form should be submitted once for each country your school will represent at AMUN. Also, only the Faculty Advisor or Permanent Representative for your school should fill out this form. This policy is to ensure accuracy and allow a single point of contact for any questions which may arise. If your school has more than one delegation, one Permanent Representative may be designated to fill out the form for all delegations.
At the beginning of the form, please provide us with your contact information in case we have any questions.
In the spaces provided on the following pages, please fill in the position paper text for each topic, for each committee/council on which your delegation is seated. Per the above, please fill in this form multiple times if your school will represent more than one delegation.
For your ease in completing this form, we strongly recommend cutting and pasting the text from a word processor (WordPerfect, MS Word, etc.) This should significantly ease data entry, and not require retyping of position papers into the form.
This electronic submission of position papers allows us to greatly expedite the processing of papers. It will allow us to post these to the web more quickly for your perusal, in order to better assist you in your final preparations for the AMUN Conference. Position papers will also be available for review at the Conference.
Instructions for submission:
- Each delegation should submit its position papers for ALL committees and topics at the same time. Delegations may save partial position papers in the system before submitting the final position paper.
- Please do not include any header information (e.g. committee name, topic name, school name, or delegation name) at the top of the form. A header that includes all of this information will be automatically generated by the online system.
- Copying and pasting position papers from a word-processing document is the easiest way to ensure correct submission. Use two hard returns to create a paragraph break in the position paper. Do not include any formatting in the position paper—any bold, italic, or underline text will be lost.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about position papers or their submission. Remember that position papers are due by 11:59 p.m. CT on 25 October 2023 in order to be eligible for a position paper award. No position papers will be accepted after 4:59 p.m. CT on 7 November. As always, please feel free to contact the AMUN Executive Office by e-mail at mail@amun.org or by phone at 773-777-AMUN if you have any questions.