Position Paper Guidelines

Hello delegates, and welcome back to the blog!

With BMUN quickly approaching, that means one of our favorite times of the year is approaching with it: position paper writing time!  Writing a strong position paper is one of the best ways to prepare for any Model UN conference and solidify your stances on any topic at hand, so it's important that you take both the writing and researching process seriously.  With this in mind, the ICJ will use a unique set of position paper guidelines that differ from a typical paper where you would discuss your country's stance on the committee's topics and propose solutions--clearly, this is not feasible for our purposes.  Instead, you will be using these guidelines to craft your papers.  In summary, your papers should be structured as follows:

• Historical Background of Conflict and Trial (20%)
• Your Initial Rulings on the Case and Evidence (40%)
• Questions to Consider (40%)

Although this structure is different from other committees you may have experienced in the past, general research and writing practices will still apply.

• Research: If you've participated in Model UN conferences before, you've probably used sites like the CIA World Factbook and your country's national websites to scour information about their policies.  These websites, however, will most likely not be helpful for researching the Bosnian Genocide.  Instead, I'd recommend taking a look at the ICJ's actual ruling for this case and/or its case summary, reading both positive and negative reactions to the court's ruling, and familiarizing yourself with the Genocide Convention. 
• Writing Style and Conventions: Strong writing skills are still expected of delegates, as is adherence to spelling and grammar rules.  We want to see that you've clearly spent time on these and have a polished final product.
• Unlike Most Committees, however, you are not expected to adhere to the initial rulings in your position papers for the entirety of conference; in fact, you are highly encouraged to allow witnesses and new arguments that are introduced during committee to influence your eventual decisions.  These position papers are meant to be jumping off points for when you begin committee rather than the end-all be-all of your perspective. 
• Plagiarism: BMUN has a strict policy against plagiarism.  Each of your papers will be cross-referenced and examined, and any instances of plagiarism will be reported to your advisors and bar you from winning an award in committee.  We want to read your thoughts and analysis on the case, not Wikipedia's.

If you have any questions or concerns about writing your position papers, please feel free to reach out to me (amaloney@bmun.org).  We're really looking forward to reading them!

Best of Luck,
Ali