Policy Papers

What’s a Policy Paper?

Policy papers are written work you submit to your chairs before coming to SunMUN. They’re your way to demonstrate how well you understand the issues you’re going to discuss in your committees, and they’re also a crucial part of how we determine how well-prepared you are going into conference.

Policy papers are due on November 5th before 11:59pm.

Submission instructions will be found in the same document as each delegations’ allocations

Traditional Committees Policy Papers

For SunMUN XVII’s traditional committees, policy papers are one-page, three-paragraph essays. As a delegate, you are required to submit one for each of your committee’s topics.

Your first paragraph should detail a real-world modern history of your paper’s topic - specifically, the involvement of the United Nations. Name specific treaties or resolutions about it that have already been developed, and talk about existing institutional frameworks—understanding what work the international community has already done is always the first step to making new progress!

Your second paragraph should be about what work your country has done. What international agreements has your country signed on to? Has your country done work at the national level on the topic? Numbers and statistics are a perfect resource to lean on when developing this paragraph: this is your opportunity to show why your country has a leading part to play on the international stage.

If the second paragraph is about why your country’s voice is so important, the third paragraph is about how. From the perspective of your country, what are your proposed solutions? What can others expect to see from you in committee, and why are your solutions best for the international community? This paragraph is both the crux of your paper’s argument and its conclusion: make it strong!

All three paragraphs should fit on one single-sided page. It’s a lot to fit in such a small space! How you prioritize what to show and what to explain is crucial to building a successful policy paper—be sure to think about the essential components of your message as you craft your writing.

Traditional Committees:

General Assembly

Trusteeship Council

Economic and Social Council

Human Rights Council

Committee Practical Uses of Outer Space

Caribbean Community

Non-traditional Committees Policy Papers

For our non-traditional committees, policy papers look slightly different. You can find committee specific instructions alongside each of these committees’ background guides.

Non-traditional Committees:

  • Security Council

  • ‍Historical Second Committee

  • International Court of Justice

  • Build a Nation

  • Plague of Justinian

  • Boshin War

  • World Press

Formatting?

All policy papers must be submitted as a single document subject to the following formatting rules:

  • Two-page PDF (single page for one-topic committees or non-traditional committees)

  • File name should look like:

    “SunMUNXVII_Committee_Country”

  • Single-spacing

  • 1-inch margins (left, right, top, and bottom)

  • 12pt Times New Roman font

  • Justified text

  • Fully capitalized header containing the official name of your country or character and your committee name

  • For traditional committees, the paper header should also contain your paper’s topic