Essay Instructions: Harvard Model UN position papers
-Country: Madagascar
-Committee: UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Arab States
-Background guide attached, though other sources can be used.
Assignment: A 3 paragraph, 1.5 page position essay for Madagascar on Topic A as well as a 3 paragraph, 1.5 page position essay on Topic B.
Instructions for writing position papers:
Each delegation is required to submit two position papers, each covering one of the topic areas. Each position paper should be one and a half pages, single-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font (approximately 750 words). The paper should be outlined in three paragraphs. The first two paragraphs should make up about half of the paper; the third and final paragraph should make up the remainder, and bulk, of your paper. These paragraphs are in a logical procession, and each paragraph should build analytically on the last.
The first paragraph should consist of your country?s experience or particular connection to the topic. Is your nation in a particularly vulnerable position going forward, or surrounded by vulnerable countries?
The second paragraph should discuss your nation?s policy on the issues, as supported by relevant national documents. This differs from the first paragraph because it should also include a short description of agreements, statements, and lessons learned from your history and choices in the past. You should also discuss your current diplomatic arrangements with relevant nations in this paragraph. Research for this paragraph could include speeches given by heads of state or ambassadors, or national studies, statistics, and policy statements.
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??The third, final, and most important paragraph is your country?s plan going forward. Given your history and your policy going forward, what does your country believe is the best course of action to pursue? This should be a unique mixture of international work and your country?s personal past and experiences. For example, given risk factors and past experiences, what is the most logical and effective way to address future risks? What priorities does your country assign to different matters, and why? Incorporate both "Questions A Resolution Must Answer" sections for each topic in the background guide.
These length guidelines are meant to focus your research in the places that will be most productive for committee debate. Understanding your country, however, is important for creating a plan to undertake on an international level, and I highly encourage you to conduct your investigations and learning with vigor and curiosity. Please cite all your sources with endnotes.
Topic Area Summaries
Topic Area A: Rise of Islamic Regimes in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring
Since the beginning of both the Egyptian Revolution, Egypt has been divided between the liberal oppositions and Islamist regime. Chaos, violence, lack of freedom of speech and a sharp decline in the quality of education has been spread as a result of what years of oppression under the previous regimes. Both Islamists and non-Islamist parties claimed to that they could lead the country during this hard transitional state.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt?s largest Islamic organization, began to reorganize and rebuild itself at the same time when non-Islamist parties were fragmented. Islamist indeed came to power, but the rise of Islamic Rule in the post-Arab spring political scenes of Egypt was very surprising. Many women rights advocates and international organizations feared that this would create a new ?Iran? in North Africa. Many questions arose. First, how would the previously illegal and repressed movements rule the countries? How would and should they approach women rights especially that most of the movements core values go against what most feminists internationally have been fighting for ? employment, equal payment, and equality at work? And lastly, are there any concrete steps that Islamic regimes can take in order to smoothly interact with the international community?
Topic Area B: Women?s Rights in the Arab World
Women who played important roles during the Arab Revolutions are still not able to equally participate in building what they had fought for. Especially with the emergence of the new ?Islamic? regimes, feminist voices have been consistently unsupported and fought against. During the past year in Egypt, thousands of women were beaten and sexually assaulted publically, with governments responding rather leniently to such horrific acts. Similarly, Women rights advocates in Tunisia have expressed their concern that the new Islamic regime there might stifle women?s voices; they feared that women who protested for democracy and equality would not be given their full rights under the current Islamic regimes.
The regimes in several countries have had different responses to the concerns of women right advocate. Some expressed more understanding such as the case in Tunisia, whereas others have been almost indifferent to the demands of women such as Egypt. In addition to the role governments? play in response to women rights, culture too has a major role in how women rights issues are approached. Open conversations about political participation, Genital mutilation, abortion, reproductive rights tend to be censored and oppressed in various parts of the Arab world.
Thank you!