Nmun • Apec Wwashingtashington,On Dcdc 20112011
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NMUN • APEC WWASHINGTASHINGTON,ON DCDC 20112011 www.nmun.org NATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 10 - 13 March 2011 Washington, DC Honoring the US as the 2011 Host Economy Director: Kristina Mader; Assistant Director: Shubham Manchada NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE associationTM MESSAGE REGARDING POSITION PAPERS FOR THE 2011 NMUN-APEC CONFERENCE At the 2011 NMUN-APEC Conference, each delegation submits one position paper for each committee it is assigned to. Delegates should be aware that their role in each committee impacts the way a position paper should be written. While most delegates will serve as representatives of Member States, at some NMUN conferences they may also serve as observers, NGOs or judicial experts. Review the matrix for specifics about your NMUN simulation. To understand these fine differences (if applicable), please refer to the Delegate Preparation Guide. Position papers should provide a concise review of each delegation’s policy regarding the topic areas under discussion and establish precise policies and recommendations in regard to the topics before the committee. International and regional conventions, treaties, declarations, resolutions, and programs of action of relevance to the policy of your State should be identified and addressed. Making recommendations for action by your committee should also be considered. Position papers also serve as a blueprint for individual delegates to remember their country’s position throughout the course of the Conference. NGO position papers should be constructed in the same fashion as traditional position papers. Each topic should be addressed briefly in a succinct policy statement representing the relevant views of your assigned NGO. You should also include recommendations for action to be taken by your committee. It will be judged using the same criteria as all country position papers, and is held to the same standard of timeliness. Please be forewarned, delegates must turn in material that is entirely original. The NMUN Conference will not tolerate the occurrence of plagiarism. In this regard, the NMUN Secretariat would like to take this opportunity to remind delegates that although United Nations documentation is considered within the public domain, the Conference does not allow the verbatim re-creation of these documents. This plagiarism policy also extends to the written work of the Secretariat contained within the Committee Background Guides. Violation of this policy will be immediately reported to faculty advisors and may result in dismissal from Conference participation. Delegates should report any incident of plagiarism to the Secretariat as soon as possible. Delegation’s position papers can be awarded as recognition of outstanding pre-Conference preparation. In order to be considered for a Position Paper Award, however, delegations must have met the formal requirements listed below. Please refer to the sample paper on the following page for a visual example of what your work should look like at its completion. The following format specifications are required for all papers: • All papers must be typed and formatted according to the example in the Background Guides • Length must not exceed two single spaced pages (one double sided paper, if printed) • Font must be Times New Roman sized between 10 pt. and 12 pt. • Margins must be set at 1 inch for whole paper • Country/NGO name, School name and committee name clearly labeled on the first page; the use of national symbols is highly discouraged • Agenda topics clearly labeled in separate sections 1. A separate e-mail each position paper (.doc or .pdf) for each assigned committee to [email protected] later than February 15, 2011. The NMUN Director-General will distribute the individual papers to committee directors. PLEASE TITLE EACH E-MAIL/DOCUMENT WITH THE NAME OF THE WORKING GROUP, ASSIGNMENT AND DELEGATION NAME (Example: FOOD_USA_Central_University) 2. An additional e-mail with all position papers (.doc or .pdf) attached to [email protected] later than February 15, 2011. This second set will serve as a backup copy in case of problems with individual e-mail documents. PLEASE TITLE EACH E-MAIL/DOCUMENT WITH THE NAME OF THE COMMITTEE, ASSIGNMENT AND DELEGATION NAME (Example: SC_Central_University) Once the formal requirements outlined above are met, Conference staff use the following criteria to evaluate Position Papers: • Overall quality of writing, proper style, grammar, etc. • Citation of relevant resolutions/documents • General consistency with bloc/geopolitical constraints • Consistency with the constraints of the United Nations • Analysis of issues, rather than reiteration of the Committee Background Guide • Outline of (official) policy aims within the committee’s mandate Sincerely yours, Michael Aguilar Secretary-General Official Welcome Dear Delegates, On behalf of the 2011 National Model United Nations-APEC Conference team, especially your committee staff Kristina Mader and Shubham Manchanda, we would like to welcome you to the Health Working Group. Everyone at NMUN-APEC has worked diligently to prepare for this conference, and we sincerely hope that you will be able to gain academically and personally at the conference and leave with a greater appreciation for global politics. Model UN provides an excellent environment for delegates to learn and improve important life skills and academic knowledge. To begin, we have prepared this background guide to help you start your search in your economy’s policies and to understand the committee topics. During the conference, the intimate nature of this committee will ensure that you will rely not only on your knowledge but also your tact, oration and negotiation skills to fulfill your positions. Health represents a key issue for the Member Economies of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Health threats that face Member Economies have the potential to impact a multitude of sectors, including trade, agriculture and business. Addressing the multifaceted health concerns of the citizens of Member Economies, including health for women and children, care for the elderly, health technology and the spread of diseases, is of increasing importance to APEC. We are privileged to play a role in your education experience here at NMUN-DC and look forward to working with all of you. History of the Health Working Group The Health Working Group (HWG) was originally established as the Health Task Force (HTF) in October 2003 with the goal of developing policy and taking action on health-related threats to Member Economies trade and security. Particularly focusing on infectious diseases and their impact on agriculture, trade, tourism, transportation and business, the HWG plays an important role in coordinating responses to pandemics and sharing information and expertise, as well as aiming to strengthen the ability of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members to deal with public health emergencies. Important outcome documents stemming from the HWG’s efforts include the APEC Action Plan on the Prevention and Response to Avian Influenza Pandemics adopted in 2006, and the APEC Functioning Economies in Times of Pandemic Guidelines and the Guidelines for Creating an Enabling Environment for Employers to Implement Effective Workplace Practice for People Living with HIV/AIDS adopted in 2007. The HWG Medium Term Workplan (2010-2015) proposed at the September 2010 meeting offered the following as the Group’s goals in the coming decade: To further examine and address the links between health, trade and economic development and cooperation; To continue to strengthen APEC Member Economies capacity to respond to public health emergencies and emerging public health issues; and to commit to broader and longer-term multi-sectoral cooperation and coordination between health experts and other sectoral experts. In addition, the work plan offered three priority areas in which to focus attention on: ―Priority 1 - Enhancing preparedness for and effective management of emerging and re-emerging infectious disease pandemics. […] Priority 2 - Building capacity for the prevention of non-communicable diseases including injury. […] Priority 3 - Strengthening health systems of economies including health financing, human resources, and health information technologies which would contribute to inclusive and secure growth.‖ In line with this, the Workplan also specified that the HWG ―will continue to identify opportunities to improve health security and prosperity in the region and make a critical contribution to APEC’s human security and inclusive and secure growth agenda.‖ In order to achieve this, the HWG was asked to take a leadership and coordinating role, as the expert group on health issues in APEC, including but not limited to issues such as enhancing preparedness for human pandemic influenza and vector-borne diseases, health information technology, and health financing and human resources. Finally, in 2010, a new Terms of Reference (TOR) was endorsed by APEC Senior Officials. The mandated work areas of the HWG include: coordinating and supervising the HWG, providing policy guidance on the Economic and Technical Cooperation agenda; assessing and directing realignment of work plans with wider APEC medium term ECOTECH priorities and objectives as outlined in the ECOTECH framework; approving and ranking all ECOTECH project proposals ahead of presentation to the BCM; evaluating the progress of the HWG in the implementation and progress of APEC’s ECOTECH priorities; compiling progress