World Bank VMUN 2017 Background Guide 1 VANCOUVER MODEL UNITED NATIONS the sixteenth annual conference | January 20-22, 2017 Dear delegates, Alvin Tsuei My name is Sasha Twardowski and it is my distinct pleasure to be serving as the Secretary-General Director of the World Bank at VMUN 2017. For 5 years, I have engaged in Model UN conferences all around North America as a delegate, chair, director and secretariat. My experience of over 15 conferences has truly brought to light the rewarding nature of MUN not only with regards to learning international Chris Pang policy, but also public speaking confidence. Outside of MUN, I play tennis, Chief of Staff soccer, shoot photography, act in school plays, and volunteer for several political parties. Eva Zhang Director-General The topics that I selected for the World Bank at VMUN 2017 are Debt Reduction in Developing Countries and the Reconstruction of War Zones. The aim of these Arjun Mehta topics was to be as universal as possible, as these topics have at some point Director of Logistics affected every single country. In order to assure a high quality of debate at the conference, delegates are expected to conduct further research outside of this background guide and put in significant effort to develop a well-researched position paper. Graeme Brawn The first topic of this committee is the Debt Reduction in Developing Countries. USG General Assemblies For decades, nations have been caught in a vicious cycle of slashing important government programs in order to repay interest payments of debt that is ever- Ryan Karimi accumulating. The debt burden placed upon the most vulnerable of nations is USG Specialized Agencies truly alarming to not only the citizens within said nations, but also the world economy as a whole. For this reason, it is imperative that the World Bank tackles Mary Dong the chronic issue of debt reduction and create a solution that truly betters the USG Conference global economy. Ken Hong The second topic is the Reconstruction of War Zones. Ever since the mandate of USG Delegate Affairs the World Bank has drifted more towards sustainable development, rather than reconstruction, conflict zones all over the world have been left unattended and Isabelle Cheng more susceptible to return to conflict. Warzones exist on virtually every USG Delegate Affairs continent and it is for the benefit of the global community as a whole to reconstruct these war zones in an effective manner in order to best reduce Jason Qu chances of further conflict, as well as bolster economic growth within that USG Finance country. Jan Lim I would like to wish you the best of luck with your research and writing of the USG Marketing position papers. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at the address listed below. On behalf of all the staff serving the World Bank, I would like to welcome you to the World Bank at VMUN 2017. Sincerely, Sasha Twardowski VMUN 2017 – Director of the World Bank World Bank VMUN 2017 Background Guide 1 World Bank Position Paper Policy What is a Position Paper? A position paper is a brief overview of a country’s stance on the topics being discussed by a particular committee. Though there is no specific format the position paper must follow, it should include a description of your positions your country holds on the issues on the agenda, relevant actions that your country has taken, and potential solutions that your country would support. At Vancouver Model United Nations, delegates should write a position paper for each of the committee’s topics. Each position paper should not exceed one page, and should all be combined into a single document per delegate. Formatting Position papers should: — Include the name of the delegate, his/her country, and the committee — Be in a standard font (e.g. Times New Roman) with a 12-point font size and 1-inch document margins — Not include illustrations, diagrams, decorations, national symbols, watermarks, or page borders — Include citations and a bibliography, in any format, giving due credit to the sources used in research (not included in the 1-page limit) Due Dates and Submission Procedure Position papers for this committee must be submitted by midnight on January 8th, 2017. Once your position paper is complete, please save the file as your last name, your first name and send it as an attachment in an email, to your committee’s email address, with the subject heading as your last name, your first name — Position Paper. Please do not add any other attachments to the email or write anything else in the body. Both your position papers should be combined into a single PDF or Word document file; position papers submitted in another format will not be accepted. Each position paper will be manually reviewed and considered for the Best Position Paper award. The email address for this committee is [email protected]. World Bank VMUN 2017 Background Guide 2 Table of Contents Debt Reduction in Developing Countries ................................................................................... 4 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Timeline .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Historical Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 5 Current Situation ................................................................................................................................... 6 UN and International Involvement ....................................................................................................... 8 Possible Solutions ................................................................................................................................... 9 Bloc Positions ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Paris Club Bloc: ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Non-Paris Club Bloc: ........................................................................................................................................ 10 HIPC Bloc: ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Discussion Questions ........................................................................................................................... 10 Additional Sources ............................................................................................................................... 10 References ............................................................................................................................................. 10 Reconstruction of War Zones .................................................................................................... 12 Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Timeline ................................................................................................................................................ 12 Historical Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 13 Current Situation ................................................................................................................................. 14 Past UN/International Involvement .................................................................................................... 15 Possible Solutions ................................................................................................................................. 16 Bloc Positions ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Primarily Lending Nations: ............................................................................................................................. 17 Non-War Zone Developing Nations: ............................................................................................................. 17 War Zone Nations: ........................................................................................................................................... 17 Discussion Questions ........................................................................................................................... 18 Additional Sources ............................................................................................................................... 18 References ............................................................................................................................................. 18 World Bank VMUN 2017 Background Guide 3 World Bank Topic A Debt Reduction in Developing Countries Overview Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) feel some of the most difficult challenges today. With governments attempting to invest in business development, social programs, and a whole slew of other important initiatives, governments in those HIPCs are restrained by debt that they