Why Your Position Paper Might Be Fuel for the Fire
Generic statements and moral appeals don’t cut it anymore in a modern UN. Here’s how to make States pay attention.
You’ve been there….
You spend weeks crafting your position paper for COP29. Sharp language. Clear asks. Human rights. Indigenous rights. Direct access. Deconflation. All in there.
Now picture it tossed at the bottom of a fireplace.
That was me. More than once.
After every UN session, I run a post-mortem. I ask what moved. What didn’t. What got traction. What vanished.
And the same pattern keeps showing up.
Our usual approach? Too broad. Too clean. Too static.
It’s not landing. And I’ve figured out why.
The Playbook You Might Be Using
Let me name what I see.
You go broad. One message for all. Same appeal. Same laws. Hoping everyone feels seen.
You count on the friendlies. Sweden. Norway. Canada. You think shared values means automatic support.
You wait. You send the paper. Hope it hits. Then wonder why it’s quiet.
I get it. I used to do it too.
But here’s what we’re missing.
Why That Approach Fails
These days, countries don’t respond to one-size-fits-all.
They’re doing their own calculus. Economics. Security. Optics. Energy. Migration.
It’s not about your values. It’s about their stakes.
You walk in with vanilla. The room wants pistachio. Strawberry. Salted caramel. And you wonder why it melts.
Blanket statements get blank stares.
The Shift That Changed My Strategy
I’ve seen friendly states flip after elections. New ministers. New mandates. Old promises off the table.
At the Human Rights Council, I’ve watched a country oppose us on housing one day, then support us on water the next.
Not because they changed hearts. Because the issue lined up with their current interests.
That’s the shift.
You’re not chasing loyalty. You’re watching alignment.
Let me give you an example.
UNFCCC, 2018. Everyone said this one Asian state was a dead end. “Impossible,” they told me. “Not worth the energy.”
I ignored that.
I asked the delegate to coffee. No ask. Just listened.
What came out surprised me.
They weren’t against Indigenous Peoples. They were against Indigenous Peoples being lumped in with local communities. It was about clarity, not opposition.
I rewrote the document. Clean separation. Clear framing. Gave him talking points he could use with his leadership.
He pushed it forward. Just like that.
How You Can Shift Right Now
Map their stakes. Not just who they are. Ask what they need. What pressures they are facing.
Link to their interests. Tie your ask to their goals. Climate. Trade. Food security. Whatever makes it relevant.
Split your pitch. No one country needs to carry everything. Get one to back rights. Another to carry finance. Break it down. Spread the load.
Before You Go
Tailoring isn’t compromise. It’s strategy.
The ones who said no last week might say yes tomorrow. If you frame it right.
And don’t forget regional drama. Sometimes you lose not because of the idea, but because it came from the wrong mouth at the wrong time.
Generic gets tossed. Tailored gets printed.
This is more work. But when your language lands in the resolution, when you hear it read aloud, when you see the shift—it’s worth every line.
The UN is fluid now. Positions shift by the hour.
Ride that current. Move with it. And your advocacy becomes unstoppable.
That’s where we’re at.
See you next week.