MUN Position Paper

Country: France
Committee: General Assembly: Second Committee
Delegate: Michaella Bruno

Opening Statement
For many years, issues such as food security, gender inequity, and climate change have
remained persistent problems all around the world. Despite the fact that measures have been
taken in some countries to prevent these problems, today, almost a billion human beings are
still suffering from hunger and malnutrition (Minister Henri de Raincourt, G20 conference on
agricultural research for development). On the issue of gender inequity, in most countries,
women only earn between 60 and 75% of mens wages for the same work (7 appalling facts
that prove we need gender equality now, Global Citizen). While on the issue of climate change,
it is noted by climate studies that the last two decades have been the hottest in the last 400
years (35 Surprising Facts About Global Warming, Conserve Energy Future). While action is
being taken in most developed countries to eliminate and prevent these problems from
worsening, many developing countries may not be stable enough financially or in other ways to
be able to confront these issues completely, and this has increased the urgency of dealing with
these problems not only in developing countries, but globally as well.

National Actions
Though France is a developed country that food security isnt one of the main problems
of, we still recognize that worldwide, it affects billions of people, particularly in developing
countries. Because of this lack of food security globally, France is determined to use their
platform as both a more developed and financially stable country to assist other countries who
are not. Our country plans to do this by first better developing agro-ecology in France, Europe,
and around the world, as well as battling food waste, and combating agricultural commodity
price volatility as much as possible by working closely with the AMIS initiative, which have all
been stated in Frances Food Security Policy, as well as doubling our efforts in contributing
money to developing countries who are in need of our assistance (Food security/Common
Agricultural Policy, Ministry of Agriculture). Additionally, our country will combat climate change
by encouraging other countries to join and act on the Paris Agreement, and we will fight gender
inequity by first taking a closer look at, and pushing to change any of our own laws that are
holding women and men back from having the same rights.

UN Actions and International Actions

For many years, France has worked closely with the UN to achieve their goals on food
security and climate change. On the topic of lessening and eventually eradicating food security
issues, our country has worked with the FAO for many years to improve global governance of
food security and agriculture, improve food safety and quality, improve natural resource
management and use, strengthen vulnerable communities' resilience to natural disasters and
other shocks, disseminate and build on the results of research on agriculture, food security,
nutrition, natural resource management and public sector policies, and share and build on
national expertise and capacities (FAO.org). On the topic of climate change, just last year,
France ratified the Paris Agreement, a deal on curbing global warming reached in 2015 by 195
countries, making us the first industrialized country to do so (France becomes first major nation
to ratify UN climate deal, The Guardian). Our work with the UN on both these topics has shown
our determination in acting on the elimination of these issues.

Recommendation for Action

After working with the UN on issues such as food security, climate change, and gender
equity for some time and thus having the experience of witnessing what works and what has
not, France has come to some conclusions on ways that we and other countries should act to
work towards the elimination of these issues.
Increasing research
France believes that by increasing the amount of research we do within the issue of food
security, we can build a better understanding of things like agricultural commodity price volatility
and agro-ecology. With a better understanding of the issue of agricultural commodity price
volatility, we can combat it successfully by knowing what its causes are and prevent them from
happening as often in the future for the benefit of all. By putting more of our time into
researching agro-ecology, we can figure out the best ways to farm and produce food, not only in
France, but also in developing countries, particularly those who face issues with producing their
own food. We strongly encourage other countries, especially developed countries like the US,
UK, and Germany, to put more time into researching and improving on these topics as well.
Sending aid to developing countries
For many years, France has worked closely with the FAO and other UN organizations to send
aid in money, resources, and volunteers to countries who are in need of support. Since this has
been successful in the past, we plan to double our efforts and send in more aid in order to
lessen the issues of food security in developing countries and eventually eradicate the issue
completely. We strongly urge other developed countries who can to do this as well. We cannot
move forward in solving the issue of food security unless we continue to work together and put
more effort into helping those in need.
Reducing our carbon footprint
In order to continue working towards solving climate change, we will push our own country to
first begin by reducing their carbon footprint, or the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they
produce in their day to day life. Simple ways to do this are by biking or walking instead of
driving, limiting water usage, avoiding beef and dairy, and supporting clean energy sources. We
plan to act on this ourselves in our own country by limiting the amount of public transportation
we use that produces carbon dioxide and by offering alternatives instead, such as bike rides, as
well as supporting clean energy. However, the goal of reducing climate change by a drastic
amount cannot be achieved unless other countries are encouraging these acts as well. We must
act now to ensure a better future for all.
Ending the gender pay gap in France
In France, women effectively work 38.2 more days each year than men for the same salary
(French women go on strike to protest gender pay gap, Independent). To support gender
equity, France has decided to completely end the gender pay gap in our country. We believe
that in order to move forward as a country, we must do all in our power to support gender
equity, and one of the biggest issues our country hadnt yet completely acknowledged was the
gender pay gap. We encourage all countries to do their part in acknowledging and supporting
gender equity in their own ways.
 Works Cited

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"France Becomes First Major Nation to Ratify UN Climate Deal." The Guardian.
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Olorunshola, Yosola. "7 Appalling Facts That Prove We Need Gender Equality Now."
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