th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Forum: Human Rights Council

Issue: Empowering minority religions ​ Student Officer: Anngu Chang ​ Position: President ​

Introduction

The Violence Iceberg concept simplifies violence into two simple fields. The tip if the iceberg is explicit violence that is easy to witness, such as conflicts, discrimination, and terrorism. Addressing direct violence only requires short-term solutions that may temporarily alleviate and ease the violence but impart little to no impact, decreasing future violence chances. However, combating violence under the surface is the long-term solution that chips away at the root cause of conflict: our beliefs and decisions. Per the analogy, in the status quo, one of the most pressing icebergs that inhibit our path towards cultural cohesion is the lack of recognition and empowerment of minority religions. Such process is fundamental towards achieving a less conflict-driven world as clashes can be mitigated given appropriate dialogue and understanding.

In such a religiously diverse world, empowering minority religions has presented itself as one of the iceberg roots the international community ought to tackle. Lack of recognition and representation serves as the root cause of why religious minorities seek empowerment: oftentimes, they are mute in international policies, and excluded in decisions over domestic laws and acts. Additionally, oppressed religious minorities are subjected to maltreatment and violence in a multitude of member states, and when met with violence, minorities may foster violent tendencies and actions of their own. The problem is not as visible as many think, and frequently intangibles such as stigmas and ingrained beliefs about members of minority religions prohibit conversations surrounding empowerment to even occur. While religious empowerment might appear to be situated in cultural and societal discussions, this topic’s nuances are innately rooted in human rights and dignity as, in many places, religious minorities are denied fundamental rights or lack access to representation and voice.

Definition of Key Terms

Religion

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According to Cambridge dictionary, religion is defined as the belief and worship of god or gods. Religion can further be divided into religious sects, or different branches of religion. One such example will be for Christianity, where the main religion is separated into three distinct sects: Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. Empowering minority religions can entail empowering the religion as a whole or referring to specific sects under persecution.

Empowerment

Empowerment is when one is granted the right, authority, and freedom to control one’s life and perform a certain act. In the context of empowering minority religions, cultural and societal empowerment is of the utmost importance. Cultural empowerment stems from an understanding society that accepts cultural differences, and societal empowerment refers to everyone being treated equally.

Sectarianism

Sectarianism is defined as an excessive attachment to a particular religious sect, and is founded upon an in-group out-group dynamic (and thus inherently discriminatory). Within the Middle East, sectarianism typically refers to the Sunni Shia conflict that has been raging on for decades; in-groups are often the majority while the out-groups are the minorities.

Stigmas

Stigmas are the marks of shame or disapproval regarding a specific individual or a minority group, often imposed by the majority. By highlighting the differences between the two groups, stigmas are often the impetus of discrimination in multiple countries. In the context of this issue, stigmas are imparted by the religious majority to the minority, which lends itself to stereotyping and discrimination.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the process where people evaluate other cultures in accordance with the cultural standards of their own. Nevertheless, beyond forming unfounded prejudice and judgment, the implicit notion embodied in ethnocentrism is that a person’s culture is better than another. This promotes a hierarchical view of self-superiority, which this notion is then enabled to perpetuate into every facet of society.

Background Information

This issue's premise is that there are a majority and minority religions present in a given country. This is crucial for understanding how these majority and minority groups are formed and decide on the

Page 2 of 14 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ optimal solution to empower minority religions. The disparity between majority and minority religions and their presence in a country often derives from superimposed borders or borders created by external powers. These borders arbitrarily group people of different ethnicities and religions together, sparking and often catalyzing cultural tensions. Examples of superimposed borders and how they are formed are the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Berlin Conference. During these conferences, the then colonial powers divided the Middle East and Africa, unaware and inconsiderate about the locality and different groups present. As such, many multicultural nations were formed in the wake of these agreements, enabling further religious conflicts down the line.

When discussing methods to promote minority religions, delegates must first think about the myriad of concerns present in the status quo that dissuades possible solutions. In that regard, empowering minority religion has historically been a tremendously difficult task because of the stigmas imparted by the majority. Stigmas then translate to institutional discrimination, where the majority oppresses the minority (explicit or not). Finally, when tensions reach a tipping point, conflict spills over, and violence and war arise. In this report, the three stages are divided, and delegates are encouraged to write clauses and resolutions pertaining to a specific stage relevant to their country.

Social Stigmas

A driving factor in religious divisions and lack of empowerment for religious minorities derives from cultural, religious, or societal stigmas. As a result of stigmas, religious minorities are often perceived as an out-group in many countries, leading to social discrimination. An abundance of research studies has suggested that religious minorities often under-report the discrimination and stigmas they experience in everyday life, mostly because of their belief that little to no action will be taken. The difficulty of addressing stigmas against religious minorities is the profound scale and intangibility: unlike physical violence, societal stigmas attached to religious minorities are harder to trace on the surface, and many fail to recognize the severity and impact they levy onto individuals.

Pertaining to religious minorities, stigmas and discrimination does not just exist on the highest levels of government. In fact, as members of a country, civilians often overlook the pervasiveness that social stigmas affect religious minorities. For example, after the 9/11 Incident in the United States, the employment rate for young Muslim adults dropped significantly for the next three years despite no profound changes to labor laws. Moreover, unfavorable and false portrayals of religious minorities on social media further skews and exacerbates the labels attached to these minority groups. Islamophobia serves as the prime example for social stigma, where increased media coverage of terrorist attacks has contributed to populist notions depicting all Muslims as terrorists. Unlike stigmas attached to health or class, religious stigmas bisect economic conditions and affect developed or less developed countries

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th st The Hague International Model United Nations 2020| 26 ​ January 2020 – 31 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ indiscriminately. With the increase of mosque attacks even in developed countries, solutions must be implemented to stop the spread of negative stigmas or social hierarchy against religious minorities.

Institutional Discrimination

Institutional discrimination is the discrimination of a particular group from the society or institution as a united whole. Institutional discrimination need not be explicit or intentional, but their intent is often apparent in religious conflicts. An important note about institutional discrimination is that it is not episodic: it runs across all sectors and is so ingrained that many often fail to realize their existence. In countries where there is an objective to achieve a unified member state―China, for instance―minority religions are viewed as a threat to state and cultural assimilation towards a larger culture. Moreover, minority religions in religiously-charged places represent competition for the official state religion. As such, religious minorities are often underrepresented in many member states, which sometimes include explicit prohibitions for them to take office.

Institutional discrimination can derive from both governments or governmentally influenced bodies. In many countries, institutional discrimination is unimpeded by relevant organizations or government organs, such as courts, because of government influences. This allows unethical and unfair practices against minority religions to continue without dissent or opposition.

Lack of Opportunities

While for the masses, working in a free and secured environment seems mundane and achievable, it is a particularly challenging task for religious minorities. Oftentimes, the stigma attached to these minorities leads to underutilization of their potential. This underutilization of religious minorities carries economic and social costs as their contribution to society is inherently limited. Beyond just stigma, many member states have enacted rules that actively prohibit or discourage minority religions from taking office. Such prohibition only serves to worsen the conflicts and divisions among the majority and minority groups: the majority group is allowed to continue to institute policies against the minority without opposition while the minority group has to endure through discriminatory practices.

Likewise, the lack of opportunities translates to a lack of representation of minority religion groups in government policies. Lack of representation invokes a plethora of concerns, with the dominant one being the presence of non-inclusive and discriminatory policies. For example, the Muslim ban imposed by the United States in 2017 has heavily objected by numerous countries, yet the fact that the ban was passed to begin with is contingent on the lack of Muslim representatives servering in the United States Legislature. Such policies only enforces the

Page 4 of 14 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ stereotypes attached onto minority groups, and enables further divisive and discriminatory laws in the future.

Violent Conflicts

Institutional discrimination and stigmas can, at last, result in violent conflicts between majority and minority religious groups. These conflicts can stem from the majority group, such as Myanmar, where a systematic military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims persists, or be from the minority groups, where years of enduring discrimination and persecution led to violent backlashes. In either scenario, achieving an environment of cultural understanding and religious empowerment is virtually impossible in a conflict-driven climate. As such, member states need to strive to eliminate or resolve new instances of religious conflicts occurring around the world.

Terrorism

As defined by UN Security Council, terrorism means "criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act." The strength of terrorism is not built on the terrorist organizations, their endurance, or their weapons, but something far more threatening: ideology. The strength of terrorists is appealing to said ideologies, which are notions deeply ingrained in their daily lives in heavily polarized countries. Such environments then come back to foster more extremism in the future, leading to an unending cycle of violence.

Empowerment of minority religions is inconceivable in climates filled with physical and ideological violence. To truly address the dangers posed by terrorism, it is paramount to acknowledge both short and long-term solutions for this issue. As such, the real solution lies not in tackling terrorist organizations but to shield the global community from something intangible and so abstract. Even with the eradication of terrorist organizations such as ISIS, there is no telling when another group may appear. Nazi Germany is the most fitting example to portray the dangers extremist ideologies pose: decades after the fall of Nazi Germany, there are still thousands who vehemently follow Nazism. While the idea of completely eradicating extremist ideologies is idealistic and near impossible, it is still possible to make sure most people do not follow extreme ideologies and have measures in place to deter the influence of those who adhere to such ideologies.

Major Countries and Organizations Involved

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Israel/Palestine

Neo-colonialism and World War I resulted in religious cleavages in the Middle East. Britain had obtained the British Mandate for Palestine at the end of World War I, which formalized British rule in the region. As the result of increased Jewish migration to Palestine in the 1930s, tensions between the Arab-Jewish populations in Palestine escalated to an unprecedented scale for nearly a decade. The British, however, were mostly dismissive and unconcerned about the brewing conflicts. Following the closure of World War II and subsequent British withdrawal, the tensions broke out as Israel―a state composed of the Jews in Palestine―declared independence and sovereignty over Jerusalem. The regional Palestinians were outraged, and fighting began between Israel neighboring Arab states, such as the six-day war between Israel and Egypt in 1967. Fast forward today, and the territorial dispute between Israel and Palestine persists. The interference of the United Nations and other supranational organizations has created a temporary "Green line," which is an undelimited, consequent border between Israel and Palestine on the West Bank. Recently, Israeli settlers have been moving into the West Bank―an act that implies their ownership and rule over the region and demonstrates territoriality. Many groups, including Hamas's opposition forces, have called Israel's move a systematic step towards ethnic cleansing. However, the root of this conflict isn’t from the lack of representation―Israel has a Jewish majorty and palestine has a Muslim majority―but instead over the dispute over Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a holy religious site for both Judaism and Islam, and is one that continues to be hotly contested between Israel and Palestine. Empowering Palestinians is still a pressing issue in Israel today, as many countries seek to form solutions that would resolve decades of infighting over Jerusalem. In 2019, Trump’s peace plan temporarily negates some of the present tensions, yet with Palestine absent from the discussion, many have called this plan unfeasible long term, and moreover, an acute demonstration of just how voiceless the Palestinians are in the international stage.

*The light shade region indicates Israeli land while the darker shade region indicates Palestininan land. Page 6 of 14 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ China/Uighurs

The situation between China and the Uighurs remains contested. The Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim and Turkish-speaking group, have been - and continue to be - held in detention camps, or "reformation centers." The Chinese government officially endorses an atheist state and has administered many antireligious campaigns in the past to promote such causes, and the recent reformation centers are merely one of the measures implemented. In the Uighurs case, they are not only a minority religious group (moreover, a religion that the government is trying desperately to diminish), but also an ethnic minority. While the Chinese government continually ensures the camps only administered teachings around Mandarin (as a language) or state ideology, many sources suggest otherwise. Torture, sexual abuse, and involuntary sterilization are only a small portion of the numerous atrocities allegedly committed in these so-called "retraining camps." The continual stride for Chinese cultural unity and complete assimilation is one of the reasons fueling the attack against the Uighur population. China has long had an acute division between church and state as a response to its turbulent religious history in the past (encompassing western Christian missionaries, influences of colonialism, and the Cultural Revolution), and has grown foreign to the idea of religion. At the center of this cause radiates the sign of ethnocentrism and cultural cleansing. As the government systematically shut down any views or beliefs that might clash with Chinese nationalism, the Uighurs, with their different religions and ethnicities, are seen as a threat to the Chinese government. The Uighurs are punished due to actions like mass gatherings, which are disaterized and illogically linked with ideas such as "terrorism," "extremism," and "separatism." These campaigns often attempt severe Uighur lineage, history, and cultural roots.

Sunni-Shia Divided Countries

The bulk of the tensions within the Middle East derives from the religious tensions between Sunni and Shia Islam. A simple ideological difference separates the two groups but has yielded one of the most hostile religious relations in the world. The bulk of the Shia power stems from Iran, or the former Persian empire, which the country has often been the target of other Arab countries like Saudi Arabia. Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, are dispersed across more member states. International politics aside, religious minorities in these Sunni/Shia-centric countries have seldom experienced adequate representation and equality. Representations for minority religions, especially, are masked and invisible for most of these member states. In the case of Iran, never has a Sunni been appointed to any governmental position since the 1979 Revolution. This is because the Supreme Leader of Iran (which has always been Shia) controls all political avenues, and thus exerts direct control over representation. Conversely, in Sunni-majority member states such as Saudi Arabia, representation in government is virtually non-existent for Shia Muslims even without the presence of a commanding authority figure.

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A part of why such cleavages exist in these countries links back to the violence iceberg concept, negative perception, and connotations for minority groups prophesize because of cultural intolerance and understanding. In rare cases, religious extremism cumulates to the creation of terrorist organizations, which has plagued the Middle East for decades. The results of these Sunni-Shia divided countries display all three critical issues at work, with stigmas, institutional discrimination, and violent conflicts all pronouncedly present in contemporary turmoil.

Myanmar

With historical roots dating back to the 15th century, the dispute between the State of Myanmar―a Buddhist majority country― and the Rohingyas―a Muslim minority―can hardly be described as contemporary. Myanmar's situation has often been referred to as a "textbook example" of ethnic and religious cleansing. What makes Myanmar's situation such a prominent example is how systematic and blatant the violence against the Rohingya Muslims are. In recent times, there are thousands of refugees entering Bangladesh every day to cross the border of Myanmar to flee from the violent offensive the state military has launched against the Rohingyas. Since August 2017, the UN reported an estimated 400,000 Rohingya men, women, and children had fled their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Reports suggest that the military has been killing and raping the Rohingya population and setting entire villages on fire. The situation in Myanmar is the exemplar example of what happens if minority religions remain unrecognized and discriminated against: even if conflicts subside temporarily like it has so many times in Myanmar, deep cracks are bound to surface again to prompt even more deaths and hardship.

Timeline of Events

Date Description of event Page 8 of 14 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

The Berlin Conference hosted between 1884 and 1885 divided Africa up into arbitrary superimposed borders. These borders divided up ethnic and religious 1884-1885 homogenous groups and created borders that forced conflicting groups together.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement saw France and the United Kingdom separate the ​ collapsing Ottoman empire into sections. The borders this agreement created 1916 echoed little concern about the ethnic, religious, or sectarian attributes of these regions and saw many conflicting groups now trapped in one border.

World War II commenced and saw a myriad of violence committed to minority 1939-1945 groups, including the infamous Final Solution, which saw the genocide of millions of Jews in Nazi territory.

The United Nations was created following World War II atrocities to promote 1945/10/24 ​ human rights and get countries to abide by international standards and laws.

Israel proclaims independence and quickly garners the recognition of world ​ powers. This also generated countless dissent from neighboring Arab nations 1948/5/15 and conflicts skyrocketed in the region.

Iraq declared war on Iran following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Saddam ​ Hussein, the then leader of Iraq, feared that the Iranian Revolution would also 1980-1988 spark Shia protests in Iraq (Iraq is a Shia majority country lead by a Sunni minority)

The Arab Spring saw massive protests in numerous countries against the ​ governments. Many saw this as a prelude to the ensuing conflicts in the Middle 2010 East.

Conflicts in the Middle East exploded with the Syrian Civil War, Yemeni Civil ​ War and humanitarian crisis, Libyan Civil War, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2011-Present Lebanon Civil War, among others. These conflicts are drawn on sectarian lines and characterize the impact of religion in these disputes. Numerous terrorist

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organizations arose from these conflicts, leading to turmoil domestically and islamophobia abroad.

Relevant UN Treaties and Events

● Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms (A/71/484/Add.2) ● Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (A/RES/36/55) ​ ● Threats to international peace and security, 21 September 2017 (S/RES/2379) ​ ● Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (A/RES/47/135) ​ Previous Attempts to solve the Issue

UN Resolutions

The United Nations has passed numerous resolutions noting the importance of empowering minority groups, encompassing ethnic, gender, and religious minorities. However, the same problems persist in these resolutions: it merely recognizes the importance and how these groups must be empowered but never proposes compelling solutions that can actually achieve empowerment. It is important to note that although such proposals in the United Nations might not be feasible―as after all, empowerment pertains to individual member states and the UN holds no jurisdiction over sovereign legislature―the lack of concrete attempts speaks volumes as to why the situation on empowerment remains stagnant in so many member states.

International Court of Justice

In response to violent conflicts inflicted upon minority religions, many countries have taken instances of abuse and violence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to levy punishments on the offending member states. One such case is the Gambia vs. Myanmar, where Gambia sued Myanmar for committing genocide against the Rohingya population in their country. While cases in the ICJ do generate international attention and highlight the divisions within a country (thereby rising global awareness and action), the court case itself yields little to no impact or consequences. This is the same concern shared by many NGOs present: international law requires the compliance and cooperation of concerned member states as the UN cannot effectively enforce any of its rulings. As such, bringing Page 10 of 14 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations 2021| 25 ​ January 2020 – 29 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ religious minority abuse cases to the ICJ might be the "just" thing to do in many scenarios, but can, in fact, worsen the situation present in these countries. ICJ cases are conflictual in nature, which entails worsening the relations internationally and domestically, and in many cases, only exacerbates existing tensions.

Possible Solutions

Education and Representation

Removing stigmas attached to religious minorities would be fundamental in resolving the issue. Stigmas that perpetuate in many countries paralyze the attempts of bettering cultural cohesion and only increase tensions The problem of stigmas can be tackled in two ways―information and prevention. The information approach is realized through educational policies, where civilians are instructed not to ​ ​ demonize, but to accept that different religious beliefs are valid and exist. The preventative approach seeks to remove the possibility of a stigma forming by remedying the source of the stigma. The preventative method also is rooted in education but focuses on eliminating radical ideologies that drive different religions further apart. This could be done by increasing minority religion representation in the ​ ​ national legislature or ensuring that minorities get a say in policies instituted, which ensures dialogue and cooperation. These solutions are especially difficult to achieve and implement in member states with the most violence against minorities as oftentimes the governments are the ones executing and propagating negativity and stigmas against the religious minorities.

Achieving peace

In the status quo, empowering minority religions are complicated to realize in many countries due to the divided and conflict-driven issues present. As such, resolving violent conflicts are pertinent to the empowerment of religious minorities as a whole. Countries can seek to develop protocols that can ​ ​ address conflicts present to alleviate tensions. However, and perhaps more importantly, countries will also need a way to punish responsible member states for committing systematic violence beyond just the International Court of Justice. Given the lengthy and lack of authority of the ICJ, it is tremendously challenging to rely on the ICJ to condemn situations going on in member states. Therefore, a possible method is to support more initiatives focusing on data collection (which can be done either by ​ international bodies, local governments, or NGOs) to find and locate places where conflicts and disputes are occurring. It is also crucial to include minority groups within the discussion to gather a more comprehensive understanding of how certain policies or discrimination is affecting them. Consequently, a clearer lens translates to more international organizations' capabilities or individual governments to amend the present situation.

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Country Specific Approaches

The reality of the situation is that measures to address minority religion empowerment cannot be resolved one day or achieved under one universal solution. Countries will need to recognize the situation present in their countries―be it economic status, culture, social divisions, or resources available―and craft their innovative approach to address the problem pertaining to their population properly. While the United Nations and relevant organizations can nudge countries into one direction, ultimately, the solvency derives from individual efforts within each member state. Countries can and should craft their own plans and protocols for religious minority empowerment, be it through increased efforts towards education and eliminating stigmas, or, as the situation presents itself in many countries, no solutions at all as it contradicts their national policy. For example, increasing education and awareness might be the default solution in many countries, but the medium of conversation and the content might be different pertaining to each country: some might have adequate resources to facilitate online discussions, while other countries might view curtailing religious extremism as priority (ex- in countries with or nearby ones with terrorist activities). In other countries where there are deliberate efforts to protect and empower minority religions, policies regarding supporting services or methods to prevent exploitation/underrepresentation might be realized. As for countries where minority religions are actively dissuaded and disenfranchised, empowerment of minority religion might only take place on surface levels, but the solution proposed has embedded loopholes that allows for exploitation.

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