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 Research Report | Page 1 of 14 ​ ​ th st The Hague International Model United Nations 2020| 26 ​ January 2020 – 31 ​ January 2020 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 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 Research Report | Page 3 of 14 ​ ​ 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.