[At Vote] [ga] Freedom Of Opinion And Belief

[Astrobolt]

General Assembly Resolution

Freedom of Opinion and Belief

A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights

Strength: Significant

Proposed by: Tinhampton

Whereas brainwashing is bad and wrong, the General Assembly hereby:

1. forbids member states from criminalising the holding of any opinion (even when its expression would constitute a crime) and the status of possessing or lacking any arbitrary or reductive characteristic,
2. prohibits the World Assembly and its agents from discriminating against any person or group due to their holding of any opinion, and
3. clarifies that this resolution does not cover the actual expression of opinions or other speech.
   
   

This is the discussion thread. To cast your vote, go HERE

[Jabberwocky]

First, this proposal seems silly and frivolous. Second, this is a matter best left to individual nations. If memory serves, this is not Tinhampton's first pointless proposal.
AGAINST

[Pantso]

While the intent seems to be to prohibit making thought a crime, it seems entirely unenforceable and irrelevant except in circumstances where mind-reading is possible. Arguably even the act of writing a thought down or sharing it with someone else could be considered an "expression" of it and would therefore fall under clause c.

If that is the intent then Pantso is sympathetic to the goal but finds this resolution wholly inadequate to the task. Pantso recommends against.

[Tymus]

This may have mostly been said, but if it doesn't cover the expression of opinions, then...practically, it regulates nothing. Something about the clause "Whereas brainwashing is bad and wrong," also seems wrong to me. I mean, brainwashing is bad, but is that really the best way to put it?
Going to have to go with against, and I do worry about the idea of forbidding states from criminalizing certain characteristics. In my opinion, that is certainly immoral, but, at the end of the day, it's up to the state what traits they consider morally good or morally bad. Where the line is drawn is such an eternal argument that I question a resolution that attempts to tackle it with such a small amount of clarification.