Religious persecution has plagued the world with violence and social instability. It has

become the center of many wars, especially in the Middle East. These wars have displaced

thousands of people despite having a home country. Refugees from places like Iran, Iraq, and

Afghanistan have crossed oceans in the search for a safe haven. This issue has become a topic in

many political debates both on the domestic and foreign scale. Solving the issue has now become

an urgent matter.

Effects of religious persecution can be seen all throughout the world. The latest annual

report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that Myanmar

(Burma) has faced the most persecution in the past year. Despite common belief, Christianity is

the most persecuted religion in the world. This has been supported by German Chancellor

Angela Merkel and proven by a United Kingdom research report. Myanmar, China, and

countries in the Middle East show reports of a rapidly increasing amount of Christians, facing

attacks by Buddhists, Muslims, and government officials. People have been treated as lesser

beings because of their beliefs, subjected to name calling, torture, and other various forms of

abuse. Children are afraid to speak of their families’ religion and are being blamed for having

such a “horrible mindset”. Families have been displaced from their communities that reject their

religion. Christian people have been violently attacked by radial Buddhists and the government

in Myanmar. Middle Eastern countries have been working to eradicate any traces of Christianity

in their lands.

The most common religion that comes into mind when talking about religious

persecution is Islam. The Muslim people have faced an unimaginable amount of persecution in

both their homeland and in foreign countries. People in the Middle East have been driven out of

their home by radical Islamic terrorism and are left with nowhere to go as refugees.

Displacement has become a major worldwide concern for Muslims. Even with an international

effort by countries, such as Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Germany, Sweden, France, United

Kingdom, Denmark, and Hungary, to provide Muslims a safe haven, there have been issues.

Native people to the countries that the refugees are being sent to have persecuted them for their

beliefs. Associating innocent Muslims with radical Islamic terrorists has become a trend among

people through platforms such as social media and news networks.

The strength of hatred in this day and age has become undeniably strong, but we as an

international community must be stronger. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and all other

religions must be able to express their beliefs in the Middle East, Asia, and anywhere else.

Countries representing peace, such as the U.S., must become an example and set precedents for

other countries to follow. Each country must focus on trying to solve the religious persecution

that has been going on amongst their people.

Question to Consider:

● Is religion a major concern in you country?

● What do the people of your country believe is “wrong” with the religion that they are

against?

● How would you solve this issue in your country while keeping in mind that each country

has a unique situation with different religions and political ideas.

● Are there alternatives to maintain peace in your country regarding religion by combing in

the issue with larger ones?

Links

● https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/myanmar/

● https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-james-clark/christianity-most-persecuted-

religion_b_2402644.html

● http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/29/religious.freedom.report/index.html

The nuclear weapons debate refers to the controversies surrounding the threat, use and

stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Ironically, nuclear weapons have been used only once in

warfare; during the final stages of World War II when United States Army Air Forces bombers

dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August

1945.

On September 20, 2017, the UN treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was

passed. This new treaty did not have any immediate response to the disarmament of nuclear

weapons, but instead gave a gradual movement towards nuclear disarmament. The treaty also a

progress report on the progression of nuclear disarmament. However, the participants did not

include the nine nuclear armed nations of The United States, Russia, Britain, China, France,

India, North Korea, Pakistan and Israel. It seems very unlikely for these nine nation to adopt this

treaty due to the fact that they had opted out of the initial discussion of disarmament.

On July 14, 2015, Iran and six other world powers had cut a deal to limit the Iranian

nuclear program in exchange for a lift of sanctions from Iran. Iran had agreed to cut down its

stockpile of centrifuges by 66 percent and its enriched uranium, one of the main components in

developing nuclear weapons, by 97 percent. Iran can still revive this stockpile relatively quickly.

The United States claims to have confidence that nuclear inspectors would be able to catch Iran,

should they cheat on this deal. Many argue that Iran would be able to hide its nuclear progress

from these inspectors, while reaping the benefits of having its sanctions lifted.

This debate will cover whether or not every country should have access to nuclear

weapons for the purpose of defending their nation. Some argue that the nations with nuclear

capabilities should share their information with countries that do not yet have nuclear

capabilities. Meanwhile, others believe that no country should have access to nuclear weapons,

and that all nuclear weapons and programs should be destroyed.

Questions To Be Considered

What is my countries view on nuclear weapons?

Does my country have nuclear capabilities?

Does my country intend on having nuclear weapons in the near future?

Has my country made any progress towards nuclear armament?

Has my country made any progress towards nuclear disarmament?

Is there a right by every nation to have access to nuclear weapons?

Can my country secure its safety without nuclear weapons?

Helpful Links

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/world/americas/united-nations-nuclear-weapons-

prohibition-destruction-global-treaty.html

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57588#.Wi20pkqnGUk

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/07/12/how-a-u-n-treaty-on-nuclear-

weapons-makes-international-security-policy-more-inclusive/

There are over 7 billion human beings across the globe. The amount of food and water

that it takes to feed 7 billion people per day is an amount that the human mind is just unable

accurately fathom. Water covers an estimated Seventy-One percent of earth’s surface, but

96.5% of that water is salt water that human beings can’t drink. Of the remaining 3.5% of

water, 68% of it is trapped in glaciers near the polar ice caps, and 30% of it is too far

underground to use. Less than 1% of all the water on earth can actually be used and with 7

billion people drinking every day, our water reserve is rapidly decreasing.

Two independent studies conducted in the United States and Europe concluded that 21

of the world’s 37 largest water reserves have past their sustainability tipping point, meaning

that they are losing water faster than it is being replenished due to increased population and

climate change. Thirteen of those sources are currently classified as being in significant distress

including the Arabian Aquifer System, which supplies water to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and

Yemen. Citizens of the developing world have already had to resort to drinking boiled dirty river

water to provide for their daily needs, often leading to life threatening illness in young children,

and the problem is only expected to worsen. It is also important to recognize that while third

world countries are beginning to feel the effects of the water shortage now, the citizens of the

first world are not going to be sheltered from the shortage for much longer.

Aquifers in India, China, the United States, and France have also passed their sustainability

tipping points with those in the United States and China experiencing some of the fastest rates

of depletion worldwide.

The truth is, not much can be done to prevent the aquifers from continuing to deplete.

People need to use water, and with the global population and rate of climate change expected

to only increase, the problem is only going to worsen. Scientists have been looking into a

process called desalination which has been able to successfully convert salt water to

freshwater. The problem is, the process is not very efficient and cannot be done at a fast

enough rate to prevent the depletion of our freshwater supply.

By the year 2040, 33 countries around the world including the United States, China,

India, Australia, parts of Northern and Southern Africa, and the entire middle east region will be

considered high water stress areas, which means that there will not be enough water to satisfy

the needs of citizens living in those areas. The impact on world health, the global economy, but

most importantly global security is going to be staggering. Today, wars are fought around the

world over oil(which although a crucial fuel source,human beings can live without). Imagine the

enormous amount of conflict and unrest that will arise out of sheer desperation when nations

start to run out of water.

Experts who have studied the global security impacts of the crisis believe that by 2040

the world wide refugee count will increase, civil wars in the middle east will intensify in

frequency and severity, and imperialistic practices of first world nations will increase as nations

begin to claim spheres of influence of key water supplies around the world. Some believe that

states around the world will begin to collapse amidst the turmoil which would make diplomatic

negotiation increasingly difficult. If the situation ever became grave enough (as it is expected

to) to warrant two of the world’s major powers going to war with one another over water, the

devastation world wide would be catastrophic. There are also those among the world’s elite

who have already begun taking steps to take financial advantage of the situation. Micheal

Burry, the real life financial genius who made $1 Billion dollars by shorting the U.S housing

market before its collapse (as dramatized in the movie “The Big Short”) is currently focused on

investing in just one commodity, water! Imagine how much money someone will be able to

make at the expense of other human beings if people or corporations are allowed to buy

control of sources of water. If all of this is what will begin to happen in 2040, what does that

mean for earth’s distant future in later years like 2080 when most of the earth will be

considered a high water stress area?

Question to Consider:

1. Is my nation currently impacted by the water shortage?

2. Will my nation be considered a high water stress area in 2040?

3. Is my nation prone to civil unrest and internal conflict?

4. What efforts is my nation’s government currently taking to prevent further water loss?

5. How does my nation plan to provide water to its citizenry as the water crisis worsens?

Helpful links:

1. https://news.vice.com/article/the-world- is-running- out-of- water

2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/16/new-nasa- studies-

show-how- the-world- is-running- out-of- water/?utm_term=.f2c7448c81df

3. https://www.revealnews.org/article/were-running- out-of- water-and- the-worlds-powers-are-

very-worried/

4. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/drinkseawater.html

5. http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/02/michael-burry- water/