Debate motions from 2019

TH welcomes the conversion of massive agricultural lands for residential and commercial use

Novice_Final

THBT the moderate Left and the National Democratic Front should unite in response to Duterte's consolidation of power in all branches of the government

Novice_Final

THR the attachment of national pride to one's consumption

Novice_Final

THW not provide rehabilitation to areas with citizens who refuse to leave after repeated relocation efforts by the government

Novice_Semi

THBT the funds for the rehabilitation of Marawi should be distributed to its survivors rather than remain at the government's discretion

Novice_Semi

THBT the private sector should take the lead in post-disaster rehabilitation

Novice_Semi

THR the creation of memorials (e.g., buildings, monuments and statues) to commemorate victims of terrorism

Open_Final

THBT party-list representatives must be a member of the marginalized or underrepresented sector that the party aims to represent.

Open_Final

THR the dominant portrayal of sex workers as victims

Open_Final

THBT members of rebel militia groups who join as minors should be pardoned

Open_Semi

THBT Philippine national curricula should portray a unanimously and graphically negative account of the impact of Western colonization.

Open_Semi

THBT the Philippines should scrap the AAL

Open_Semi

THR the glorification of martyrdom

Open_X

THW require individuals to seek the approval of their families before their request for assisted suicide is honored

Open_X

TH prefers the improvement of technologies geared towards working with the present human condition over the adoption of those designed to greatly enhance the human intellect and form

Open_X

THBT the trans community should oppose the advertising of gender confirmation surgery and other medical interventions that deal with gender incongruence

Open_Octa

THBT the LGBTQIA+ community should abandon shaming as a strategy in dealing with critiques

Open_Octa

TH, as the Philippine LGBTQIA+ movement, would prioritize the use of local queer terminology (e.g., bakla, babaylan and binabae) over those that originate from the West (e.g., transgender and genderqueer)

Open_Octa

THS the removal of Filipino as a required subject at the tertiary level

7

THW remove tax benefits from schools with faculty members who have publicly stated political positions (e.g. in blogs, tweets, and editorials) that contradict progressive values

7

THR the rapid expansion of online schools

7

THBT the 1% should shoulder the costs of going green

6

As a response to excessive food consumption, THW allocate a fixed ration to all citizens

6

THBT the battle against climate change is best fought through the courts

6

THR Canada's decision to describe the disappearance and murder of its Indigenous women and children as genocide

5

THS South Africa's land-expropriation-without-compensation reform

5

THBT India's ethnic and religious minorities should establish and support ethnicity and religion-based parties as a response to the success of BJP and Narendra Modi in the recent election

5

THS the US ban on Huawei

4

In light of recent events, TH, as Iran, would continue to comply with the Iran Nuclear Deal through strategic patience

4

TH, as Western Liberal Democracies, would actively support civil disobedience in Sudan

4

THR the act of converting to the religion of your partner as a show of love

3

THBT Public Displays of Affection (PDAs) do more harm than good to relationships

3

TH, as an individual migrating to another country, would break up with their significant other over pursuing a long-distance relationship

3

THBT high-profile crimes should be discussed purely in academic platforms (e.g., in documentaries, educational systems, and museums)

2

THW ban public figures with pending criminal cases from defending their supposed innocence outside of the court (e.g., through social media, TV networks and news outlets)

2

THW make news reporting on drugs, vaccines, and other related substances subject to the approval of an independent panel of medical experts

2

THR the creation of the Philippine Space Agency

1

THBT all research that have been funded through government grants should not qualify for patents

1

TH, as the scientific community, regrets the premium placed on winning the Nobel Prize

1

THBT all trials should be incorporeal trials

Open_Final

THO the narrative "do unto others as you would lke them to do unto you"

Open_Final

THS Elizabeth Warren's proposal to break up large tech companies

Open_Semi

THW levy size-based business tax instead of corporation tax on profit

Open_Semi

THW abandon the use of GDP as the standard index to measure a nation's prosperity

Open_Semi

THBT Google should not have pulled out of the military contract with the Pentagon

Open_Quarter

THW prohibit the end to end encryption of telecommunication

Open_Quarter

THR the accelerated competition in the Japanese QR code industry

Open_Quarter

THW prohibit the poor and lower middle class from purchasing risk assets

Open_Octa

THW mandate all citizens to purchase attorney fee insurance

Open_Octa

THW require isolated religious communities to have their children live outside of their communities for a certain period of time (e.g. for one or two years at the age of 15)

Open_Octa

THBT doctors should not report to the police when they give medical treatments to illegal drug users

Novice_Final

THW take away the driver's license of the elderly

Novice_Final

THR the rise of recruitment the employee referral

Novice_Final

THBT parents should not teach their children to aspire to a dream which is unlikely to be achieved

Novice_Semi

THBT parents should not teach morality to their underage children through religious context (e.g. "it is a sin to lie"; "help the neighbor" etc.)

Novice_Semi

THBT parents should not share their children's photo publicly

Novice_Semi

THS a two parliament system where one consists of elected representatives and the other consists of experts or individuals with outstanding achievement in their field of study or activity

4

THR the common focus by voters on the ideological consistency of politicians

4

THBT figureheads of national liberation movement (eg. Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Dalai Lama) should not become politicians after their movement succeeds

4

THBT Western states should engage in covert cyber-attacks against infrastructure designed to limit freedom of speech* in authoritarian states. *e.g., the Great Firewall of China

3

THW ban expressions that glorify suicide

3

THBT professional gaming teams should not hire players who have made sexist remarks

2

THBT the transgender community should actively seek to separate themselves ( their issues and their collective identity) from the LGBTQ+ community

2

THBT the LGBT movement should oppose popular artists "Queerbaiting" with their own sexuality

2

THBT the academia should disallow researchers to submit theses for a certain period of time(e.g. 2 years) when they submit their theses on predatory journals

1

THBT universities should abolish preferential admission for the wealthy (such as legacy admission, prioritization based on donation)

1

THP all scholarships be granted solely on the basis of financial needs as opposed to merit

1

That, as a feminist parent, we would send our daughter to an all-girls school as opposed to a comparable co-ed school.

1

That feminists should actively campaign for quotas and increased female involvement in the military.

1

That we should ban pregnant women from working during the last month of their pregnancy.

1

That we should allow scientific journals to publish anonymous papers.

2

That schools should be allowed to expel students who are violent or consistent bullies, even if there is not a school immediately willing to take them.

2

That, assuming feasibility, governments should cap parents' expenditure on their children to an amount equivalent to the current median expenditure per year.

2

That we should hold pharmaceutical companies liable for harms caused by widespread misuse of their drugs.

3

That we should allow doctors to override Advance Care Directives.

3

That judges should prescribe Naltrexone instead of mandating Alcoholics Anonymous for offenders of minor alcohol related crimes.

3

That African American rap artists have a moral obligation to donate their disposable income to African American low socioeconomic-status areas

4

That the queer community should abandon the trend of making queer events/celebrations open to cis/straight allies (eg. bars, parties, events, mardi gras, etc).

4

That schools should encourage children from minority backgrounds to 'code switch'.

4

That prominent social activists (e.g. the leaders of Black Lives Matter, Aung San Suu Kyi) should not choose to run for office. (

5

That it would be in the interests of the Democratic Party if Kamala Harris were to win the Presidential nomination instead of Bernie Sanders.

5

That we would, as the Coalition, dedicate substantial resources into challenging the legal status of minor parties and their candidates (eg. Section 44, the number of signatures, etc.)

5

That the state should offer criminals a new identity upon serving their sentence (e.g. new name, new background, optional plastic surgery).

6

That judges should not consider whether evidence was collected legally when deciding to admit it.

6

That we should ban prison guards from striking.

6

That the public, via referendum, should be given the power to pardon/give amnesty to whistleblowers.

Open_Octo

That, as a Rohingya Muslim fleeing the Myanmar military, we would join ARSA. (Octo-finals) That we regret the custom of giving gifts.

Open_Quarters

That we regret narratives of deference to the elderly (e.g. "older people are more experienced").

Open_Quarters

That the Bretton Woods institutions (i.e. the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) have done more harm than good.

Open_Semi

That, assuming feasibility, we should charge corporations a tax equal to their Social Cost instead of company tax.

Open_Semi

That the queer community should actively embrace religious organisations and queer religious individuals in its leadership positions and advocacy.

Open_Final

In a world in which the technology has recently been created to impregnate men, TH, as a male partner of a young career-focused woman, would choose to carry their baby.

1

THB LGB people should emphasize their same-sex attraction

1

THBT sporting teams should change their names where they are considered insensitive (e.g. Crusaders).

1

THBT countries should develop and deploy autonomous robot soldiers in conflict zones that are capable of killing people.

2

THW militarily intervene in Venezuela

2

THBT African Countries should pivot towards the Global East rather than the Global West.

2

THBT social movements should not adopt works of art as symbols where the artist does not identify with that movement (e.g. the feminist movement adopting the close-up of flowers painted by Georgia O'Keeffee believing the paintings to be sexual depictions of female anatomy; the adoption of the horror fim the Babadook by the queer rights movement).

3

THR docu-dramas that "put people on trial" after their exoneration or death (e.g. Leaving Neverland about Michael Jackson, The People v. O. J. Simpson, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann).

3

THR pop-culture portrayals of people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses (e.g. Five Feet Apart, Me Before You, The Big Sick, Fault in Our Stars, My Sister's Keeper).

3

THR the Reformation

4

THBT as the Christian church would teach that the Bible is a historically-based account containing human error, rather than teaching that the Bible is the flawless work of God.

4

TH prefers religions that teach salvation is achieved through certain behaviours (e.g. good works, five pillars of Islam), over religions that teach salvation is achieved through faith alone.

4

THBT members of socially progressive movements should not support harsh punishment of criminals, even when the crimes committed are the opposite of what that movement supports. (e.g. hate crimes; domestic violence; pedophilia)

5

Instead of sentencing offenders to fixed terms of imprisonment, THW sentence offenders to indeterminate sentences of imprisonment and release them when they have been rehabilitated.

5

THW revoke ISIS fighters' citizenship, even in instances where that would leave them stateless.

5

THR the decline of trade unions

6

THW break-up large social media companies

6

THS wage subsidies in regions with persistent economic malaise (e.g. The Rust Belt, Kawerau).

6

THW create special intellectual property rights of indefinite duration for the traditional knowledge and culture of indigenous peoples (e.g. gurana berry processing for the Gurani people of South America; ka mate haka for Ngati Toa; dot paintings for the Papunya Tula people in Australia).

Open_Semi

THBT Labour MPs elected in Maori seats should publicly criticise any Labour Party policy that hurts Maori.

Open_Semi

TH, as a parent, would send their children to a kohanga reo school (Māori immersion schools).

Open_Semi

THBT the UK Parliament should cancel Brexit

Open_Final

THBT NZ should return to First Past the Post (FPP)

Open_Final

THR the narrative that people who are members of marginalised groups (e.g. queer people, people of colour, indigenous people) should only vote for left-wing parties and politicians.

Open_Final

This House, as South Africa, would forcibly break up exclusive Afrikaaner enclaves

1

This House believes that the protections of international law conventions and treaties should not apply to combatants from terrorist organisations (e.g. prohibition on torture, prisoner of war status, guarantee of post-conflict release)

2

This House opposes the norm that romantic love should be the primary source of fulfilment in a person's life

3

This House believes that the ongoing process of decolonisation should include actively disempowering religions that were imposed on the country during colonialism

4

This House would implement substantial measures to impose long-termism in corporate investment culture (e.g. minimum holding periods for shares, yearly rather than quarterly financial reporting, long-term executive compensation plans)

5

This House supports granting megacities autonomous control over their economic and social policy (e.g. immigration, health, criminal justice) with national taxation policy remaining under the control of the federal government

6

This House would actively encourage women not to have children

7

This House believes that the United States should disengage from Syria

8

This House believes that developing countries should privatise their State-Owned Enterprises (such as airlines, railway utility companies)

9

This House would grant individuals and organisations open standing to challenge the constitutionality of laws enacted by their government

EFL_Semis

This House believes that it is unjustified to assist evil regimes in systematically persecuting members of their identity group in order to mitigate and moderate the regime's abuses (e.g. Israel Kasztner in Nazi-controlled Hungary, Wang Jingwei in Japan-occupied China).

EFL_Final

This House supports governments significantly increasing their use of big data-based predictive models in decision-making to replace human judgements (e.g. criminal justice policy, allocation of healthcare resources, housing development)

ESL_Semis

In the lead up to the 1994 negotiated settlement in South Africa, this house believes that the ANC should have demanded further concessions (e.g. removing the amnesty provision in the TRC, greater land and economic rights) even at the expense of prolonging the conflict.

ESL_Final

This House believes that the WHO should adopt a convention which bans the sell of drugs with high resistance tendencies (e.g. antibiotics) to countries which do not comply with WHO guidelines regarding their medical and agricultural use

Open_Partial_Double_Octos

This House believes that an approach of Political Expansionism on the part of the Chinese state is in the interests of the Chinese people

Open_Octos

This House supports a norm of embracing anger in public discourse rather than one of aspiring to dispassionate objectivity

Open_Quarters

This House would impose a narrow banking regulation

Open_Semis

This House believes that the present condition of humanity is preferable to its condition in 100 years time.

Open_Final

THBT Greece should introduce significant financial incentives for companies and individuals currently based in Athens* to relocate to other Greek cities *Over a third of the Greek population lives in Athens.

1

THBT it is in the interest of the Chinese Communist Party to cease attempts to infringe on "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong, rather than continuing its current approach.

2

THW encourage women to be selfish

3

THBT it is in the interest of dominant organised religions for their leaders to declare more progressive interpretations of traditional dogma* *e.g. on dietary and pilgrimage requirements, the acceptability of contraception, same-sex relationships

4

THBT consumers should predominantly aim to buy locally produced goods and services

5

THW break up Disney

6

THBT schools should teach children to be skeptical of parental authority

7

In circumstances where a unanimous decision is currently required, THP majority voting as the European Council's decision-making approach

8

THW make police commanders personally criminally liable for instances of police brutality committed by their subordinates

9

In situations where deliberate economic policies by another state have caused substantial economic harms, THBT international law should recognise that military retaliation can be justified

ESL_Quarters

THBT the US Democratic Party should prioritise employment issues, even at the expense of significant harms to the environment.

ESL_Semis

TH Opposes the Defining Decade norm

ESL_Finals

THBT local governments in developing countries should allocate significant portions of their budget via Participatory Budgeting

Open_Octos

THBT it is in the interest of the Kremlin to take measures to reduce Russian dependency of China (e.g. limit the selling of raw materials to China, reduce the share of Yuan in Russia's currency reserves, not allowing Chinese companies to develop strategic infrastructure such as 5G in Russia)

Open_Quarters

THBT communities that have been victims of atrocities should emphasise the narrative of the 'banality of evil' when interpreting those atrocities

Open_Semis

THBT the Greek government should have rejected the 2015 bailout deal and sought to negotiate further concessions, even at the risk of not receiving a bailout.

Open_Final

THW divide the United States of America into multiple countries

Open_Final

This supports prison abolition as opposed to prison reform.

Novice_Final

This house regrets the modern idealization of Civil Rights leaders as moderate, pacifist, and respectable.

Open_Semis

THR the stance of U.S. foreign policy in favor of Sunni forces in the Shia-Sunni conflict in the Middle East.

Open_Quarters

THBT LGBTQ+ activists in non-Western countries should use and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and individuals using their local historical terms (mahjie, hijra, etc.) instead of Western terminology (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender etc.).

Open_Final

This house regrets the corporatization of higher education.

Novice_Semis

TH, as Japan, would support closing all U.S. military bases on Japanese territory.

Novice_Quarters

THW create matriarchal semi-autonomous regions within countries, and provide legal, political, and economic support to them

8

THO employer-provided benefits (e.g. health insurance, childcare, retirement investment accounts)

7

THW pay known gang members to not commit violent crimes

6

THBT secondary education (ages 10-18) should focus on preparing students for local workforce needs rather than focusing on well-rounded basic education (i.e. mathematics, literature, physical and biological sciences, art, history)

5

THW embrace transhumanist philosophy.

4

After popular uprisings resulting in the overthrow of long-time dictators, THBT Western nations should make support (e.g. diplomatic recognition, foreign aid, investments) to the new government explicitly contingent on holding internationally observed elections within 6 months of the dictator's end.

3

THW no longer require parental consent for administering invasive procedures on adolescents (e.g. piercing and tattoos, cosmetic surgery, sex reassignment surgery, etc.)

2

THR the decline in influence of 'gatekeeping' media institutions (major newspapers, network news, etc.)

1

THW implement substantial measures to impose long-termism in corporate investment culture (eg. minimum holding periods for shares, yearly rather than quarterly financial reporting, long term executive compensation plans)

1

THW prohibit hedge funds from purchasing sovereign debt issued by countries nearing insolvency

1

TH supports job security legislation

1

TH, as the BJP, would reinstate Articles 370 and 35(A) of the Indian Constitution.

2

TH, as Xi Jinping, would remove Hong Kong's Special Administrative Status

2

THR the erosion of national sovereignty by large supranational bodies (eg the EU and the UN)

2

THR the rise of movements based on ethical consumption

3

THBT anyone living above the national median wage has an obligation to donate all excess wealth to charity

3

THW implement universal jurisdiction for environmental crimes

4

TH, as Greta Thunberg, would openly denounce capitalism as the root of climate change

4

THW prevent climate change deniers from seeking political office

4

THBT governments should abandon the strategy of "decapitation" in fighting terrorism. Infoslide: In the context of anti-terrorism, decapitation refers to the strategy of targeting terrorist leaders for assassination.

Open_Final

TH, as the Chinese state, would send in the People's Liberation Army to take back control of Hong Kong

Open_Final

THBT Brazil should fully privatize Petrobras / ECCQ Brasil debería privatizar por completo Petrobras

1

THBT that Western countries should revoke the citizenship of individuals that traveled to the Middle East to join Jihadi groups, even if they were minors at the time of their departure / ECCQ los países occidentales deberían revocar la ciudadanía a los individuos que se trasladaron a Medio Oriente para integrarse a grupos Jihadistas , incluso si eran menores de edad al momento de su translado

2

THS state attempts to help their citizens find and sustain love (e.g. subsidizing subscriptions to matching agencies such as match.com, significant funding for research on what makes a relationship last, creating courses on how to woo and keep a spouse) / EC apoya que el estado busque ayudar a sus ciudadanos a encontrar y mantener el amor (ej. Subsidiando suscripciones a sitios de citas como match.com, financiando significativamente investigaciones sobre cómo hacer que una relación perdure, creando cursos sobre cómo sorprender y conservar a tu pareja)

3

THBT major awards of meritocratic distinction (e.g. the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, Oscars, etc) should include a moral clause* *a provision that allows the honoree to receive, or hold, the award only in the case they meet a behavioral standard set by the awarding panel. / ECCQ los principales premios de reconocimiento al mérito (Ej. Premio Nobel, Premio Pulitzer, Oscar's, etc.) deberían incluir una cláusula moral* *una condición que permite al homenajeado recibirlo y conservarlo únicamente cuando cumplan con un estándar de comportamiento establecido por el jurado calificador.

4

THBT developing countries should pursue the establishment of charter cities / ECCQ los países en vía de desarrollo deberían establecer ciudades chárter

5

THBT the general educational approach in schools should be to discourage children from assessing their achievements in comparison to their peers. / ECCQ el enfoque general de la educación en los colegios debe ser desincentivar que los niños midan sus logros comparándolos con los de sus pares.

6

In countries with proportional representation, THS founding political parties that exclusively represents women's interests / En países con representación proporcional, EC apoya la creación de partidos políticos que representan exclusivamente los intereses de las mujeres.

7

EC preferiría unirse al Club de los 27 que vivir una vida anónima promedio.

Spanish_Quarters

En casos en que un funcionario público sea acusado de corrupción, EC reduciría el estándar probatorio al del "balance de probabilidades"* en vez del de la "duda razonable".

Spanish_Semi

THW prohibit businesses from adopting a public position on social justice issues (e.g. LGBTQIA+, racial relations, abortion, etc)

Open_Semi

THS countries granting rights to nature

Open_Final

ECCQ el involucramientode Estados Unidos en Panama (presencia militar, influencia cultural, relaciones economicas estrechas, etc) beneficia a los panamenos.

Spanish_Final

This House Believes That governments should actively prevent gentrification

Round 1 (prepared)

This House Believes That the US National Security Agency should notify software manufacturers of all zero-day vulnerabilities in order for them to patch the defect

Round 2 (prepared)

In art and popular culture, This House Believes That creating new lead characters for minorities (e.g. Hancock, Black Panther) is better than recasting them in existing roles already played by other actors/communities (Ghost Busters, Little Mermaid…)

Round 3 (impromptu)

This House Would break up Amazon.com Inc

Round 4 (prepared)

In post-conflict societies, This House Would grant amnesty to perpetrators of crimes rather than seeking prosecutions

Round 5 (impromptu)

This House Would reserve seats in parliament for candidates under 30

Round 7 (impromptu)

This House Would ban the practice of 'importing brides'

Round 8 (impromptu)

This House Supports the right of indigenous peoples to have publicly-funded schools, with autonomy over curriculum, operations and educational philosophy

Partial Double Octofinals (impromptu)

TH prefers a world where adult children take in their elderly parents rather than support them to live separately

Octofinals (impromptu)

This House Supports China's attempts to become a global dominant power (e.g. establishing its own global financial/development institutions; increased FDI in Africa, S America, Asia; increased military spending)

Quarterfinals (impromptu)

This House Believes That charities and humanitarian aid organisations should not use images of graphic suffering in their advertising campaigns

Semifinals (impromptu)