Topic: Controversial Cultural and Religious Practices
Country: Sweden
Delegate Name: Lily Montague
School: East Grand Rapids High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Sweden position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Controversial cultural and religious practices happen all over the world, and the UN is faced with having to decide if they are ethical or should be regulated for the good of the people. Some of these controversial practices include mistreatment of women by strongly limiting their autonomy, and also the way animals are slaughtered or hunted. The UN tried to protect against animals being mistreated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna in 1975, but illegal treatment of elephants, rhinos, whales, sharks, and pigs continues to happen through religious and cultural traditions. The question keeps arising whether these practices should be protected, restricted, or prohibitted. Sweden has specifically delt with issues having to do with the treatment of animals while slaughtering for religious purposes. The Muslims and Jews in Sweden, preform a slaughtering ritual according to their religion, that is said to be harmful to the animals. In 1937, Sweden, along with other Scandanavian countries, passed a law that required the animal to be stunned before preforming the slaughtering ritual. Many countries around the world, specifically in Africa and Asia, have cultrual and religious traditions that mistreat women and restrict their individual choice of working and marriage. Sweden has made many efforts over the years to encourage equality for women, within the country and globally. The Discrimination Act in Sweden promotes equality between men and women in the workplace and protects against harrassment and unfair distribution of resources in Sweden. The major decision established by the UN General Assembly everyonedeclared that everyone is born with the same rights, regardless of gender. The UN had a proposal to adopt the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women in 1993. There was also a more recent proposal in 2017 by the European Union and the United Nations to launch the Spotlight Initiative which also focuses on eliminating violence against women and girls. These issues affect more of the African and Middle Eastern countries, which have some more controversial cultural traditions, and don’t affect Sweden as much. However, Sweden still supports the enforcement of equal treatment of men and women through legislation and admistrative acts. Sweden is also an advocate for solving international issues involving reproductive rights.
