Motions

Motions of previous European Universities Debating Championships
2011 Galway
GF	THB that the state should pay reparations to women.
GF ESL	THB that God exists.
SF	THB that the West should promise preferential economic and political cooperation to Arab democracies who adopt secular constitutions.
SF ESL	THW require persons who work in the media to wait four years before running for public office or working for the government.
QF	THW not fight for king and country.
QF ESL	THW ban all EU arms companies from selling arms outside the EU.
R9	THW legally require priests to report all serious crimes that they hear of in confessions.
R8	THB that America and the EU should cease all financial, political and military aid to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority until they reach a peace deal.
R7	THB that early childhood education should undermine traditional gender roles.
R6	THB that hacking is an acceptable form of protest against large corporations.
R5	THW allow the creation of donor siblings.
R4	THB that Barack Obama should have vetoed any debt deal that did not increase taxation.
R3	THB that Germany should ban the publication of "Mein Kampf" indefinitely.
R2	THW prohibit the media from using software to cosmetically improve an individual's appearance.
R1	THW bring back the death penalty.
2010 Amsterdam
GF	THB after a humanitarian intervention has halted human rights abuses the occupation forces should leave if the population clearly establishes this as their wish.
GF ESL	THB even in response to the most serious crimes a just penal system should have no consideration for society’s desire for retribution.
SF	THB the state should determine the wages to be payed (in both private and public sectors) for jobs deemed of moral value or societal importance.
SF ESL	THW grant higher primates rights equivalent to those of human children.
QF	THW prohibit gay pride parades in countries or areas where there is a risk of violent backlash against those involved.
QF ESL	THW extend the full protections of international law to guerilla fighters, insurgents and terrorists.
R8	THB developing nations should distribute as a dividend to citizens all income derived from natural resource extraction.
R7	THW offer the Taliban power-sharing deals in exchance for acts of disarmament.
R6	THW allow all women, and women only, to bear arms.
R5	THB Bradley Manning should be pardoned if he is convicted of "communigating, transmitting and delivering national defence information to an unauthorised source".
R4	THB social disgust is a sufficient justification for censoring art.
R3	THW offer increased aid to the developing world countries that encourage and accept large influxes of immigrants.
R2	THB schools should prioritise authority of the teacher over enjoyment of the pupil.
R1	THB the EU should pursue new member states by removing all non-economic membership conditions, including political system and global location.
2009 Newcastle
GF	THW abolish all limits on immigration.
GF ESL	THW remove all legal barriers to the genetic enhancement of humans.
SF	THB desecration of religious sites is a legitimate tactic of warfare.
SF ESL	THB countries where assisted suicide is illegal should prosecute those who assist others that travel abroad to receive euthanasia.
QF	THW allow political parties to designate certain pre-election claims as binding promises, the breaking of which would trigger immediate fresh elections.
QF ESL	THW allow the police to physically discipline children below the age of criminal responsibility.
R7	THW allow doctors actively lie to their patients in order to create or increase a placebo effect.
R6	THB custody hearings should not take a child's biological parentage into account.
R5	THB western liberal Countries have a moral duty to spread democracy across the world using force where necessary.
R4	THB the gay rights movement should oppose gay marriage.
R3	THW grant citizenship to illegal immigrants who report on work-place exploitation.
R2	THW use the education system to instil moral norms in children beyond mere obedience to the law.
R1	THW allow the police to use entrapment.
2008 Tallinn
GF	THW ban the display of Nazi and Soviet symbols.
GF ESL	THW allow soldiers to opt out of individual conflict for personal reasons.
SF	THW abolish income tax.
SF ESL	THB the European Union should declare that energy security is a legitimate reason for military action.
QF	THW ban the broadcast of recordings produced by terrorists.
QF ESL	THW require all schools to teach safe sex to children from age 10 regardless of parental consent.
R7	THW pay morbidly obese people to lose weight.
R6	THB developed countries should not accept skilled migrants from developing countries.
R5	THW ban the physical punishment of children by parents.
R4	THW make fines relative to wealth.
R3	THW use military force where necessary to deliver emergency aid.
R2	THB sporting bodies should penalise teams when their players commit criminal acts off the field.
R1	THW require people to work in return for welfare payments.
2007 Koc
GF	THB the state should publish deliberate mistruths during times of war.
GF ESL	THW withdraw the right to veto the accession of new members to the EU.
SF	THW grant the state the exclusive right to make decisions on behalf of the mentally ill.
SF ESL	THB the state should not fund any fertility treatments.
QF	THW forcibly settle the Roma.
QF ESL	THW distribute development aid through religious organizations rather than the state.
R7	THW prosecute parents who take their children to another legal jurisdiction in order to carry out an act which is illegal in their home country.
R6	THW introduce a time limit on bringing prosecutions for genocide.
R5	THW require prescription for the “morning-after-pill”.
R4	THB Turkey should invade Northern Iraq to fight Kurdish terrorist organisations.
R3	THB democracy is a necessary condition for economic growth and stability (ANALYSIS).
R2	THB the state should prohibit all items of clothing which cover the face.
R1	THW take lifestyle choices into account in the allocation of scarce medical resources.
2006 Berlin
GF	THW allow companies to refuse to hire smokers.
GF ESL	THW destroy the artifacts of fallen oppressive regimes.
SF	THW grant an automatic right of asylum to women trafficked for prostitution.
SF ESL	THW allow insurance companies to consider the results of genetic tests in asessing potential customers.
QF	THW take cult members into psychiatric care.
R6	THW remove the right to refuse medically necessary treatments.
R5	THW ban all religious involvement in schools.
R4	THW ban the use of evidence acquired from countries which practice torture.
R3	THB governments should block the foreign takeover of important companies.
R2	THB gender reassignment surgery should be included in state funded medical care.
R1	THW abolish the international criminal court.
2005 Cork
GF	TTHW allow the use of racial profiling by police forces.
GF ESL	TTHW make failure to render reasonable assistance to a person in distress a criminal offence.
SF	TTHW withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning the sale of land mines.
SF ESL	TTHW remove the Arms Embargo on China.
QF	TTHW condemn companies that seek to avoid first world regulations on human drug testing by conducting their trials in the developing world.
R6	TTHB the state should assist healthy people commit suicide.
R5	TTHW grant immunity from prosecution to dictators who step down.
R4	TTHW prosecute the perpetrators of domestic violence without the consent of the victim.
R3	TTHB popular referenda should not be used to ratify the EU constitution.
R2	TTHW support the right of Chechnya to secede.
R1	TTHW make the post-mortem donation of organs compulsory without exception.
2004 Durham
GF	THB elected politicians should not be allowed to own media companies.
GF ESL	THW ban international adoption.
SF	THB a foetus harmed in a criminal attack on its mother should be considered a victim of crime in its own right.
SF ESL	THB junk food companies should not be allowed to sponsor sporting events.
QF	TH supports compulsory HIV testing for immigrants.
Prelims	THB any EU Constitution should contain reference to Europe's Christian heritage.
Prelims	THW ban the production for road use of cars capable of driving over 160kph/100mph.
Prelims	THB post-war reconstruction contracts should be restricted to companies from countries which supported the war.
Prelims	THW legalise consensual cannibalism.
Prelims	THW not allow embedded journalists attached to military units in warzones.
Prelims	THB governments should insist that the software they use is open-source.
Prelims	THB the military targeting of any place of worship is a crime against humanity.
2003 Zagreb
GF	THW hold parents legally responsible for the criminal actions of their children.
GF ESL	THW make smokers pay for their own medical expenses.
SF	THB the minority religious practices should be exempt from the national laws.
SF ESL	THW close its doors to the immigrants.
QF	THW reform the UN Security Council.
R6	THB parents have the right to choose the sex of their children.
R5	TH supports compulsory drug testing in the workplace.
R4	THB the state should tax the graduates to cover the costs of their education.
R3	THB the EU should start immediate accession talks with Turkey.
R2	THB the cost of space exploration is not worth it.
R1	THB the USA is right to tie its foreign aid to the support in war against terrorism.
2002 Haifa
GF	THW ban the advertisement of gambling.
GF ESL	THW give Europe its own constitution.
SF	THW hold the accountants accountable.
SF ESL	THW guarantee the amnesty of retired dictators.
QF	THW prefer castration to incarceration for sexual offenders.
R6	THB religious education is brainwashing kids.
R5	THB the European Union should ban bullfighting.
R4	THW clone Britney Spears.
R3	THW deny liver transplants to alcoholics.
R2	THB women should have equal rights and equal obligations in the Army.
R1	THB referenda are the way forward for European democracy.
2001 Ljubljana
GF	THW clone human beings.
GF ESL	THB capitalism is in crisis.
SF	THW put Slobodan Milosevic on trial in the Hague.
SF ESL	TH fears for the little countries in Europe.
QF	THB NATO has had its day.
R6	THB Rome should look beyond its own walls for a new Pope.
R5	THB asylum seekers should seek refuge in the first safe country that they reach.
R4	THW end farming subsidies in the European Union.
R3	THW put a brake on Albania.
R2	THB sporting events are for the people not media moghuls.
R1	THW make organ donation compulsory.
2000 Aberdeen
GF	THB the problems of Africa are of European origin.
GF ESL
SF
SF ESL
QF
QF ESL
Prelims
1999 Rotterdam
GF	THB in Zero Tolerance.
GF ESL	THB in a common language.
SF	THW subsidise the farmers.
QF	THB diplomacy is the only solution.
R7	THW go Dutch.
R6	THB in positive discrimination.
R5	THB the end is near.
R4	THB size does matter.
R3	THB in cheap Labour.
R2	TH favours unity.
R1	THW put environment before economics.
Abbreviations: GF: Grand Final, SF: Semi Finals, QF: Quarter Finals, ESL: English as a Second Language Competition