International Union of Equality and Freedom (IC)

[Crystal Spires]

"Likewise, before I got here I was reviewing a very precarious situation that is unfolding with the Expulsion of Muslims in the Christian Kingdom of Montenegro, also the rise from the ashes of the Alliance Aganist Ponyist States returning from the ashes and intending to forward the protection of genocidal practices of nation states. It's a rather precarious situation. I find myself at a loss." Maven said as he shut his dossiers. "There's also rise of prejudice within the Coalition of Ponyist States against the Sapient Seaponies and it is possible that they will not protect them as we do."

[Aravea]

President Nagase cleared her throat and speaks "Chancellor, would it be possible for us to evacuate nonhumans to IUEF countries? If this could be done Aravea would be glad to take in refugees."

[Crystal Spires]

"We intend to do so, but we much locate these countries for which the refugee influx is arising from. We intend to move and protect the rights of non-humans throughout, but we must first find troubled nations and regions and move in for the rescue operations. We have so far had great success with this method. In the meantime it is my advice that you keep your eyes peeled for possible anti-nonhuman nations and keep a close eye. There has been a few attempts at purging non-human races, and some direct calls for massively state sanctioned murder." Maven said as he shook his head with anger.

[Grossprussia]

The Democratic People's Republic of Grossprussia is curious about the rather vague phrase "Right of Customs". That could theoretically protect such things as "honor killings" and human sacrifice. We think that your organization needs to use more precise language. One can sometimes take multi-culturalism a bit too far.

Dr. Hans Drucker, Minister of Foreign Affairs

[Crystal Spires]

The Democratic People's Republic of Grossprussia is curious about the rather vague phrase "Right of Customs". That could theoretically protect such things as "honor killings" and human sacrifice. We think that your organization needs to use more precise language. One can sometimes take multi-culturalism a bit too far.

, Minister of Foreign Affairs

To: the Nation of Grossprussia,

From:The Beastling States of Crystal Spires

Encryption Level:None
Code: None

---

Dr. Hans Drucker,

You have posed a fantastic question, and I will try to answer this question as clearly as I am able. My personal stand is that we are justified to judge cultures by their own merits, and even are compelled to INTERVENE if the life or dignity of a sentient being is infringed upon for whatever reasoning, and this right takes precedent over custom. This is the flow of my reasoning:

Even if people live in different frames of reality and cultural relativism is factual, there is a common binding factor that makes us all sapient which is our common desire to pursue happiness, and to avoid suffering and dissatisfaction. there must be mutual respect first in this understanding and inflicting of suffering upon another sentient being done in greed, hatred, or ignorance is what arouses anger in us, and when we see life and dignity of a sentient being infringed upon we are compelled to act.

When we observe and practice customs, a primary drive to sentient beings in an organized society which hurts certain members of that society is to keep an understanding of two important ideas which come into conflict: humane concerns versus cultural relativity. I would say that the former trumps the latter, because the whole point of being culturally sensitive stemmed from concerns about being humane in the first place. It was precisely to AVOID oppression disguised as culture. While is it certainly true that we don't want to become judgmental or attack people because of customs, we must also be careful to remember we are to be humane first and foremost.

Of course there are many grey areas, such as "Who can determine conditions to activate any intervention/judgment?" and "What are those conditions?" and this is where we become key players, debates will arise as to when to act and when not to act, and our legitimacy of acting as moral arbiters may come into question, but we have to remember that this is a quorum that promotes freedom and Equality, and if a custom is oppressive it is counter to our Raison d'être, and thus not protected.

I hope this clears that up,

[Adun]

*tagged*

[Elyomia]

Crown Prince William was jet-lagged and tired. Nonetheless, he was used to this. His plane touched down in Crystal Spires earlier in the day, and even though he was on an important diplomatic mission, reports and replies to letters still needed to be done. Being the Crown Prince of Elyomia wasn't all glitz and glamour, as many people believed.

Before entering the Committee Board Room, he adjusted his royal sash and medallions, and took a few seconds to comprehend the size of the palace. 'Sweet Jesus, it's amazing.' He was twirling around like a kid in a candy store. His personal aide, however, wasn't too impressed. 'Your Highness, we have to go in there. We're already late.' He adjusted his watch to give a stern warning to the Crown Prince. 'Fine, let's go.' Crown Prince William took his laptop from the aide, as well as a leather portfolio, and entered the Committee Board Room.

'Good day, fellow delegates. I am Crown Prince William Bah'oyl Umij, representative of Elyomia. His Excellency the President sends his apologies as he is participating in a major civil defence conference. I also apologise for my lateness.' He nodded towards the delegates, walked confidently to his seat at the table and sat down. His aides followed quickly followed behind him.

[Crystal Spires]

"Aah, no apologies needed, I am honored to welcome you. My name is High Chancellor Maven Auryn, and we've only just begun the discussions regarding threats to equality and freedom, and improvements to the world theater. It is easy to say that there's already an improvement in the global theater with elections in countries like Hippostania who have banned and even executed people for their political opinions in the past. We of Crystal Spires are glad to say that we support the Hippostanian Unity Party and hope that the ban on minority parties is lifted which will occur if the Hippostanian Unity Party gains merely one seat, and international support for the party is overwhelming. This is to me, great news." Maven said as he shook Prince William Bah'oyl Umij's hand and gave him his bag of candies. "At the moment we of the International Union of Equality and Freedom must discuss nations and places that we believe are a threat to Freedom and Equality everywhere."

[Elyomia]

'Thankyou, High Chancellor.' Crown Prince William took his candies and ate one quickly. With it still in his mouth, he continued. 'Hmm, Hippostania. I've heard much about it. This ban on leftist parties, though, is alarming.' He opened his portfolio and looked over a letter, addressed from the President. 'The President also supports the Unity Party. However, he seems to be worried about what this organisation will do about it. He says that military intervention is a last step, and with the strength of diplomacy, we can negotiate around it.' Crown Prince William put the letter back into the portfolio and continued on. 'I agree with him. We need to unite and give an incredibly clear and strong message that we do not like what they are doing to their people. The problem is, unlike what the President said, diplomacy isn't completely effective, and I'm sure that the majority of us here don't want to participate in any war or invasion. We need to sound determined, yet we must know our boundaries. So how do we think we should go about this?'

[Crystal Spires]

"Truthfully, there is little other than voicing our moral support until the elections are over. When the elections are over if no seats are claimed by communists then the ban will remain in place and we can be certain that communists will continue to face all sorts of discrimination which will mean more harsh jail time and even executions in some cases. Hippostania is well known for being unyielding, but perhaps if we could get past the Parliamentary Chancellor and speak to the High Chancellor we would be able to make some progress, but the High Chancellor is Laissez faire with regards to all politics and is hardly ever a participant at all." Maven said as he sifted through his papers, "Denial of freedom of assembly, association, free speech, and freedom of the press. Those are many things that Hippostania has violated along with Habeas Corpus and due process, but that is a wholly different story, and would be measuring them by Spirean standards as we have a strict system of rights and responsibilities that Hippostania does not."

[Elyomia]

'Ah, yes, I understand. Do we know how we can get past the Parliamentary Chancellor and speak directly to the High Chancellor, though? Is the Parliamentary Chancellor hard to sway or get past?'

[Crystal Spires]

"The Parliamentary Chancellor is the one who truly exercises most of the governmental decisions, but the High Chancellor is the one who ultimately has the most power in Hippostania, but Toffee does not participate in government. Perhaps if we were to appeal to High Chancellor Toffee, perhaps she will be more receptive to positive social change. I'm not certain, but as a Civil Servant and a man of peace, I believe most people can be appealed to with diplomacy because it is easier to appeal to calls for friendship and reach out to their better nature than use of force which takes away all sense of choice and it is ultimately coercive and an exercise of cruelty. It is my belief that force must be used sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Although we have tried to appeal to Parliamentary Chancellor Lyra in the past, our pleas fell on deaf ears and now it would not surprise me if Hippostania has decided that we of Crystal Spires are a threat to be eradicated. Instead with regards to Hippostania we can wait and hope for elections to change something, and for the people to decide, and if that fails try a new approach." Maven said as he put a tea bag in his hot water.

"We shall see what will come of it, but I hope force shall ever be our last resort. It is our deepest belief as Spireans that the purity of heart, mind, and spirit is represented by words, thoughts, and actions, and that every sentient being is responsible for their own words, thoughts, and actions. We are obligated by law not to willingly commit harm to another sentient being with greed, hatred, or ignorance as a motivation, and to become a High Chancellor I have to promise with my full heart that I have not acted in hatred, greed, and that I am aware of every consequence of my actions. This means that I am very deeply aware of the actions that I take and I must solemnly act in a way that minimizes harm to sentient beings, and never act in greed, hatred, ignorance. So before I even think of using force I have to know exactly what kind of force to use, what using force will mean to myself and others, and understand the full consequences of using force. I take every responsibility of using that force and it is put on my head. It's why being High Chancellor here is a deep responsibility taken solemnly and with great gravity."

[Elyomia]

'You are very well spoken, High Chancellor. It is quite impressive.' Crown Prince William took another candy from his gift bag. 'I can understand where you are coming from in regards to the, well, to put it bluntly stubbornness, of the Parliamentary Chancellor, and I applaud you for attempting to negotiate some form of freedom in Hippostania. However, Elyomia has no official contact with Hippostania, so it may be wise for us to act as a spokesperson, per se, to convey this organisations pleas and requests, after the election is finished. It's just a passing thought.' He checked his watch. 'Forgot to switch it over to Spirean time.' He chuckled, changed the time, and continued. 'I agree with you regarding your views on the use of force. It is a last resort in any situation, and it is shameful to us leaders to have innocent blood on our hands from those situations. Elyomia is committed to international peace, as you are. We believe diplomacy is the key to resolving any situation. However, we must remain vigilant. Being part of any organisation poses threats from the rest of the international community. I admire your views on remaining peaceful, but we must remain ready to take up arms and defend freedom, peace and democracy at any time. Yes, I know that bombing for peace is like screwing for virginity, but we still must show that we are ready.'

[Crystal Spires]

"Also beyond Hippostania for a moment, there's another nation of note known as the Earth Sphere Coalition. We of Crystal Spires have noted that they have taken it upon themselves to ban Communism and we of Crystal Spires are deeply concerned with how they are treating the Communist citizens in their borders and we fear that the situation may escalate. I am certain that there is something usual or perhaps something deeply egregious is occurring. We of Crystal Spires have taken it upon ourselves to enter the Coalition of Ponyist States and we intend to keep an eye on the Coalition's leadership, and upon investigation of the Earth Sphere Coalition we have uncovered the Earth Sphere Coalition and discovered that not only are they vehemently anti-communist, but they're insanely militaristic with no regard for the value of life. This means they do not care about the lives lost in battle. They would be willing to act in a belligerent manner and would declare war at the drop of a hat." Maven said as he put several sugar cubes in his tea. He clearly put too much but if anyone noticed it he didn't seem to mind. Maven is known to have a notorious sweet tooth.

[Elyomia]

'Ah, yes, the New Earth Sphere Coalition. We know them well. It is deplorable, what they are doing. We put ourselves forward to house any refugees that it wanted to get rid of, however it has not responded at all. We're incredibly concerned about it and it's actions, both politically and militarily. The New Earth Sphere Coalition as well as Hippostania are two, quite powerful and influential, nations that have chosen terrible actions. As with Hippostania, we must keep pressure on them diplomatically, however seeing that it is a very militaristic state, we have to keep our distance.' Crown Prince William got up out of his seat and poured himself a cup of coffee.

[Crystal Spires]

"Also stepping away from the anti-communists for a moment, we must also discuss the speciesist elements. At the moment the groups that are targeted the most are ponies, but it is strange that lately there has been no calls for their eradication lately by states or governments. This concerns us because we do know that they're still in great danger worldwide. Either there is less bans of ponyism and also of the sapient equines in question, or the murders have been pushed out of the public eye, done covertly under the eye of the law. It has also come to our attention that many socialist governments have taken it upon themselves to ban the religion of Ponyism, and one we suspect has taken nonhumans and performed experimentation₁ upon them. We do not have enough information to prove these claims yet but we suspect the Nation of New Freedomstan is committing illegal experimentation on nonhuman life forms and we have agreed to investigate them with Coalition of Ponyist State's help." Maven said as he sipped his tea and then put another sugar cube in.

1. Like Mengele meets animal experiementation

[Yorobia]

"Also stepping away from the anti-communists for a moment, we must also discuss the speciesist elements. At the moment the groups that are targeted the most are ponies, but it is strange that lately there has been no calls for their eradication lately by states or governments. This concerns us because we do know that they're still in great danger worldwide. Either there is less bans of ponyism and also of the sapient equines in question, or the murders have been pushed out of the public eye, done covertly under the eye of the law. It has also come to our attention that many socialist governments have taken it upon themselves to ban the religion of Ponyism, and one we suspect has taken nonhumans and performed experimentation₁ upon them. We do not have enough information to prove these claims yet but we suspect the Nation of New Freedomstan is committing illegal experimentation on nonhuman life forms and we have agreed to investigate them with Coalition of Ponyist State's help." Maven said as he sipped his tea and then put another sugar cube in.

1. Like Mengele meets animal experiementation

[Elyomia]

Crown Prince William nearly choked on his coffee. 'Jesus Christ. Elyomia has no ponies, as we are a completely human nation, but this is still disgusting. How far has this investigation gone? And, also, seeing as Hippostania is a member of the Coalition, how are you managing to go with them?'

[Crystal Spires]

"Hippostania and the Earth Sphere Coalition are in the Coalition of Ponyist States, and we of Crystal Spires have taken the risk of trusting that the others in the coalition will rally to our defense should we be attacked by Hippostania or the Earth Sphere Coalition, and we will approach this carefully. I'm a man of faith, and so I will have to trust that everything will be alright, and putting my life on the line, I will uncover the injustice and take whatever steps I can to save lives. Right now we need proof and that matters more than their desire to kill me and my countrymen. " Maven smiled nervously and sipped his tea.

I hope... I really hope so. Maven thought as he regained his composure.

[SHADOW Corporation]

Having been content to keep quite silent about inter-coalition affairs... Delas couldn’t help but wonder at this, was it really only ten years ago that such talk had brought fear to this country and its people? That even the mention of such threats was enough to propel nations to the brink of war and single handily managed to tear down a mighty alliance in the process? Truly things had changed…

With that, Delas turned away from the gathered group and managed to sip half heartedly from his now chilled cup of coffee. He was a pencil pusher now, a man who no longer had the backbone or physical health to lead his fellow countrymen onto the battlefield, but was now able to supply them with the weapons to slaughter themselves with, an enabler… Perhaps he could change that? “History may always repeat itself, but we will be the ones to change that.” He remarked dryly, turning his attention back to the gathered delegations, he spoke. “Forgive me for my arrogance, forgive me for ignorance… But this all seems incredibly hypocritical, the thought that a group such as the Coalition of Ponyist States would allow into their ranks a national entity that was even suspect of performing such atrocious acts in the first place I find almost comical. And the very idea that a coalition dedicated to the protection of Ponyist Species wouldn’t jump to the defence of an ally exposing such injustices defies all manners of logic.” Lying back in his chosen seat at this, Delas ended with one final remark “So call me sceptical of your claims…” and a sip of his coffee.

[Crystal Spires]

"Your skepticism is warranted, but I believe I have confused you perhaps allow me to elucidate a moment. We of the Coalition will be working together despite our immense differences, and New Freedomstan is not in the Coalition. We will investigate and prove it and then take action against them. It is my belief that the Coalition is behind me in this matter, but our situation with Hippostania and the Earth Sphere Coalition is deeply different. It is clear that they desire to see me out of the Coalition. This is no secret. Within the powers of the Coalition we are sworn to non-aggression, but this is very tentative. It's like two people holding pistols at one another. No one is even blinking afraid that closing one's eyes will leave an opening for the other to shoot. And to shoot and be shot would be certain death. To shoot would mean being let go from the umbrella of protection the Coalition of Ponyist states offers, and to be shot would mean someone would die." Maven said grimly, "But enough talk of such things! This is a time where we must discuss less about Spirean predicaments, and more of the necessary and equal protection of different species."

[SHADOW Corporation]

Opening his dossier at Maven’s suggestion of changing the subject. Delas realized the embossed wording that labeled his folder was quite wrong, ‘Coalition of Sovereign Nations’ it read. Flipping through its contents as casually as he could possibly mange, he realized each read ‘Almaniania, East Fancaninia, and Noders’ most apparently, the fact he’d been reviewing exactly the wrong dossier during his several hour long trip becoming apparent to him. “Huh…” He muttered, changing his tone at this and again speaking. “Well it appears I most embarrassingly have come prepared for exactly the wrong meeting… Um, terribly sorry for those last remarks. My mind is not exactly what it used to be…” Scratching the back of his neck at this, Delas continued. “But besides that obvious infraction on my part… What exactly do we intend to be discussing/setting into motion in relation to the plight of sentient non-humans? I very well understand there has always been much prejudice against them and their peoples in the international community. But how exactly would we endeavor to help them?”

[Crystal Spires]

"Ah well to begin with, we should begin by finding those nations who are not treating the nonhumans humanely and we first use diplomacy to negotiate them into the safety of our nations, and after then we give them proper mental and physical health treatments and care for them. If we are denied the citizens despite diplomacy, we may have to use military intervention. But we need to focus on not harming noncombatants." Maven said determinedly.

[Elyomia]

'Mm, yes.' Crown Prince William nodded his head as he took another sip of his coffee. 'As I said before, we must remain strong in our message to the international community, and we must also remain ready to receive any refugees. War or invasion is a last resort.'

[Crystal Spires]

Maven took his phone and read a message. "It has come to our attention that the nation of Hamenia which was suffering from racial tensions is now suffering from race riots which has lead to an uprising in their lands. The ponies have declared their independence on Hamenian soil and there's a lot said about Pony imperialism. It's important to now keep a watch on both the Hamenians who are concerned for their safety due to their small size, and also concern for the equines who may be attacked internationally in response to this situation. We are keeping a close eye and we will keep everyone informed. At the moment be alert everyone. Also we have word of an alliance being built called MAAPSand they intend to oppress Sapient equines and possibly commit acts of aggression against them."