Irminsul, Iluminaria - Lord Regent Harad ven Tarran signed into law Amendment #24 of the Iluminarian Human Rights Act this morning, formally establishing the Ministry of Freedom. Proposed by the Honorable Delegate Shaw Lehren of Angsrenden, Ysmaria Prefecture, Amendment #24 was passed near-unaminously, with the notable abstention from voting of the Iluminarian Minimalist Party, who oppose any additions to Iluminaria's already-large cabinet of Ministers.
The Ministry of Freedom is charged with safeguarding the rights of Iluminarians abroad and at home, and has as its founding principle the opposition of slavery in any form - a practice which has grown alarmingly throughout the world in recent years. The Minister of Freedom (yet to be appointed) will work with the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in attempting to find diplomatic solutions to slave trading states, with the Minister of Justice in prosecuting slave traders or their abettors operating in Iluminaria or its waters, and with the Enlightened Order of Guardians and the Iluminarian Police's Anti-Trafficking Bureau in rescuing any Iluminarians who may find themselves captured by slave-holding nations.
Amendment #24 decrees that any slave who enters Iluminaria or its waters shall be automatically granted asylum, and that any slavers entering Iluminaria or its waters will face arrest without bail pending trial, regardless of nationality or diplomatic status. Curiously, it does not address the ancient punishment for slave traders in the Hundredfold Kingdom, which was established over three hundred years ago and which has not yet been repealed. Should slavers ever be arrested in Iluminaria, the ethics of death by evisceration will have to be considered by the Cabinet and Parliament, as it will most likely run afoul of the Kingdom's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"This is a great day for justice, in Iluminaria and worldwide," Delegate Lehren told reporters, speaking on the steps of Parliament Hall. "For too long we've stood by while supposedly "modern", "developed" nations revived or condoned this despicable practice. Today we say - no more! Freedom is the right of every human being, and today we tell the world that we are willing to stand up for freedom!"
