Council of Nations - General Council

[New Roma Republic]

Logus sighed: "My fellow delegates, what is the point of this council? Are we a hawkish organization that intervenes everywhere, or a complacent organization like the League of Nations? Do we have the power to intervene? Who's troops will be sent? When do we leave? Does the nation or rebels want help? These should all be considered before we talk about intervening in civil wars."

[Tectonix]

"Ambassador Logus, you are defining two extremes that I do not foresee this Council going towards. Now, I lean towards the side of interventions, since complaceny only breeds ineptitude and irrelevance. To answer your question under my personal beliefs: We have the power to intervene; plans for member nations to supply as small force and combine that into the Peacekeeping Command under the command of the SACP; when the conflict is resolved to a point that stability is or will be achieved in the imminent future; they most likely will."

[Novorossitov]

"I slightly disagree with the last quote. East Asia by the western definition isn't 'truly' democratic. We say that we have an all inclusive system that allows every worker's voice to be heard, but some will disagree with us. If the defending nation is 'undemocratic', we always have to look at the other. There are reasonably benevolent 'undemocratic' nations."

"Then I guess we will have to take that into account when choosing sides, but let's not forget much of the world is radical, so at this point such a nation is rare."

[New Roma Republic]

"Mr. President, my nation, in it's long history, has been on both sides of that equation. That is why I bring this up."

[Kihdis]

Mouzla stood up to respond to Morel.

"Mr. Morel, with all due respect, I believe that it is in the place of this organisation to protect human welfare in every situation. The Directory will be an elite council responsible for executing our peacekeeping missions, and we should have faith that they can competently perform their duties. So yes, I do support intervention in non-members. Regardless, there are safeguards. The General Assembly must always vote to approve peacekeeping missions, so if you disagree with an intervention, argue against it when it comes. But I maintain that we should reserve the right to intervene in any situation where human welfare is gravely threatened. Thank you."

He sighed, and sat down.

[Tectonix]

President Maxwell clears his throat before saying into the microphone, "Order. I hereby move to take from the table the Charter of the Council of Nations, seeing its completion, and move to a period of debate."

Charter of the Council of Nations
Author: President of the Assembly Alexander J. Maxwell (Tectonix)

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A Charter to define the entirety of the Council of Nations.

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Charter of the Council of Nations
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WE the sovereign states of the Council of Nations do affirm our commitment to the principles of Democracy, Equality and Liberty, Assert our desire to see an International Body of Diplomats to make decisions that are of the benefit of all Member Nations, Relinquish the bonds of bygone eras’ Authoritarian and Autocratic ideals, Confirm our unwavering Allegiance to all Nations in need, and Declare thee the Charter of the Council of Nations.

***

Article One – The Executive Board of the Council of Nations shall consist of a Secretary-General, President of the Assembly, International Rapporteur, Intervention Secretary, Attorney General and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers. The Executive Board shall serve as the leadership of the Council of Nations, with its positions being voted upon in intervals decided upon by the Council of Nations Chamber.
(1)The Secretary-General shall oversee all Active Sessions, meetings, and otherwise any congregation of the Council. As a generality, the Secretary-General is granted the functions seen fit and democratically decided upon by the present committee. They will also provide meaningful input on the day-to-day occurrences within the Council of Nations, as well as deliver an annual speech to the Member Nations’ present ambassadors and diplomats on the current state of the Council and how it will continue to evolve and grow.
The President of the Assembly serves as the Presiding Officer in all active sessions of the Council of Nations General Council; they reserve the right to propose legislations, bring forth proposed bills to a vote so long as they have been seconded, table bills so long as it is in the best interest of the Chamber and to remove members of the Chamber if they prove to be disorderly. They are overall required to maintain proper procedure in the General Council, as well as to inform the General Council of any information acquired by the Intervention Secretary.
(2)The International Rapporteur shall sit in on all Council of Nations Chamber Active Sessions, and produce detailed reports of the Session’s occurrences, including what legislations were proposed, tabled, voted upon, passed, etc. The International Rapporteur shall also give press conferences regarding the internal and external activities that are in some way tied to the Council of Nations; these press conferences shall forever remain unregulated in the pursuit of free speech and freedom of information. The International Rapporteur shall head the Council's Media Committee.
(3)The Intervention Secretary shall be in charge of visiting and surveying nations that have been deemed by the Council that may be in imminent need of diplomatic and/or militaristic intervention. The Secretary shall create a report regarding their judgement of the region, and submit it to the Secretary-General, President of the Assembly and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers so they may take appropriate action.
(4)The Attorney General shall be the head of the Council's Justice Committee, and is endowed with the right to prosecute member nations for actions they deem to be in violation of General Council Resolutions, as well as human rights and the rules of engagement in times of conflict. The Attorney General also reserves the right to prosecute non-member foreign nations, so all as they adhere to the advice and consent of the General Council.
(5)The Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers shall be the commander-in-chief of the Council's Peacekeeping Command, and will perform all functions requisite of a commander-in-chief of a militaristic organisation seen fit by the General Council.

Article Two – The General Council of the Council of Nations shall consist of Ambassadors from every Member Nation of the Council of Nations, and will vote individually on proposed bills and resolutions. The General Council is seen as the central legislative governing body of the Council of Nations, and all other Councils are to be subordinate to it. The General Council reserves the right to pass legislations by a simple majority, intervene in foreign affairs by a simple majority and intervene in foreign conflicts by a two-thirds majority. The President of the Assembly is the Presiding Officer or Chair of the General Council, and serves to maintain order and set the agenda.

Article Three – The Peacekeepers' Directory of the Council of Nations shall be the militaristic governing body of the Council of Nations, and serves as the administration for the Peacekeeping Command (see Article Four). The Intervention Secretary and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers shall be co-Head Administrators of the Peacekeepers' Directory, which is charged with proposing military action regarding the Peacekeeping Command to the General Council, which, by a 2/3rds majority vote, may approve it. Any military actions proposed by the Peacekeepers' Directory shall require the advice and consent of the Secretary-General.

Article Four – The Peacekeeping Command of the Council of Nations shall serve as the militaristic body of the Council of Nations, and will consist of military soldiers and officers provided by the Member Nations of the Council of Nations to maintain the peace and intervene in domestic and foreign conflicts. The commander-in-chief of the Peacekeeping Command is the Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers.

[Kihdis]

Mouzla stood up again to respond to Maxwell and Morel.

"Chairman Maxwell, I believe that an amendment should be made to article two. As I suggested earlier, I believe that the Directory's members should be elected from the General Council, and that it is responsible for military action. It only comes to the Council with propositions, which we can deny or approve by a simple majority. I believe giving the General Council the authority to declare foreign intervention grants an unreasonable concentration of power to the Council. It should remain supreme, yes, but it should not have authority over the military."

He sighed, and turned over to Morel.

"Mr. Morel, I respectfully disagree with you. Our organisation does not have interests, because we are not a for-profit council. Our goal is to protect human rights, in every situation. Thus, supporting these rights in and out of our council is an imperative."

[Kihdis]

"Yes - building off of his idea, perhaps the thirteen members of the Directory should be required to assent to them being the only nations who will be mandated to contribute troops and manpower to the peacekeeping missions. That way, we can avoid conflicts of interest between nations who do and do not want to contribute troops. Everyone elected to the Directory must contribute, but normal members do not have to."

[Tectonix]

"Yes - building off of his idea, perhaps the thirteen members of the Directory should be required to assent to them being the only nations who will be mandated to contribute troops and manpower to the peacekeeping missions. That way, we can avoid conflicts of interest between nations who do and do not want to contribute troops. Everyone elected to the Directory must contribute, but normal members do not have to."

"Ambassador, nowhere in the Charter is 'thirteen members' mentioned. It only makes sense for all Member Nations to pitch in and contribute; after all, they share an obligation to adhere to their duty as as Member Nation of the Council and support it however necessary. I will compromise, so as to allow Member Nations to restrict their contribution to unusually low numbers as deemed by the General Council if said Nation is incapable of providing troops due to internal strife, conflict or inadequate funds."

Morel gasped at the Charter. He saw many problems with it. He spoke up to state his objections. He said, "There are some problems with the Charter. First, all references to democracy should be removed. Greater France is not a democratic nation nor do we plan to become one. We are authoritarian and autocratic. We reject the ideals of the French Revolution. Secondly, the Attorney General should not have the right to prosecute non-member nations. That is a blatant violation of national sovereignty. Why should nations that are not part of this alliance be subject to our demands? Lastly, there should be an option for member states to not contribute to peacekeeping operations. We are a neutral nation that does not want to get involved in the problems of other countries. I suggest that the Charter be rewritten to reflect the interests of the world as a whole."

Scoffing, the President rebukes, "I refuse to remove mentions of democracy nor authoritarianism from the Charter, seeing as those are CoN core values. As for the Attorney-General, you forget that national sovereignty is but a mere concept only usually enforced by norms, and the ability to prosecute nations for acts thy have committed is actually quite common. Our 'demands' are enforcements of human rights. Also, "neutral nation?' 'Not wanting to get involved in the problems of other countries?' Why, Ambassador, I believe you may need to reconsider your membership status in the Council of Nations if that is your desire."

Mouzla stood up again to respond to Maxwell and Morel.

"Chairman Maxwell, I believe that an amendment should be made to article two. As I suggested earlier, I believe that the Directory's members should be elected from the General Council, and that it is responsible for military action. It only comes to the Council with propositions, which we can deny or approve by a simple majority. I believe giving the General Council the authority to declare foreign intervention grants an unreasonable concentration of power to the Council. It should remain supreme, yes, but it should not have authority over the military."

He sighed, and turned over to Morel.

"Mr. Morel, I respectfully disagree with you. Our organisation does not have interests, because we are not a for-profit council. Our goal is to protect human rights, in every situation. Thus, supporting these rights in and out of our council is an imperative."

"Your amendment is granted, Ambassador Mouzla."

[Tectonix]

"As a reminder of procedure, please say use procedural 'points,' such as 'point of order,' 'point of personal privilege,' etc. Points of amendment are required for said amendment to divide the chamber, also known as brought to a vote."

[Kihdis]

Ambassador Mouzla fetched his placard and rose it.

"Point of inquiry, chairman."

"What is the current version of the Charter, with my recent amendment on it?"

[Tectonix]

President Maxwell, raising his head from the charter, says, "Point well taken, Ambassador Mouzla. This is the current version of the bill:"

Charter of the Council of Nations
Author: President of the Assembly Alexander J. Maxwell (Tectonix)

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A Charter to define the entirety of the Council of Nations.

---

---

Charter of the Council of Nations
---
WE the sovereign states of the Council of Nations do affirm our commitment to the principles of Democracy, Equality and Liberty, Assert our desire to see an International Body of Diplomats to make decisions that are of the benefit of all Member Nations, Relinquish the bonds of bygone eras’ Authoritarian and Autocratic ideals, Confirm our unwavering Allegiance to all Nations in need, and Declare thee the Charter of the Council of Nations.

***

Article One – The Executive Board of the Council of Nations shall consist of a Secretary-General, President of the Assembly, International Rapporteur, Intervention Secretary, Attorney General and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers. The Executive Board shall serve as the leadership of the Council of Nations, with its positions being voted upon in intervals decided upon by the Council of Nations Chamber.
(1)The Secretary-General shall oversee all Active Sessions, meetings, and otherwise any congregation of the Council. As a generality, the Secretary-General is granted the functions seen fit and democratically decided upon by the present committee. They will also provide meaningful input on the day-to-day occurrences within the Council of Nations, as well as deliver an annual speech to the Member Nations’ present ambassadors and diplomats on the current state of the Council and how it will continue to evolve and grow.
The President of the Assembly serves as the Presiding Officer in all active sessions of the Council of Nations General Council; they reserve the right to propose legislations, bring forth proposed bills to a vote so long as they have been seconded, table bills so long as it is in the best interest of the Chamber and to remove members of the Chamber if they prove to be disorderly. They are overall required to maintain proper procedure in the General Council, as well as to inform the General Council of any information acquired by the Intervention Secretary.
(2)The International Rapporteur shall sit in on all Council of Nations Chamber Active Sessions, and produce detailed reports of the Session’s occurrences, including what legislations were proposed, tabled, voted upon, passed, etc. The International Rapporteur shall also give press conferences regarding the internal and external activities that are in some way tied to the Council of Nations; these press conferences shall forever remain unregulated in the pursuit of free speech and freedom of information. The International Rapporteur shall head the Council's Media Committee.
(3)The Intervention Secretary shall be in charge of visiting and surveying nations that have been deemed by the Council that may be in imminent need of diplomatic and/or militaristic intervention. The Secretary shall create a report regarding their judgement of the region, and submit it to the Secretary-General, President of the Assembly and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers so they may take appropriate action.
(4)The Attorney General shall be the head of the Council's Justice Committee, and is endowed with the right to prosecute member nations for actions they deem to be in violation of General Council Resolutions, as well as human rights and the rules of engagement in times of conflict. The Attorney General also reserves the right to prosecute non-member foreign nations, so all as they adhere to the advice and consent of the General Council.
(5)The Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers shall be the commander-in-chief of the Council's Peacekeeping Command, and will perform all functions requisite of a commander-in-chief of a militaristic organisation seen fit by the General Council.

Article Two – The General Council of the Council of Nations shall consist of Ambassadors from every Member Nation of the Council of Nations, and will vote individually on proposed bills and resolutions. The General Council is seen as the central legislative governing body of the Council of Nations, and all other Councils are to be subordinate to it. The General Council reserves the right to pass legislations by a simple majority, intervene in foreign affairs by a simple majority and intervene in foreign conflicts by a two-thirds majority. The President of the Assembly is the Presiding Officer or Chair of the General Council, and serves to maintain order and set the agenda. The General Council shall, by majority vote, appoint the members of the Peacekeepers' Directory (See Article Three) and retains the right to an impeachment trial of Peacekeepers' Directory members by majority vote, and the verdict be decided by 2/3rds vote.

Article Three – The Peacekeepers' Directory of the Council of Nations shall be the militaristic governing body of the Council of Nations, and serves as the administration for the Peacekeeping Command (see Article Four). The Intervention Secretary and Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers shall be co-Head Administrators of the Peacekeepers' Directory, which is charged with proposing military action regarding the Peacekeeping Command to the General Council, which, by a 2/3rds majority vote, may approve it. Any military actions proposed by the Peacekeepers' Directory shall require the advice and consent of the Secretary-General.

Article Four – The Peacekeeping Command of the Council of Nations shall serve as the militaristic body of the Council of Nations, and will consist of military soldiers and officers provided by the Member Nations of the Council of Nations to maintain the peace and intervene in domestic and foreign conflicts. The commander-in-chief of the Peacekeeping Command is the Supreme Allied Commander of the Peacekeepers.

"I wanted to state that the General Council is the most representative aspect of the Council of Nations, and handing over militaristic declarative powers to a smaller organisation, however overseen by the General Council, is a bit promiscuous and I wouldn't give so much power to one entity."

[Kihdis]

After sitting quietly and writing on his pad of paper, Mouzla raises his placard again.

"Chairman, I would like to introduce a motion."

"Motion to enter into a General Debate on the topic of this Charter, so that each member may freely speak on the topic of amending and passing a charter by simply raising their placard."

[Tectonix]

"Ambassador Mouzla, that is the session we are currently in. Your motion is denied for the reason that its effects are already occurring."

[Kihdis]

"My apologies, Chairman Maxwell."

"In any case, I would like to propose a number of amendments to the charter currently on the screen. I've clarified a few points in the opening, and defined clearly the responsibilities of each council."

He walks up to the front desk of the room, and hands over his piece of paper, which reads:

Charter of the Council of Nations

Sponsors: President Maxwell of the Assembly, Ambassador Mouzla of Kihdis

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A Charter to define the entirety of the Council of Nations.

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WE the sovereign states of the Council of Nations do affirm our commitment to the principles of Democracy, Equality and Liberty, Assert our desire to see an International Body of Diplomats to make decisions that are of the benefit of all Member Nations, Relinquish the bonds of bygone eras’ Authoritarian and Autocratic ideals, Confirm our unwavering Allegiance to all Nations in need, and Declare thee the Charter of the Council of Nations.

Article I - Governance of the Council of Nations
Section I - The Legislative Body of the Council

1. Hereby establishes the General Council as the unified legislative body of the Council of Nations;
2. Grants membership and full voting and speaking rights to every member nation;
3. Declares the supremacy of the General Council over the other bodies of the Council of Nations;
4. Grants the General Council the following functions:
   
   1. To deliberate, pass, and enforce legislation by a simple majority;
   2. To elect the members of the Court of Justice by a simple majority;
   3. To elect the members of the Military Directory by a simple majority;
   4. To recommend action to the Military Directory of the Council of Nations by a simple majority;
   5. To approve and deny independent decisions reached by the Military Directory by a simple majority;
   6. To move to impeach and/or remove members from other subordinate councils by a simple majority through recommendation to the Court of Justice;
5. Declares the President of the Assembly as the Presiding Officer/Chairperson of the General Council;
6. Grants the President the responsibilities of maintaining order during conventions and setting agendas for discussion in the General Council.

Section II - The Military Directory of the Council of Nations

1. Hereby establishes the Military Directory as the militant body of the Council of Nations;
2. Declares that the Directory shall only have fifteen sitting members, elected by the General Council;
3. Establishes term limits of three years on every member of the Directory;
4. Grants the Military Directory the following functions:
   
   1. To plan, distribute funding for, and execute mobilisation of the Peacekeeping forces by a simple majority vote;
   2. To ensure the safety of the Peacekeeping forces;
   3. To ensure that the Peacekeeping forces adhere to the laws of war;
   4. To deny a recommendation from the General Council by a two-thirds majority vote;
   5. To oversee administrative activities of the Peacekeeping Command.
5. Declares the Chief Director to be the administrative head of the Military Directory;
6. Grants the Chief Director the responsibilities of maintaining order during conventions, setting agendas for discussion, and introducing actions to the General Council;
7. Assures the supremacy of the Military Directory over the Peacekeeping Command.

Section III - Peacekeeping Command of the Council of Nations

1. Hereby establishes the Peacekeeping Command as the administrative council of the Military Directory;
2. Mandates that the Command have soldiers and military equipment pledged from every member nation of the Council of Nations;
3. Grants the Peacekeeping Command the following abilities:
   
   1. To cooperate with the planning of the Military Directory;
   2. To ensure smooth execution of peacekeeping missions;
   3. To request additional pledges from member nations in the event of proven necessity;
4. Declares the Supreme Commander of the Peacekeepers to be the administrative head of the Peacekeeping Command;
5. Grants the Supreme Commander the responsibilities of ensuring pledges from member nations.

Section IV - Judicial Body of the Council of Nations

1. Hereby establishes the Court of Justice of the Council of Nations;
2. Declares that the Court shall only have twenty-one sitting members, elected by the General Council;
3. Declares a term limit of seven years for each elected justice;
4. Grants the Court the following abilities:
   
   1. To interpret the resolutions passed by the General Council;
   2. To determine the legality of the actions of Peacekeeping forces;
   3. To determine the punishment for selected violations of resolutions;
   4. To determine the legitimacy of recommendations from the General Council by a simple majority vote;
   5. To expel members of other councils if they are found to be in violation of international law.
5. Declares the Attorney General to be the administrative head of the Court of Justice;
6. Grants the Attorney General the responsibilities of maintaining order during conventions, setting agendas for discussion, and reporting Court decisions to the General Council.

"Chairman, that is all I have put at this point. If my version is accepted, I plan to continue with outlining the other executive members of the Council in the next section."

[Tectonix]

"Ambassador, I see no obvious issues with this proposal, though I will allow the others of the Chamber to voice their opinions before I make I verdict."

[Matta]

Jensen voiced his opinion "I fully support the motion for these new amendments."

[Tectonix]

"Seeing as there is no opposition to the bill, I move to call the previous question."

Code: Select all

[box][align=center][b][u]Ballot for CoN Resolution {Charter of the Council of Nations}[/u][/b]

YEA [ ]
NAY [ ]
ABSTAIN [ ][/align][/box]

[Tectonix]

Ballot for CoN Resolution {Charter of the Council of Nations}

YEA [X]
NAY [ ]
ABSTAIN [ ]

[Matta]

Ballot for CoN Resolution {Charter of the Council of Nations}

YEA [ ]
NAY [X ]
ABSTAIN [ ]

I have come to realize I do not see anything preventing members to hold multiple offices, I find this to be a problem, I believe they should only be limited to one office at a time.

[Kihdis]

Ballot for CoN Resolution {Charter of the Council of Nations}

YEA [x]
NAY [ ]
ABSTAIN [ ]

"Ambassador of Matta, you may present a friendly amendment to the Charter after this vote is over."

[Matta]

"Why wait to fix a serious problem? Is it not better to stop something like this now, rather than just push this to pass and someone take advantage of a problem. Personally waiting is an extremely dumb move to take. I urge the council to fix this problem now, instead of waiting and someone quickly take advantage. Saying just to fix it afterwards, seems to just be an attitude of impatience, not wanting to wait longer for a Constitution."

[Tectonix]

"ORDER - Ambassador of Matta, you are out of order for speaking during the voting period. If you wish to amend the Charter, please wait until the conclusion of the voting period, and then formally initiate an amendment motion."

[Matta]

"ORDER - Ambassador of Matta, you are out of order for speaking during the voting period. If you wish to amend the Charter, please wait until the conclusion of the voting period, and then formally initiate an amendment motion."

"Pardon me, I was simply giving my reason for saying nay. I am not demanding an amend now, I am simply suggesting a Nay vote, so we can fix it. Apologies for the obvious confusion of my intentions."

[Novorossitov]

Ballot for CoN Resolution {Charter of the Council of Nations}

YEA [X]
NAY [ ]
ABSTAIN [ ]