Passed General Assembly Resolutions

[Imperium Anglorum]

Landfill Regulation Act [Struck out by GA 525]
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.

Category: Environmental
Industry Affected: All Businesses - Mild
Proposed by: Cretox State

Text: The World Assembly,

Understanding the importance of landfills in providing a cost-effective method for the disposal of non-compostable and non-recyclable solid waste,

Concerned by the potential environmental and health hazards of solid waste landfills, and

Wishing to provide a regulatory framework for the safe operation of solid waste landfills to mitigate such hazards, hereby:

1. Defines for the purposes of this resolution:
   1. a "solid waste landfill" (SWL) as a location that receives nonhazardous solid waste for the purposes of long-term or permanent storage; and
   2. "leachate" as any liquid containing chemicals or particles originating from the solid waste stored in a SWL;
2. Prohibits the construction of SWLs in ecologically important areas or areas where their normal operations would cause significant danger to the wellbeing of nearby permanent residents;
3. Forbids the long-term storage of nonhazardous solid waste in a manner or a location where it can pose a significant threat to the surrounding environment or groundwater;
4. Requires that all SWLs:
   1. include effective physical barriers designed to protect the surrounding environment and groundwater from waste contained in them and leachate originating from them;
   2. include effective systems for the collection and removal of leachate for treatment and environmentally safe disposal; and
   3. are operated in such a way that minimizes potential environmental and health hazards resulting from their operations, within reason;
5. Mandates that member nations:
   1. ensure the regular testing of groundwater and other aquatic environments that could reasonably be affected by leachate in order to gauge the effectiveness of relevant existing SWL regulations and the need for further regulations; and
   2. establish, if such does not already exist, a state agency or similar organization with the responsibility of inspecting and regulating SWLs in accordance with this resolution and reviewing complaints regarding the operation of particular SWLs;
6. Clarifies that regulations implemented pursuant to this resolution must remain in effect after a SWL stops receiving additional waste material until such a time when said regulations are no longer effective or necessary in providing for the environmentally safe maintenance of the SWL site; and
7. Encourages member nations to promote methods of waste reduction to reduce their reliance on solid waste landfills as a form of waste management.

Votes For: 11 790 (79.1%)
Votes Against: 3 123 (20.9%)

Implemented Thu 5 Nov 2020

[GA 520 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "GMO International Trade Accord"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: GA#509
Proposed by: Regnum Italiae

Description: General Assembly Resolution #509 "GMO International Trade Accord" (Category: Regulation, Area of Effect: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly,

Acknowledging that regulation of trade of genetically modified organisms, which General Assembly Resolution #509 “GMO International Trade Accord” tried to address, is an important area of legislation most likely in need of attention from the World Assembly; but

Noting that unclear measures lead to unforeseen consequences which can do more harm than good;

Concerned by many issues, including:

1. The exclusion of genetic modifications obtained through hybridisation or selective breeding as a result of the limited definition of biotechnology, which pose comparable threats to the environment;
   
   
2. The resolution’s failure to explicitly require member nations to enforce regulations created by the Committee for the Regulation of Modified Products, allowing for nations to easily dodge compliance of these provisions without penalty;
   
   
3. The vagueness of the term ‘reasonable’ that is used so often in regard to safety measures throughout the resolution, especially in sections 3 and 4, as the use of this term allows an excessively ambiguous and free interpretation of what is the best effort possible in the matter of safety. The term reasonable is in fact inherently relative in its definition and this implies that nations can set up measures as they see fit to their contingent situation, without any kind of control, thus making it possible for them to hugely disregard security when profitable;
   
   
4. The lack of regulations of intellectual property, thus granting undisciplined privileges to corporations and private institutions, like the possibility to stop outside research or create monopolies, which undermines the resolution's call for improving research and the exchange of information between member nations; and
   
   
5. The presence, in section 4, of exemptions to unsterilized plants GMOs, since requirements like “in cases where the environmental benefit [...] clearly outweigh any downsides of their use” are loose enough to let member nations set their own policies without any way to ascertain the truthfulness of their reasons especially since there are no overseeing authorities; and

Concluding that such overlooked flaws completely undermine the effectiveness of the resolution as a whole; hereby

Repeals General Assembly Resolution #509 “GMO International Trade Accord”.

Co-authored by Honeydewistania

Votes For: 11 317 (79.5%)
Votes Against: 2 913 (20.5%)

Implemented Mon 9 Nov 2020

[GA 521 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Protecting Sites of Religious Significance [Struck out by GA 528]
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Mild
Proposed by: Boston Castle

Text: The General Assembly,

RECOGNIZING that many religious traditions have and maintain sites that are important to the history of their creed and the practice of their creed,

FURTHER RECOGNIZING that certain sites of religious significance have have not been properly maintained and preserved,

NOTICING that while the World Assembly has affirmed the right of citizens of nations to practice the religion of their choosing, it has not affirmed that the places of significance to a religion must be protected as well.

DESIRING that this deficiency in existing legislation be remedied in international law, hereby:

1. Defines a "site of religious significance" to be:
   
   
   1. The foundational place, or places, of a religion;
      
   2. A focus of worship for a religion;
      
   3. The graves of people associated with or significant to a religion;
      
   4. Places of religious community;
      
   5. A museum, or other site protected by law, with a religious character;
2. Creates the Office for the Protection of Religious Sites, hereafter noted as the OPRS, which shall:
   
   
   1. Work with faith leaders to identify and designate sites of religious significance to presently practiced religions, especially those which have significant meaning to, or are are focuses of worship of, a presently practiced religion;
      
   2. Work with member nations to develop an effective plan to protect designated sites of religious significance; and
3. Further clarifies that member nations must allow sites as designated by the OPRS to be deemed significant and made compliant with this resolution,
   
4. Asserts the following actions are in violation of this resolution:
   
   
   1. Desecrating sites of religious significance and desecration shall be defined as;
      
      
      1. Causing permanent disrepair or irreparable damage to sites of religious significance;
         
      2. Destroying artefacts or materials contained at said sites which are of religious importance;
         
      3. The removal of bodies, relics, or items of significance with the intent to make said sites no longer significant as deemed by the OPRS, unless the removal of the bodies, relics, or items of significance is for restoration or maintenance purposes, and
         
      4. Altering the religious nature of said spaces as defined by the OPRS in an attempt to make them no longer significant by removing their religious character; though
         
      5. Desecration shall not apply in the event of an imminent threat to health and safety with the present conditions of the site, in the event that said sites were established in a hostile fashion (such as through invasion), or if said sites are being altered with a view towards preservation in perpetuity (such as through conversion into a museum);
   2. Abusing one's private property rights in the pursuit of gaining the legal right to protect or maintain a site of religious significance;
      
   3. Showing favoritism to, or selectively working to maintain, sites of one belief over another; and
5. Clarifies that nations may restrict access to religious sites in an event which requires that a nation restrict the freedom of movement throughout the whole nation such as a civil war, conflict which occurs on a nation’s territory, internal instability in the region of a religious site, or if a pandemic is declared by a national health service or disease control center,
   
6. Further clarifies that nations may not impose these restrictions on access solely on the grounds of religion,
   
7. Urges member nations to take additional measures to provide for the security of sites of religious significance including appointing third-party controllers of religious sites in the event that this would prove to be more conducive to their continued survival and maintenance than local administration.

Votes For: 9 548 (64.5%)
Votes Against: 5 263 (35.5%)

Implemented Fri 13 Nov 2020

[GA 522 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Patient Travel Freedoms
A resolution to modify universal standards of healthcare.

Category: Health
Area of Effect: Healthcare
Proposed by: Cretox State

Text: The World Assembly,

Noting that adequate and affordable medical care is necessary to ensure the health of individuals and society as a whole,

Understanding that the unique medical needs of individuals can and do vary greatly, as does the medical infrastructure available within any given nation, and

Recognizing that there are occasions in which seeking medical care in a foreign country is in the best interests of an individual, hereby:

1. Defines a "patient" as a citizen or permanent resident of a member nation seeking medical care within another member nation;
   
   
2. Declares that, subject to this and extant World Assembly resolutions, member nations shall not obstructively interfere with the ability of their patients to seek medical care within the territory of a foreign member nation;
   
   
3. Clarifies that member nations may implement reasonable restrictions on the ability of their patients to seek medical care within the territory of a foreign member nation to the extent necessary to address circumstances where:
   1. seeking medical care within the territory of said nation would present a severe threat to the safety of the patient, excepting potential complications caused by the medical care being sought;
   2. the patient in question is legally unable to make the decision to seek medical care in the territory of said nation due to incarceration, ongoing legal proceedings, or lacking legal competence; or
   3. there exists a compelling public interest similar in nature to the above, which clearly and demonstrably warrants restricting a patient's ability to seek medical care pursuant to this resolution and definitely outweighs the benefits to the patient in allowing such seeking of medical care;
4. Prohibits member nations from retaliating or taking legal action against a patient for seeking medical care in a foreign member nation, except as necessary to enforce restrictions implemented pursuant to clause 3 of this resolution;
   
   
5. Subject to other World Assembly resolutions, mandates that member nations implement clear and effective policies for providing necessary medical care to their incarcerated populations;
   
   
6. Declares that patients within the territory of a foreign member nation have the right to:
   1. receive appropriate continuing or follow-up medical care upon returning to their member nation of origin, should providing such care not place an undue burden on the healthcare system of that member nation;
   2. receive, to the extent requested by those patients, accurate information concerning all medications prescribed to them, including their ingredients and known side effects; and
   3. be informed of available resources for resolving disputes arising from the medical care in question, including applicable domestic and foreign legal representatives, and to have potential disputes resolved in as timely a manner as can reasonably be provided, and to be made aware of their outcome;
7. Subject to other World Assembly resolutions and other provisions of this resolution, requires member nations to collect and compile accurate and actionable data concerning their patients' reasons for seeking medical care in a foreign member nation, to such a degree that does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and to use said data to identify and address weaknesses in their domestic healthcare systems; and
   
   
8. Urges member nations to further improve domestic access to medical care.

Votes For: 12 426 (81.1%)
Votes Against: 2 892 (18.9%)

Implemented Tue 17 Nov 2020

[GA 523 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Supporting and Valuing the Humanities"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: GA#495
Proposed by: Imperium Anglorum

Description: General Assembly Resolution #495 "Supporting and Valuing the Humanities" (Category: Education and Creativity, Area of Effect: Educational) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly finds as follows:

1. Subtle unintended consequences should not be ignored or dismissed just because they are difficult to understand. The target resolution (GA 495) has subtle unintended consequences that need explanation at length.
   
   
2. GA 495 establishes a fundamentally broken control mechanism which states that another committee will '[ensure] that money accepted by nations or organisations from the WHF is used for the above established purpose'. It also states that 'if incorrect use of funds is reported, the GAO will cease the allowance of funds to the transgressing nation or organisation' (emphasis not in original). This anti-corruption mechanism creates massive harms. The passive construction of the section 5 suggests that the mere reporting of an incorrect use of funds triggers an embargo on General Accounting Office money. The Office has no explicit statutory authority to reject false or malicious reports. The Assembly supports many projects in member nations: GAO money in GA 263 'Uranium Mining Standards Act' s 8 helps prevent radiological accidents, GAO funds given in GA 97 'Quality in Health Services' support universal healthcare in poor countries, and funds disbursed by GA 80 'A Promotion of Basic Education' ensure that disadvantaged children are educated (including in the humanities).
   
   
3. The target embargoes money until a member nation receives a favourable verdict, instead of ordering funds to stop only when a tribunal determines a violation has occurred. The extent of the embargo is also not limited to the specific project which is allegedly corrupt, as the resolution applies to the 'transgressing nation'. An education department buying school supplies with money allocated for building repairs can thus defund health services and schools on the opposite side of a nation.
   
   
4. GA 495 also states '[t]he WHF shall exist to provide funding to constituent nations and non profit organisations within them to accomplish either in part or in full the following objectives'. There is no clause requiring that requestors only get money for projects which they could not pay for themselves, suggesting indirect diversion of funds, as nations can purposefully defund their schools, fill holes in the budget with General Fund money, and pocket the difference. Member nations should not be allowed to take Assembly funds dishonestly.
   
   
5. The kinds of projects the WHF approves are not limited only to projects which have a primary effect in achieving the goals listed in the resolution. Section 3's 'accomplish either in part or in full' does not put a floor on how little is accomplished, opening the sewer doors to:
   
   
   1. Building a lazy river for university students to relax on, as the project in part helps to 'strengthen the academic enrichment of courses and create [humanities] electives', if people may paint murals on the walls or a chapel is attached.
      
      
   2. Organisations sending theology professors from across the country to theme parks, as it in part helps to 'hold nationwide symposiums to put on ... advancements in the various areas of the humanities'.
      
      
   3. A nation defunding its own humanities departments and shuffling the freed-up money to foreign bank accounts would create a need to 'support university degree programs that fall within the definition of the humanities', a problem at which this committee could then throw money.
6. '[E]nsuring that money accepted by nations or organisations from the WHF is used for the above established purpose' in section 4(a) does nothing when the money is given for wasteful purposes. The clause seems as if it is supposed to stop nations from taking the money they receive and directly diverting it to other purposes. The clause does not stop indirect diversion as described above.
   
   
7. Wasteful spending programs mean less money for food aid, pandemic relief, and basic education. Feel-good resolutions should not be supported when they are coupled with draconian punishments and provisions which leave open massive doors for squandering limited Assembly funds. Nor is it just to deprive member nations – without due process and, at best, on minor irregularities – of what they need to educate, heal, and protect their citizens. Repeal of GA 495 also will cause no substantial harm due to the provisions of GA 80 'A Promotion of Basic Education', which promote the same goals, without the overbearing penalties or the deficient anti-graft mechanisms of the target resolution.

Now, therefore, be GA 495 'Supporting and Valuing the Humanities' repealed.

Votes For: 12 646 (84.9%)
Votes Against: 2 253 (15.1%)

Implemented Sat 21 Nov 2020

[GA 524 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Landfill Regulation Act"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: GA#520
Proposed by: Honeydewistania

Description: General Assembly Resolution #520 "Landfill Regulation Act" (Category: Environmental, Industry Affected: All Businesses - Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly,

Observing the excessive micromanagement in General Assembly Resolution #520, “Landfill Regulation Act”, which includes mandating that member nations create agencies to ensure compliance, unnecessary handholding and bureaucracy that is better left to be decided by member nations themselves;

Further observing that this overreach ignores member nations who use private companies to survey environments, which results in member nations being forced to create agencies they will not use, meaning that the bureaucracy is even more pointless;

Concerned that the poor definition of SWL includes locations such as scrap metal yards, which pose little to no significant harm to public health or the surrounding environment, resulting in harsh mandates being placed on these ‘landfills’ that could cost exorbitant amounts of money;

Dismayed that systems for the collection and removal of leachate are mandated regardless of the potential danger the leachate causes to public health or to the environment, yet another excessively broad mandate;

Further concerned that implementing such unnecessary regulations negatively affect the operations of ‘solid waste landfills’ with very little potential positive benefit;

Realising that placing these mandates on SWLs without any form of subsidy or funding could lead to costs being passed on to the consumers, therefore giving them incentives to dispose of solid waste at unregulated areas instead and defeat the resolution’s purpose of protecting the environment from solid waste;

Convinced that a poorly executed and overreaching resolution ought to be repealed, hereby:

Repeals General Assembly Resolution 520, “Landfill Regulation Act”.

Votes For: 9 244 (62.1%)
Votes Against: 5 630 (37.9%)

Implemented Wed 25 Nov 2020

[GA 525 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Land Reclamation Regulation
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.

Category: Environmental
Industry Affected: All Businesses - Mild
Proposed by: Orca and Narwhal

Text: The World Assembly,

Worried that unregulated land reclamation can lead to ecological damages with long term economic damage, as well as dangers to the health of both people and the environment;

Acknowledging the use of land reclamation by member nations to increase their land area for necessary purposes such as halting urban spread into pristine terrestrial ecosystems, or extending port facilities of growing coastal cities;

Very concerned about the loss of biodiversity hotspots and areas vital for the reproduction of commercially important marine species, as an unintended consequence of land reclamation;

Especially aware of the vulnerability of shallow marine ecosystems and the coastal areas, yet understanding the occasional necessity for their development;

Searching for a way to balance ecological concerns with the necessities of urban development;

Hereby:

1. Defines:
   1. “land reclamation” as the oceanic construction of new dry land in a nation’s territory;
   2. “impact study” as an independent survey conducted to determine the potential ecological impacts of land reclamation;
2. Mandates thats a good faith effort to obtain and apply materials that cause as little environmental damage as possible for the physical stage of land reclamation must be made, unless obtaining those materials is incredibly infeasible or costly, in which case the best possible alternative must be used;
   
   
3. Subject to clause 5 of this resolution, orders member nations to prevent a land reclamation project from proceeding if it is likely to cause environmental damage that will severely imperil the health of marine life or those that live nearby;
   1. Clarifies that if the potential damage caused can and will be mitigated to a reasonable level, the land reclamation project may proceed;
4. Requires member nations to conduct impact studies to determine if proceeding with land reclamation will not violate this resolution;
   
   
5. Requires that results of impact studies must be submitted to the Environmental Survey of the World Assembly (ESWA), and tasks the ESWA with:
   1. issuing special permits to land reclamation projects that would otherwise violate this resolution only if:
      1. not proceeding with land reclamation will severely imperil the health of a nation’s population; or
      2. not proceeding with land reclamation will cause greater environmental damage than doing so;
   2. issuing normal permits to land reclamation projects that will not violate this resolution;
      
      
   3. prohibiting land reclamation from taking place if it violates the restrictions laid out by this resolution;
6. Mandates that land reclamation projects that are issued permits as a result of clause 5a must cause as little environmental damage as feasible, and prohibits land reclamation projects from proceeding if they are denied a permit by the ESWA.

Co-authored by Honeydewistania.

Votes For: 10 940 (76.7%)
Votes Against: 3 324 (23.3%)

Implemented Sun 29 Nov 2020

[GA 526 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Protected Working Leave [Struck out by GA 581]
A resolution to enact uniform standards that protect workers, consumers, and the general public.

Category: Regulation
Area of Effect: Labour Rights
Proposed by: Cretox State

Text: The World Assembly,

Understanding the importance of an economically and socially secure working class to long-term economic growth,

Believing that said security does not need to be mutually exclusive with the decision to raise a family or the need to maintain good health, and

Wishing to ensure that working people in all member nations have access to paid leave and job security in order to care for themselves and their loved ones, without unduly disrupting the operations of their employers, hereby:

1. Defines for the purposes of this resolution:
   1. a "worker" as any individual bound by a contract to perform work or services for an employer, whose employment contract mandates the work or services be performed specifically by that worker, involves an obligation for the worker to perform work and the employer to provide it, and implies the employer having some degree of control over the manner in which the work is performed; and
   2. "paid leave" as time during which a worker is not required to perform the work or services specified in their employment contract and receives:
      1. compensation sufficient to financially support themselves and their dependents, to be provided by the government of a member nation;
      2. all employment-related benefits which would otherwise be provided to that worker, to be provided by their employer; and
      3. the guaranteed ability to return to the same or a comparable job after the conclusion of paid leave, should their employer reasonably be able to provide such;
2. Declares that member nations must provide workers who request such with a reasonable duration of paid leave to the extent necessary to adequately service any of the following conditions:
   1. to care for a new child due to childbirth, adoption, or placement of said child in foster care should the child require such care;
   2. to care for a seriously ill or physically or mentally disabled spouse, child below the age of majority, parent, grandparent, or dependent should they require such care; or
   3. to recover from their own serious illness;
3. Forbids employers from discriminating or retaliating against workers for requesting or taking paid leave pursuant to section 2 of this resolution; such retaliation including:
   1. not returning said workers to the same or a comparable job;
   2. terminating employment;
   3. reducing compensation or benefits; or
   4. disciplining said workers;
4. Requires that workers:
   1. give their employer reasonable notice in the event of a foreseeable birth or adoption; and
   2. alert their employer of serious health conditions that are the reason for their requesting paid leave if practicable;
5. Clarifies that:
   1. employers may not impose unnecessarily onerous conditions on the granting of paid leave;
   2. any additional conditions by an employer on the granting of paid leave are to be implemented and enforced at the employer's expense;
   3. member nations may place the burden of providing financial compensation to workers over the duration of paid leave on said workers' employer should the employer be capable of providing such without significant financial strain; and
   4. employers, member nations, and World Assembly resolutions may implement policies granting workers more expansive paid leave than provided for by this resolution.

Votes For: 12 324 (80.7%)
Votes Against: 2 954 (19.3%)

Implemented Thu 3 Dec 2020

[GA 527 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Protecting Sites of Religious Significance"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: #522
Proposed by: Honeydewistania

Description: General Assembly Resolution #522 "Protecting Sites of Religious Significance" (Category: Civil Rights, Area of Effect: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly,

Affirming the importance of identifying and protecting sites of cultural significance;

Acknowledging that religious sites frequently fall into this category and are deserving of protection;

Gratified by the long-standing success of General Assembly Resolution #287 "Cultural Site Preservation", which codifies identification and protection for sites with all manner of cultural significance;

Abhorring the needless and overreaching bureaucracy present in General Assembly Resolution #522 "Protecting Sites of Religious Significance", which both duplicates effort and exceeds reasonable boundaries;

Notes that the target resolution creates extensive and overlapping efforts in this regard through the creation of a second committee tasked with an overlapping mandate, and the separate designations of significance for religious sites now being required under multiple competing resolutions;

Annoyed that the creation of this unnecessary second committee will massively waste World Assembly funds that would be of better use elsewhere;

Further notes that the target resolution uses incredibly broad and problematic definitions, such as:

• defining any 'place of religious community' as a site of religious significance to be protected in perpetuity, which will include culturally insignificant houses with shrines where community worship may take place, preventing owners of the house from altering the religious nature of the house in the future even if their own religious views have changed;
  
  
• defining any grave 'of people associated with […] a religion' as a site of religious significance to be protected in perpetuity, which would render the grave of any deceased practitioner of an active religion forever untouchable, even for law enforcement purposes such as recovering evidence in a murder;

Dismayed that member nations are required to protect "foundational place, or places, of a religion" in perpetuity, which could lead to people declaring the establishment of a religion to immediately gain international protections for their person and property against even the most reasonable of societal demands;

Troubled that sites of religious significance established through invasion may be completely desecrated by member nations regardless of their current importance to the adherents of the religion at present;

Further troubled that the resolution does not fully prevent member nations from applying blanket access restrictions to sites of religious significance, defeating the purpose of protecting these sites in the first place;

Confused by unclear wording in the resolution, such as '[a]busing [sic] one's private property rights in the pursuit of gaining the legal right to protect or maintain a site of religious significance', which could lead to vastly different interpretations by member nations and not result in the intended effect that the clause wanted;

Concluding that the member nations of the World Assembly should repeal a flawed resolution; hereby:

Repeals General Assembly Resolution #522, "Protecting Sites of Religious Significance."

Co-authored by Verdant Haven.

Votes For: 10 299 (68.6%)
Votes Against: 4 715 (31.4%)

Implemented Mon 7 Dec 2020

[GA 528 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Rights of the Employed"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: #491
Proposed by: Cretox State

Description: General Assembly Resolution #491 "Rights of the employed" (Category: Civil Rights, Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly,

Commending the efforts of GA 491 "Rights of the employed" in enumerating several rights of workers,

Concerned, however, that sloppy writing and easily foreseeable consequences have transformed this well-intentioned resolution into a heavily flawed piece of legislation that imposes substantial unintended costs and directly undermines its own agenda,

Troubled that the resolution requires that workers prove to their employers the necessity of their breastfeeding in the workplace, a condition which is both obviously problematic and flies in the face of the legislation's stated purpose,

Disturbed that the resolution mandates a private area in the workplace "reserved for the sole purpose of breastfeeding" for workplaces subject to the mandates of clause E(3), a costly and unrealistic burden on small businesses and workplaces that cannot practically accommodate such a requirement,

Elaborating that the above mandate also establishes a substantial incentive for firms to avoid hiring female labor in direct contravention of the intentions of this resolution and WA labor law, especially given the absence of any non-discrimination hiring protections applying to breastfeeding in this resolution,

Confounded that the resolution requires at least eight weeks of leave for adoption, despite older children generally needing no special caregiver attention,

Adding that this mandate incentivizes business-minded governments to unduly burden adoption of older children to the detriment of adoptees, adopting families, and foster care systems,

Recognizing that extant WA law covers the two main policy objectives of this resolution, parental leave and retaliation, to a far greater degree, with:

1. GA 503 "Protecting Legal Rights of Workers" ensuring that workers are not retaliated against for seeking legal enforcement of their rights; and
2. GA 527 "Protected Working Leave" providing for far broader parental and other leave;

Reminding that several extant resolutions, including GA 35 "The Charter of Civil Rights", GA 91 "A Convention on Gender", and GA 457 "Defending the Rights of Sexual and Gender Minorities" more than adequately cover discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, or sexual identity, and

Convinced that a heavily flawed, overreaching, and largely redundant piece of legislation has every reason to be repealed,

Hereby repeals GA 491 "Rights of the employed".

Votes For: 11 901 (80.1%)
Votes Against: 2 963 (19.9%)

Implemented Sat 12 Dec 2020

[GA 529 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Fairness in Collective Bargaining [Struck out by GA 541]
A resolution to enact uniform standards that protect workers, consumers, and the general public.

Category: Regulation
Area of Effect: Labour Rights
Proposed by: Cretox State

Text: The World Assembly,

Believing that labor unions are essential in allowing workers to negotiate benefits, freedom from exploitation, and fair compensation on equal footing with their employers,

Commending the efforts of prior WA legislation to strike a reasonable balance between the necessity of effective collective bargaining and the public good, and

Convinced that a more expansive resolution on the subject is necessary, in order to solidify the negotiating ability of workers and provide needed protections for employers where unions are concerned, hereby:

1. Defines "interference" as any acts intended to place or keep a labor union under the control of an employer whose workers are represented by that union as a bargaining unit;
   
   
2. Prohibits the interference of employers and labor unions in the establishment, functioning, or administration of labor unions;
   
   
3. Prohibits employers from:
   1. unduly impinging on the ability of multiple workers to act in concert to protect their rights; or
   2. discriminating against workers for engaging in concerted activities to protect their rights;
4. Prohibits labor unions from:
   1. coercing workers in the exercise of their rights or an employer in its choice of bargaining representative;
   2. deliberately influencing an employer to discriminate against certain workers;
   3. requiring excessive dues; or
   4. deliberately influencing an employer to pay for unneeded workers, excepting paid leave and severance-related benefits;
5. Requires employers and the labor unions that lawfully represent said employers' workers to make a good-faith effort to negotiate with one another;
   
   
6. Mandates that member nations:
   1. establish, if such does not already exist, and maintain an effective system to enforce labor law in relation to collective bargaining and labor practices; and
   2. allow labor unions to deliberately influence an employer to cease doing business with another employer;
7. Urges member nations to:
   1. promote union membership through union security agreements; and
   2. implement more expansive regulations protecting the ability of workers to collectively bargain with employers.

Votes For: 8 677 (65.2%)
Votes Against: 4 627 (34.8%)

Implemented Fri 25 Dec 2020

[GA 530 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Tariffs and Trade Convention
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade
Strength: Strong
Proposed by: Imperium Anglorum

Text: Whereas free and fair trade is good, be it enacted as follows:

1. In this resolution,
   
   1. general customs area refers to an area in which customs authority is exercised by a nation or nations with a common external trade policy without substantial internal trade barriers;
   2. customs area refers to a general customs area entirely subject to World Assembly law;
   3. resolution means extant WA resolution;
   4. member means WA member; and
   5. trade area means an area created by bilateral or multilateral treaty between customs areas in which they accord to each other special trade preferences.
2. Each customs area must accord to every other customs area a most-favoured trade preference, unless such preferences are:
   
   1. necessary for establishment of a particular industry or economic development in a nation with low standards of living,
   2. extended only to co-members of a trade area or customs area, or
   3. permitted by this resolution.
3. The value ascribed to imported goods shall be based on the value of the goods imported, or of like goods, if they were sold in normal trade under competitive conditions in normal quantities. If such information is not available, members must make a best guess of that value on available information.
   
   
4. Customs areas may not enforce quantitative restrictions, ie quotas, on imports from or exports to any other customs area, unless:
   
   1. export restrictions are temporary and in proportion to the need to relieve a serious ongoing or upcoming shortage of food or vital goods,
   2. needed restrictions are imposed for the purpose of evaluating or enforcing compliance with regulations not discriminating on origin also applying to like domestic goods,
   3. import restrictions are needed to safeguard the health or safety of domestic agriculture or to remove a temporary domestic surplus of a like good, or
   4. such restrictions are to protect national treasures of substantial cultural value, conserve exhaustible natural resources, or comply with resolutions.
5. Unless a quota is imposed, no member may require an import licence for goods from another member. Quotas on a good, when allocated, may not discriminate against supplying member nations, unless otherwise agreed to by the quota imposer and the major supplying member nations. All import licences shall be publicly available.
   
   
6. When a good is imported into a customs area at a price lower than normal market prices of like goods (ie dumping), the area may impose a tariff in the amount necessary to adjust the imported good’s price to a normal market price, after showing to the Wacc the occurrence of dumping, likely material damages to internal industry, and that the former clearly causes or will cause the latter.
   
   
7. After a good enters a customs area lawfully, no internal regulations or tax may be applied in a manner which discriminates against the origin of that good relative to other like goods.
   
   1. Members shall ascribe the origination of a good to the general customs area in which the good was last substantially transformed, excluding operations carried out for transport, preservation, storage, marketability, simple assembly, or mixture.
   2. Members may require origination marks on imported goods, so long as such marks do not reduce the value or increase the cost of such goods materially. Customs areas may not assess penalties for failure to make such marks prior their import.
8. This resolution notwithstanding, members may make trade restrictions:
   
   1. to forestall a balance of payments crisis provided that members maintain such restrictions only to the extent necessary to defend their balance of payments and speedily recover their financial position,
   2. on arms, ammunition, or other materials used in military procurement directly or indirectly,
   3. in time of war or, subject to resolution, for protection of vital security interests,
   4. if required by resolution to enforce trade sanctions against a nation not compliant with WA law,
   5. exercising powers granted or enforcing restrictions required by prior resolution, or
   6. exercising regulatory powers granted by resolution over a specific good or well-defined class of goods which bear substantially similar properties that are unrelated to their marketability or use.
9. This resolution does not cover intellectual property or transfers of hard currency. Any tariff or quota imposed must first be posted publicly, specifying the goods covered with the quantities restricted or tax assessed. Penalties ascribed for a customs offence must be in proportion to the offence's harm. Declarations on issues arising from this resolution may be requested from the Wacc; no penalty for non-compliant activities taken with good faith reliance on such declarations may be imposed; the Independent Adjudicative Office may rescind such declarations.

Votes For: 8 420 (61.9%)
Votes Against: 5 183 (38.1%)

Implemented Tue 29 Dec 2020

[GA 531 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

International Radio Standards Act
A resolution to enact uniform standards that protect workers, consumers, and the general public.

Category: Regulation
Area of Effect: Safety
Proposed by: Merni

Text: The World Assembly,

Recognising that radio technology is used by many member states for communication,

Lamenting the lack of international standards for radio communication,

Considering the detrimental effects that a lack of standards has on international radio communication, such as incompatibilities in equipment,

Especially worried that a lack of international cooperation could result in non-coordination and even interference in essential radio communications,

Aware that sudden regulatory changes are likely to cause severe confusion in existing radio transmissions,

Hereby enacts as follows:

1. International Radiocommunications Authority: There shall be an International Radiocommunications Authority (IRA), which shall be an organ of the WA Scientific Programme.
   
   
2. Radio spectrum allocations: For each member state using radio for communication, the IRA shall allocate parts of the radio spectrum for each relevant kind of communication in that state, which shall include at least public broadcasting and recreational use. The allocations shall be made considering the existing use in that state and other nearby states, in order to increase compatibility of standards between nations while minimising inconvenience to existing radio transmission. Member states shall be required to comply with these allocations after a reasonable transition period fixed by the IRA. The allocations may be changed from time to time by consultation between the IRA and member states.
   
   
3. Registry of radio transmitters: Member states shall maintain a registry, revised frequently, of all persons or institutions equipped to transmit radio signals which can be recieved over long distances, and shall allocate frequencies to each of them if necessary to avoid interference of signals. Member states shall submit this registry to the IRA regularly. Member states shall make freely available all portions of the registry for which doing so would not unduly infringe on privacy or national security.
   
   
4. Restrictions on equipment:
   1. Member states may:
      1. Prohibit or restrict the manufacture, sale or purchase of equipment capable of transmitting radio signals outside the ranges allocated for public broadcasting and recreational use,
      2. Require that equipment capable of transmitting radio signals, other than equipment solely for private communication on frequencies specified for that purpose (such as mobile telephones) only be sold to persons licensed to operate such equipment, provided such licensing is widely available without unreasonable costs or restrictions,
      3. Prohibit or restrict the manufacture, sale or purchase of equipment capable of receiving radio signals in any ranges allocated for secret military or security communication, or
      4. Prohibit the transmission of radio signals at a power which is likely to injure or kill any sentient beings living in that area, except in a contained environment for scientific research.
   2. Member states may not impose unreasonable restrictions on the manufacture, sale or purchase of equipment for transmitting or receiving radio signals which are not covered by article 4a.

Votes For: 9 761 (75.7%)
Votes Against: 3 137 (24.3%)

Implemented Sat 2 Jan 2021

[GA 532 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "International Criminal Protocol"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: #500
Proposed by: Greater Cesnica

Description: General Assembly Resolution #500 "International Criminal Protocol" (Category: Civil Rights, Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The General Assembly,

Applauding GA #500 "International Criminal Protocol" for its intended goal, which was ostensibly to preserve the civil liberties of those imprisoned from the horrors of state-sanctioned legal abuses,

Reassuring member states that a replacement resolution has been drafted to carry on the vital protections GA #500 offered concerning prison conditions,

Dismayed, however, that the resolution permits member states to decide the legality of capital punishment; a state-sanctioned penalty that this Assembly regards as inherently abhorrent and as posing a devastating detriment to civil liberties,

Cognizant that many ambassadors were unaware of the resolution’s toleration of the death penalty at the time of its passage, perhaps because of its focus on the rights of prisoners,

Referring to the fact that this body has previously repealed otherwise well-meaning resolutions on such grounds (see also GA#438 Repeal: “Crime And Punishment”),

In particular, it must be noted that:

• The death penalty is always inconsistent with the inherent dignity of the person,
• The costs of the administrative effort necessary to fully prove the guilt of the convicted almost always outweighs any of its possible financial benefits,
• The presumption that the death penalty lowers violent crime rates is based on the empirically false assumption that the circumstances of violent crime can be considered in a vacuum where criminals act rationally,
• The death penalty rarely aids the family of homicide victims, as it merely adds the emotional baggage of yet another life lost, and
• The use of such a severe, irreversible penalty can further exacerbate disparities in justice systems, especially those with existing widespread discrimination,

Further noting that since the justifications presented for the use of the death penalty are insufficient to allow member states to legalize it, this esteemed Assembly ought to prohibit it - which cannot occur in the presence of the target resolution,

Appalled that this resolution stands in the way of preventing the execution of innocent persons for crimes they did not commit, an atrocity that will continue to occur so as long as this resolution remains in force,

Resolved that the numerous benefits and protections this resolution brings forth does not outweigh the crippling blow it inflicts upon civil liberties, a disservice to the good intentions that fostered it,

Hereby repeals GA #500 "International Criminal Protocol".

Co-authored by Pope Saint Peter the Apostle and Tinhampton.

Votes For: 9 879 (76.0%)
Votes Against: 3 112 (24.0%)

Implemented Tue 19 Jan 2021

[GA 533 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Fair Treatment of Prisoners
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Strong
Proposed by: Greater Cesnica

Text: The General Assembly,

Believing that the abuse of the imprisoned is an intolerable state of affairs,

Aiming to reform the criminal justice system to prevent these abuses from occurring,

Hereby,

1. Defines protective confinement as the imprisonment of a person with severe or total isolation from other inmates,

2. Prohibits:

1. Subjecting a prisoner to treatment inferior to that legally permissible for prisoners of war,
2. Compelling a prisoner via force, threats of force, or other forms of coercion to perform labor or a service as a punitive measure, or as a means to generate profit for a prison facility and/or associated third parties,
3. The sale or leasing of any prisoner by the government or any private prison to any private corporation or institution,
4. Placing a prisoner in protective confinement, unless:
   
   1. The informed consent of the prisoner is present, or
   2. Doing so is the only means available to mitigate risks posed by the prisoner to the general prison population, or
   3. The prisoner is medically incapacitated, and
5. Barring prisoners from the opportunity to voluntarily carry out a service or activity as a form of paid labor,

3. Requires that:

1. Those who have had protective confinement imposed on them have regular access to the services of psychiatric staff; and that they have access to visitations from guests in accordance with standard prison policy,
2. All available measures are taken to reinstate a prisoner into the general prison population, as soon as it is safe to do so,
3. Member states ensure that prisoners have access to investigative resources and legal recourse in the event that they lodge a complaint about abuses inflicted upon them, and that no reprisals are carried out against those who lodge these complaints,
4. Prisoners who voluntarily carry out a service or activity as a form of labor during the period of their incarceration receive a wage commensurate to the extent of their work, which shall be equivalent to the wage a free worker employed in the same trade would receive for doing the same quantity and quality of work, and that
5. All workplace health and safety regulations, past and future, on the national and international level, apply to prisoners working voluntarily during the period of their incarceration.

Co-authored by Barfleur.

Votes For: 13 026 (84.0%)
Votes Against: 2 479 (16.0%)

Implemented Sun 24 Jan 2021

[GA 534 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Death Penalty Ban
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Imperium Anglorum

Text: The World Assembly,

Recognising that there is no convincing and statistically robust evidence that the death penalty deters crime,

Hoping to spend money currently dedicated to the substantial administrative and legal costs of pursuing death penalties on enforcement or rehabilitation programmes which actually do reduce crime,

Gravely concerned that even under stringent protocols death penalties are issued against people who are actually innocent of the crimes for which they are to be punished, and

Believing that the death penalty in its application and pursuit targets the mentally ill, socio-economically disadvantaged, and members of racial and cultural minorities, even when administered under facially neutral statutes, hereby enacts the following:

1. The death penalty is abolished except for crimes under a military penal code committed during time of war.
   
   
2. All sentences contravening section 1 must be commuted forthwith under procedures not inconsistent with World Assembly law.
   
   
3. Member nations collectively may further restrict the use of or abolish the death penalty, section 1 notwithstanding.

Co-authored by Cretox State.

Votes For: 10 416 (67.3%)
Votes Against: 5 052 (32.7%)

Implemented Thu 28 Jan 2021

[GA 535 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Freedom of Assembly"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: #27
Proposed by: Wymondham

Description: General Assembly Resolution #27 "Freedom of Assembly" (Category: Furtherment of Democracy, Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The General Assembly,

Applauding the efforts of General Assembly Resolution #27 to establish and safeguard the fundamental right to freely associate and assemble,

Regretting the many loopholes that the resolution presents which could allow despotic governments to clamp down on free assembly, such as the lack of a definition or qualifier for “harm” in clause 3, potentially obligating governments to forbid protests or demonstrations based on minor, technical and irrelevant harms, such as increased taxes on the most wealthy in society,

Believing, despite this, that there are also many situations in which the resolution protects assemblies which cause severe threats to public safety, as detailed below,

Noting that Clause 1 of the resolution establishes the right to “peacefully assemble, associate, and protest to promote, pursue, and express any goal, cause, or view”,

Concerned, however, that Clause 1 allows denizens to abuse the rights granted by it to evade incarceration, punishment, or other repercussions for their crimes - a significant hindrance to the execution of justice, by extending the right to assemble to “all individuals” regardless of their criminal status,

Worried that clause 2 of the resolution does not prevent protests which cause harm to members of the public, for example protests organised on a public highway, those which would block the route of emergency vehicles, or protests that take place in dangerous or unhealthy conditions, as clause 2 states governments may only restrict the freedom of assembly when “individuals organizing are trespassing on private property and/or if circumstances beyond the control of the Government threaten the safety of those organizing”,

Saddened that, while it bars those who call for violence via direct action from its protections, the resolution shields those who do so via calls for deliberate inaction, such as by urging law enforcement officers to refrain from protecting individuals of a certain racial group,

Appalled that clause 3 does not extend its prohibition to demonstrations that call for violence against the imprisoned, accused or convicted, only applying its protections to the nebulously defined group of “innocent people”,

Believing that more detailed and comprehensive legislation is required to address the issues raised in this resolution,

Hereby repeals General Assembly Resolution #27 “Freedom of Assembly”.

Co-authored by Maowi

Votes For: 8 808 (58.0%)
Votes Against: 6 373 (42.0%)

Implemented Fri 5 Feb 2021

[GA 536 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Right to Assemble
A resolution to increase democratic freedoms.

Category: Furtherment of Democracy
Strength: Strong
Proposed by: Maowi

Text: The World Assembly,

Believing that the freedom to assemble without undue hindrance is a fundamental right to which all citizens of member nations should be entitled,

Angered that some regimes may attempt to suppress this right in the interest of silencing dissent, to the immense detriment of that nation’s integrity and of its citizens,

Encouraged by extant resolutions to prevent such quashing of protests, including WA#43 "WA Labor Relations Act", guaranteeing workers' rights to form labour unions and engage in strikes, and WA#436 "Protecting Free Expression",

Accepting that the right to assemble should not be granted without reserve, and that there are cases in which it must be withheld for the safety of other members of society,

Hereby enacts the following:

1. Member states may not take punitive or discriminatory action against any individual for planning, assisting, or participating in non-violent assembly or association for the purpose of articulating or advocating any belief or ambition, unless doing so is the most proportionate way of responding to harmful activities as defined in clause 3.
   
   
2. Neither member states nor private entities within them may take action to prevent or hinder the planning or holding of non-violent assembly or association for the purpose of articulating or advocating any belief or ambition, unless doing so is the least restrictive way of preventing or curtailing harmful activities as defined in clause 3.
   
   
3. Harmful activities, for the purposes of this resolution, are defined as one or more of the following:
   
   
   1. the advocacy of violence towards an individual or group of individuals under uniformly applied standards defining that which constitutes advocacy of violence;
      
      
   2. unlawful action; and
      
      
   3. the advocacy of probable imminent unlawful action.
4. It shall not be unlawful to:
   
   
   1. plan, assist, or participate in a non-violent assembly or association for the purpose of articulating or advocating any belief or ambition, or
      
      
   2. carry out actions which, were they carried out in any circumstance other than non-violent assembly or association, would otherwise be considered legal.
5. 1. Notwithstanding the above, member states may act to prevent or curtail the advocacy, in non-violent assemblies and associations, of actions or inaction that would constitute:
      
      
      1. the physical or sexual abuse of an individual or group of individuals, or
         
         
      2. hatred towards an individual or group of individuals motivated by their disability, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or another arbitrary, reductive categorisation.
   2. Should they refrain from taking action as per clause 5.a. of this resolution, member states must take all steps necessary to ensure the safety of the individuals targeted by such advocacy.

Co-authored by Wymondham

Votes For: 12 301 (79.4%)
Votes Against: 3 191 (20.6%)

Implemented Sat 13 Feb 2021

[GA 537 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Right to Secure Digital Communication
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Greater Cesnica

Text: The General Assembly,

Believing that access to encryption and other secure communication methods in the digital age yields numerous benefits in areas such as personal privacy, consumer protection, and ensuring the integrity of data that is transmitted from one party to another,

Seeking to prevent governments from restricting, compromising or hindering the access and usage of encrypted communication protocols and other means of achieving secure data exchanges,

Hereby:

1. Defines for the purposes of this resolution:
   
   1. Encryption as any method which utilizes ciphers to protect the integrity of communications or any other digital data by rendering unencrypted data known as 'plaintext' into an indecipherable form known as 'ciphertext'; which can then only be rendered legible by using a decryption key available to authorized parties, thus denying access to unauthorized parties, and
   2. A secure communication method as a relay, protocol, or standard other than an encryption method intended for communication or otherwise transmitting data and information between two or more digital devices that is intended to prevent the interception of this data or information by any unauthorized parties,
2. Prohibits member states from:
   
   1. Banning or restricting user access to any encryption method or other secure communication method, and from enacting any prohibitions upon the implementation of encryption methods or secure communication methods, subject to Article 3, or
   2. Acting to reduce the strength of any encryption method or secure communication method, or
   3. Requiring the usage of insecure encryption methods, technologies, or standards, or
   4. Requiring the insertion of "backdoors" into technologies, tools, or standards that allow states access to private communications through compromised methods of secure communication, or
   5. Requiring third parties to implement methods that would grant an unauthorized party access to secure, private communications between authorized parties,
3. Permits member states to restrict user access to secure communication methods provided that:
   
   1. These secure communication methods were originally intended for government or military use, and that
   2. A significant detriment upon the strength or reliability of such secure communication methods can be foreseen or observed as a result of removing restrictions on user access to those outside the government or military,
4. Clarifies that:
   
   1. Encryption methods may not be banned or restricted under any circumstances,
   2. The foreseen or observed detriment upon the strength or reliability of secure communication methods required by Article 3(b) to restrict user access to secure communication methods originally intended for government or military use must be sufficient enough to render such secure communication methods either:
      
      1. Incapable of protecting the privacy and integrity of communications using this secure communication method, or
      2. Unreliable to the extent that communications using this secure communication method are unlikely to reach their intended recipient(s), and that
   3. Member states shall not use any form of coercion in order to bypass any prohibition under Article 2.

Votes For: 12 533 (84.6%)
Votes Against: 2 282 (15.4%)

Implemented Wed 17 Feb 2021

[GA 538 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Whistleblower Protection Act [Struck out by GA 624]
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Boston Castle

Text: Observing that some people go to great lengths in order to disseminate information that they believe ought to be public knowledge;

Further observing that some people go to great lengths to stop the dissemination of this information;

Noting that this august assembly has already clarified the freedom of the press in [resolution=GA#155]Freedom of the Press[/resolution], hereby enacts the following:

1. For the purposes of this resolution:
   
   1. “Whistleblower” is defined as any person disclosing previously known illegal or improper activity by a government official, business, or any other organization recognized under power of law.
   2. “Media outlet” is defined as any private or public entity which disseminates information to a public in a generally accessible medium.
2. Whistleblowers and media outlets in World Assembly member states shall not be penalized for the dissemination of information about any government project, initiative, or operation provided that:
   
   1. The information provided does not constitute a threat to critical operational or national security such that its breakdown would result in the breakdown of territorial integrity or loss of life for those involved.
   2. The information provided does not constitute the publication of personally identifying information of any person involved in said operation, though persons disseminating the information may publicize personally identifying information in the event that information is publicly available or is obtained through legally standardized governmental transparency processes.
3. Whistleblowers and media outlets may not publish personally identifying information of third parties unless said third party is themselves party to a crime committed by a government official.
   
4. Whistleblowers and media outlets in World Assembly member states shall not be penalized for the dissemination of financial information of a government official or for the dissemination of a company or government's financial documents.
   
   1. Businesses in member nations may not hold either whistleblowers themselves or the media outlets who publicize the information obtained by a whistleblower responsible for damages incurred as a result of the publication of aforementioned information.
5. Whistleblowers in World Assembly member states shall not be penalized for the publication of direct evidence of a crime which has taken place or will take place.
   
   1. Direct evidence shall include non-violent video, transcripts, documentation, or another method of storing information which contains evidence of a crime that has been committed or will take place under the terms of national law, international law, or a code of conduct instituted by an organization where the crime committed falls under the prerogative of government or international law enforcement.
   2. Video evidence of crimes involving the exploiting of minors may not be disseminated.
   3. Personally identifying information of crime victims may only be published pursuant to prior World Assembly legislation and with the consent of the victim.
   4. Whistleblowers may be held criminally liable for withholding information from law enforcement of crimes that have been committed, are in the process of being committed, or will be committed under national law or international law.
6. Whistleblowers may not be tried by member states for crimes such as libel, slander, defamation, or other crimes involving speech unless the information disseminated is proven to be demonstrably false or fits into exceptions noted elsewhere.
   
   1. Similarly, member state governments may not seek legal recourse against any media outlet unless the information is proven to be demonstrably false or fits into exceptions noted elsewhere.

Votes For: 11 900 (77.8%)
Votes Against: 3 390 (22.2%)

Implemented Sun 21 Feb 2021

[GA 539 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Supporting People with Disabilities
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Free Las Pinas

Text: The World Assembly,

Noting the importance of accessible infrastructure - particularly in the spheres of health, education, and communications - in allowing people with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights,

Concerned that, in addition to ableism, many people with disabilities regularly face discrimination and disadvantage on other grounds (such as race, sex, age, and - for most - low income), and

Recognising that - while legislation alone cannot serve to completely eradicate discrimination - an internationally recognized disability code to remedy the social disadvantages of people with disabilities and promote their equal participation in all spheres of life would be of at least some benefit in achieving that goal:

1. Defines “people with disabilities” to be those that have a physical or mental impairment which, within their own, their guardian’s, or their doctor’s jurisdiction, has a detrimental or consequential effect on their capabilities to execute day-to-day activities;
2. Requires member states to:
   
   1. Ensure that people with disabilities, within their jurisdiction, can conveniently access assistive technologies, housing programs, and mental health support services, relevant to their disability;
   2. Provide, in law and in practice, that no qualified applicants for any job receive worse terms and conditions, incentives, or allowances in their employment due to being disabled;
   3. Guarantee, to all people with disabilities, the right to all available, and relevant details regarding their personal medical condition; granted it is within their doctor’s capacity to provide such information;
   4. Refrain from the detainment, whether in medical facilities or otherwise, of people with disabilities, excluding the legitimate punishment of crimes and where it can be proven that the disabled person is a danger to others;
3. Encourages member states to:
   
   1. Establish systems of special education for those with visual, hearing, or intellectual disabilities;
   2. Uphold a positive and inclusive stance on disability, particularly in mainstream media, schools, and workplaces;
   3. Utilise and conduct research to allow products and facilities to be used by anyone without the need for significant reworks and modifications; and
4. Reaffirms the right to not be discriminated on the grounds of disability.

Co-authored by Tinhampton

Votes For: 13 400 (82.8%)
Votes Against: 2 781 (17.2%)

Implemented Thu 25 Feb 2021

[GA 540 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Repeal "Fairness in Collective Bargaining"
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal
Resolution: #530
Proposed by: Sylh Alanor

Description: General Assembly Resolution #530 "Fairness in Collective Bargaining" (Category: Regulation, Area of Effect: Labour Rights) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly,

Affirming that the protection of workers’ rights to unionise and collectively bargain is an admirable goal,

Understanding that some member nations may wish to balance unions’ rights with those of employers,

Concerned by the definition of ‘interference’ in clause 1, as it only prevents employers from attempting to gain control of labour unions and fails to provide any meaningful protections for the creation or operation of unions,

Noting that the term 'labour union' is not used consistently throughout the target, and that GAR#530 instead utilises various surrogate terms that unscrupulous employers and governments could effectively argue are different types of organisations, and that the protections over one type of organisation do not apply when their own organisation is considered to be another,

Disappointed by GAR#530's use of easily-exploitable language, which creates loopholes in the following sections:

• 4c, which prohibits labour unions from ‘requiring excessive dues’ without defining what excessive would mean in this context, allowing anti-union governments to define any monetary amount or percentage of income as 'excessive',
• 4d, which prohibits labour unions from influencing employers to pay for ‘unneeded workers’, stifling the efficacy of labour unions to intervene when employers seek to underpay or cut workers' hours, at will, any time an employer states the worker was 'unneeded',

Believing that GAR#530 does more through its language choices to harm the rights of workers than protect them,

Optimistic that a replacement proposal better suited to protecting labour unions and providing for fair negotiations will soon be passed,

Hereby repeals GAR#530, “Fairness in Collective Bargaining”.

Co-authored by: Junitaki-cho

Votes For: 13 274 (87.6%)
Votes Against: 1 879 (12.4%)

Implemented Mon 1 Mar 2021

[GA 541 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Gay Panic Defense Ban
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Mild
Proposed by: Crowheim

Text: Commending previous efforts passed in these hallowed halls which advanced the civil rights of those who do not identify as heterosexual or cisgender,

Recognizing that there is still much work to be done in the securing of equality and justice for members of the LGBTQ+ community, as the previously passed resolutions could only cover so much ground,

Noting one of the most egregious offenses against these rights which is still in existence: the Gay Panic Defense, often used by aggressors of assault and murder to justify their actions due to their perception of one's sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, an argument which would have the finder of fact in the relevant courtroom believe that one's sex, sexual orientation or gender identity makes it acceptable to commit a violent crime against them,

Realizing that this justification rarely if ever is actually accurate to the circumstances of an assault or murder, and that when it is, the argument is rooted in bigotry, homophobia and transphobia which should not be logic accepted or utilized by a jury or judge in any court of law,

This legislature enacts the following:

The perception, whether true or not, of a person's sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity may not be used as a defence to a criminal offence, excuse or justification of criminal conduct, or evidence for mitigating a criminal offence's severity in sentencing.

The use of force against another individual is not justified by the mere discovery, knowledge, or disclosure of that individual's sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Co-authored with Imperium Anglorum.

Votes For: 13 832 (86.5%)
Votes Against: 2 155 (13.5%)

Implemented Fri 5 Mar 2021

[GA 542 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Protecting the Rights of Labour Unions
A resolution to enact uniform standards that protect workers, consumers, and the general public.

Category: Regulation
Area of Effect: Labour Rights
Proposed by: Junitaki-cho

Text: The World Assembly,

Believing that the ability for workers to advocate for fair and equitable treatment is of vital importance,

Acknowledging the imbalance of power between workers and employers,

Avowing that detailed mandates are necessary to protect workers' rights,

Hereby:

1. Defines a "labour union" as an entity formed by employees for the purpose of improving pay, benefits, and working conditions;
   
2. Requires that labour unions operate autonomously from the employers to which they advocate;
   
3. Prohibits employers from:
   
   1. preventing the formation or independent operation of labour unions,
   2. attempting to control the decisions or operation of labour unions,
   3. barring employees from operating or enrolling in labour unions,
   4. discriminating or retaliating against employees for creating, operating, or enrolling in labour unions,
   5. impeding the ability of labour unions to negotiate over the rights and interests of their enrolled employees, and
   6. refusing to negotiate in good faith with labour unions regarding the interests of their enrolled employees;
4. Disallows labour unions from:
   
   1. employing staff who hold conflicts of interest which would compromise negotiations between employers and employees,
   2. acting in the interests of an employer at the expense of the interests or well-being of its enrolled employees,
   3. discouraging or coercing employees from exercising their workers' rights, and
   4. requiring enrolled employees to participate in demonstrations or retaliating against enrolled employees who choose not to; and
5. Grants exceptions to the above provisions for compliance with prior WA legislation.

Co-authored by Sylh Alanor.

Votes For: 11 396 (74.4%)
Votes Against: 3 913 (25.6%)

Implemented Tue 9 Mar 2021

[GA 543 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]

[Imperium Anglorum]

Prohibition of Honor-Based Violence
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Civil Rights
Strength: Mild
Proposed by: Greater Cesnica

Text: The General Assembly,

Believing that acts of honor-based violence are especially heinous, and represent a fundamental betrayal of the trust afforded by a person to their relatives and members of their community,

Appalled that such acts occur in this current day and age, often with the tacit or explicit support of local authorities,

Seeking to put an end to these vile acts,

Hereby:

1. Defines "honor-based violence" as an act of violence perpetrated against an individual by or at the direction of a relative or any other member of a community, due to the perception that the individual has brought shame or dishonor upon their family or community, or has otherwise violated an honor code.
   
   
2. Prohibits:
   
   1. honor-based violence from being carried out in any member state and;
   2. the belief that the victim of an act of violence brought shame or dishonor upon their family or community, or otherwise violated an honor code, from being permitted as a part of:
      
      1. any defense in criminal proceedings or
      2. any argument to reduce the severity of criminal penalties.
3. Requires member states to prosecute alleged honor-based violence with at least the same severity as they prosecute other forms of alleged unlawful violence against individuals.

Votes For: 13 108 (82.8%)
Votes Against: 2 721 (17.2%)

Implemented Sat 13 Mar 2021

[GA 544 on NS] [Official Debate Topic]