General Assembly Q&A

[Dragocia]

So, are we allowed to propose regulation against weapons?

[Juansonia]

So, are we allowed to propose regulation against weapons?

Article 5 of General Assembly 399 has effectively prohibited any such restrictions:

5. Assures member nations of the exclusive right to determine purely internal arms trading and firearm policy, excepting:

1. those regulations recognized by the terms of this resolution or extant international law,
2. future regulations which seek to prevent firearms from being sold to or used by individuals that pose a danger of performing imminent lawless action, or
3. future resolutions which seek to relax regulations on purchasing firearms for recreational reasons only;

You will need to work within the confines of a resolution that expressly leaves internal policy to be decided by member nations. There isn't much that you'll be able to do with that, and many will likely oppose it anyway.

[NewMedica]

Can I do medical guidelines for nations to follow and they can vote on them?

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Can I do medical guidelines for nations to follow and they can vote on them?

You can certainly try. Depending on what you have in mind, it may be better to focus on a narrower field of law than simply "medical guidelines for nations." There are a number of resolutions already on the books regarding the way medical care is rendered (for example), and that link is not an exhaustive list.

A good place to start is to ask, what problem are you trying to solve? Are there easier ways to solve it than creating a set of overarching medical guidelines for every nation to follow in every possible case? ...etc. and go from there.

[France Europe]

Is there a NationStates or forum page where I can find a list of passed WA resolutions, resolutions sorted not by date but by topic or field of action? Indeed, I would like to participate in a relevant way, not submit proposals on topics that were already handled by the WA. Thank you.

[Maowi]

You can indeed! Here it is, and just bear in mind that it seems to have last been updated in December.

[France Europe]

You can indeed! Here it is, and just bear in mind that it seems to have last been updated in December.

Thanks! I look forward to contributing to international legislation.

[The Thamesiacestrian Republic]

Given the most recent resolution, is piracy no longer a specific offence under WA law?

[Kenmoria]

Given the most recent resolution, is piracy no longer a specific offence under WA law?

That is correct, yes. Although there is replacement legislation currently being drafted, piracy is no longer specifically prohibited by the General Assembly.

[Team Leo]

I really want to get started in the GA, but I don't know how to. Is there anyone experienced who I should adress about this topic? How should I get started?

[Sierra Lyricalia]

I really want to get started in the GA, but I don't know how to. Is there anyone experienced who I should adress about this topic? How should I get started?

Welcome to the World Assembly! Best advice I have is 1) lurk a while until you have a good sense of what laws have been passed and what kind of wording and extent of WA action tends to get passed in resolutions; 2) find a problem that hasn't previously been addressed and write a resolution narrowly crafted to solve it, and 3) be super duper patient with drafting and submitting it, because it's "a marathon, not a sprint."

Feel free to follow up with more specific questions. Good luck!

[Team Leo]

Thanks for the advice! I will be sure to use this!

[Simone Republic]

Is it possible to change the rule on drafting slightly, so that at least on mild regulations, we don't need to specify exactly that "if something doesn't exist in your country, you don't have to care"? Tinfect raised this point a few times and it's kinda wordy to write that in although I don't disagree with her premise on this.

For example, if your member state doesn't have a stock exchange (for whatever reason, too small or you ban capitalism), the next resolution I write on the stock exchange ESG governance won't apply anyway and I don't have to explicitly state that it won't. iA's one on Deposit Insurance also shouldn't really apply (I know he didn't state so very explicitly) to member states that don't have either deposits or insurance. I know it will still have a statistical effect but most WA resolutions don't really have dramatic effects for starters anyway.

[Kenmoria]

Is it possible to change the rule on drafting slightly, so that at least on mild regulations, we don't need to specify exactly that "if something doesn't exist in your country, you don't have to care"? Tinfect raised this point a few times and it's kinda wordy to write that in although I don't disagree with her premise on this.

For example, if your member state doesn't have a stock exchange (for whatever reason, too small or you ban capitalism), the next resolution I write on the stock exchange ESG governance won't apply anyway and I don't have to explicitly state that it won't. iA's one on Deposit Insurance also shouldn't really apply (I know he didn't state so very explicitly) to member states that don't have either deposits or insurance. I know it will still have a statistical effect but most WA resolutions don't really have dramatic effects for starters anyway.

Is that not already the rule? If a resolution states that beekeeping must be regulated in such and such a fashion, then it does not need to specify that this only applies to nations where bees are kept. It is simply assumed. A member-nation with no bees is automatically in compliance. There are lots of resolutions on wartime conduct which would be entirely irrelevant to states with no standing army, but those resolutions are entirely legal.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Is it possible to change the rule on drafting slightly, so that at least on mild regulations, we don't need to specify exactly that "if something doesn't exist in your country, you don't have to care"? Tinfect raised this point a few times and it's kinda wordy to write that in although I don't disagree with her premise on this.

For example, if your member state doesn't have a stock exchange (for whatever reason, too small or you ban capitalism), the next resolution I write on the stock exchange ESG governance won't apply anyway and I don't have to explicitly state that it won't. iA's one on Deposit Insurance also shouldn't really apply (I know he didn't state so very explicitly) to member states that don't have either deposits or insurance. I know it will still have a statistical effect but most WA resolutions don't really have dramatic effects for starters anyway.

It's not necessary to explicitly state this, IMO, and in fact I believe stating so might be confusing for new authors who might contrast it with "but the rules say all resolutions apply to all nations! Are you saying optionality is OK???" No, we're not, but that's a potential source of confusion. It is why I wouldn't make a big deal about "if your country doesn't have an ecosystem, environmental regulations don't matter to you." It's just not worth the bother.

[Mauser aka Intermaria or Aituia]

If you are a WA member, are you technically and immediately a part of the GA? Or will you also need a IC Character to join it?

[Kenmoria]

If you are a WA member, are you technically and immediately a part of the GA? Or will you also need a IC Character to join it?

I do not think that it would be possible to be a member of the WA but not a member of the GA. Therefore, yes, WA members are automatically GA members. For the purposes of interacting in this forum, IC characters are made, but there is no requirement to have one.

[Wallenburg]

If you are a WA member, are you technically and immediately a part of the GA? Or will you also need a IC Character to join it?

The General Assembly and Security Council are chambers of the same World Assembly, so all WA members are also party to the GA. If you want to participate in forum RP here, it's advisable to develop a character with which to do so, but plenty of players get by participating without any specific character.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

If you are a WA member, are you technically and immediately a part of the GA? Or will you also need a IC Character to join it?

The General Assembly and Security Council are chambers of the same World Assembly, so all WA members are also party to the GA. If you want to participate in forum RP here, it's advisable to develop a character with which to do so, but plenty of players get by participating without any specific character.

This is of course correct, but in the interest of full disclosure I would add a reminder that since the SC makes no sense in the RP logic of the GA, mention of it in resolution proposals violates the GA proposal rules, and mention of it in roleplay situations is discouraged and usually ignored.

[Simone Republic]

Is that not already the rule? If a resolution states that beekeeping must be regulated in such and such a fashion, then it does not need to specify that this only applies to nations where bees are kept. It is simply assumed. A member-nation with no bees is automatically in compliance. There are lots of resolutions on wartime conduct which would be entirely irrelevant to states with no standing army, but those resolutions are entirely legal.

I know, but it was mentioned several times on my various financial services regulations about "I am a communist country etc" so I think it's easier to clean this issue up.

Is it possible to change the rule on drafting slightly, so that at least on mild regulations, we don't need to specify exactly that "if something doesn't exist in your country, you don't have to care"? Tinfect raised this point a few times and it's kinda wordy to write that in although I don't disagree with her premise on this.

For example, if your member state doesn't have a stock exchange (for whatever reason, too small or you ban capitalism), the next resolution I write on the stock exchange ESG governance won't apply anyway and I don't have to explicitly state that it won't. iA's one on Deposit Insurance also shouldn't really apply (I know he didn't state so very explicitly) to member states that don't have either deposits or insurance. I know it will still have a statistical effect but most WA resolutions don't really have dramatic effects for starters anyway.

It's not necessary to explicitly state this, IMO, and in fact I believe stating so might be confusing for new authors who might contrast it with "but the rules say all resolutions apply to all nations! Are you saying optionality is OK???" No, we're not, but that's a potential source of confusion. It is why I wouldn't make a big deal about "if your country doesn't have an ecosystem, environmental regulations don't matter to you." It's just not worth the bother.

OK I am going to go ahead and simplify a few of my drafts for this sort of wording. Makes the drafting simpler. Many thanks.

I'd quote this back the next time this comes up.

[NewMedica]

Sorry I was thinking if I can post medical guidelines as the world health organization in the general assembly, like make a post of that. It would be similar to my Haus hospital post but guidelines which can give ideas of health proposals which countries can make for everyone to follow?

[The Acolyte Confederacy]

Are certain topics banned?

[The Ice States]

Are certain topics banned?

There's a few topics which there are resolutions preventing the WA from legislating on, unless said resolutions are repealed; for example Section 5 of GA #399 prohibits the WA from enacting gun control in most circumstances.

[Kenmoria]

Are certain topics banned?

In addition to the legislative restrictions, called blockers, that the Ice States mentioned, there are also areas that have been addressed already. The list of passed resolutions pinned to this forum contains all extant legislation, so any prospective author needs to find something that won’t duplicate anything on that list.

[Joaozinho]

Hello, I would like to know if there is any resolution on promoting cultural diversity in the arts. If anyone knows and can answer me, I'd appreciate it.