[DRAFT] International Sex Offender Registry Act

[The Isles of the Celts]

Category: International Security

Strength: Mild


Defining a sex offender as a person who commits a crime involving a sexual act.

Noting that many sex offenders are convicted for sexual acts involving a child.

Stating that the purpose of this act is to provide law enforcement agencies around the world with current information on sex offenders and to help prevent further sex crimes from being committed.

Mandating that an international list of sex offenders within all World Assembly member states shall be compiled and maintained, and that the information of new offenders shall be added to the registry by the nation that has convicted said offender. This list shall be made available to law enforcement agencies around the world.

[Tinhampton]

Why do you believe that an "international list of sex offenders" - as opposed to many national-level lists or alternative forms of action against convicted sex offenders - will "prevent further sex crimes from being committed?" And what do you want member states to do with the list (since, as it stands, they can just sit on it and do nothing other than add new sex offenders when they are convicted)?

[The Isles of the Celts]

In the event that a sex offender is arrested in a country that isn't their own, the police in that country would be able to identify that offender and what they've done. Some nations may not have access to the national list of another country. This list is just to help law enforcement across the world have access to the same information in order to prevent miscommunication or an offender from possibly going free in some cases.

[Separatist Peoples]

In the event that a sex offender is arrested in a country that isn't their own, the police in that country would be able to identify that offender and what they've done. Some nations may not have access to the national list of another country. This list is just to help law enforcement across the world have access to the same information in order to prevent miscommunication or an offender from possibly going free in some cases.

"How is this relevant to law enforcement given that the laws governing sex crimes are variable?"

[The Isles of the Celts]

This law would not change how a nation would punish these crimes, it only creates a list. Just if an offender is arrested in another country, for a sex crime or any other type of crime, law enforcement will simply have the necessary information about these individuals. How that country's legal system handles them is not changed by this legislation.

[Desmosthenes and Burke]

This law would not change how a nation would punish these crimes, it only creates a list. Just if an offender is arrested in another country, for a sex crime or any other type of crime, law enforcement will simply have the necessary information about these individuals. How that country's legal system handles them is not changed by this legislation.

You rather missed the point, ambassador. The potential mismatch between laws was the relevant point. Take, for instance, the fictional shithole of Murrica. We hear that in parts of that country a teenager sending pictures of his/her genitals to another teenager is considered a very serious sex crime, or at least we presume so since it justifies the police forcing medical staff at a hospital to chemically induce erection so that pictures can be taken for evidence. The law in most sane, and civilized states would consider this, at worst, a disciplinary issue to be handled by parents. Nevertheless, under your proposal, such a teenager would appear in this international list of sex offenders.

As an additional objection, your proposal is so vague that said registry is not even required to carry sufficient identification information to confirm a match, nor is it required to contain any kind of details as would allow one to rationally evaluate the inclusion of a person, such as the teenager referenced above, on the list.

[Barfleur]

"Barfleur is not opposed to the idea of an international sex offender registry, given the fact that too many individuals from wealthier member nations travel to less-developed member nations to engage in 'child sex tourism' or to perform sexual activities which they know violates the local law but for which they do not expect to face punishment. I can see some argument to be made in favor of having such a registry, so that if a member nation sees that a person, say, applying for a work permit or a visa has a serious sex conviction, the nation might well choose to reject the application as a risk to public safety. But this proposal would certainly need to be fleshed out in order to specify what crimes merit inclusion on such registry, how long an entry lasts, who is allowed to have access to it (should it be accessible only to law enforcement? or should the public have a right to know whether their new neighbor is a sex offender? there are good arguments on both sides), what are the effects of registering or failing to register, etc."

[Xernon]

"First, a warm welcome to the General Assembly. It is awesome to see a new author take the leap and propose legislation. I personally think that there can be potential and support for this idea. I would reiterate what the other delegations have advised -- flesh this out and add more detail. Pre-face the resolution with 2-3 detailed pre-ambulatory clauses explaining the "why" behind your proposal. I'd also recommend figuring out whether you want this to extend to all sexual violence/crimes or to only those involving child abuse. At one point your resolution seems to read as if it is heading in that direction. As I said, though, I do see a lot of potential in this idea. If you'd like help with drafting a version 2.0, please telegram me and I'll be happy to assist."

[Barfleur]

"First, a warm welcome to the General Assembly. It is awesome to see a new author take the leap and propose legislation. I personally think that there can be potential and support for this idea. I would reiterate what the other delegations have advised -- flesh this out and add more detail. Pre-face the resolution with 2-3 detailed pre-ambulatory clauses explaining the "why" behind your proposal. I'd also recommend figuring out whether you want this to extend to all sexual violence/crimes or to only those involving child abuse. At one point your resolution seems to read as if it is heading in that direction. As I said, though, I do see a lot of potential in this idea. If you'd like help with drafting a version 2.0, please telegram me and I'll be happy to assist."

"And, to add, should the author choose to include child abuse crimes, there should be a provision in place clarifying that that only covers 'abuse' of a child by an adult, rather than consensual sexual activity between two youths, each of whom might be tried separately for 'exploiting' the other."

[Imperium Anglorum]

Elsie Mortimer Wellesley. We want to echo the remarks given by the delegation for Desmosthenes and Burke as well as those given by the delegation for Separatist Peoples. Substantial differences in national laws turn an international registry into (if not a privacy nightmare) a mechanism for defamatory pre-judgement in cases where someone is registered for acts not illegal or not immoral in other countries. While people certainly would like to imagine that their nations have the "proper" balance, other nations can disagree and this ought to be examined on a case-by-case basis rather than by attaching a undistinguishing label to every passport.

[Untecna]

Category: International Security

Strength: Mild
Preamble? Y'know, "The General or World Assembly, then the explanation for the needs of the proposal?

Defining a sex offender as a person who commits a crime involving a sexual act.

Noting that many sex offenders are convicted for sexual acts involving a child. This should be up in that preamble I mentioned.

Stating that the purpose of this act is to provide law enforcement agencies around the world with current information on sex offenders and to help prevent further sex crimes from being committed. This should also be in a preamble, but not like this. It should be implied by other parts in the preamble, and the title. Plus, the resolution itself.

Mandating that an international list of sex offenders within all World Assembly member states shall be compiled and maintained, and that the information of new offenders shall be added to the registry by the nation that has convicted said offender. This list shall be made available to law enforcement agencies around the world. That's... that's it? We're just making a list of sex offenders? Well, I hate to break it to you, and despite the purpose that you had for this, you probably need to make a broader proposal.