On the off chance that Honeydew's repeal of GAR#522 is both submitted and passed, I would like to offer the following text as a replacement, since I personally believe it is good and necessary to have an active resolution on the subject. The goal being to have a law that has teeth and that targets nations who would be interested in burning down a minority's religious holy place when the sociopolitical conditions are convenient for doing so. As GAR#287 does NOT prevent such destruction from occurring, rather than living with the assumptions that it'll be fine, let's ensure it explicitly and with as little fluff as humanly possible.
What this resolution does:
• Governments cannot destroy buildings like the Vatican or structures like the Kaaba IF those sites are owned by religious orgs or entities who act as their caretakers.
• Governments can't destroy or move the relics of a building when those relics give the building protection - their owners have to do it themselves.
• Allows religious leaders to ask for help from the WA cultural thing if they can't maintain their sites or don't know how.
• Bans governments from becoming owners of religious sites through eminent domain.
Religious Site Preservation and Continuity
A resolution to promote funding and the development of education and the arts.
Category: Education | Strength: Cultural Heritage
The General Assembly,
Recognising that the corporeal elements which compose a religion's history and practice are a fundamental part of the cultural heritage of the World Assembly as a whole,
Aware that, through the course of a nation's development and political changes, a religious structure, establishment, or point of interest may be neglected of care and maintenance, or may be targeted for destruction by their host's government,
Believing the purpose of this Chamber and its actions ought to be in the interest of member nations' inhabitants, including inhabitants whose religion a nation would find undesirable,
Resolves that an obligation then rests upon the World Assembly to expressly establish protections where they may have only been previously implied, and:
- Defines the word "local" to mean any of the following:
- Within the area of the member nation's territory.
- Within a political subdivision of the member nation's territory which has a distinct ethnic identity.
- Defines the word "religion" to mean a practicing association of individuals, whose shared belief in divine or supernatural entities or phenomena is of renown within the local area, and whose historical presence has been documented through written text, or long-standing oral tradition which is widely available in the local area.
- Defines the term "religious site" to include any of the following which is owned by a religion's organisation, leadership, or delegated caretakers:
- The origin point of a religion.
- A structure, monument, or point of interest which is the target of worship in a local religion.
- A structure which stores the sacred relics or historical artefacts of a religion.
- A place of worship whose significance to the history of a religion is of local renown.
- Forbids member nations from:
- Causing permanent damage or irreparable harm to any religious site.
- Destroying the sacred relics or historical artefacts which cause a structure to be designated for protection.
- Forcibly relocating a religious site, sacred relics, or historical artefacts against the wishes of their owners.
- Preventing or prohibiting the religious site from being accessed or attended, except while the World Health Authority identifies a contagious health crisis in or about the area of the religious site.
- Forcing the owners of religious sites, sacred relics, or historical artefacts to sell or surrender such property through legal compulsion.
- Allows the leadership of a local religion, whose sites fall under the protection of this resolution, to receive assistance in funding and technical expertise from the World Assembly Trust for Cultural Heritage, provided:
- Such requests for aid are made for the purposes of maintaining or preserving a qualified religious site, and such resources are utilised to that end.
- The leadership lodging the request is able to demonstrate that neither they nor their religious organisation are able to maintain the site without intervention.
- Clarifies that:
- Clause 5 and all of its subsections do not apply in the case there the religious site and its surrounding environment has been damaged or destroyed due to an ongoing war or environmental catastrophe.
- Should the conditions of war or environmental catastrophe subside, what of the site which remains or can be rebuilt shall be subject mandates of this resolution, and the exemption provided in 6(a) shall be terminated.
- No part of this legislation shall be interpreted as placing restrictions upon or limiting the rights of site owners.
Closing this thread. Had enough of getting yelled at for the time being thanks.