Framework for Interregional Treaties
Category: Declaration
Proposed by: Karteria
The Security Council,
Acknowledging the importance of treaties as a means of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and conflict resolution,
Understanding that creating treaties requires substantial coordination, transparency, predictability, and consistency among involved regions,
Recognizing a need to codify a framework for treaty negotiation, construction, and implementation to realize the aforementioned goals,
Defining, for the purpose of this resolution,Hereby adopts the following guidelines for treaties:
- An “interregional treaty” (referred to henceforth as “treaty”) as an official written agreement between the governments of two or more regions regarding diplomacy, military, or other interregional issues; and
- A “party” as a region or the representative(s) thereof involved in a treaty;
Article 1: NegotiationArticle 2: Construction and Documentation
- Parties should communicate in good faith in accordance with regional law and avoid engaging in fraud, intimidation, or corruption.
- Parties should respect the customs of other parties to the extent possible and relevant.
- Only appropriate representatives of a regional government as accredited by that government should negotiate on behalf of their region.
- Parties should conduct negotiations for a treaty in a forum where every party can have their concerns heard and addressed.
Article 3: Implementation
- A treaty should address all relevant aspects of its purpose as well as the standards set forth in this resolution.
- A treaty should only contain plain language.
- A treaty, once finalized, should be published in a medium that is easily accessible by all parties.
Article 4: Dispute Resolution
- A treaty should be considered in effect once it has attained the mutual consent of all parties and is published in accordance with Article 2, Section III of this resolution.
- A treaty, once in effect, should be binding on all parties for its duration. Parties should endeavor to fulfill their obligations in good faith.
- Amendments to a treaty should require consent from all parties before enactment.
- Parties are encouraged to regularly reconvene for the continued enforcement of a treaty.
- A treaty should maintain a process, if applicable, for the inclusion of additional parties.
- A treaty should not retroactively apply to parties.
Article 5: Termination
- A treaty should contain a process for dispute resolution between parties related to provisions thereof.
- Such disputes should be resolved peacefully and with urgency, avoiding situations that spawn unnecessary conflict.
- A treaty should contain provisions for circumstances in which its suspension or termination for all parties is acceptable.
- A party should maintain the right to withdraw from a treaty in accordance with its provisions or when 1) that party was induced to consent to the treaty due to fraud or intimidation, 2) an error is present in the treaty that does not allow for its obligations to be fulfilled in good faith, or 3) another party failed to fulfill their obligations in good faith.
Notes: My first attempt at a Security Council proposal didn't go as well as I'd hoped, though I feel a bit more confident within the new category.
I wrote this one because, well, it seemed like fun. In terms of the benefits, I believe that setting guidelines for diplomatic interactions between regions is well within the Security Council's scene and that setting concrete standards for such (in this proposal, treaties) would potentially help alleviate asymmetric information. At the very least, the SC would take an official stance on how treaties should be made.
Feedback would be appreciated, as always. My concerns are, first and foremost, whether it’s legal and whether it serves a beneficial purpose. I'll try to be as responsive as possible.