Description: WA General Assembly Resolution #149: On Expiration Dates (Category: Social Justice; Strength: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The General Assembly,

COMMENDING General Assembly Resolution #149, On Expiration Dates, for seeking to ensure safety among consumers of perishable goods;

DISAPPOINTED, however, that GAR#149 states, in relevant part:

CHARGES any distributor of any necessity to attain an accurate and average prediction of how long each and every necessity that they distribute will last until it degrades to a level of quality at which it will directly "lead to the deprivation of any sort of bodily activity that is required for the extension of [one's] lifetime;"

NOTING that the resolution in question is flawed, inasmuch as it only requires that products display how long such a product lasts on average before spoiling, while failing to require the above said items to display the date in which the product was manufactured;

REGRETTING that such a loophole renders the entirety of the resolution useless, and even detrimental, as it allows manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to deceive consumers as to when the product is to expire;

FURTHER NOTING that GAR#149 requires all items, regardless of whether an expiration date is necessary or practical, to display such labels on the products;

BELIEVING the aforementioned resolution to be irrevocably flawed;

Hereby,

REPEALS General Assembly Resolution #149 "On Expiration Dates."

Votes For: 9,036 (91%)
Votes Against: 930 (9%)

Implemented: Fri Aug 17 2012

Description: WA General Assembly Resolution #204: Nuclear Power Safety Act (Category: Environmental; Industry Affected: Uranium Mining) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The World Assembly:

NOTING that General Assembly Resolution #204, "Nuclear Power Safety Act", establishes the Nuclear Energy Safety Commission (NESC) and its duties but does not require nations to comply with its recommendations;

REGRETTING that the NESC's sole mandate is to recommend that member-states implement measures already required under extant international law such as GA#60, "Nuclear Disaster Response Act" and GA#105, "Preparing for Disasters;"

NOTING that GA#60 already mandates that member nations take specific measures to deal with nuclear crises;

RECOGNIZING that GA#105 already requires member states to inspect nuclear facilities for safety reasons;

FURTHER NOTING that GA#7, "Workplace Safety Standards Act" already establishes guidelines for safe work environments, as well as protocols for individuals who have to handle hazardous materials;

FRUSTRATED by the oversights of the author of GA#204 regarding the above legislation as well as the potential dangers created by GA#204 as follows:

• APPALLED that GA#204 allows energy corporations and national nuclear energy industries to pick and choose guidelines that suit their corporation’s or nation’s needs without regards to civilian safety;

• WORRIED that in order to maximize energy output and profits, nuclear energy industries will cut corners, exposing workers and civilians to the many dangers of nuclear radiation;

• TROUBLED that the mandate that member nations “follow adequate building designs" to construct nuclear power plant facilities allows nuclear energy industries to use older, more hazardous plans deemed as "adequate”;

• ANXIOUS that nations are required to "establish procedures and arrangements to maintain safety and stability", but are not required to update these procedures on a regular basis;

• FRIGHTENED that the same mandate does not give any real form of direction and thus gives nuclear energy industries the freedom to implement potentially inefficient and non-protective safety codes;

CONCERNED also that GA#204 defines nuclear power as "the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and do useful work", thereby excluding other forms of energy generation by nuclear processes, such as nuclear fusion, from safety regulations;

HOPING that any future resolutions related to the safety of nuclear power address these issues and properly take previous World Assembly legislation into account;

REPEALS General Assembly Resolution #204: Nuclear Power Safety Act.

Co-author: Ossitania

Votes For: 6,501 (64%)
Votes Against: 3,615 (36%)

Implemented: Tue Aug 21 2012

Description: The General Assembly,

Believing that each and every person has the right to keep certain affairs private,

Recognizing that a void in international law currently exists with regard to this matter,

Seeking to provide basic protection of the right to privacy for the good of all peoples,

1. Declares that every person has a right to privacy that extends to all lawful actions that occur out of public view and to all lawful actions, places, and other matters for which a subjective expectation of privacy and a reasonable, or objective, expectation of privacy exist;

2. Prohibits infringement on the right to privacy by member states, their political subdivisions, and all state (governmental) actors thereof within their respective areas of jurisdiction subject to this resolution and past and future resolutions enacted by this Assembly;

3. Affirms that this resolution does not protect privacy with regard to unlawful actions (or matters) and actions that occur within public view;

4. Further affirms the legality of the following under the law of this Assembly as not infringing on the right to privacy:

1. Conducting or attempting to conduct a legal arrest or pursuing a criminal suspect;

2. Conducting a search or seizure with a warrant or similar authorization because of a possible legal violation by the person or possibly involving the person who is being searched, whose property is being searched, or whose property is being seized;

3. Conducting a search or seizure without a warrant or similar authorization because a compelling public interest exists (for example, there is an imminent threat to public safety);

4. Monitoring or conducting legal surveillance of a criminal suspect or an associate;

5. Requiring that a person testify about something that is private when violations of the law are suspected or during the course of a lawful trial;

6. Clarifies that reasonable, or objective, expectations of privacy might vary regarding similar actions, places, or other matters in different jurisdictions because of differences in culture and so forth;

7. Notes that this resolution provides only minimum protections of the right to privacy and that member states themselves or this Assembly may enact greater protections of the right to privacy than what is provided in this resolution; and

8. Expresses the openness of this Assembly to further debate and consideration of legislation regarding privacy rights in more specific areas, especially for circumstances in which the rights and obligations of the individual are unclear or unassured.

Votes For: 7,427 (70%)
Votes Against: 3,173 (30%)

Implemented: Sat Aug 25 2012

Description: WA General Assembly Resolution #207: Intangible Cultural Heritage (Category: Education and Creativity; Area of Effect: Cultural Heritage) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: The General Assembly,

ACKNOWLEDGES the importance of protecting and preserving cultural customs and practices;

BELIEVES that specific forms of intangible cultural heritage, while not strictly harmful to national populations, should be reasonably restricted in the interests of public morality, the rights of others, economics and development, national security, or other compelling reasons;

HIGHLIGHTS that the resolution in questions prevents member nations from compelling their citizens to obey pre-existing laws if such laws contradict any form of culture, regardless of the more important concerns outlined above, so long as such "culture" doesn't cause damage to society as a whole;

OUTRAGED that such a resolution may prevent further international legislation on topics such as animal cruelty and abuse, or others practices that may be considered barbaric, but are included in the definition of "intangible culture;"

CONCLUDES that such a resolution, while meritorious in its intent, causes much more harm than good;

Hereby,

REPEALS General Assembly Resolution #207 "Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Votes For: 8,694 (89%)
Votes Against: 1,121 (11%)

Implemented: Fri Aug 31 2012

Description: WA General Assembly Resolution #175: Organ and Blood Donations Act (Category: Social Justice; Strength: Significant) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument: THE WORLD ASSEMBLY:

REALIZES that repealing GAR#175, "Organ and Blood Donations Act,” will not outlaw organ and blood donations and transplants within WA member nations,

BELIEVES, additionally, that the shortcomings of the resolution require its repeal in order to allow WA member nations to most effectively perform life-saving organ and blood transplants.

HIGHLIGHTS the wording of Clause 7, which states: Forbids transplantation or transfusion of infected and/or diseased blood, organs, tissues, or components thereof from one person (a donor) to another person (a recipient).

RECOGNIZES that the wording of this clause does not allow for any flexibility with regards to such transplants, even if such a transplant would be consented to by the prospective recipient.

UNDERSTANDS that some infections, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Hepatitis B & C (HBV & HCV) may be spread from donor to recipient during a transplantation or transfusion process, which means that individuals with these diseases shall be considered “infected and/or diseased” under the terms of this resolution.

DETAILS the following:

• CMV is a disease that may affect a substantial portion of a given nation's population.

  1. CMV-positive blood and components can be safely transfused into otherwise healthy recipients, even though such transfusions are likely to spread the disease to CMV-negative recipients.

  2. CMV-positive organs and tissues can and have been transplanted safely to CMV-negative recipients in need when associated with appropriate anti-viral treatments.

• Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency (HIV) viruses are diseases that affect varying amounts of individuals within a given population.

  1. HBV, HCV, and HIV-positive donors can and have successfully donated organs to a recipient who tests positive for the same disease that they have.

  2. Many individuals who are in need of organ transplants may be willing to take an organ that is HBV, HCV, or HIV-positive as receiving an organ would prolong their life even if they were to contract a new disease in the process.

• Clause 7 “forbids” the transplantation of organs from individuals who test positive for CMV, HBV, HCV, and HIV, which means that each of the above examples are currently prohibited under WA law.

LAMENTS that the scarcity of resources available for transfusion and transplantation is adversely impacted by this resolution and increases the possibility that those patients in need of an organ transplant will die prior to receiving an organ that can save their lives.

DECLARES that individual recipients, in coordination with informed recommendations from their health care provider(s), should be allowed to give their informed consent for such procedures that are outlawed by this resolution.

HOPES that the WA will consider future legislation on this subject to rectify the aforementioned flaws while still assuring the safety and availability of blood, blood components, organs, and tissues in order to save lives of individuals in all WA member nations.

REPEALS GAR#175, "Organ and Blood Donations Act."

Votes For: 8,832 (88%)
Votes Against: 1,241 (12%)

Implemented: Tue Sep 4 2012