General Assembly Resolutions
Since the rise of the World Assembly from the ashes of its predecessor, the Bureaucracy That Cannot Be Named, WA member nations have worked tirelessly to improve the standard of the world. That, or tried to force other nations to be more like them. But that's just semantics.
Below is every World Assembly resolution ever passed.
View: All | Historical | General Assembly | Security Council
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General Assembly Resolution # 522
Protecting Sites of Religious Significance
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.
The General Assembly,
RECOGNIZING that many religious traditions have and maintain sites that are important to the history of their creed and the practice of their creed,
FURTHER RECOGNIZING that certain sites of religious significance have have not been properly maintained and preserved,
NOTICING that while the World Assembly has affirmed the right of citizens of nations to practice the religion of their choosing, it has not affirmed that the places of significance to a religion must be protected as well.
DESIRING that this deficiency in existing legislation be remedied in international law, hereby:
Defines a "site of religious significance" to be:
The foundational place, or places, of a religion;
A focus of worship for a religion;
The graves of people associated with or significant to a religion;
Places of religious community;
A museum, or other site protected by law, with a religious character;
Creates the Office for the Protection of Religious Sites, hereafter noted as the OPRS, which shall:
Work with faith leaders to identify and designate sites of religious significance to presently practiced religions, especially those which have significant meaning to, or are are focuses of worship of, a presently practiced religion;
Work with member nations to develop an effective plan to protect designated sites of religious significance; and
Further clarifies that member nations must allow sites as designated by the OPRS to be deemed significant and made compliant with this resolution,
Asserts the following actions are in violation of this resolution:
Desecrating sites of religious significance and desecration shall be defined as;
Causing permanent disrepair or irreparable damage to sites of religious significance;
Destroying artefacts or materials contained at said sites which are of religious importance;
The removal of bodies, relics, or items of significance with the intent to make said sites no longer significant as deemed by the OPRS, unless the removal of the bodies, relics, or items of significance is for restoration or maintenance purposes, and
Altering the religious nature of said spaces as defined by the OPRS in an attempt to make them no longer significant by removing their religious character; though
Desecration shall not apply in the event of an imminent threat to health and safety with the present conditions of the site, in the event that said sites were established in a hostile fashion (such as through invasion), or if said sites are being altered with a view towards preservation in perpetuity (such as through conversion into a museum);
Abusing one's private property rights in the pursuit of gaining the legal right to protect or maintain a site of religious significance;
Showing favoritism to, or selectively working to maintain, sites of one belief over another; and
Clarifies that nations may restrict access to religious sites in an event which requires that a nation restrict the freedom of movement throughout the whole nation such as a civil war, conflict which occurs on a nations territory, internal instability in the region of a religious site, or if a pandemic is declared by a national health service or disease control center,
Further clarifies that nations may not impose these restrictions on access solely on the grounds of religion,
Urges member nations to take additional measures to provide for the security of sites of religious significance including appointing third-party controllers of religious sites in the event that this would prove to be more conducive to their continued survival and maintenance than local administration.
Passed: | |
For: | 9,548 | 64.5% |
Against: | 5,263 | 35.5% |
General Assembly Resolution # 523
Patient Travel Freedoms
A resolution to modify universal standards of healthcare.
The World Assembly,
Noting that adequate and affordable medical care is necessary to ensure the health of individuals and society as a whole,
Understanding that the unique medical needs of individuals can and do vary greatly, as does the medical infrastructure available within any given nation, and
Recognizing that there are occasions in which seeking medical care in a foreign country is in the best interests of an individual, hereby:
Defines a "patient" as a citizen or permanent resident of a member nation seeking medical care within another member nation;
Declares that, subject to this and extant World Assembly resolutions, member nations shall not obstructively interfere with the ability of their patients to seek medical care within the territory of a foreign member nation;
Clarifies that member nations may implement reasonable restrictions on the ability of their patients to seek medical care within the territory of a foreign member nation to the extent necessary to address circumstances where:
seeking medical care within the territory of said nation would present a severe threat to the safety of the patient, excepting potential complications caused by the medical care being sought;
the patient in question is legally unable to make the decision to seek medical care in the territory of said nation due to incarceration, ongoing legal proceedings, or lacking legal competence; or
there exists a compelling public interest similar in nature to the above, which clearly and demonstrably warrants restricting a patient's ability to seek medical care pursuant to this resolution and definitely outweighs the benefits to the patient in allowing such seeking of medical care;
Prohibits member nations from retaliating or taking legal action against a patient for seeking medical care in a foreign member nation, except as necessary to enforce restrictions implemented pursuant to clause 3 of this resolution;
Subject to other World Assembly resolutions, mandates that member nations implement clear and effective policies for providing necessary medical care to their incarcerated populations;
Declares that patients within the territory of a foreign member nation have the right to:
receive appropriate continuing or follow-up medical care upon returning to their member nation of origin, should providing such care not place an undue burden on the healthcare system of that member nation;
receive, to the extent requested by those patients, accurate information concerning all medications prescribed to them, including their ingredients and known side effects; and
be informed of available resources for resolving disputes arising from the medical care in question, including applicable domestic and foreign legal representatives, and to have potential disputes resolved in as timely a manner as can reasonably be provided, and to be made aware of their outcome;
Subject to other World Assembly resolutions and other provisions of this resolution, requires member nations to collect and compile accurate and actionable data concerning their patients' reasons for seeking medical care in a foreign member nation, to such a degree that does not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and to use said data to identify and address weaknesses in their domestic healthcare systems; and
Urges member nations to further improve domestic access to medical care.
Passed: |
For: | 12,426 | 81.1% |
Against: | 2,892 | 18.9% |
General Assembly Resolution # 524
Repeal: “Supporting and Valuing the Humanities”
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.
General Assembly Resolution #495 “Supporting and Valuing the Humanities” (Category: Education and Creativity; Area of Effect: Educational) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly finds as follows:
Subtle unintended consequences should not be ignored or dismissed just because they are difficult to understand. The target resolution (GA 495) has subtle unintended consequences that need explanation at length.
GA 495 establishes a fundamentally broken control mechanism which states that another committee will '[ensure] that money accepted by nations or organisations from the WHF is used for the above established purpose'. It also states that 'if incorrect use of funds is reported, the GAO will cease the allowance of funds to the transgressing nation or organisation' (emphasis not in original). This anti-corruption mechanism creates massive harms. The passive construction of the section 5 suggests that the mere reporting of an incorrect use of funds triggers an embargo on General Accounting Office money. The Office has no explicit statutory authority to reject false or malicious reports. The Assembly supports many projects in member nations: GAO money in GA 263 'Uranium Mining Standards Act' s 8 helps prevent radiological accidents, GAO funds given in GA 97 'Quality in Health Services' support universal healthcare in poor countries, and funds disbursed by GA 80 'A Promotion of Basic Education' ensure that disadvantaged children are educated (including in the humanities).
The target embargoes money until a member nation receives a favourable verdict, instead of ordering funds to stop only when a tribunal determines a violation has occurred. The extent of the embargo is also not limited to the specific project which is allegedly corrupt, as the resolution applies to the 'transgressing nation'. An education department buying school supplies with money allocated for building repairs can thus defund health services and schools on the opposite side of a nation.
GA 495 also states '[t]he WHF shall exist to provide funding to constituent nations and non profit organisations within them to accomplish either in part or in full the following objectives'. There is no clause requiring that requestors only get money for projects which they could not pay for themselves, suggesting indirect diversion of funds, as nations can purposefully defund their schools, fill holes in the budget with General Fund money, and pocket the difference. Member nations should not be allowed to take Assembly funds dishonestly.
The kinds of projects the WHF approves are not limited only to projects which have a primary effect in achieving the goals listed in the resolution. Section 3's 'accomplish either in part or in full' does not put a floor on how little is accomplished, opening the sewer doors to:
Building a lazy river for university students to relax on, as the project in part helps to 'strengthen the academic enrichment of courses and create [humanities] electives', if people may paint murals on the walls or a chapel is attached.
Organisations sending theology professors from across the country to theme parks, as it in part helps to 'hold nationwide symposiums to put on ... advancements in the various areas of the humanities'.
A nation defunding its own humanities departments and shuffling the freed-up money to foreign bank accounts would create a need to 'support university degree programs that fall within the definition of the humanities', a problem at which this committee could then throw money.
'[E]nsuring that money accepted by nations or organisations from the WHF is used for the above established purpose' in section 4(a) does nothing when the money is given for wasteful purposes. The clause seems as if it is supposed to stop nations from taking the money they receive and directly diverting it to other purposes. The clause does not stop indirect diversion as described above.
Wasteful spending programs mean less money for food aid, pandemic relief, and basic education. Feel-good resolutions should not be supported when they are coupled with draconian punishments and provisions which leave open massive doors for squandering limited Assembly funds. Nor is it just to deprive member nations without due process and, at best, on minor irregularities of what they need to educate, heal, and protect their citizens. Repeal of GA 495 also will cause no substantial harm due to the provisions of GA 80 'A Promotion of Basic Education', which promote the same goals, without the overbearing penalties or the deficient anti-graft mechanisms of the target resolution.
Now, therefore, be GA 495 'Supporting and Valuing the Humanities' repealed.
Passed: |
For: | 12,646 | 84.9% |
Against: | 2,253 | 15.1% |
General Assembly Resolution # 525
Repeal: “Landfill Regulation Act”
A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.
General Assembly Resolution #520 “Landfill Regulation Act” (Category: Environmental; Industry Affected: All Businesses - Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly,
Observing the excessive micromanagement in General Assembly Resolution #520, Landfill Regulation Act, which includes mandating that member nations create agencies to ensure compliance, unnecessary handholding and bureaucracy that is better left to be decided by member nations themselves;
Further observing that this overreach ignores member nations who use private companies to survey environments, which results in member nations being forced to create agencies they will not use, meaning that the bureaucracy is even more pointless;
Concerned that the poor definition of SWL includes locations such as scrap metal yards, which pose little to no significant harm to public health or the surrounding environment, resulting in harsh mandates being placed on these landfills that could cost exorbitant amounts of money;
Dismayed that systems for the collection and removal of leachate are mandated regardless of the potential danger the leachate causes to public health or to the environment, yet another excessively broad mandate;
Further concerned that implementing such unnecessary regulations negatively affect the operations of solid waste landfills with very little potential positive benefit;
Realising that placing these mandates on SWLs without any form of subsidy or funding could lead to costs being passed on to the consumers, therefore giving them incentives to dispose of solid waste at unregulated areas instead and defeat the resolutions purpose of protecting the environment from solid waste;
Convinced that a poorly executed and overreaching resolution ought to be repealed, hereby:
Repeals General Assembly Resolution 520, Landfill Regulation Act.
Passed: |
For: | 9,244 | 62.1% |
Against: | 5,630 | 37.9% |
General Assembly Resolution # 526
Land Reclamation Regulation
A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.
The World Assembly,
Worried that unregulated land reclamation can lead to ecological damages with long term economic damage, as well as dangers to the health of both people and the environment;
Acknowledging the use of land reclamation by member nations to increase their land area for necessary purposes such as halting urban spread into pristine terrestrial ecosystems, or extending port facilities of growing coastal cities;
Very concerned about the loss of biodiversity hotspots and areas vital for the reproduction of commercially important marine species, as an unintended consequence of land reclamation;
Especially aware of the vulnerability of shallow marine ecosystems and the coastal areas, yet understanding the occasional necessity for their development;
Searching for a way to balance ecological concerns with the necessities of urban development;
Hereby:
Defines:
land reclamation as the oceanic construction of new dry land in a nations territory;
impact study as an independent survey conducted to determine the potential ecological impacts of land reclamation;
Mandates thats a good faith effort to obtain and apply materials that cause as little environmental damage as possible for the physical stage of land reclamation must be made, unless obtaining those materials is incredibly infeasible or costly, in which case the best possible alternative must be used;
Subject to clause 5 of this resolution, orders member nations to prevent a land reclamation project from proceeding if it is likely to cause environmental damage that will severely imperil the health of marine life or those that live nearby;
Clarifies that if the potential damage caused can and will be mitigated to a reasonable level, the land reclamation project may proceed;
Requires member nations to conduct impact studies to determine if proceeding with land reclamation will not violate this resolution;
Requires that results of impact studies must be submitted to the Environmental Survey of the World Assembly (ESWA), and tasks the ESWA with:
issuing special permits to land reclamation projects that would otherwise violate this resolution only if:
not proceeding with land reclamation will severely imperil the health of a nations population; or
not proceeding with land reclamation will cause greater environmental damage than doing so;
issuing normal permits to land reclamation projects that will not violate this resolution;
prohibiting land reclamation from taking place if it violates the restrictions laid out by this resolution;
Mandates that land reclamation projects that are issued permits as a result of clause 5a must cause as little environmental damage as feasible, and prohibits land reclamation projects from proceeding if they are denied a permit by the ESWA.
Passed: |
For: | 10,940 | 76.7% |
Against: | 3,324 | 23.3% |