Proposal--No Bars on Polls
I have made a proposal to the UN for the furtherment of democracy. I would ask that it be considered:
Be it resolved that, upon passage of this proposal, the rights of citizens to vote may not be denied or abridged in any Member Nation of the United Nations:
1) on the basis of race, ethnic origin, social class, creed, religion, political beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation; nor
2) by the use of any poll tax or other tax meant to prevent people from using the polls.
To find this proposal, search for “No Bars on Polls”. This should make it easy to find no matter where it is in the archives.
Vote now! The proposal expires very soon!
Thank you.
--Pizman Surmil f’Eresor
Marad of the Greater Carjan Republic
We're not quite sure. Ursoria is certainly in complete agreement with all of the principles expressed in the resolution. But we have taken a strong stand in the past against turning the United Nations into a "super-Parliament", and have felt that internal legislation should be left up to each member nation. This principle, however, is not absolute. There are certain activities that governments can commit against their own people--such as slavery and genocide--that so violate the spirit of humanity as to justify international intervention.
We are inclined to feel that racial, ethnic or religious discrimination in voting is one such activity--so repugnant to basic human values as to justify action by the world community. But we are not quite so sure about things such as the poll tax or literacy tests if they are enforced in a non-discriminatory way. As supportive as we are of democracy in our own country, we are wary of using the U.N. to enforce it on everyone else.
As you may know, we have strongly opposed the "Bill of No Rights" precisely because we support the right of each nation to govern itself in accordance with its own principles, history and traditions. We live in a world not merely of diverse cultures, but of diverse opinions, and the United Nations should not be used to suppress legitimate national differences. If the first part of your resolution were made a separate proposal, we would have no difficulty in supporting it; but we cannot quite support the resolution as it is written.
I like it, and dictatorships can't complain because they don't discriminate based on any of the restricted attributes.
As you may know, we have strongly opposed the "Bill of No Rights" precisely because we support the right of each nation to govern itself in accordance with its own principles, history and traditions. We live in a world not merely of diverse cultures, but of diverse opinions, and the United Nations should not be used to suppress legitimate national differences. If the first part of your resolution were made a separate proposal, we would have no difficulty in supporting it; but we cannot quite support the resolution as it is written.
If this doesn't pass as is, I'll reword it to eliminate the poll tax clause. Fair enough?
Sorry--Mighty Hysteria is an alternate state of mine, but not a UN member. I will do the proposal over using this nation.
--Pizman Surmil f'Eresor
Marad of the Greater Carjan Republic