NationStates Jolt Archive

The UN is at present considering a resolution to standardize passports between member nations. While the Emperor is encouraged that the UN is finally considering matters of actual international significance, he is concerned that the proposal is highly vague about what "standard information" must be included on passports. It is his intention, following the inevitable passage of this resolution, to propose an amendment clarifying it. He has prepared the following draft, which he has asked me to bring before this forum for suggestions, so that the final draft may be more amenable to the delegates.

PASSPORT HARMONISATION AMENDMENT
Category: Global Security (?)

1. All UN member nations shall issue, upon request, a pocket-sized identification booklet (Passport) for carraige by international travellers. Any adult citizen of a member nation may request a Passport; however, no nation shall be obligated to issue Passports to convicted felons, the mentally infirm, or minors requesting a Passport without parental consent.

2. Any citizen of a member nation travelling internationally within the UN must possess a valid Passport, and must present it to the appropriate official when crossing a land border or, if travelling by sea or air, upon arriving at port. Travellers must carry their Passport on their person at all times and surrender it upon request to any law-enforcement official.

3. Each Passport shall contain the following information about the bearer, printed in the official language of the issuing nation and in English (or any other language the UN may in the future adopt as official):
-Full legal name
-Full address
-Date of birth
-Gender
-Ethnicity
-Height
-Weight
-Eye Color
-Hair Color (If, at the time of issuance, the bearer's hair is dyed any color other than its natural color, this must be noted here.)
-Blood Type
-Corrective lenses worn, if any
-If the bearer is blind, deaf, unable to speak, lacks the use of one or more limbs, has had one or more limbs removed, or is otherwise disabled, this must be noted.

4. The Passport must also include the following:
-The fingerprints of each of the bearer's fingers and thumbs, reproduced in black ink and duly marked.
-Two color photographs of the bearer's head and face, 2"x2" in dimension, one taken from the front and one in profile.

5. A citizen must acquire a new Passport if any of the following conditions occur:
-Five years pass since the issuance of the Passport.
-The bearer undergoes reconstructive surgery that renders the biometric information on the Passport inaccurate.
-The bearer grows or shrinks by more than one foot.
-The bearer's weight is increased or diminished by more than 25%.
-The bearer becomes blind, deaf, unable to speak, lacks the use of one or more limbs, has had one or more limbs removed, or otherwise disabled.
-The bearer's citizenship within the issuing nation lapses or is waived or revoked.

6. Providing false or disingenuous information on a Passport request, or attempting to use a forged Passport, shall be punishable by a minimum of one year in prison, or whatever monetary, rehabilitary, or reeducational penalty the arresting nation shall deem equivalent; however, no person shall be penalized for unknowingly providing the wrong height if the error is by less than four inches, or for unknowingly providing the wrong weight if the error is by less than twenty pounds.

5. A citizen must acquire a new Passport if any of the following conditions occur:
-The bearer becomes blind, deaf, unable to speak, lacks the use of one or more limbs, has had one or more limbs removed, or otherwise disabled.



What if the bearer becomes blind, say do to witnessing the illegal use of atomics, but has their eyesight replaced via the use of cybernetic eyes?

In other words, I think we are now getting too detailed. I think you've done a good job in addressing people's complaints about the lack of specifics, but I also think we are edging towards given those who are complaining about the amount of work involved in collecting this information some leg to stand on (hopefully not a cybernetic one, or perhaps they too may need to register for a special "passport"). What do you think about rewording this item to read:

"-The bearer's medical condition has changed such that she / he now has a physical or mental condition such as those listed in sub-section 3."

I'm happy with your amendment and think you've done a good job here. But the important stuff isn't in the physical description in the document, but just the general travel information:

Country of Origin
Contact Information for that Country
Basic Appearance
Most Basic Medical Information

On that last note, if we get too detailed, then nations may argue that they want specific religious beliefs documented too. I'm not suggesting we do this, but every additional piece of info makes for a stronger case for doing so.

The Renistan government applauds the fine work of the Smaptanians. This amendment answers many of the objections that my country had about the original proposal. I have been directed by the Commission on Foreign Relations to endorse this amendment, or a substansively identical one, when it comes up for vote.

why not asking for my cash, sperm and dna/dns ? this is going way 2 far, the commonwealth of borito and many other freedomloving countries will fight this attack from big brother

sry for doublepost, my IE and the lame connection made it ;)

We didn't need ONE passport issue, so why try with a second?

Smaptania, you have a flair for things bureaucratic, but we don't need more bureaucracy here. Once the current bill passes (and it will, unfortunately), the UN Standards and Practices Office (Compliance Ministry) will take it and create a whole bundle of rules and regulations, probably very similar to these, and send them out to all member nations.

Instead of defing our world as Ambassadors, we are turning control over to the bureaucrats. Let's try to keep that in mind next time.

This ammendment is wrong- I dont like the original anymore than anyone else but this is much worse. The stuff that is contained on the passports gravely violates the civil liberties of those who are entering the nations (as should be obvious to even the most dimwitted human being-tho apparantly not to the US President) people need to be protected from Big Brother, not have their personal information made all the more easy to obtain. If you have any morals you will not propose this, and if you already have you should now Telegram every delegate who voted for it and urge them not to reverse their vote

This ammendment is wrong- I dont like the original anymore than anyone else but this is much worse. The stuff that is contained on the passports gravely violates the civil liberties of those who are entering the nations (as should be obvious to even the most dimwitted human being-tho apparantly not to the US President) people need to be protected from Big Brother, not have their personal information made all the more easy to obtain. If you have any morals you will not propose this, and if you already have you should now Telegram every delegate who voted for it and urge them not to reverse their vote

This ammendment is wrong- I dont like the original anymore than anyone else but this is much worse. The stuff that is contained on the passports gravely violates the civil liberties of those who are entering the nations (as should be obvious to even the most dimwitted human being-tho apparantly not to the US President) people need to be protected from Big Brother, not have their personal information made all the more easy to obtain. If you have any morals you will not propose this, and if you already have you should now Telegram every delegate who voted for it and urge them not to reverse their vote

The Yid Army agrees with this statement. The nations backing this amendment obviously have not considered the cost to the nation and the time it will take for the individual to prepare the necessary documentation for the passport. Where will the individual have their finger prints taken for example? This is another burecratic burden being placed upon UN members. Shurly the UN should be looking at removing all border controls and harmanising free trade within member nations than making it harder to travel and trade? The Yid Army will be voting against this and and future lesigglation that will hinder our aims and abjectives.

This ammendment is wrong- I dont like the original anymore than anyone else but this is much worse. The stuff that is contained on the passports gravely violates the civil liberties of those who are entering the nations (as should be obvious to even the most dimwitted human being-tho apparantly not to the US President) people need to be protected from Big Brother, not have their personal information made all the more easy to obtain. If you have any morals you will not propose this, and if you already have you should now Telegram every delegate who voted for it and urge them not to reverse their vote

The Yid Army agrees with this statement. The nations backing this amendment obviously have not considered the cost to the nation and the time it will take for the individual to prepare the necessary documentation for the passport. Where will the individual have their finger prints taken for example? This is another burecratic burden being placed upon UN members. Shurly the UN should be looking at removing all border controls and harmanising free trade within member nations than making it harder to travel and trade? The Yid Army will be voting against this and and future lesigglation that will hinder our aims and abjectives.

Too much, too much. This is blatant violation of civil rights under the guise of streamlining trade, and to boot it's unwieldy. El negativo.

It is unacceptable to the Rogue Nation of Greenspoint for the U.N. to attempt to dictate to our government who we must or must not issue passports to, requiring our citizens to carry any form of identification while travelling, requiring such personal information on the passport as goes beyond simple identification and establishment of national origin, and dictating when our citizens are required to obtain new documents.

Passports are issued by our government to our citizens solely for the purpose of identification while outside our borders, and for re-entry upon their return.

This amendment goes far beyond the scope and parameters of the resolution currently up for vote, and in our view, in completely the wrong direction.

If the U.N. had presented this body with a standardized form already designed for us to view, and requested that such a format be adopted, we would have gladly put it before our legislature for debate. For the U.N. to attempt to dictate what is essentially a worldwide Identity and Personal Profile Card is outrageous. It smacks of fascism ("Your papers, please!") and we are vehemently opposed to it.

James Moehlman
Asst. Manager ico U.N. Affairs