NationStates Jolt Archive

The proposal to protect merchant ships from harm includes the following:

The proposal is intended to protect neutral merchant vessels during times of war, and from pirating. The merchant ships will have to comply with rules and regulations provided, and all UN nations will have to comply with also.
1.War
A. During times of war, no neutral merchant ship/vessel may be harmed, sunk, or pirated by nations involved in conflict.
a.1 In order to determine which ships/vessels are in fact neutral, it will be mandatory for every merchant ship/vessel to display a flag, symbol, mark, or
Any form of identification on the ship/vessel to help be identified. If a ship/vessel does not have a display of nation, they must send out a transmission, sonar and radio, to identify themselves.
B. If any ship/vessel displaying a mark of nation, or any ship/vessel who transmitted
An identifying transmission is sunk, harmed, or pirated, the aggressor(s) will be held
Accountable and forced to repay the losses.
B.1 Any ship/vessel not identifiable by mark or transmission gives up its
Protection from this law for failure of compliance.
C. Nations involved in conflict may still have the right to sink, or confiscate their enemies
Ship/vessels.
2. Piracy
A. In no way, shape, or form will piracy be tolerated by any UN nation on any ship/vessel, UN nation or not.
A.1 Piracy, defined by taking over any ship/vessel under forceful tactics,
Looting and stealing goods, and/or sinking.
B. Conviction.
A. Any nation who is found guilty on pirating charges will have their trading
Rights revoked immediately, and depending upon the severity of the crime, will
Be forced to repay for losses.
A.1 Individuals found guilty of piracy will be sentenced to a minimum
Of 5 years punishment, either jail or probation.

Let me know if you have any ideas to make it better, or if you hate it.
This is the first draft.
thanks!!

Just some questions

who/what group enforces the act?

is it ok for a hostile ship to hoist a neutral flag or transmit as neutral? If not what's the penalty?

are blockades prohibited, if not, how are they to be carried out?

loss of trading privileges....to all nations? for how long?

The group that will enforce this will be determined in the next draft. I'm trying to come up with a solution that would put a "coast gaurd" service out there with out funding from the UN.

If a hostile ship does transmit as neutral, or displays a neutral flag, and are caught, they will be prosecuted. The penalty is loss of Trading privalges for that nation, but if it's a group not connected to a nation, they will be imprisioned.

Blockades are allowed, because they tend to inflict no damage on neutral ships.

the loss of trading privilages is only for the nations that are caught and prosecuted by a tribunal. Depending on severity of the act, the minimum penalty will be one year, maximum permantly.

any more questions please post, or any suggestions.

This should only apply to international waters. It's a good resolution (with a little reformatting) in that context, but nations must reserve the right to fire on or board any vessel, merchant or otherwise, that enters their national waters without permission. Smuggling by sea, for instance, would be impossible to prevent otherwise.

A. In no way, shape, or form will piracy be tolerated by any UN nation on any ship/vessel, UN nation or not.

To us, this seems to be imbalanced. UN nations are still vulnerable to non-UN piracy, but can't respond in kind?

rehochipe--

i understand what you are saying, and it's a great point i did not consider. I would say anyone who is caught pirating, or destroying another nations property should be punished, UN or not.(in stead of punishing the non-UN nation, you would just punish the people responsible)

Now i know the UN has no jurisdiction over non-UN nations but if a non-UN nation does come into your waters and does not identify itself, ( and most likly it will not without knowledge of this proposal) and if you give warning, it would be understandable to intervene.

It will be difficult to enforce against individuals. Owners of offending vessels should be fined; their international assets if any could be seized.

What if it is a government which offends? Such things are not unknown.