NationStates Jolt Archive

Infinite Hoarding would like to propose the UN sponsored NGO (non govornment organization) that would deal with medical supply issues, containment of diseases, and disease awareness in underdeveloped or slowly-developing nations, henceforth referred to as the United Nations World Medical Association (UNWMA).

Draft:

Recognizing the need for stronger international cooperation in fighting disease and germs that can plague people and resource lines.

Realizing that underdeveloped or developing nations are unable to afford effective medicines in bulk.

Hoping that the United Nations will stand for the erradication of national epidemics before they become world epidemics.

Operative Clauses:

1)The United Nations will fund, in conjunction with NGOs and GOs, including, but not limited to, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and various free-trade organizations, the creation of the United Nations World Medical Association (UNWMA), whose directive will be the creation or purchasing and dispensing of drugs to nations in need of assistance in dealing with foreign entities that effect the health and well being of living creatures.
a)To be staffed with a chairperson, whose job will be to keep decorum,
b)A director, who will act as the leader of the exectutive branch, whose directive will be the despensing and propagation of materials including, but not limited to, medical supplies, and also has say relating to the containment of epidemics through any means possible.
c)And department heads, voted on by members who decide to support the United Nations World Medical Association in a democratic fashion. These departments will be the research department (classification and works toward cures), exploratory (to discover new viruses/bacteria and their locations), and the finance, which will deal with the collection and acquisition of funds.

OOC:I mean, it seems natural that Nation States has a medical branch to deal with epidemics and the such.

First glance:

"The United Nations will fund..." The UN has no income source at present

A "World Bank" and a "World Health Organization" do not exist in NS.

"The creation of the United Nations World Medical Association (UNWMA)" - Creation of recognized agencies and their staffs may be considered a violation of game mechanics, especially when you actually expect them to do something.

Isn't a lot of this already covered in the following resolutions, at least in spirit?Keep The World Disease-Free!
Required Basic Healthcare
'RBH' Replacement
Global AIDS Initiative
No Embargoes on Medicine
Increased Access to MedicineFinally, if the UN is sponsoring it, maintaining control of it, arranging for democratic elections of officers and staff, and providing ongoing funding ... how exactly is it a Non-governmental organization?

OOC:Oh, I thought that the UN of nationstates was the same entity as the real UN, or to be roleplayed as such. Because the REAL UN has many NGOs and even NGOs and private orgs that donate large sums of money.

And an NGO is a non-govornmental organization, and govornmental is limited to an actual "govornment". An example of an NGO is the UN, because it is an international forum, and not a "govornment".

So, does the Nationstates UN have the same organizations like "SPECPOL", "WorldHealthOrg", ect., or does it not?

So, does the Nationstates UN have the same organizations like "SPECPOL", "WorldHealthOrg", ect., or does it not?

It's a tricky question. The NSUN does not exactly mirror the real-world UN, so those organizations don't exist unless specifically created by resolutions. Since that can be a violation of the rules unless you're extremely-careful, the UN has only created a handful of actual NGOs under its own umbrella.

However, I think it is assumed by the majority of members that the day-to-day operation of the NSUN functions in the same manner as the real-world UN. There is a General Assembly (all of us) that writes resolutions to bring about global progress, and a Secretariat (non-player characters) that manage or execute the programs and mandates we create. If you wanted to create a Nation States version of UNICEF, I don't see any reason why you couldn't.

I think the rest of this confusion stems from a misunderstanding of just what you mean when you say non-governmental organization. The World Bank defines it in the traditional sense of international relations: a private organization that operates on a global level, but is not controlled by the government of a specific nation-state.

The World Bank defines NGOs as "private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development" (Operational Directive 14.70). In wider usage, the term NGO can be applied to any non-profit organization which is independent from government. NGOs are typically value-based organizations which depend, in whole or in part, on charitable donations and voluntary service. Although the NGO sector has become increasingly professionalized over the last two decades, principles of altruism and voluntarism remain key defining characteristics.

I think what Frisbeeteria is suggesting is that the UN is a government in-of-itself, and that your UNWMA would be a function of that government.

OOC:Oh, I thought that the UN of nationstates was the same entity as the real UN, or to be roleplayed as such.
I've always roleplayed it as an internally consistent organization that came into being with the passage of "Fight the Axis of Evil". The organization itself was defined by Max as having considerably more power than that other UN, and those powers were hard-coded into the game. That way, you can keep track of exactly what powers the UN has or is missing by reading the UN FAQ, the passed resolutions, and the forum stickies (for new interpretations of existing rules).

It would have been nice if there had been a Charter from the outset. It would have been nice to be charged dues or had a World Bank from the start. Unfortunately, it's an extremely simple game that grew far beyond its creator's possible imagination, and those changes can't be made retroactively.

We've always imported real-world issues and solutions, and attempted to codify them into resolutions that can be passed. We are limited by the fact that legal language that defines such activities is often far more complex than the average player wants to understand. So we end up with a bunch of half-assed resolutions passing while more worthy ideas from sophisticated writers languish because we can't agree on the language. Oh well.

Build on the existing base of International Law. Try to simplify your complex argument by accepting that you can't be the full solution to all players. Assume that you can't make assumptions, and you'll do all right.
I think what Frisbeeteria is suggesting is that the UN is a government in-of-itselfA rose by any other name ...

It can pass and enforce laws. It answers only to itself, albeit democratically. What else could you call it?

Government is more than passing laws and having citizens. And in the tricky world of international relations, it's even more difficult. Our UN is closer to a government than the real life UN, but it's still a supranatural organization. You could say it has citizens, but it's not responsible for their well being or their day to day lives. You could say it passes laws, but only within a very limited scope of issues, and again, not dealing with the individual bodies that make up a proper nation state.