NationStates Jolt Archive

I'll eventually get the science to this down so that my draft topic will stay around until I get a chance to submit the resolution....

RECOGNIZING that international crime is a major problem facing the world today,

DEEPLY CONCERNED BY the negative economic and social impacts of organized criminal activities, and convinced of the urgent need to strengthen cooperation to prevent such activities more effectively at the national, regional and international levels,

STRONGLY CONVINCED that the denying of safe havens to international organized criminals is an effective and necessary tool,

RECOMMENDS the following:

I. Scope of Resolution

This Resolution shall apply to all crimes, especially offenses that are in direct violation of UN resolutions, when such offenses are international in nature.

II. Specific actions recommended

A. Each UN member shall establish a national clearinghouse for information pertaining to organized crime

1. This functionary shall coordinate and store information and requests for information from legal bodies within the member nation.
2. This functionary shall be responsible for processing requests from other member nations pertaining to crimes covered under the scope of this resolution.
3. Each clearinghouse shall establish the categories of crimes for which that clearinghouse shall maintain a database. UN resolution violations must be included in clearinghouse records.

B. Exceptions - Member nations may decline specific requests for one of the following reasons

1. Request would violate standing domestic law in that nation
2. Request involves an offense not considered a crime under that nation's standing domestic law

For those who missed the topic earlier in the week, this was formerly called "Crime Prevention Network". Per suggestions from the helpful folks here, I'll be telegramming delegates who supported the last version of the proposal. As you may notice, I've made some changes in the spirit of compromise and a shortened length.

As you may notice, I've made some changes in the spirit of compromise and a shortened length.

A very hard thing to do, but very much appreciated. Good luck.

Thank you very much. To follow another example:

Current endorsements: 40

You have my vote, in my nation we have already destroyed Organized Crime and are well on our way to beating Regular Thugs down.

The Principality of San Mabus would like to submit, respectfully, an objection to this proposal.

Pertaining to the accessibility of this "clearinghouse," what sort of information will be available, and to whom? Crimes related to terrorism or international espionage may necessitate keeping this information "close to the vest." San Mabus supports the War on Terror and would not want to compromise this effort.

Furthermore, it would be nice to see some provision for extradition, though we admit this adds to the scope of the proposal.

Adding such an exception for information an individual government would wish to keep Proprietary would support sovereignty, but may take any "teeth" out of this proposal.

Pertaining to the accessibility of this "clearinghouse," what sort of information will be available, and to whom? Crimes related to terrorism or international espionage may necessitate keeping this information "close to the vest."

The type of information available will, of course, vary from request to request, as well as what the clearinghouse for a member nation decides is pertinent and useful. The resolution did have several examples listed originally, but I removed them for the sake of brevity. They included such things as access to evidence and witness statements, appropriate government documents, and the like.

As for the "to whom" part of the question, the requests are sent by one nation's clearinghouse to the other nation's clearinghouse. The requested information is sent back to the first clearinghouse, which then disseminates the information to the appropriate law enforcement officials within their nation. This is mostly in an attempt to streamline the process.

In regards to the "close to the vest" aspect....I designed the concept of separate clearinghouses for each member nation so that their records could be maintained in respect to their domestic law, having privacy laws in mind, in particular. However, I could see where other domestic issues may effect clearinghouse information as well. Obviously, most nations would be unwilling to share certain classified information, and the resolution would not force them to do so.

That said, in the case of the "War on Terror", I hope that all nations would be willing to share potentially vital information in the prevention of terrorism, whether this proposal ever becomes a resolution or not.

The key to this resolution, to me, was balancing the power of the resolution and the protection of national sovereignty. While I realize that the NS UN often causes sweeping changes to the domestic laws of a country, I did not want the resolution to severely limit how a nation polices itself. I feel that a resolution with "more teeth", as it were, would potentially do just that [and is why this is only a 'mild' resolution].

Altogether, this resolution is about voluntary cooperation between member states in an effort to eliminate something that is a problem for the international community.

II
B
(should add)
3. If the release of such information would compromise national security.

Until then, sorry, going to have to say nay to this one as I'm not giving out information on my intellegence assets.

II
B
(should add)
3. If the release of such information would compromise national security.

Until then, sorry, going to have to say nay to this one as I'm not giving out information on my intellegence assets.

Hmm. I would assume most issues pertaining to national security would be addressed by part one of section B. As I mentioned in my response to San Mabus, many nations have classified information, and usually have very specific laws pertaining to who is allowed access to them. I'll definitely consider the language change, though, and see if that helps clarify the resolution.