NationStates Jolt Archive

Category: Human Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Kiften

This Assembly,


ACKNOWLEDGING that slavery is a moral injustice, and should be fought against at all costs;

HOPING that providing clearer wording and more coherent laws will provide for greater understanding and greater compliance;

DEFINING slavery as the state of being bound in servitude involuntarily or against one's will to an individual or group of individuals through ownership, or by means in which a person is forced to work for said individual or group of individuals with no means of recourse, with the exception being a judicial sentence of punishment administered by a competent authority;

DEFINING the term 'contract' as a legally-binding agreement between two or more freely consenting parties;

ACKNOWLEDGING that governments have the right to enforce contracts according to their legislature, and may impose limits on maximum lengths of contract. Any party in a contract may have the right to dispute its legality through appeal to an independent arbiter, subject to applicable UN laws.

UNDERSTANDING that only by providing people their freedom can they contribute to the best of their abilities to our socieities;

STATING these laws to be necessary for the good of the UN, and for the development of its peoples

DECLARES:

1) Citizens shall be given the right to terminate work status with their employer if a two-week notice of resignation is given, provided the terminating party has not signed a contract with employer agreeing to different terms of termination.

2) Slavery shall be abolished, immediately upon approval and ratification of this resolution. This prohibits the owning, selling, or purchasing of slaves. No restitution or compensation for slaves or slaveowners will be paid out, excepting where governments take it upon themselves to compensate slaves or slaveowners.

3) Governments have the right to require prisoners to work in order to compensate for food and boarding. The hours should be commensurate to a normal workweek, and governments may not force any criminal to work excessive hours, or tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.

4) Minors are not be considered to be slaves to their legal guardians. However, legal guardians must also abide by all UN and governmental laws regarding care of minors, and can not force children to work excessive hours, or perform tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.

1) Citizens shall be given the right to terminate work status with their employer if a two-week notice of resignation is given, provided the terminating party has not signed a contract with employer agreeing to terms of employment .
I would say "provided the two parties have not signed a contract agreeing to different terms of termination." That way, it becomes the default, unless agreed to differently.

2) All citizens are allowed to keep possession of items which are to be considered of a 'personal' nature. Total items may not exceed a certain monetary amount, to be set by each individual government. Individual governments have the right to choose not to set a limit. We recognize that items may be a part of one's identity, and therefore grant individuals the right to maintain possession of these items.
Huh? What does this have to do with slavery?

3) The abolition of slavery, immediately upon approval and ratification of this resolution. This prohibits the owning, selling, or purchasing of slaves. No restitution or compensation for slaves or slaveowners will be paid out, excepting where governments take it upon themselves to compensate slaves or slaveowners.
It should be "Slavery shall be abolished...", because it's DECLARING, not CALLING FOR.

4) Governments have the right to require prisoners to work in order to compensate for food and boarding. The hours should be commensurate to a normal workweek, and governments may not force any criminal to work excessive hours, or tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.

Good.

5) Minors can not be considered to be a slave to their legal guardians. However, legal guardians must also abide by all UN and governmental laws regarding care of minors, and can not force children to work excessive hours, or perform tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.
I think you mean "can be considered to be a slave..."?

This Assembly

HOPING that providing clearer wording and more coherent laws will provide for greater understanding and greater compliance;

UNDERSTANDING that only by providing people their freedom can they contribute to the best of their abilities to our socieities;

DECLARING these laws to be necessary for the good of the UN, and for the development of its peoples; hereby

ENACTS this resolution into law
I would leave out the last line, and put the other clauses before the "DECLARING" clause, but that's mostly style.

Looks good for the most part.

Ceorana,

You know, you're right. The original proposal had in a possessions law, but it doesn't seem to fit. I will take this out, as I did the right to travel.

I will edit to reflect your changes. Thanks for your well thought-out ideas and reviews.

OOC: Also, I don't want minors to be able to call themselves 'slaves' and thus be able to fill out a two week notice ;)

I've got some more suggestions, which I'll post right now:

1) Citizens shall be given the right to terminate work status with their employer if a two-week notice of resignation is given, provided the terminating party has not signed a contract with employer agreeing to terms of employment . Either party may challenge the legality of a contract if they feel the other side has breached the terms of aforementioned contract, and all governments have the right to self-regulate contract disputes within their own boundaries, according to their legislature, but all parties to a contract dispute have the right to request arbitration by an independent source.
I don't think the UN needs to legislate on contract law in this proposal. How about:

1. Citizens shall be given the right to terminate work status with their employer if a two-week notice of resignation is given, provided the terminating party has not signed a contract with employer agreeing to terms of employment, subject to applicable UN and/or national laws.

1a) This Assembly defines a contract as an agreement between two or more freely consenting parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law. Furthermore, governments are hereby permitted to set a maximum amount of time that contracts may entail.
This should go in the preamble, and be changed to:

DEFINING contract as a legally-binding agreement between two parties;

and then, in 1a:

1a. RESPECTS nations' rights to govern contracts, including the length of time that they may entail, subject to any other applicable UN resolution;

ENACTS this resolution into lawYes, nuke this. Enactment is automatic and doesn't need to be added to the bottom of Proposals.

Hack

It has been duly noted and removed. Should I include a replacement line or leave it as is now?

DEFINING slavery as the state of one bound in servitude involuntarily or against their will to an individual or group of individuals through ownership, or by means in which a person is forced to work for said individual or group of individuals with no means of recourse, with the exception being a judicial sentence of punishment administered by a competent authority;
DEFINING contract as a legally-binding agreement between two or more freely consenting parties;
ACKNOWLEDGING that governments have the right to enforce contracts according to their legislature, and may impose limits on maximum lengths of contract. Any party in a contract may have the right to dispute its legality through appeal to an independent arbiter, subject to applicable UN laws.
DECLARES:
1) Citizens shall be given the right to terminate work status with their employer if a two-week notice of resignation is given, provided the terminating party has not signed a contract with employer agreeing to different terms of termination.

I fail to see why you get into an area here that is not part of the slavery issue as far as I see it. Thus mention of contracts here should be an issue for another proposal and left out of this one as should any reference to when a person can leave their jobs that they volunteered to work at and were not forced to work at.

2) Slavery shall be abolished, immediately upon approval and ratification of this resolution. This prohibits the owning, selling, or purchasing of slaves. No restitution or compensation for slaves or slaveowners will be paid out, excepting where governments take it upon themselves to compensate slaves or slaveowners.

This is only part other than to define slavery that applies to title of proposal as anything else goes beyond issue of slavery and needs to be dealt with in another proposal.

3) Governments have the right to require prisoners to work in order to compensate for food and boarding. The hours should be commensurate to a normal workweek, and governments may not force any criminal to work excessive hours, or tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.

5) Minors are not be considered to be slaves to their legal guardians. However, legal guardians must also abide by all UN and governmental laws regarding care of minors, and can not force children to work excessive hours, or perform tasks that hold a high likelihood for injury.

Again these two cover issue beyond slavery as how a nation deals with criminals is another matter. As for the part on minors they are covered already under another proposal thus this is not needed.

Also did I miss #4 here.


This Assembly

HOPING that providing clearer wording and more coherent laws will provide for greater understanding and greater compliance;

UNDERSTANDING that only by providing people their freedom can they contribute to the best of their abilities to our socieities;

DECLARING these laws to be necessary for the good of the UN, and for the development of its peoples

This one adds to much not related to a single issue of slavery and gets into issuses that need to be delt with in a separate proposal directly on that issue: Criminals, Contacts, Regular Workers...

Also it gets into issues already covered in other resolutions: Minors.

Thus it fails for me to be clearer and choherent... so would not be able to comply with it thus can't support it.


Zarta Warden
UN Ambassador Zeldon

Hack

It has been duly noted and removed. Should I include a replacement line or leave it as is now?

Not to speak for Hack, but no replacement is necessary.

Hasn't this already been done by universal human rights and other propasels?

It has been duly noted and removed. Should I include a replacement line or leave it as is now?What with the who now? There's no need to have any kind of clause saying that, if passed, the UN will enact the law. Since the NS UN enacts law automatically and immediately, that sort of thing is just clutter.

Zeldon,

The reason I bring up contract law is that it hasn't been brought up in the UN. Perhaps I should work on getting a contract law approved, and then press this issue?

As is, slaveowners could force their slaves to sign a life-long contract if I took this clause out.

Also, any new resolution should not just deal with property slavery, but also wage or debt slavery. These types of slavery can not be defended against without some sort of contract law.

For prisoners, if forced servitude were banned, then prisoners would not be able to be forced to work manual labor, and I choose not to take that away, leaving it as a natsov issue.

Additionally, the resolution on minors is much like the prisoner issue. A parent could 'force' a child to do chores, and if this clause was not in the law, then a child could claim that a parent was treating them as a slave.
I appreciate your comments and look forward to your replies.

Nicodemus Larynger
-Protectorate of Kiften-

First, as I said in the other thread, I think 'Abolition of Slavery' or similar is better: 'Freedom from Slavery' is oddly disquieting.

DEFINING slavery as the state of one bound in servitude involuntarily or against their will to an individual or group of individuals through ownership, or by means in which a person is forced to work for said individual or group of individuals with no means of recourse, with the exception being a judicial sentence of punishment administered by a competent authority;
You're not defining slavery here: you're defining 'slave'. Instead of 'one bound' it should be 'being bound', and 'against one's will' instead of 'against their will'.

DEFINING contract as a legally-binding agreement between two or more freely consenting parties;
'DEFINING a contract', perhaps?

HOPING that providing clearer wording and more coherent laws will provide for greater understanding and greater compliance;

UNDERSTANDING that only by providing people their freedom can they contribute to the best of their abilities to our socieities;

DECLARING these laws to be necessary for the good of the UN, and for the development of its peoples
Personally, I feel all of this is unnecessary.

Basically, a resolution has two parts: preambulatory and operative. In the former, you lay out why you're doing it; in the latter, you do it. These three lines at the end are preambulatory, so they should be moved to the beginning, or cut completely.

This is looking pretty good, though.

Gruenberg,

I will take your advice and edit as you have suggested. Again, I wish all to re-read and review this until it is as airtight as can be.

What is the general consensus on the wording of contracts in this resolution? Is it too much to put in? Should I work out a contract resolution to get approved while this one waits? What is the general opinion?

Thanks,

Nicodemus Larynger,
-Protectorate of Kiften-

I think defining contract is fine. I would reword it though:

DEFINING contract as a legally-binding agreement between two or more parties, who are both capable and willing to give uncoerced consent;

I'm still a little confused. UN Resolution "End Slavery" endded slavery. What's the point of this draft?

I'm still a little confused. UN Resolution "End Slavery" endded slavery. What's the point of this draft?
1. "End Slavery" didn't end slavery; it just tried to.
2. He intends to repeal-and-replace.

I think defining contract is fine. I would reword it though:

DEFINING contract as a legally-binding agreement between two or more parties, who are both capable and willing to give uncoerced consent;

Don't hyphenate "legally binding."

/Grammar Nazi

This is Article 8 of the Convention on Civil and Political Rights; perhaps Point 3 might help?

1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms shall be prohibited.

2. No one shall be held in servitude.

3. (a) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour;

(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in countries where imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labour in pursuance of a sentence to such punishment by a competent court;

(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term "forced or compulsory labour" shall not include:

(i) Any work or service, not referred to in subparagraph (b), normally required of a person who is under detention in consequence of a lawful order of a court, or of a person during conditional release from such detention;

(ii) Any service of a military character and, in countries where conscientious objection is recognized, any national service required by law of conscientious objectors;

(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;

(iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal civil obligations.

Gruenberg,

Good find. I'm tempted to just put this in as the replacement! :)

Gruenberg,

Good find. I'm tempted to just put this in as the replacement! :)
I wouldn't. I like your draft; but I think point 3 can be used to cover the exceptions.

Gruenberg,

It certainly will help. I will try to reword and rework some of these very thoughts into my draft, without all the legalese and subsections if possible. :)