NationStates Jolt Archive

In order to promote public transparency, the government of the Dutch Democratic Republic hereby publishes a list of current United Nations Resolutions and the status of their implementation.

Whilst the Dutch Democratic Republic is not a member of the United Nations, we greatly appreciate the importance of international law, and seek to support the NSUN wherever possible.

See: The full list of NSUN resolutions and their status in Knootian law (http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dgq92x3b_2d5rcvs&revision=_latest) (google document)

Below, objections raised by NGO's against our policies are frankly published with regards to the contested resolutions. I also endeavoured to list our principal objections against resolutions whose implementation has been withheld by Executive Order.

I thank you for your attention.

~Aram Koopman
Ambassador to the United Nations

United Nations Resolutions where implementation inside the Dutch Democratic Republic has been contested:

'RBH' Replacement
NGO criticism:
"Knootian private healthcare is not universal, nor does it provide basic essential services to those in need. The State-secretariat for Private Healthcare is chronically underfunded, failing even the task of basic oversight on private institutions." ~ Women's Health International

Oceanic Waste Dumping
NGO criticism:
"Ships flying the Knootian flag have repeatedly been found engaging in deep-sea dumping. Convictions, however, have been far and few. Maritime matters are delegated to the district court of Rotterdam, which has not prioritised violations of environmental regulations that take place outside Knootian domestic jurisdiction." ~ NS Greenpeace

Fair Treatment of Mentally-Ill
NGO criticism:
"Crazy Knootian doctors regularly kill 'defective' babies." ~ Christians For Life!

Rights and Duties of UN States
NGO criticism:
"Meddling in the internal affairs of other nations is exemplified in the very existence of the Knootian Federation. In the undeclared War against Communism, and more recently in the Excalbian Isles, there has been evidence suggesting that the Knootians have a very 'pro-active' foreign policy." ~ International Tribune of Int. Relations

Reduce Black Market Arms Sales
NGO criticism:
"... utter hypocrisy that a country with the strictest gun-laws in the region is also the biggest exporter of illicit weaponry...." ~ International Tribune of Int. Relations

Reduction of greenhouse gases
NGO criticism:
"10% reduction of greenhouse gasses was an ambitious goal 10 years ago. It still is just that. A goal." ~United Nations Climate Measurement Annual Report

Eradicate Smallpox
NGO criticism:
"Smallbox in the Dutch Democratic Republic seems to primarily affect isolated Christian communities, which have not been inoculated. The government had done preciously little to help these communities." ~ Women's Health International

Rights of the Disabled
NGO criticism:
"Crazy Knootian doctors regularly kill 'defective' babies." ~ Christians For Life!

Individual Self-Determination
NGO criticism:
"Medical professionals with concious objections against euthanasia are finding it excessively hard to obtain permanent employment in the Knootian Federation." ~ Int. Association of NS Medical Professionals

Outlaw Necrophilia
NGO criticism:
"This resolution is constantly under attack by lunatic libertarian groups." ~Conservatives For Truth

No Ex Post Facto Laws
NGO criticism:
"Post Ex Facto laws continue to be regularly used within the Knootian legal system, but never in criminal cases." ~ NS Amnesty International

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United Nations Resolutions where implementation is withheld, as per Executive Order of the Prime Minister:

No Embargoes on Medicine
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The ability to maintain a full embargo on the most despicable regimes has to be considered a profound national interest of the Dutch Democratic Republic. We can not, and will not, provide communist and fascist regimes with the means to prolong their rule"

Alternative Fuels
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"This resolution would have an unfair impact on the profitability of Knootian automobile manufacturing. The continued loss of production and employability that the continued application of this resolution threatens, has to be considered profound."

Banning the use of Landmines
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The Dutch Democratic Republic, whilst abhorring the use of landmines, must consider that they are used by many of our adversaries. The military disadvantage created by a unilateral ban on the use of landmines could pose a threat to the security of the Knootian Federation."

Definition of 'Fair Trial'
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The so-called jury system is considered, by an overwhelming majority of the populace, to be profoundly unfair. It is then our democratic right to choose our own, fairer, system of criminal justice. The high standards that are guaranteed by professional judges are infinitely preferable to the inexperience of the layman juror."

Illegal Logging
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The World Woodland Protection Team has shown itself to be a politicised organisation, with a heavy bias against legitimate logging practices inside the Knootian Federation. Cooperation with this organisation is hereby terminated, in the national interest."

Ban Trafficking in Persons
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Whilst endorsing almost all the provisions of this resolution, we find that it places some unfair restrictions on legitimate acts of prostitution. This resolution conflicts with other resolutions, which endorse a more progressive approach."

Banning whaling
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
".... whales are not an endangered species...."

Right to Self-Protection
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Strict gun laws are needed for the safety of our citizens, to fight crime, and to protect national security. The so-called 'right' to self-protection conflicts directly with the monopoly on violence enjoyed solely by the State."

UNCoESB
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The guinea pig, contrary to all reports, is not teetering on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation. They are a domesticated species."

Fossil Fuel Reduction Act
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Proper implementation of this resolution puts an unacceptable strain on economic growth."

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"The Dutch Democratic Republic holds the right to conduct responsible transfers of technology between allied nations."

Waste Disposal Covenant
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Implementation of this resolution is desirable in the long term, but not viable in the short term. Domestic Industry will be given a chance to come to terms with the provisions of this resolution voluntarily, using a private covenant."

Help Prevent Ozone Depletion
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"At present, CFCs continue to be essential in some production processes. Implementation of this resolution will no longer be withheld when the appropriate technologies have been developed."

Marriage Protection Act
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"This regressive resolution is a threat to the civil liberties of same-sex couples."

Chemical Transport Standards
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Implementation of this resolution is desirable in the long term, but not viable in the short term. Domestic Industry will be given a chance to come to terms with the provisions of this resolution voluntarily, using a private covenant."

Sustainable Agriculture Center
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Fundamentally at odds with Knootian agricultural policy, which promotes high-tech solutions to maximise production, with only a very limited amount of arable land availiable."

UN Fair Wage Convention
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Price-setting and wage-setting is fundamentally a matter of the private setting, and domestic negotiations between employers and employees. It would go against the national interest to allow an international committee to interfere in these negotiations on the distribution of wealth."

Healthcare Certification
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"Not enforceable on the private sector."

Abortion Legality Convention
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
"A regressive resolution, unfairly restricting the freedom of a woman to choose."

Can't read it...don't have 'access.'

Google Docs is telling me that I don't have access to the document.

Feck. Lemme fix that.

EDIT: should be fixed

Added reasoning for all relevant resolutions :)

OOC: Whoo! Habeas Corpus survived! err, better make this slightly on topic...

This is the most comprehensive list I've ever seen. Well done on actually coming up with real reasons, and sticking to them (unlike oh so many eejits).

Very nice, Knoot. I thought about doing something like this for Yelda before I rejoined the UN.

On the UN Fair Wage Convention, I'd like to direct your attention to Article (VIII):

(VIII) It is affirmed that UN nations shall retain the right to make final decisions in all matters concerning wages and compensation, taking into account local economic conditions and factors affecting the economic well-being of all their citizenry.

UN Fair Wage Convention is a blocker intended to prevent the passage of further fair wage/minimum wage legislation. The commission has the power to make recommendations only. You can be in compliance with it by doing nothing at all, basically.

OOC: Whoo! Habeas Corpus survived! err, better make this slightly on topic...

This is the most comprehensive list I've ever seen. Well done on actually coming up with real reasons, and sticking to them (unlike oh so many eejits).

OOC: Thanks! And we like Habeas Corpus >_>

Very nice, Knoot. I thought about doing something like this for Yelda before I rejoined the UN.

On the UN Fair Wage Convention, I'd like to direct your attention to Article (VIII):

UN Fair Wage Convention is a blocker intended to prevent the passage of further fair wage/minimum wage legislation. The commission has the power to make recommendations only. You can be in compliance with it by doing nothing at all, basically.

OOC: Hmmm. Good point. Then again, would that UN committee be publishing those embarrassing figures on wage inequality? Since that would really be a boon to unions. >_>

Then again, would that UN committee be publishing those embarrassing figures on wage inequality?
It doesn't say that the findings will be published and since we don't have a UN freedom of information act it's to be assumed that they are not public. Disclosure of facts, figures and other information is handled on a resolution by resolution basis. UNFWC is silent on the matter.

OOC:
Yeah, that would make it harmless I suppose. Still, the very idea of wage-setting by committee is anathema to the whole free market thingamajing that Knootians are big on >_>

I'd be a resolution we could begrudgingly accept, if we were to rejoin. Stuff like the "Definition of Fair Trial" makes that excessively unlikely though. >_>

This is the beautifulest, most evilly brilliant thing we have ever seen. The Creative Solutions Agency wholeheartedly approves.

And gleefully defenestrates the delegation from Emen-Un. ...

[Abortion Legality Convention
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:
[INDENT]"A regressive resolution, unfairly restricting the freedom of a woman to choose."

It does nothing of the kind in the DDR. The DDR is free to make its own abortion laws. Your government can implement abortion laws as it sees fit. Tell your PM to get his head out of his arse, Mr. Koopman.

Respectfully,
Sheik Nadnerb bin Cluich
Cluichstani Ambassador to the UN

OOC: For a brief description of Ariddia's compliance, see here (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Ariddia_and_the_United_Nations#ESAT_and_the_United_Nations).

Incidententally, Cobdenia, you can't say that you're in outright non-compliance with some resolutions (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php?title=Cobdenian_UN_Compliance). Compliance itself is mandatory... to the letter of the law, that is, but not necessarily to its intent.

OoC: Yeah, that's just a basic summary, I'll get more creative when I can be arsed. I used to word non-compliance as it's all I could think of, and the vast majority are more non-compliance due to inability rather than the sort of "I don't like that" non compliance. I may change it to "poorly enforced" and unratified, or unable to comply

EDIT: Temprory fixed

It does nothing of the kind in the DDR. The DDR is free to make its own abortion laws. Your government can implement abortion laws as it sees fit.At the risk of second guessing another nations motives, I think that is exactly the point Snr Koopman is making.

Please let's not go down that route again?

United Nations Resolutions where implementation inside the Dutch Democratic Republic has been contested:

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United Nations Resolutions where implementation is withheld, as per Executive Order of the Prime Minister:

Just for that, the UN Gnomes are going to take away your primary nation's ability to edit their own posts.



... and you thought they were impotent little fellas, dincha?

Marriage Protection Act
Executive Order of the Prime Minister withholding implementation:

"This regressive resolution is a threat to the civil liberties of same-sex couples."

Can't disagree with your assesment of this one. I'm not that fond of the thing either, and I wrote it.

Just to clarify a bit, it was written originally to prevent any proposal passing, and in the climate of the UN at that time a well written effort just might have, that banned same-sex marriage UN wide. After Definition of Marriage reso was repealed, there were a swathe of attempts at doing just that being submitted.

Can't disagree with your assesment of this one. I'm not that fond of the thing either, and I wrote it.

Just to clarify a bit, it was written originally to prevent any proposal passing, and in the climate of the UN at that time a well written effort just might have, that banned same-sex marriage UN wide. After Definition of Marriage reso was repealed, there were a swathe of attempts at doing just that being submitted.

And approximately 0% of those had any chance of succeeding. Seriously. The age and national demographics of this game's player base make it so unlikely as to not be worth considering. I think that's a good thing, as I'd oppose a ban on same-sex marriage with tooth and nail and Molotov cocktail.

The efforts submitted didn't stand a chance, yes, I agree with you. What worried me was a well written effort, with the real intent hidden in clever language, or tacked onto another subject, that most voters would miss. That was on the cards, and preventing such legislation is the main reason I wrote Marriage Protection Act.

The UN Fair Wage Convention may be considered at a future time... probably along with our longstanding intention to consider research into the possibility of some sort of minimum wage in the Dutch Democratic Republic.

We oppose the Abortion Legality Convention precisely because it is a piece of freedom-hating legislation that prevents this esteemed body from enacting sensible legislation on the issue of women's basic human rights.

The same holds true for the Marriage Protection Act, another piece of regressive legislation. For shame, that a nation of flip-flopping clueless hippies and commiecrats such as Waterana would be responsible for it. Knootians tend to be disliked by the hippies for our right-thinking economic policies, and hated by conservatives for our love of individual freedom. Congratulations, you managed to piss us off by trampling on both! ((fluffles tho, OOC ;) ))

Even when those two pieces of legislation are essentially meaningless, the parliament and government of the Dutch Democratic Republic fiercely oppose them and wish to see them stricken. Witholding implementation, then, must be considered a symbolic act of us pissing on these rotten pieces of legislation.

-Aram Koopman

Ermm, actually, I wrote Marriage Protection Act as Witchcliff, which was role played as much more centrist than Waterana. It did have a slight lean towards nat sov, and was nowhere as lefty loonie as Waterana.

Also, my own personal political leanings have changed over the last two years too. If I did as you've done here, and went through every reso deciding what I agree with and don't agree with now, there would probably be some big differences between what I'd support on the floor today and what I did support/vote for in the past.

Ermm, actually, I wrote Marriage Protection Act as Witchcliff, which was role played as much more centrist than Waterana. It did have a slight lean towards nat sov, and was nowhere as lefty loonie as Waterana.

Also, my own personal political leanings have changed over the last two years too. If I did as you've done here, and went through every reso deciding what I agree with and don't agree with now, there would probably be some big differences between what I'd support on the floor today and what I did support/vote for in the past.

OOC: Then do! I'm curious what you'll come up with.

This post is also a personal reminder that I should update the first post myself, here.