NationStates Jolt Archive

I don't have the endorsements for me to propose this act, so I am hoping either someone will endorse me or someone with endorsements will make this proposal.

War Crimes Prevention Act


Category: International Security
Strength: Strong
Proposed by: Entelechia (or?)


UNDERSTANDING that war is an undesirable occurrence amongst the nations of the world.

RECOGNIZING that non-combatants are often the target of attacks, or reprisals by the military forces of an attacking or occupying nation.

INTENDING to alleviate the suffering caused by war.


1. DECLARES that WA members must as a minimum adhere to minimal protections for; noncombatants, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause.

2. DEMANDS that these protected persons shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, specifically forbidding;

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture,
(b) taking of hostages,
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment,
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. STIPULATES that no protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.

3. REQUIRES that any nation involved in war take precautions to ensure that harm to non-combatants and other protected persons are minimized.

4. DECLARES that planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a military action intended to enact any of the aforementioned prohibited acts constitute War Crimes.

5. ESTABLISHES the WA War Crimes Investigation Committee in order to monitor and investigate suspected violations of this act.

6. CALLS for the arrest of any such persons who are in violation of this act.

7. IMPOSES economic sanctions by all WA members of nations with governments or militaries found to be complicit in violations of this act.

This has been tried. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=549708)

Truly I don't think it would pass.

This has been tried. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=549708)

Thanks for the link. Truly the worlds future is dim.

This has been tried.

disagree, only with the tense.

Thanks for the link. Truly the worlds future is dim.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try, only that previous attempts (that frankly haven't got as far as being voted on) are there to learn from.

I have a slight issue with clause 2, which clause 4 goes some way to fixing. We could prosecute people who've directly committed some atrocity, even if they were "only following orders"; that's fine. I'm a bit less clear about how easily we could go after the people who gave them the orders. It's probably just a matter of suitable legal definitions of the war crime in our national law, I'd just like to be reassured that you're not intending to block that kind of prosecution.

--
Cerys Coch, Permanent Undersecretary

the government of the emperor of urgench welcomes this proposed resolution as we feel that the protection of the lives and liberties of civilians should be paramount in the considerations of any nation wishing to prosecute a war.
his divine majesty the emperor himself has insisted that if this resolution should be brought be for us for vote that our delegate vote yes.
we appluad the work of this resolutions authors and wish them the best of luck in bringing it to vote.



yours, Nogai, khan of tabagatai, minister for foreign affairs of urgench

I have a slight issue with clause 2, which clause 4 goes some way to fixing. We could prosecute people who've directly committed some atrocity, even if they were "only following orders"; that's fine. I'm a bit less clear about how easily we could go after the people who gave them the orders. It's probably just a matter of suitable legal definitions of the war crime in our national law, I'd just like to be reassured that you're not intending to block that kind of prosecution.

Thanks for the feedback, it definitely isn't my intention to block that type of prosecution. I will make changes to make that clear.

Is there an active peace loving region you can recommend where I can get a couple of endorsements, or would you be willing to make the proposal yourself?

his divine majesty the emperor himself has insisted that if this resolution should be brought be for us for vote that our delegate vote yes.

we appluad the work of this resolutions authors and wish them the best of luck in bringing it to vote.


Respected Nogai (khan of tabagatai, minister for foreign affairs of urgench),

Please note that the drafter of this proposal does not have the required 2 endorsements needed to be allowed to propose a resolution. Is there an active peace loving region you can reccomend where I can get 2 endorsements? Or would his most respected Majesty your Emperor be willing to endorse the drafter, or would he be willing to make the proposal himself?

here is the revised (much improved, in my opinion) proposal:

War Crimes Prevention Act


Category: International Security
Strength: Strong
Proposed by: Entelechia (or?)


UNDERSTANDING that war is an undesirable occurrence amongst the nations of the world.

RECOGNIZING that non-combatants are often the target of attacks, or reprisals by the military forces of an attacking or occupying nation.

INTENDING to alleviate the suffering caused by war.

1. DECLARES that WA nations when participating in war must adhere to minimum protections against harm for; civilians, noncombatants, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause.

2. DEMANDS that these people be classified as protected persons and shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, specifically forbidding;

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture,
(b) taking of hostages,
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment,
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

3. STIPULATES that no protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.

4. PROCLAIMS that no person ordering or engaging in such prohibited acts be exempt from prosecution.

5. DECLARES that planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a military action intended to enact any of the aforementioned prohibited deeds constitutes a War Crime.

6. ESTABLISHES the WA War Crimes Investigation Committee in order to monitor and investigate suspected violations of this act.

Respected Nogai (khan of tabagatai, minister for foreign affairs of urgench),

Please note that the drafter of this proposal does not have the required 2 endorsements needed to be allowed to propose a resolution. Is there an active peace loving region you can reccomend where I can get 2 endorsements? Or would his most respected Majesty your Emperor be willing to endorse the drafter, or would he be willing to make the proposal himself?


the government of the emperor of urgench wishes to express their gratitude to the highly respected and esteemed dlegate of entelechia for their nations confidence in our as yet un-tested nations ablilities.
indeed his divine majesty himself wishes us to convey to you his felicitations. he feels as do we that the redrafted proposal is even more important and urgent than it's progenitor. and we congratulate your nation on it's clarity and perspicasity.
further to your requests for information; we are currently located in a region well known for it's free thinking and freedoms. and though some of it's members seem to be involved in something referred to as the "pie war" the majority of it's members are peace loving. it is highly likely that your nation could garner the requisite endorsements here. we certainly had no difficulty in collecting them for ourselves.
as to your suggestion that we might put this proposed resolution forward to vote ourselves, well the government of the emperor of urgench would certainly be delighted to try. we would remind the highly esteemed delegate that we are new to the w.a. and therefore as yet somewhat unfamiliar with all the workings of it and that since this is such a vital resolution it might be better handled by a more experienced and influential nation or region.
we also feel that it would be a shame for the hard working authors of this resolution not to get the full credit for it's being ratified.
having said this, it is the government of the emperor of urgenchs position that if your government cannot obtain the endorsements it needs or is unwilling to put it's self through the upheaval of relocating to another region, or cannot find a more experienced delegacy to put this resoltution before the w.a. for vote, then we would be delighted to have such a worthy batton passed to us.
be rest assured we are an inexperienced but passionate (some would say loud mouthed) nation who would advocate the need for this law with all our available energies.
and if the resolution could be brought to vote then his divine majesties ministry for foreign affairs, with the imprematur of the emperor, would take full responsibility for endevouring to have the resolution passed.



yours respectfully, their excellencies, Tamerlane, khan of samarkand and bhukhara, grand chancellor of the empire,
Hulagu, khan of persia, acting first secretary to the emperor,
and, Nogai, khan of tabagatai, minister for foreign affairs of urgench.

may your horde ride swift.

Is there an active peace loving region you can recommend where I can get a couple of endorsements, or would you be willing to make the proposal yourself?
I really wouldn't feel comfortable submitting this myself. Besides, it really shouldn't be hard for you to get a couple of other nations in your region to endorse you if you ask politely.

4. PROCLAIMS that no person ordering or engaging in such prohibited acts be exempt from prosecution.
That's rather a lot stronger than I was after, really. All I wanted was something along the lines of "...nothing in clause 3 shall be construed as exempting any person ordering or engaging in such prohibited acts from prosecution," though in less mangled English than that :-) There may after all be good reason to waive prosecution; some sort of deal for giving evidence against others, for example.

--
Cerys Coch, Permanent Undersecretary

Besides, it really shouldn't be hard for you to get a couple of other nations in your region to endorse you if you ask politely.

Well my region really is quite sleepy, we have a message aprox. every 11 days, I have posted and am waiting for a reply, I have yet to resort to telegrams. I might be moving soon.


That's rather a lot stronger than I was after, really.

Your point is well taken, I will revise it when I have some time.

Thank you for your feedback.

we are currently located in a region well known for it's free thinking and freedoms. and though some of it's members seem to be involved in something referred to as the "pie war" the majority of it's members are peace loving. it is highly likely that your nation could garner the requisite endorsements here. we certainly had no difficulty in collecting them for ourselves.

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I will give my region mates a few days to respond and then shift to a more active region such as yours.

If for some reason I am not able to make the proposal I would be more than happy to have you take up the mantle. What is most important to my people is that such a resolution be passed into law, regardless of whether we garner accolades for it or not. Your assistance in this regard is very much appreciated and it speaks well of your noble and enlightened society.

Is there an active peace loving region you can recommend where I can get a couple of endorsements,

You could try the International Democratic Union (http://www.nationstates.net/region=international_democratic_union)...

Thank you all for your input and support. I now have 3 endorsements from my region so I will be figuring out how to make a proposal. Be sure to let your WA delegates know how you feel about the issue so they will vote in favor.

I agree with the wounded, civilians, and hors de combat part, but the protected persons part...not so much. If this includes military officials and/or political prisoners, i cannot agree. The ransom of these could be critical in ending a war.