NationStates Jolt Archive

In the crisp, cool air, the sound of nearly five dozen flags could be heard fluttering: the standard of the Republic of Eredron, and for the first time, the flags of foreign nations: the members of the Union of World Powers.

On the eve of the international conference, the military population of the Northern Military Complex - nearly a half million active personnel, was finishing up last minute details: the flags had been raised on either side of the main airfield on which all incoming traffic would land; 2,000 soldiers, with APC and armored support, had set up checkpoints on all methods of entry towards the sprawling complex; military fighters were on constant patrol over all airspace within 250 miles: aside from foreign interference, there were also fears of domestic attack from a number of radical organizations.

Lazily slicing through the calm waters of the Northern Sea was elements of a carrier group, supported by the Coastal Patrol: the surface ships were arrayed in a loose perimeter 65 miles from the port, passing up no opportunity to make their presence known when an unauthorized fishing boat or merchant ship came too close; unseen to any were the submarines.

By 7:00AM Eredron Time-Central, the pulse of the entire base quickened: the Consul's plane, Liberty 1, had just taken off from the capital.

Word quickly reached the port 20 minutes north of the airfield, where the Consul's yacht, the Noblesse, was at berth.

http://www.sam-electronics.de/neue_dateien/company/bilder/norweg.sun1.jpg

Under the supervision of Captain Jameson, forks were adjusted, bedsheets smoothed, windows cleaned. The equipment of the Navy Band was in place near the walkway that would lead out to the Noblesse, as were all the security measures installed.

Approximately 3 hours after takeoff, the sound of Liberty 1's engines could be heard, growing as the plane grew near. Four hundred marines, standing in formation, snapped to attention, waiting as the plane descended, its escort breaking off.

It's wheels hit the tarmac, gradually slowing, until the plane came to a stop. Almost instantly, a stair had been rolled to one of the aircraft's side hatches. The door was opened, and the Consul appeared. After briefly saluting the gathered soldiers, he descended the stairs and was taken to the nearby air force headquarters to meet with the CINCNOR. The soldiers returned to their regular duties, Liberty 1 was wheeled to a hangar, and a lull fell upon the base.

Aboard a specially-modified ST-22 Hessian, Jalon Taddeusz cleared the display on his hand-held with an angry gesture and turned to stare out the aircraft's window. His Internal Security escort, Arvid Dugayin, watched the process with a smile that didn't show on his face. "Something wrong, sir?"

Without turning around to face Arvid, the newly-appointed EOE representative to the Union of World Powers snarled, "If that smile I hear in your voice works its way to the surface, I'll have you cashiered. And stop callin me sir!"

Choosing his words carefully, the trooper said, "With all due respect ... sir ... I am required by IS regulations to render the proper courtesies to duly-appointed EOE personnel. You have been appointed the Ambassador to the Union of World Powers for Evil Overlord Enterprises, and I am therefore required to address you as sir." Arvid paused for a second, then added, "Sir."

Taddeusz fumed internally for a bit, then grumped, "I am not a diplomat, dammit! I'm a businessman. I don't even work for the Foreign Affairs Department. What the hell do I know about politics?"

"This meeting is supposed to be the negotiations for the permanent structure of the UWP, sir." Arvid reflexively checked the display unit on his security panel as he spoke. "The way I heard it, the Warlord wanted to send a senior diplomat, but Dark Torch and His Omniferocity preferred a veteran business negotiator for the job. The Department of Economic Penetration picked you."

"You're not helping, you know."

"Relax, sir. You have a full External Security team to fill you in on intelligence matters, three junior diplomats from Foreign Affairs, and two staffers from your own Department. All of these people will be with you to make sure you don't step on your dick too hard." Arvid's internal smile spread across his face. He composed his features with an effort before he continued. "And then, of course, there's Wing Commander Yorgieva."

Taddeusz snapped his head around quickly to make sure Arvid wasn't smiling. The IS trooper kept his expression frozen. The Ambassador was obviously awestruck by the terrifyingly-competent Aerospace Force military liaison he'd been gifted with, and just as obviously completely taken with her. The staff worked hard to keep their awareness of the situation out of their voices and expressions. Yorgieva was almost certainly aware of the effects she had on the man, and- professional that she was- arranged to stay away from him as much as possible. That would be difficult at the conference. Arvid had resisted joining the betting pool to see how many times the Ambassador would drop a stitch around the woman. But almost everyone else had joined in- even the pilots.

Taddeusz growled wordlessly and turned back to the window. Arvid turned back to his security display and nearly jumped out of his skin as he caught a glimpse of Yorgieva out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting in the main lounge aft of the Ambassador's cabin and had obviously overheard everything. She locked eyes with him and beckoned him with a finger.

Keeping his face devoid of expression and desperately willing his vital organs to stop functioning, Arvid quietly walked back to stand across the table from Wing Commander Natalia Yorgieva. She was not smiling, and Arvid suddenly realized that he had never seen her smile. Her aristocratic Russian features bore no make-up, despite the fact that several of the veins in her face had broken. Many people assumed it was the result of too much drinkinng, but Arvid had seen her file.

Yorgieva had spent half her career in space- either at the Orbital Manufacturing Facility Mikoyan or at Space Station Heinlein at LaGrange-1. She'd been exposed to massive pressure loss when some stray space debris had holed Mikoyan during her second tour there. Arvid's eyes fell unconsciously to the Silver Lion emblem above the rest of the decorations on her ribbon bar. His mind replayed the text of the citation ...

... with no regard for her own safety, Wing Commander Yorgieva personally placed her three injured crewmembers into emergency rescue bubbles as the pressure dropped below safety minimums. Refusing to get into the remaining bubble, Wing Commander Yorgieva moved through the near-vacuum of Corridor 3 to the hull puncture and sealed it off by applying the remaining emergency bubble over the hole. Nearly collapsing from anoxia. Wing Commander Yorgieva then returned to Control and closed the emergency locks manually, allowing Mikoyan's emergency air supplies to function.

Yorgieva's voice cut through Arvid's reverie. She spoke softly, without whispering. "Lieutenant Dugayin, mission is already hard enough without staff making job more difficult." She nodded in the direction of the Ambassador's cabin. "Ambassador Taddeusz has enough trouble dealing with unfamiliar job. Unprofessional attitudes by staff make job even harder."

Arvid snapped to attention, looking at a spot four inches over the wing Commander's head. "You will cease pestering Ambassador at once. You will inform rest of staff that unprofessional conduct could cause failure of mission. I will insist Warlord treat such conduct as Treason if mission fails. Do you understand?"

Arvid knew the answer to that had better be yes, sir!, so he gave the proper response. Yorgieva nodded curtly and waved a hand in dismissal. Arvid returned to his post. The Ambassador seemed to be asleep. Shaking his head, Arvid checked the flight display. Another four hours before arrival. He keyed a memo for a staff meeting into his hand-held, and sent it to all junior staff. Yorgieva outranked him, but she was also right. The mission was too important to screw up. His new job was to make sure the rest of the staff knew the consequences of screwing up.

<OOC>
Is the entire conference going to be IC, or will there be a separate thread for the actual work?


TEO

OOC: I was planning on it being IC, in an informal and relaxed discussion. If there is something you want to say or have clarified OOCly, then you can.

OOC: Tag for later post.

Ditto, post comming soon.

Ditto the ditto.

Consider it Tagged.

A former-Guild Doombringer Heavy Aircraft came into land at the appointed airfield. The heavy craft was still the sheet black of all Shadow craft and still had the Guild insignia of the Wolves head. It touched down with a slight skid not unusual for such a large and powerful craft.

After the preparations had been made to release the doors and other punitive measures. Three figures dis-embarked...

A tall dark haired woman with a dark red velvet dress and furs covering her neck. She was quite beautiful and had a predatorial grin, which exposed too sharp canines for a human this was quite unusual... but it was rather hard covering up your actual appearence within a human form.


The two women with her look similar apart from they slightly paler skin almost ghostly looking, and their fangs were even more prominent. They were also dressed in head to toe in combat grade whole PVC bodysuits. However they carried no discernable weapons on them, they just looked very menacing.

The woman stepped down to meet the party sent to meet her.

I am Dureena Nafeel, Ambassador from the Shadows. Pleased to meet you.

The woman said in accented English... making her sound positively German...

OOC: Sorry not time for a long post.

At the head of the small group of officials stood the Consul's unofficial right hand man, his Administrative Director Darin Marsh. Flanked by two members of the Consul security detail, he took a step forward towards the newly arrived delegation.

"Ambassador Nafeel, let me welcome you to Eredron on behalf of my government. If you would, I'll accompany you to the Assembly Hall where all Union delegates will meet before leaving for the Noblesse.

Upon take-off, the Comrade himself was eager for the Summit to start. Euroslavia was the founding nation of the Union of World Powers, and it must provide proof that, if it does become the Union Representative, it can successfully lead an Alliance, without question. There is no doubt that many alliances have come and gone in a quick amount of time, and there have been a few here and there that have survived for a long time, whether it was expected to, or not.

The nations accepted into the Union, for the most part, aren't the typical natinos that join multiple alliances, for example, the two prime nations of The Evil Overlord and Eredron. The Comrade was very excited in meeting the representatives of these nations, as well as meeting the representative from Sarzonia, one of Euroslavia's greatest allies, to catch up on any Sarzonian gossip.

It was also very interesting to see nations here that wouldn't typically be in the same alliance as other members, such as The Merchant Guilds. In the Comrades' mind, there was something special about this nation, and sometime soon, it would be revealed to the rest of the Union, and hopefully, the world.

The private aircraft that was flying towards Eredron for the first Union meeting was closing in on its destination point. Only time would tell exactly how the arrival, and the meeting would go, not only for Euroslavia, but for the success of the entire Union. It all rests upon this day in history.

"Comrade, sir. The ETA time for landing is 20 minutes. We're going to start our slow descent, just to keep you aware of everything that is going on."

"You always seem to know exactly what I want to know." the Comrade chuckled. "But for once, you don't have to be so formal. We've gone through this so much...call me by my first name, Patrick."

"I cannot do that, sir! That would be against policy code 413-2B in the..."

"Oh stop it. That code book is a bunch of b.s. Heck, I don't even know it. It looks so boring. If it makes you feel better, than go ahead and call me sir, but know that if you did call me Patrick, I wouldn't be offended. I hate formalities..."

Premier Muhammad had insisted he be allowed to attend the summit himself. After hours of arguement form his cabinent, he was on his way. Eredon, some nation he'd never heard of, was where the UWP Summit was being held. On the plane, Muhammad went over the current events of the UWP. Since joining, Muhammad had not been very involved in it. He prefered sticking with the Union of Socialist Republics.

The flight took seven hours and sixteen minutes to arrive in Eredon. The jet-lagged Premier got off his plane, at an airport. He didn't know the name, and really wasn't sure where he was. Luckily Hasan had his trip planned by governmental workers who knew what they were doing. After a few minutes of waiting, the Premier got in a modest car with Halladi flags on the corners.

"Excellent work, Dave," Jorj Fariz exclaimed as he entered the large room; used for military briefings and conferences, the assembly hall had been converted into a less severe environment, with the flags of each respective nation lining the walls; despite initial resistance from factions in the government against joining the Union, Consul Fariz had quickly crushed any vocal opposition and promised to retain an individual and sovereign identity within the Union.

Preoccupied with the information received from his emergency meeting with the Command Staff, Fariz almost didn't notice the aide who had appeared at his side.

"Sir, the delegates from The Merchant Guilds and Hallad have just arrived, and the Euroslavians will be touching down momentarily."

"Ah, thank you," he replied, forgetting the man's name. "Check with the Director and ensure that the delegates are promptly escorted here. And inform the motorcade to stand by for our departure to the port."

He had planned for all the delegates to be taken from the airfield to the nearby assembly hall, which stood within a stone's throw of the airstrip, to allow them to adjust to Eredron and wait for all members to arrive; a motorcade of three dozen vehicles were waiting in a nearby hangar to pick up the Union delegations and drive them to the Noblesse. Everything was planned, and so far had been executed perfectly; he wished only that this headache brought on by the military briefing on Axis Nova would disappear until the summit was over. The last thing he needed was the test firing of the Bastion III Shield to be disrupted by having Axis Nova try to shoot down an ICBM.

Dureena shrugged and looked around.

Not much around here

She thought.

That will be fine, the Shadows thank you for your hospitality

She said to the Eredronian.

Shall we continue?

Jalon Taddeusz, still chafing at the unfamiliarity of being referred to as Ambassador, walked into the meeting hall at the head of the EOE delegation. Wing Commander Yorgieva walked directly behind him, her dark grey Service Dress uniform contrasting starkly with the casual business attire of the rest of the Diplomatic Staff- one External Security officer, two diplomats from the Foreign Affairs Department, and one mousy little woman from the Department of Economic Penetration.

The Ambassador's Internal Security escort- following orders from Mikalgard- remained aboard the Airborne Command Post with the bulk of the External Security team. One staff member each from Foreign Affairs and Economic Penetration also manned communications consoles on the modified ST-22. Each had a separate, encrypted link to their counterparts in the Ambassador's entourage to give the Ambassador any information he desired as quickly as possible. A separate laser communications system was locked onto a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. If Taddeusz wanted data only available in the mainframes at Mikalgard, it would be readily available.

Arvid Dugayin frowned at the ES communications officer. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw an EOE order regarding Communications Security Protocol Amber. It's not really that secure anymore. Something about the newer supercomputers."

Charlotte O'Neal, the ES liaison to the UWP mission, shook her head. "Doesn't matter, really. We're only using it for the local links. If the locals want to figure out what we're telling the Ambassador, they probably wouldn't have any trouble no matter what protocol we used." She rapped the commo panel before her affectionately with a scarred knuckle. "This system will give us short-term security for local links. I figure it'll only take a decently-funded espionage service a couple of hours to decrypt our messages. By then, it won't matter what they know, 'cause the Ambassador would have already acted on the data during the talks."

She hooked a thumb over her shoulder at the laser communications suite dominating the far bulkhead. "That sucker is about as secure as long-range commo can get. Only way to intercept the messages is to get precisely between the transmitter and the receiver- which is way the hell up in orbit- and even then the data's still encrypted. Just check your Mission Orders and pester somebody else, will ya?"

Back in the meeting hall, Taddeusz swore at himself repeatedly for agreeing to take this job. Yorgieva stepped up to his left and said quietly, "You are businessman negotiating deal with other businessmen. Forget politics. Your task is negotiation, all else is problem for others back at Mikalgard."

Nodding brusquely, the Ambassador focused on that idea. Somewhat to his surprise, he found that it helped a great deal. It also calmed him a bit to do some people-watching. The Merchant Guilds delegation kept attracting his eye. There was something not quite right about their faces. Before he could turn and ask, Yorgieva leaned close and said, "Merchant Guilds people believe they are descended from Vampires or other supernatural creatures. Upper echelons of society have cosmetic surgery to enhance desired appearance."

Shaking his head, Taddeusz managed to keep his voice low and asked, "Don't they know that there's no such thing as Vampires?"

Shrugging, Yorgieva replied, "Am told is national religion, or something. Other people's religion always boring."

"How the Hell am I supposed to negotiate with people who think ...?"

Yorgieva shrugged again. "People are people. Find out what we have they want, what they have we want, and make deal. Is only matter of communication- your specialty."

*****

<OOC>
I probably should have mentioned this before, but this is how I deal with non-Earth Normal roleplaying. Elves, Vampires, Demons, sentient Walruses, etc. do not exist. So long as your nation's species has no "game effect" (e.g, Elves are just funny-looking people, leaders with god-like powers are merely megalomaniacs, etc), I will roleplay as indicated above.

It was nearing dusk when the black motorcade pulled out onto the highway leading to the port. A pair of APCs travelled both at the head and the rear of the group; overhead the muffled sound of helicopters could be heard; a small complement of Apache helicopters followed the motorcade, circling and falling back in an intricate flight pattern.

Each delegation had been allowed to ride in their own vehicles, guaranteed by the Consul their complete privacy. In each one, a stack of small information packets had been placed to allow each delegation to become acquainted with the Noblesse.

The short drive ended without event, with the schedule uninterrupted; as planned, once the motorcade came to a stop in front of the dock a line of white uniformed Navy personnel appeared out of nowhere at the side of each black suburban, ready to hold open the door for each delegation.

Consul Fariz was the first out of his car, smiling brightly at the small group of media personnel who had been permitted to cover the event; from a distance, their cameras whirred nonstop; in the air the voices of a half dozen reporters could be heard.

As the three other official members of the Eredronian delegation stepped out of the suburban, Fariz walked out toward's the walkway leading up to the ship, turned, and waited.

In unison the uniformed officers reached forward, opening the doors of the suburbans for the delegates.

Bump

<OOC>
In the absence of other input, why don't we all assume that our delegates are sitting at the (no doubt exquisite) meeting table, all of the (no doubt interesting and clever) pre-conference conversations are finished, and Eredron (as the host nation) starts the proceedings by asking our newly-elected (and no doubt very distinguished) Prime Minister to get things rolling.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Topic One- Define the purpose (and therefore the Charter) of the UWP

Topic Two- Identify qualifications for membership (defined in the Charter)

Topic Three- Propose operating rules (based on the Charter)

Topic Four- Review Charter


TEO

OOC: Sounds good to me.

<OOC>
In the absence of other input, why don't we all assume that our delegates are sitting at the (no doubt exquisite) meeting table, all of the (no doubt interesting and clever) pre-conference conversations are finished, and Eredron (as the host nation) starts the proceedings by asking our newly-elected (and no doubt very distinguished) Prime Minister to get things rolling.



Sorry, just got off work and had a chance to get on NS. I've been planning on getting into the actual debate with my next post, and now I don't have to worry about offending anyone by RPing on behalf of their character or what not.

----

Following a dinner to celebrate the first elections held by the Union, in which all Minister-elects received numerous toasts, the Consul rose from his table and walked onto the raised dais on which a slim lectern had been placed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, once again let me express how honored Eredron is to act as host for this Union, and also to now not only turn the floor over to the Euroslavian delegation.

The Comrade looked over to the delegate of Eredron, smiled, and nodded.

"Firstly, I must thank Eredron for hosting this Summit. To them, we owe a large thanks, and secondly, I would like to thank all of you for coming to this historic meeting of 'World Powers'. I can only hope that each one of you are proud to be here, among everyone else. I certainly feel a special warmth here, coming from each and every one of you."

He paused, looked at every delegate, and smiled, while making this moment of silence to be special.

"The reason why all of you are here today, is that Euroslavia itself seen something special glimmering within your nation, a glimmer of hope. Each of you stood out for specific reasons, that won't be named yet, for the sake of not embarrassing some of you."

He chuckled, looked at everyone again, and went back to his speech.

"Well now, let's get to business, shall we? The first thing we need to work on is an official charter/constitution for the UWP, and specific guidelines for acceptance into the UWP. Personally, Euroslavia doesn't have much experience in developing Constitutions, obviously, besides its own."

"At this point, would anyone else like to add their input? Is there any delegate here that specializes in this sort of matter?"

OOC: Sorry, been a little busy again.

IC:

Dureena sat in her chair looking bemused at the proceedings, at the statements of the Euroslavian Representative she looked up.

No, I am afraid I have not had any experience in drafting constitutions, but I would be willing to suggust a few points:

1. Members should be willing defend each other, unless there is extreme reasons provided as to why they should not.

2. Members should be active in the alliance, and should not only be active when they require something.

3. Members should be willing to contribute capital/resources or military forces whenever the UoWP requires them within reason.

4. The UoWP will not imfringe internal national policy unless it reverts against the greater interests of the UoWP.

Those are only some suggustions, perhaps other delegates would be willing to expand on them or offer their own suggustions?

Dureena waited for a response from the others...

1. Members should be willing defend each other, unless there is extreme reasons provided as to why they should not.

2. Members should be active in the alliance, and should not only be active when they require something.

3. Members should be willing to contribute capital/resources or military forces whenever the UoWP requires them within reason.

4. The UoWP will not imfringe internal national policy unless it reverts against the greater interests of the UoWP.

Those are only some suggustions, perhaps other delegates would be willing to expand on them or offer their own suggustions?[/B]

Dureena waited for a response from the others...


After reading the scribbled note handed to him by one of his aides, the Consul stood.

"Any constitution or charter must include an outline for membership eligibility, the purpose of the Union, and the powers vested in it from each member state to carry out this agenda.

Firstly, regarding membership: for this be become a true union of world powers, it is imperative we remain strict in our recruiting. We propose the following as an initial draft for Membership Eligibility.

Any sovereign state seeking membership in the Union of World Powers must have, accounted by UN census, a minimum population size of 1 billion citizens,

A fully developed and functioning economy free of undue debts, supported by a sound economic policy

We hope other members will offer their wisdom on this matter.

Secondly, we believe each nation must, both at time of membership application, as well as after, maintain a domestic and foreign policy free of gross human rights abuses and other violations of international law. Without unduly interfering in the internal policies of its members, the Union must ensure its members are not engaging in heinous acts that not only could provoke an international incident, but also wreck the reputation of the Union of World Powers.

On that last note, I submit this third proposal, one touched on by the esteemed delegate from The Merchant Guilds. It is on the matter of defense obligations. Eredron is of the opinion that military action in the defense of another member should not be required except when said member state is facing unprovoked aggression at the hands of a foreign power(this being determined by the council of Ministers, perhaps).

Now, although we still much to discuss on the above and similar matters, I wish to briefly touch on what is perhaps on all our minds: the overall agenda of the Union.

What are we trying to accomplish? In my mind, I envision the Union as an alliance that seeks to use its economic and military power to advance basic principles of liberty and freedom, to seek to confront those nations violating international law through policies of genocide, tyranny and oppression. Of course, we must find a balance; the Union should be reserved in the affairs and situations it allows itself to become part of. Our first priority should be to create, as Euroslavia said, an "area of peace, freedom and prosperity" within the Union.

Now, I am eager to hear the opinions of my fellow colleagues on these matters."

Dureena sat in her chair looking bemused at the proceedings, at the statements of the Euroslavian Representative she looked up.

No, I am afraid I have not had any experience in drafting constitutions, but I would be willing to suggust a few points:

1. Members should be willing defend each other, unless there is extreme reasons provided as to why they should not.

2. Members should be active in the alliance, and should not only be active when they require something.

3. Members should be willing to contribute capital/resources or military forces whenever the UoWP requires them within reason.

4. The UoWP will not imfringe internal national policy unless it reverts against the greater interests of the UoWP.

Those are only some suggustions, perhaps other delegates would be willing to expand on them or offer their own suggustions?

Dureena waited for a response from the others...


Jalon Taddeusz nodded firmly as Dureena spoke. "These are essentially the same guidelines the Dominion recommends. But first, I think, we should decide what the Union of World Powers is."

He remained seated, but looked around at the other delegates as he spoke. "His Omniferocity's government is mainly interested in the establishment and protection of free trade. To that end, Dominion armed forces have acted against a variety of nations around the Pacific Rim in accordance with the published Evil Overlord Enterprises Free Trade Policy;"

His Omniferocity's government takes the position that the free and open passage of trade through international waters and airspace is the cornerstone of prosperity and freedom. Evil Overlord Enterprises has extensive trade routes throughout the Pacific Ocean, and most of the nations along the Pacific Rim are the Dominion's trading partners- whether or not a formal diplomatic relationship exists.

Accordingly, His Omniferocity views any military action which disrupts trade or otherwise prevents the free passage through international waters as a deliberate attack on EOE trade. This will not be permitted to pass unchallenged.

The Dominion in no way disputes or wishes to impede the rights of sovereign nations to defend themselves against their neighbors- nor their right to wage war upon whomsoever they wish. However, any such military action must respect the right of free passage for all neutral shipping.

His Omniferocity recognizes that military action may disrupt trade temporarily in the immediate combat area. This is considered acceptable provided:
A) Neutral shipping/aircraft are warned away when combat is imminent
B) All involved parties respect neutral shipping and aircraft whenever feasible within the combat area.
C) The disruption of free trade is temporary, localized, and limited.

The Dominion advises all nations that certain actions are unacceptable. Among these are:

- Using neutral shipping as shields against enemy attack
- Flying flags of neutral nations to avoid detection by the enemy
- Commandeering or otherwise seizing neutral shipping
- Deliberately attacking neutral shipping
- Disrupting, destroying, or otherwise preventing the function of navigational aids and other space assets of non-belligerent nations
- Blockading or interdicting neutral ports or critical waterways (such as the Panama or Suez Canals)

This list is far from all-inclusive. His Omniferocity has ordered the Ministry for Pre-Subjugation External Affairs to closely monitor all military activity affecting the Pacific Rim. Nations appearing to interdict or disrupt neutral shipping will be contacted and formally warned to desist. Nations failing to heed the warning will face more stringent measures.

The Dominion will act alone, if necessary, but His Omniferocity is confident that many nations will gladly agree to these rules- the same rules under which the Dominion's military always operates.

"The Dominion requests that the UWP should consider something along these lines as the basis for the Union's actions. Mutual defense should be a basic function, regardless of any state of hostility short of actual war between member nations. However, member nations should not be permitted to use their membership in the Union to force themsleves upon other nations."

His voice grew in strength and power as he warmed to his topic. "Finally, His Omniferocity frowns deeply upon other nations interfering in the internal affairs of the Dominion. Any talk of so-called human rights should be followed immediately by a specific list of these rights. EOE citizen/shareholders enjoy one of the highest standards of living on the planet, but at the price of many so-called freedoms other nations take as basic rights. Every citizen/shareholder voluntarily gives up many of these rights in exchange for security and prosperity. Any citizen/shareholder who wishes to depart the Dominion is free to do so, and therefore His Omniferocity is not impressed or amused by other nations' opinions on this issue."

"Clearly, the Union would need to adopt a basic definition for human rights, and what is and isn't acceptable.

We also believe the Evil Overlord Enterprises Free Trade Policy offers several good points for the Union to consider, namely:

- Using neutral shipping as shields against enemy attack
- Flying flags of neutral nations to avoid detection by the enemy
- Commandeering or otherwise seizing neutral shipping
- Deliberately attacking neutral shipping

The Union should adopt a similar stance on interfering with international, neutral shipping in times of conflict, with allowance for ships suspected of carrying cargo which would invalidate it's neutral status.

I also wish to ensure the idea of a Free Trade Zone receives due attention. Within the Union, there should exist no tariffs, no impediments to trade. I also second the idea of a Central Bank, operating independent of any one nation, whose goal is to provide financial assistance when necessary and when deemed appropriate."

Dureena chipped in at this point.

We must concur with representatives of the Dominion and Eredron on the point of neutral shipping and such blockades in times of war. However, we would also have the members represented here remember that we should not restrict our member’s military actions too much, in order that the security of our members is not endangered by such rules.

We would add a little to Eredron's suggestion as to the recruiting area of the UoWP. We would like to recommend that:

1. Persons fewer than 1 billion will not generally be accepted unless they are judged to have a powerful voice in the international community disproportionate to the size of population.

2. Persons must display a high level of role-playing ability, this would be measured by the UoWP's Recruiting staff, we would like to suggest the Dominion take a hand in examining the level of ability, since we understand that it's abilities in that area are of the highest quality.

3. As for the proposed members, we in accordance with the Dominions suggestions, put forward that the new members be given Provisional status and only upgraded to permanent members once they have shown their activity level and their contribution to be sufficient.

However, we do not agree with the Eredronian representative on the matter of gross human rights abuses , we see little reason to include such a clause unless the nature of it is causing the possibility of a major International Incident. We would also have the said representative define, what they would like to include as per that legislation, since the subject is highly relative and many could interpret even the slightest attempt to keep order in a chaotic world to be a gross abuse of human rights.

Dureena finished and waited for the others to respond.

However, we do not agree with the Eredronian representative on the matter of gross human rights abuses , we see little reason to include such a clause unless the nature of it is causing the possibility of a major International Incident. We would also have the said representative define, what they would like to include as per that legislation, since the subject is highly relative and many could interpret even the slightest attempt to keep order in a chaotic world to be a gross abuse of human rights.

I recognize the justified cause of concern; let me explain myself more fully.

Yes, what constitutes human rights abuses can be relative; it's definition can be distorted and bent to suit one's purpose. That is why I stated before the necessity for the Union to adopt a uniform definition.

Let me first propose these basic definitions for what constitutes a violation of human rights:

A certain race, creed, or group is denied recognition as a "person".
A person is sold as or used as a slave.
Punishments are dealt arbitrarily or unilaterally, without a proper and fair trial.

Let us also restrict those nations who practice and support genocide, democide and other programmes of mass murder from membership in the Union.

I understand and agree with the reservations expressed by delegates fearing an overly intrusive alliance; at the same time, I feel it necessary to ensure the Union gains and maintains a reputation as an internationally respected organization."

I recognize the justified cause of concern; let me explain myself more fully.

Yes, what constitutes human rights abuses can be relative; it's definition can be distorted and bent to suit one's purpose. That is why I stated before the necessity for the Union to adopt a uniform definition.

Let me first propose these basic definitions for what constitutes a violation of human rights:

A certain race, creed, or group is denied recognition as a "person".
A person is sold as or used as a slave.
Punishments are dealt arbitrarily or unilaterally, without a proper and fair trial.

Let us also restrict those nations who practice and support genocide, democide and other programmes of mass murder from membership in the Union.

I understand and agree with the reservations expressed by delegates fearing an overly intrusive alliance; at the same time, I feel it necessary to ensure the Union gains and maintains a reputation as an internationally respected organization."

Shaking his head, Jalon Taddeusz rose to the bait. "Your basic definitions are themselves full of potential verbal minefields", he said quietly. "What precisely is your government's definition of a fair and proper trial? I can reasonably estimate that it would bear little to no resemblance to the Dominion's justice system."

He swept the room with his gaze. "We are all here agreed that the Union must be a powerful voice in the world without intruding overmuch into the internal affairs of the member nations. I submit that adding so-called human rights into the framework of the Union would only serve to fragment the alliance beyond all hope of recovery. Human rights are far too similar- in a great many respects- to religion. People burn entirely too much powder over the subject.

"I suggest we limit our statement of goals and beliefs to the broadest of outlines, rather than delve into the specifics of each nation's internal affairs. The Dominion does not trade in human life, nor do we trade with those who do. That is a decision made by His Omniferocity, and not forced upon Evil Overlord Enterprises by any outside institution or organization. EOE's justice system is similarly not the concern of other nations or extranational organizations, save in those rare occasions when visitors fall afoul of the regulations they were required to read and sign before setting foot in FreePort.

"I submit that whatever a nation does to its own citizens within its national boundaries are not the business of any other nations- until and unless it actually infringes upon the economy or security of another nation. Rather than going to war whenever some nation undertakes internal national policies with which His Omniferocity does not approve, the Dominion simply takes its business elsewhere. This should be the goal of the Union.

"Military action should be taken:

(1) Whenever a member is unjustifiably threatened by a non-member nation.
(2) Whenever a non-member nation (or nations) attempt to restrict free passage through international waters or airspace.
(3) Whenever actions by non-member nations threaten to interrupt or disrupt the economies or security of member nations.

"Note that none of these actions interfere with the sovereign rights of any nations- members or non-members. Furthermore, no member should be forced to participate in actions which it determines to be against its principles. Neither should any member's qualms about any given action be sufficient reason to prevent the remaining members from acting."

He paused, and grinned sheepishly. "And now, I think I have spoken long enough. I have stated His Omniferocity's position, much of which has room for negotiation. One topic which is manifestly not open for negotiation is interference in the internal policies of the Dominion."

OOC: Sorry, lack of an internet connection for a fews days sucks. Are you in a building or on a boat? I'm pretty out of it right now, so I'm not really sure.

OOC: Boat, but the focus is really on the discussion at hand. I don't plan on doing much RP besides that, until we've got the affairs settled.

----

"I will allow the body to determine the Union's position regarding human rights, and the monitoring thereof."

Dureena chipped in once again.

We support the Dominion in it's view of abolishing this human rights legislation, it places a lot of unessacary restriction upon the involved nations. Let the meeting be reminded that there are powers from every political and socio-economic viewpoint here, so such legislation would only serve to alienate these powers from others. Thus weakening the UoWP.

<OOC>
Here are some thoughts I jotted down for forming a Charter for the UWP. I will add more later, and would appreciate everyone else's input (because this stuff makes my brain hurt).

It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security among member nations.

The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafeter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

Minister of State/Prime Minister
A nation is appointed to this position to represent the Union as a whole. This Minister's actions represent the reputation of the Union, and how it is judged by other nations.
- Presides over all meetings of the UWP Council
- Represents the Union in any sort of Conference/Meeting.
- Makes any important Announcements to the rest of the world, about specific things the Union needs to put forth, such as economic aid packages.
- Announces the Union's stance on specific conflicts.

Minister of Intelligence
- Keeps track of possible/potential threats to the Union.
- Does everything practical to obtain information on other Alliances/Nations, their policies, and possible future actions.
- Keeps the Union informed on anything that may be of interest.
- Investigates/Announces new Alliances and their intentions.

Economics Minister
The Economics Minister is responsible for:
1. Making sure that the economies of every nation within the UWP is healthy.
2. Making proposals and deals with UWP and non-UWP nations alike, for economic boosts, trade, etc.
3. Keeping track of donations and who specifically is donating how much.
4. Checking the Treasury and how much money is in it. Making sure everything that the Union does is paid for.

Minister of Defense
The Minister of Defense shall manage and maintain the UWP Rapid Deployment Force to assist UWP member nations who are attacked or threatened until the remaining member nations can muster forces and respond. The Minister shall also direct the response of member nations to assist the threatened member, including controlling the strategic direction of the military response at his sole discretion.

Minister of World Conflicts
The Minister of World Conflicts shall work closely with the Minister of Intelligence to monitor global events that may infringe upon the security of UWP member nations, the UWP as a whole, or Sea Lines of Communication for individual members or the UWP as a whole. On presenting evidence of such a threat to the UWP Council, the Council will determine whether or not a military response is required. If a military response is deemed necessary, the Minister will request military units from such member nations as he deems appropriate. The Minister will organize a Strike Force with the assistence of contributing members and will thereafter direct the strategic actions of the Strike Force until the threat is resolved.

SECURITY
The security of the UWP shall be the joint responsibility of the Ministers of Defense and World Conflicts.

- Be it resolved that all member nations are pledged to the defense and security of all members of the Union.
- Member nations will contribute troops, equipment, and economic support to the UWP on a basis to be agreed to by each member nation and the UWP Defense Minister.
- As a consequence of group security, member nations will refrain from engaging in activities which degrade the security or stability of any other member nation or the UWP as a whole. Any nation engaged in such activity in the opinion of the Defense Minister may be called before the UWP Council to explain the activity to the satisfaction of the affected members and the UWP Council. Failure to adequately explain the actions will result in either expulsion from the UWP or reduction in membership status at the discretion of the Council.


TEO

That looks pretty good to me, TEO.

Aside from that, I think there are some OOC issues to be dealt with:

Is the UWP strictly "Earth I" - ie, will it participate in and acknowledge the Earth II/III/IV +++ RPs going on?


EDIT:

I would also add these things to it:

Members in the Union agree to abide by the Free Trade Zone (or whatever it's to be called), in which all member states may enagage in inter-union trade free of tariffs, etc.

Union members will also ensure all products exported match or surpass UWP regulations, as ratified by the general body (as previously mentioned, these specifics don't need to be hammered out in detail).

Also, the powers the members have to override Minister decisions? Simple or 2/3 majority to countermand/approve? Would we bother with a "parliament", or simply have each nation represented by one person, maybe with their voting power proportional to their population?

Bump

Dureena spoke up:

We agree with the proposals of the Dominion's representative. Do we have any other business to discuss?

Here is a slightly modified draft I made; I made some minor changes that I thought clarified things. If the majority doesn't like it, I'm willing to call a vote for approving the initial version, or making different modifications to it.



It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security, both political and economic, among member nations.

The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

MINISTER ROLES AND OBLIGATIONS

Minister of State
Act as chief representative for the Union to the international community, as well as mediator for all internal issues. This Minister's actions affect the reputation of the Union, and how it is judged by other nations. It's chief duties include:
- Presides over all meetings of the UWP Council
- Represents the Union in any sort of Conference/Meeting.
- Makes any important Announcements to the rest of the world, about specific things the Union needs to put forth, such as economic aid packages.
- Announces the Union's stance on specific conflicts.

Minister of Intelligence
- Keeps track of possible/potential threats to the Union.
- Does everything practical to obtain information on other Alliances/Nations, their policies, and possible future actions.
- Keeps the Union informed on anything that may be of interest.
- Investigates/Announces new Alliances and their intentions.

Economics Minister
The Economics Minister is responsible for:
1. Making sure that the economies of every nation within the UWP is healthy.
2. Making proposals and deals with UWP and non-UWP nations alike, for economic boosts, trade, etc.
3. Keeping track of donations and who specifically is donating how much.
4. Checking the Treasury and how much money is in it. Making sure everything that the Union does is paid for.

Minister of Defense
The Minister of Defense shall manage and maintain the UWP Rapid Deployment Force to assist UWP member nations who are attacked or threatened until the remaining member nations can muster forces and respond. The Minister shall also direct the response of member nations to assist the threatened member, including controlling the strategic direction of the military response at his sole discretion.

Minister of World Conflicts
The Minister of World Conflicts shall work closely with the Minister of Intelligence to monitor global events that may infringe upon the security of UWP member nations, the UWP as a whole, or Sea Lines of Communication for individual members or the UWP as a whole. On presenting evidence of such a threat to the UWP Council, the Council will determine whether or not a military response is required. If a military response is deemed necessary, the Minister will request military units from such member nations as he deems appropriate. The Minister will organize a Strike Force with the assistance of contributing members and will thereafter direct the strategic actions of the Strike Force until the threat is resolved.

MEMBER OBLIGATIONS

The security of the UWP shall be the joint responsibility of the Ministers of Defense and World Conflicts.

- Be it resolved that all member nations are pledged to the defense and security of all members of the Union against any unwarranted aggression from foreign or domestic entities
- Member nations will contribute troops, equipment, and economic support to the UWP on a basis to be agreed to by each member nation and the UWP Defense Minister.
- Member nations will refrain from engaging in activities that would result in a direct degradation of the economic or political security of other member nations.
- Member nations also recognize that all rights to collective security can be revoked by majority ruling of the Ministers, if said member is found to be engaging in aggressive or openly hostile policies likely to result in retaliation by the affected parties. In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.

Is the UWP strictly "Earth I" - ie, will it participate in and acknowledge the Earth II/III/IV +++ RPs going on?

I think it would be best as if everyone RPed in plain old no-number Earth. Members who RP on Earth 5/19/3,914,074.63/whatever should continue to do so without the UWP, but must be willing to RP in basic, modern tech Earth where the UWP is involved. We do the same thing for players who are FT, they simply restrict themselves to modern tech when they're doing anything with the UWP.


I would also add these things to it:

Members in the Union agree to abide by the Free Trade Zone (or whatever it's to be called), in which all member states may enagage in inter-union trade free of tariffs, etc.

Union members will also ensure all products exported match or surpass UWP regulations, as ratified by the general body (as previously mentioned, these specifics don't need to be hammered out in detail).

Also, the powers the members have to override Minister decisions? Simple or 2/3 majority to countermand/approve? Would we bother with a "parliament", or simply have each nation represented by one person, maybe with their voting power proportional to their population?

Good ideas. I'll edit my OOC post and add your first two suggestions.

I've been thinking about your last idea. The UWP will be largely directed by the decisions of the UWP Council (made up of the Ministers), who will make decisions after consulting with the membership. In order to prevent the Council from becoming an autocratic oligarchy, we should allow any Primary member to challenge any given Council decision. The full membership will then vote on whether or not to accept the challenge, but the challenge must receive a 2/3 majority to overturn a Council decision. Note that this will only work if there are more than 18 members. Otherwise, we'll have to restrict it to a simple majority.

Each member (primary or provisional) would get one vote. I dislike the idea of basing voting power on population or anything else. Normally, only Primary members would be permitted to vote, but everyone can vote on a challenge.


TEO

I thought I'd add some of the things we've been talking about both here and on the UWP site. My additions will be in italics.

Here is a slightly modified draft I made; I made some minor changes that I thought clarified things. If the majority doesn't like it, I'm willing to call a vote for approving the initial version, or making different modifications to it.


It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security, both political and economic, among member nations.

The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

The six Ministers of the UWP Council will make decisions for the UWP as a whole. The Council will allow all members to debate any given issue for a period of time determined by the Minister of State to be sufficient for any necessary debate. The Council will then vote among themselves on the issue, with a simple majority winning the decision. Any Primary member who objects to any decision by the UWP Council may issue a formal challenge to the decision, before the decision is acted upon. The entire UWP membership will then vote on whether or not to overturn the decision. In order to overturn a Council decision, a simple majority of votes is required- unless the UWP has more than 18 member nations, in which case a 2/3 majority will be required.

MINISTER ROLES AND OBLIGATIONS

Minister of State
Act as chief representative for the Union to the international community, as well as mediator for all internal issues. This Minister's actions affect the reputation of the Union, and how it is judged by other nations. It's chief duties include:
- Presides over all meetings of the UWP Council
- Represents the Union in any sort of Conference/Meeting.
- Makes any important Announcements to the rest of the world, about specific things the Union needs to put forth, such as economic aid packages.
- Announces the Union's stance on specific conflicts.

Minister of Intelligence
- Keeps track of possible/potential threats to the Union.
- Does everything practical to obtain information on other Alliances/Nations, their policies, and possible future actions.
- Keeps the Union informed on anything that may be of interest.
- Investigates/Announces new Alliances and their intentions.

Economics Minister
The Economics Minister is responsible for:
1. Making sure that the economies of every nation within the UWP is healthy.
2. Making proposals and deals with UWP and non-UWP nations alike, for economic boosts, trade, etc.
3. Keeping track of donations and who specifically is donating how much.
4. Checking the Treasury and how much money is in it. Making sure everything that the Union does is paid for.

Minister of Defense
The Minister of Defense shall manage and maintain the UWP Rapid Deployment Force to assist UWP member nations who are attacked or threatened until the remaining member nations can muster forces and respond. The Minister shall also direct the response of member nations to assist the threatened member, including controlling the strategic direction of the military response at his sole discretion.

Minister of World Conflicts
The Minister of World Conflicts shall work closely with the Minister of Intelligence to monitor global events that may infringe upon the security of UWP member nations, the UWP as a whole, or Sea Lines of Communication for individual members or the UWP as a whole. On presenting evidence of such a threat to the UWP Council, the Council will determine whether or not a military response is required. If a military response is deemed necessary, the Minister will request military units from such member nations as he deems appropriate. The Minister will organize a Strike Force with the assistance of contributing members and will thereafter direct the strategic actions of the Strike Force until the threat is resolved.

Minister of Recruiting
The Minister of Recruiting will be responsible for the selection of prospective members to the UWP. He will also appoint and oversee the Recruiting committee, research prospective members with the assistance of the Committee, and make recommendations to the Council on the fitness of a prospective member.

Membership in the UWP

The Recruiting Minister will select no more than 4 member nations to assist him in this effort- including one Provisional Member- to form the Recruiting Committee. The Minister will have two votes, and the remaining Committee members will have one vote each.

Any Primary member may submit the name of a nation to the Committee for review and investigation. The Committee members will review the prospective member's history, economy, and reputation. The Committee members will then vote on whether or not to allow the prospective member into the UWP as a Provisional Member. To advance to the status of Primary Member, a Provisional member must be nominated for advancement by a current Primary member. The Council will then vote on whether or not to allow Primary membership to the Provisional member.

Provisional members are not permitted to vote on UWP issues or for Ministerial elections. They are permitted (and encouraged) to submit issues to the Council or the full membership for debate, and to debate any issue before the membership or the Council. Provisional mambers are permitted to vote on overturning a Council decision.


MEMBER OBLIGATIONS

The security of the UWP shall be the joint responsibility of the Ministers of Defense and World Conflicts.

- Be it resolved that all member nations are pledged to the defense and security of all members of the Union against any unwarranted aggression from foreign or domestic entities
- Member nations will contribute troops, equipment, and economic support to the UWP on a basis to be agreed to by each member nation and the UWP Defense Minister.
- Member nations will refrain from engaging in activities that would result in a direct degradation of the economic or political security of other member nations.
- Member nations also recognize that all rights to collective security can be revoked by majority ruling of the Ministers, if said member is found to be engaging in aggressive or openly hostile policies likely to result in retaliation by the affected parties. In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.
- Members in the Union agree to Free Trade with all member states, in which any nation may enagage in inter-union trade free of tariffs, etc. Any disputes over trade barriers will be placed before the Minister of Economics for resolution. If the Economics Minister is involved in the dispute, then the UWP Council will decide the issue, and the involved parties may not vote.
-Union members will also ensure all products exported match or surpass UWP regulations, as ratified by the UWP membership by majority vote.

Unless there are any objections, I propose the Minister of State hold a vote to ratify this latest draft for use as the Charter of the Union.

I concur with the representative from Eredron

Dureena concurred

"His Omniferocity's government is also willing to place this version of the proposed Charter up for vote."

OOC: I must say, I'm very impressed with everyone involved in this thread. It makes me happy to see that everyone can work these things out so well.

IC: The Comrade of Euroslavia stood up, after listening to the suggestions given by everyone attending the meeting, and began to speak:

"The suggestions put in by the representatives from Eredron and The Evil Overlord are well thought out, and very much appreciated by not only me, but to the Union as a whole. Another topic we must bring up is the possibility, though rare, that a Union member initiates an attack upon another Union member, or a non-Union member, which is allied with another member of the Union, initiating an attack upon another Union member."

The Comrade paused and looked at the rest of the delegates, who looked deeply involved in the discussion. It gave him a brief smile, and he continued on to what he needed to say.

"I also want to put another topic out for discussion. How exactly will we go about kicking a member out if they are deemed irresponsible, wreckless, and a burden to the UWP? Should be involve only the Ministers, or every member?"

Another topic we must bring up is the possibility, though rare, that a Union member initiates an attack upon another Union member, or a non-Union member, which is allied with another member of the Union, initiating an attack upon another Union member."

I believe in the first instance, attacking another Union member, the offender would face immediate expulsion from the Union, barring some overwhelmingly damning reasons for doing so(which would preferably be made known to the Ministers before attacking.)

The second part..."or a non-Union member, which is allied with another member of the Union, initiating an attack upon another Union member."

It guess it depends on the nature of the alliance, but I would suppose that our choices for the Union nation allied with the offending non-member would either a.) be required to side with the Union or face expulsion, b.) support his non-member ally and face expulsion, or c.) declare himself neutral in the affair.


"I also want to put another topic out for discussion. How exactly will we go about kicking a member out if they are deemed irresponsible, wreckless, and a burden to the UWP? Should be involve only the Ministers, or every member?"

A simple majority vote of the general Union body, in my opinion, with the nation facing expulsion being required a chance to make his defense.

Another topic we must bring up is the possibility, though rare, that a Union member initiates an attack upon another Union member, or a non-Union member, which is allied with another member of the Union, initiating an attack upon another Union member."

Jalon Taddeusz nodded. "The first sentence of the Charter gives us an answer to this issue: It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security." He gestured widely with his left hand. "War is bad for business, and I- for one- have no idea how engaging in a war against a member nation would improve security.

"All member nations are supposed to be responsible nations with good international reputations. Being responsible implies responsibility. UWP members should refrain from irresponsible military adventures." He gazed at the ceiling for a moment as he marshalled his thoughts. "Members of the UWP should refrain from military action except in self-defense or with the assistance and approval of the UWP. Under those conditions, I fail to see how the second half of this issue would become a problem- even if the non-member nation is allied with a different member. If a member nation is attacked, that nation has an absolute right to use any means at its disposal to defend itself- up to and including full-scale attack with nuclear weapons, if that is required in the opinion of the member nation under attack.

"I suggest that we add text to the effect that signatories to the Charter will refrain from attacks on other UWP nations. Nations which break this rule will be summarily expelled from the UWP without debate, and will thereafter be treated as any other hostile nation at war with a UWP member."

Taddeusz turned and spoke briefly with the Foreign Affairs Department representative to his left. Turning back, he said, "As far as removing a member nation. I suggest it be handled so: A member nation which acts in a manner contrary to the Union Charter, or whose actions disrupt trade or security for any other member, or for the UWP as a whole in the opinion of any two Ministers will be called before the Council to defend its actions.

"In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.

"If the Council votes that a member is in violation of the Charter, then the matter shall be referred to the UWP membership for vote. The membership may vote to expel the trangressing member (Primary or Provisional) from the UWP or to reduce a Primary member's status to Provisional. The membership may also vote to overturn the Council's ruling, as previously provided in the Charter."

Bump

OOC: Sarzonia, Hallad, Inkana, and Five Civilized Nations have yet to post an IC post.

IC: "We concur with the delegate from The Evil Overlord on adding a clause to the Charter in which attacking a fellow UWP member is not allowed."

"We would also like to throw a question out there. For every 'decision' that needs to be made, such as expelling a member, demoting a member to Provisional status, and others, should it involved the Union as a whole, or only the Ministers?"

"Personally, we feel that every member of the Union should be involved, in order to get rid of feelings of not being important to the alliance."

"Also, in the case of making a nations' provisionary status into a primary membership, who is to decide such a thing?"

OOC: Well done TEO.

IC:

Again, we find ourselves concuring with the Dominion's Representative.

We would like to now propose a vote (OOC: via the forums) on this Constitution for the UWP.

Please indicate your response on the keyboard in front of you.

"We agree with the principles behind this charter," former Incorporated Sarzonian Navy Admiral Charles Nelson Sr. wheezed, in a tone that suggested his nearly 90-year-old body was too worn out from travel under heavy military escort from Sarzonia to the summit. "One thing we would like to have clarified is the line of succession in the event of the removal from office of the Minister of the State.

"We support the clarification provided by the Evil Overlord regarding the thankfully unlikely event of an attack by a member nation on another member nation. We believe the issue of neutrality by a member nation in the event it has alliances with both sides in a prospective conflict is one that bears discussion."

In the midst of the UWP conference, a shockingly, loud sonic boom was heard over the sounds of conversation. As usual, the Five Civilized Nations delegates were late and as usual, making up for their lateness with opulence and unrestrained showmanship. Over the Eredornian naval base, a powerful, twin-engine Five Civilized Nations diplomatic transport descended from the sky, its engine decelerating the aircraft. The aircraft was the UXP-890C, one of only seven of its type to be built, a powerful supersonic aircraft.

Aboard the aircraft carried two important diplomatic figures. One of them was Crown Prince Hamilton Crusade, a brilliant economist currently serving as Vice Finance Minister and an intellectual, he was the brains of the diplomatic mission. The second diplomat was Foreign Minister Zhong Da, a man with years of experience at the helm of the Five Civilized Nations Foreign Ministry.

With a start, the UXP-890C aircraft stopped at the tarmac, its pressurized door opening and revealing the two immaculately dressed diplomats. Prince Hamilton descended first, followed swiftly by Minister Zhong and together, the two boarded a limousine and moved to approach the meeting site.

Hurriedly, the two men entered the conference room, expressing their delinquency. In a loud voice, Hamilton Crusade introduced themselves. "I am Crown Prince Hamilton Crusade. My counterpart, here, is Foreign Minister Zhong Da."

Without another word, the two men took their assigned seats, quickly taking a look at the itinenary, while reading the proposals at hand. Hamilton immediately spoke up, commenting on the duties of the Economics Minister. "Respected sirs and madams. I feel that it is my duty as Vice Finance Minister to point out that the duties Economics Minister should have nothing to do with several of the outlined duties that I read in the UWP charter. An Economics Minister should not be demeaned by keeping track of donations, as well as maintaining the Treasury. These two tasks are more suited to a Finance Minister than an Economics Minister. I therefore propose that in addition to the Economics Minister, we add two addition positions, a Finance Minister, taking care of the treasury, and a Trade Minister, maintaining internal and external trade. In the meantime, the Economics Minister shall maintain a uniform economic policy over member nations as well as the maintenance of a UWP Bank..."

Without another word, the two men took their assigned seats, quickly taking a look at the itinenary, while reading the proposals at hand. Hamilton immediately spoke up, commenting on the duties of the Economics Minister. "Respected sirs and madams. I feel that it is my duty as Vice Finance Minister to point out that the duties Economics Minister should have nothing to do with several of the outlined duties that I read in the UWP charter. An Economics Minister should not be demeaned by keeping track of donations, as well as maintaining the Treasury. These two tasks are more suited to a Finance Minister than an Economics Minister. I therefore propose that in addition to the Economics Minister, we add two addition positions, a Finance Minister, taking care of the treasury, and a Trade Minister, maintaining internal and external trade. In the meantime, the Economics Minister shall maintain a uniform economic policy over member nations as well as the maintenance of a UWP Bank..."

I respectfully disagree; I believe the changes proposed would serve only to needlessly increase the bureacracy.

Jalon Taddeusz shook his head as well. "I disagree as well, largely for the same reason. There are currently ten member nations, six of whom occupy the position of Minister on the Council. Adding two more is an unnnecessary change, in my opinion."

"Then substitute the Economics Minister for another position. For instance, replace it with a Trade/Finance Minister. The label of an Economics Minister is extremely misleading, as much of the duties that you have outlined have nothing to do with economics and economic policy."

"One thing we would like to have clarified is the line of succession in the event of the removal from office of the Minister of the State.

<OOC>
Damn!

I completely forgot about this question. It's an important point, too.

My suggestion would be to simply have the Minister for Recruiting manage the PR aspects of the MoS until the next election. The Intelligence Minister could handle the task of presiding over meetings during this time.

I have a far more interesting question to ask, however:

What about the other UWP members?

So far, this entire thread has been a debate between me, Merchant Guilds, Eredron, and Euroslavia, with one comment each from 5CN and Sarzonia.

I'm pretty sure Hallad, Parlim, Inkana, and Pacitalia have opinions on what we've been doing. I would like to hear from them.


TEO

If the Minister of State is removed or not able to fulfill his obligations and duties, then I would suggest the Minister of World Conflicts to act on his behalf.


(OOC: And no, I don't say this simply because I am currently the MinWC. Hopefully, the MinWC would have some talent for looking at a situation and judging how the UWP should respond; this, IMO, would hopefully enable him to act as temporary MinState.)

If the Minister of State is removed or not able to fulfill his obligations and duties, then I would suggest the Minister of World Conflicts to act on his behalf.


(OOC: And no, I don't say this simply because I am currently the MinWC. Hopefully, the MinWC would have some talent for looking at a situation and judging how the UWP should respond; this, IMO, would hopefully enable him to act as temporary MinState.)

"I must concur with the Eredronian delegate. I suggest that the Minister of World Conflicts be second in line if the Minister of State cannot perform his basic duties."

"In logical continuation, the Minister of Defense should be after the Minister of World Conflicts..."

I'm pretty sure Hallad, Parlim, Inkana, and Pacitalia have opinions on what we've been doing. I would like to hear from them.

I was never accepted into the UWP.

I was never accepted into the UWP.

Yea, you were.

I was? I never knew that.

I was never accepted into the UWP.


Yea, you were.

I was? I never knew that.

<OOC>
Welcome aboard.

Here is the alphabetical list of current members:

[quote]
Eredron (Minister for World Conflicts)
Euroslavia (Minister of State)
Five Civilized Nations (Shadow Minister for wanting to be Economics Minister)
Hallad (Minister of Economics)
Inkana (Minister of Intelligence)
Pacitalia (Shadow Minister for being Dumbfounded at his Membership)
Parlim (Shadow Minister for Silence)
Sarzonia (Minister for Defense)
The Evil Overlord (Shadow Minister for being a Shadow Minister)
The Merchant Guilds (ex-Minister of Recruiting)

Take your time and review the suggestions we've been making (here and on the UWP website), and feel free to insert your own where appropriate. We need everyone's input.

Once we get the Charter written up and agreed to, we'll probably post it on II and NS, then we can get down to the next order of business- another election of Ministers. After that, we'll probably start accepting new members (since our current Minister of Recruiting just resigned his Ministry).


TEO

Bump

OOC: Is there anything that anyone else wants to discuss?

OOC: Is there anything that anyone else wants to discuss?

<OOC>
I would still like to hear from Pacitalia, Hallad, and Inkana on what we've discussed so far- even if only that they have read what we've done so far and do not disagree with anything. Perhaps our Minister of State could contact them and ask them to let us know what they think of the Charter we're committing them to uphold.

Once we get their input, we can finalize the Charter, post it, and start flexing our combined muscle.


TEO

"Then substitute the Economics Minister for another position. For instance, replace it with a Trade/Finance Minister. The label of an Economics Minister is extremely misleading, as much of the duties that you have outlined have nothing to do with economics and economic policy."

<OOC>
Must be getting senile in my old age. I forgot to respond to this.
</OOC>

"Say rather that the duties outlines have little to do with economics as opposed to nothing, and you'd be more accurate, but I take your meaning."

Jalon Taddeusz thought for a moment, ignoring the sudden flurry of activity behind him as his aides received a message. "The most accurate title would probably be Trade/Finance/Economics Minister, I suppose, but that is extremely cumbersome and would likely be shortened for convenience to yet another misleading title. I suggest that we accept the current title, since Trade and Finance are usually grouped (incorrectly or otherwise) under the general rubric of Economics by most people. So long as the Minister's duties are clearly delineated by the Charter and- more importantly- we understand what the Ministry's intended function is, the fact that it might be misleading to some should have little impact."

<OOC>
Once again, I have edited the proposed Charter and added the new suggestions, which will appear in italics. Please feel free to suggest changes.


It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security, both political and economic, among member nations.

The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

Elections will be held monthly, on the following schedule:
1st Election- Ministry of world Conflicts and Ministry of Economics
2nd election- Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Recruiting
3rd Election- Ministry of Intelligence and Ministry of State
As each election takes place one month after the previous election, each Minister will therefore serve for a term of three months- unless removed from office, resigned, or otherwise rendered incapable of performing the duties of the office.

The Minister of State may call for a temporary election for any vacant Ministry during the next scheduled election to last only for the duration of the vacant Ministry’s term.

The order of succession of the Ministries shall be as follows:
The Minister of State shall be succeeded by the Minister of World Conflicts.
The Minister of World Conflicts shall be succeeded by the Minister of Recruiting.
The Minister of Recruiting shall be succeeded by the Minister of Defense.
The Minister of Defense shall be succeeded by the Minister of Intelligence.
The Minister of Intelligence shall be succeeded by the Minister of Economics.
The duties of the Minister of Economics shall be jointly undertaken by the Ministers of Intelligence and State until a new Minister is elected.

Note that the order of succession does not denote seniority among the Ministries. The Minister of State is the only Minister who is senior to any other. This order of succession is designed to allow sufficient time for new Ministers to be elected following the election cycle already described.


The six Ministers of the UWP Council will make decisions for the UWP as a whole. The Council will allow all members to debate any given issue for a period of time determined by the Minister of State to be sufficient for any necessary debate. The Council will then vote among themselves on the issue, with a simple majority winning the decision. Any Primary member who objects to any decision by the UWP Council may issue a formal challenge to the decision, before the decision is acted upon. The entire UWP membership will then vote on whether or not to overturn the decision. In order to overturn a Council decision, a simple majority of votes is required- unless the UWP has more than 18 member nations, in which case a 2/3 majority will be required.

MINISTERIAL ROLES AND OBLIGATIONS

Minister of State
Act as chief representative for the Union to the international community, as well as mediator for all internal issues. This Minister's actions affect the reputation of the Union, and how it is judged by other nations. It's chief duties include:
- Presides over all meetings of the UWP Council
- Represents the Union in any sort of Conference/Meeting.
- Makes any important Announcements to the rest of the world, about specific things the Union needs to put forth, such as economic aid packages.
- Announces the Union's stance on specific conflicts.
If the Minister of State resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise unable to perform his duties, the Minister of World Conflicts shall assume the duties of the Minister of State for the rest of that position’s term.

Minister of Intelligence
- Keeps track of possible/potential threats to the Union.
- Does everything practical to obtain information on other Alliances/Nations, their policies, and possible future actions.
- Keeps the Union informed on anything that may be of interest.
- Investigates/Announces new Alliances and their intentions.
If the Minister of Intelligence is removed from office, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office, the Minister of Economics shall assume the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Economics Minister
The Economics Minister is responsible for:
1. Making sure that the economies of every nation within the UWP is healthy.
2. Making proposals and deals with UWP and non-UWP nations alike, for economic boosts, trade, etc.
3. Keeping track of donations and who specifically is donating how much.
4. Checking the Treasury and how much money is in it. Making sure everything that the Union does is paid for.
If the Minister of Economics is removed from office, resigns, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of State and the Minister of Intelligence will jointly undertake the duties and responsibilities of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of Defense
The Minister of Defense shall manage and maintain the UWP Rapid Deployment Force to assist UWP member nations who are attacked or threatened until the remaining member nations can muster forces and respond. The Minister shall also direct the response of member nations to assist the threatened member, including controlling the strategic direction of the military response at his sole discretion.
If the Minister of Defense resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Intelligence shall perform the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of World Conflicts
The Minister of World Conflicts shall work closely with the Minister of Intelligence to monitor global events that may infringe upon the security of UWP member nations, the UWP as a whole, or Sea Lines of Communication for individual members or the UWP as a whole. On presenting evidence of such a threat to the UWP Council, the Council will determine whether or not a military response is required. If a military response is deemed necessary, the Minister will request military units from such member nations as he deems appropriate. The Minister will organize a Strike Force with the assistance of contributing members and will thereafter direct the strategic actions of the Strike Force until the threat is resolved.
If the Minister of World Conflicts resigns, is removed from office, or otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Recruiting shall perform the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of Recruiting
The Minister of Recruiting will be responsible for the selection of prospective members to the UWP. He will also appoint and oversee the Recruiting committee, research prospective members with the assistance of the Committee, and make recommendations to the Council on the fitness of a prospective member.
If the Minister of Recruiting resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Defense shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Membership in the UWP

The Recruiting Minister may select no more than 4 member nations to assist him in this effort- including one Provisional Member- to form the Recruiting Committee. The Minister will have two votes, and the remaining Committee members will have one vote each.

Any Primary member may submit the name of a nation to the Committee for review and investigation. The Committee members will review the prospective member's history, economy, and reputation. The Committee members will then vote on whether or not to allow the prospective member into the UWP as a Provisional Member. To advance to the status of Primary Member, a Provisional member must be nominated for advancement by a current Primary member. The Council will then vote on whether or not to allow Primary membership to the Provisional member.

Provisional members are not permitted to vote on UWP issues or for Ministerial elections. They are permitted (and encouraged) to submit issues to the Council or the full membership for debate, and to debate any issue before the membership or the Council. Provisional members are permitted to vote on overturning a Council decision.


MEMBER OBLIGATIONS

The security of the UWP shall be the joint responsibility of the Ministers of Defense and World Conflicts.

- Be it resolved that all member nations are pledged to the defense and security of all members of the Union against any unwarranted aggression from foreign or domestic entities
- Member nations will contribute troops, equipment, and economic support to the UWP on a basis to be agreed to by each member nation and the UWP Defense Minister.
- Member nations will refrain from engaging in activities that would result in a direct degradation of the economic or political security of other member nations.
- Member nations also recognize that all rights to collective security can be revoked by majority ruling of the Ministers, if said member is found to be engaging in aggressive or openly hostile policies likely to result in retaliation by the affected parties. In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.
- Members in the Union agree to Free Trade with all member states, in which any nation may engage in inter-union trade free of tariffs, etc. Any disputes over trade barriers will be placed before the Minister of Economics for resolution. If the Economics Minister is involved in the dispute, then the UWP Council will decide the issue, and the involved parties may not vote.
-Union members will also ensure all products exported match or surpass UWP regulations, as ratified by the UWP membership by majority vote.
- Member nations shall agree to refrain from attacks on other UWP members. Members violating this agreement will be summarily expelled from the UWP without debate, and will thereafter be treated as any other hostile nation at war with a UWP member.
- A member nation which acts in a manner contrary to the Union Charter, or whose actions disrupt trade or security for any other member, or for the UWP as a whole in the opinion of any two Ministers will be called before the Council to defend its actions. If the Council votes that a member is in violation of the Charter, then the matter shall be referred to the UWP membership for vote. The membership may vote to expel the trangressing member (Primary or Provisional) from the UWP or to reduce a Primary member's status to Provisional. The membership may also vote to overturn the Council's ruling, as previously provided in the Charter.

Eredron remains in favor of adopting this charter.

Euroslavia is also in favor of making this the official Charter of the Union of World Powers.

Crown Prince Hamilton Crusade cleared his throat and spoke. “The Five Civilized Nations has one final point to put up before we approve of the charter. At this point it is clear that the responsibilities delineated to the Minister of Defense and the Minister of World Conflicts intersect each other at a crucial point. Both ministers have the authority to levy troops from member nations in times of crisis. I propose that when a potential conflict is recognized by the Minister of World Conflicts, he should present the information to the Minister of Defense for a military response or to the Minister of Economics and Trade, etc. for an economic response.”

Crown Prince Hamilton Crusade cleared his throat and spoke. “The Five Civilized Nations has one final point to put up before we approve of the charter. At this point it is clear that the responsibilities delineated to the Minister of Defense and the Minister of World Conflicts intersect each other at a crucial point. Both ministers have the authority to levy troops from member nations in times of crisis. I propose that when a potential conflict is recognized by the Minister of World Conflicts, he should present the information to the Minister of Defense for a military response or to the Minister of Economics and Trade, etc. for an economic response.”


Ambassador Taddeusz cleared his throat. "Allow me to correct a misconception in your statement. The Minister of Defense directly controls only the Rapid Reaction Force. All member nations are required to assist other members under the Charter. Individual member nations will respond to the attack with whatever assets they see fit- under the overall strategic direction of the Defense Minister.

"When the Minister of Intelligence determines that an incident might require a UWP response, that incident must be placed before the Council for determination of what sort of response is needed. The Minister of World Conflicts acts only when the Council directs a military response. At that time, the Minister requests military assets from member nations, who are free to supply whatever military assets they see fit. The Minister would then direct the military response.

"At no time does either Minister force member nations to supply military assets."

IC:

Dureena smiled.

This is favourable to us as the Charter of the UWP

"Well, unfortunately, in the manner that the charter has been written and your interpretation, the Minister of Defense presides over a pretty gutted Ministry."

"Well, unfortunately, in the manner that the charter has been written and your interpretation, the Minister of Defense presides over a pretty gutted Ministry."


The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

"The last sentence of that quote is the most important bit. If we were all willing to allow the UWP authority over member nations' internal affairs, we might as well join the UN and have done with it.

"Having said that, if you wish to re-write any or all of the proposed Ministerial duties and powers without violating the sovereign rights of member nations, please feel free to do so and submit the changes for member approval."

Ambassador Taddeusz cleared his throat. "Allow me to correct a misconception in your statement. The Minister of Defense directly controls only the Rapid Reaction Force. All member nations are required to assist other members under the Charter. Individual member nations will respond to the attack with whatever assets they see fit- under the overall strategic direction of the Defense Minister.

"When the Minister of Intelligence determines that an incident might require a UWP response, that incident must be placed before the Council for determination of what sort of response is needed. The Minister of World Conflicts acts only when the Council directs a military response. At that time, the Minister requests military assets from member nations, who are free to supply whatever military assets they see fit. The Minister would then direct the military response.

"At no time does either Minister force member nations to supply military assets."

Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that the Minister of Defense holds overall strategic military command when the Union is engaged in the defense of a member nation?

Likewise, the Minister of World Conflicts directs the Union's military reaction after placing his recommendations on the Union's response to a foreign affair?

Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that the Minister of Defense holds overall strategic military command when the Union is engaged in the defense of a member nation?

Likewise, the Minister of World Conflicts directs the Union's military reaction after placing his recommendations on the Union's response to a foreign affair?

That was my impression of the members' consensus decision regarding the offices. The Defense Minister is responsible for directing the Rapid Depolyment Force and the overall strategic response by individual members. After deploying the RDF, the Defense Minister would then take overall strategic control of the UWP response.

For example, the Minister might decide that the military from the member nation of Fubaristan would be better used in blockading enemy shipping, while the forces from Tarfusylvania and West Snafu should proceed immediately to the attacked member, and Enormoustan should undertake a counter-invasion of the enemy homeland with support from MerelyBigistan and Sortoflargeistan- all of whom individually decided to intervene militarily.

NOTE: Every member is pledged to defend every other member, but may not have the means due to prior commitments or other problems. The Defense Minister may call for assistance, but may not force members to provide it.

Similarly, the World Conflicts Minister assumes overall strategic control of the UWP response to a global problem the Council decides must be dealt with. The Minister requests aid from member nations, and directs the strategic application of that aid. Tactical dispositions are up to the providing member, under the strategic direction of the World Conflicts Minister.

If this is not clear enough, or does not meet your expectations of either office, please make a counter-proposal.


TEO

I believe an official vote should be called at this time, so that we may see where everyone stands.

I believe an official vote should be called at this time, so that we may see where everyone stands.

His Omniferocity's government seconds the motion to call for a vote.

Nelson had an opportunity to catch his breath after the long flight and after listening to the discussion.

"One additional point that I would like to make before we officially cast any votes," Nelson said. "I would like to see the clause regarding individual member soverignty with regard to pursuing actions that are not under the umbrella of the Union. Specifically, as long as member nations do not claim to represent the Union of World Powers should they undertake an endeavour separately from the Union, that they are not to be penalized.

"I would prefer to ensure that most national decisions remain at the national level. Otherwise, the charter looks like something I could feel comfortable about voting on."

[OOC: If this is confusing, and I admit my wording here is a bit on the confusing side, this means that as long as a country doesn't intervene in a human rights violation in another country CLAIMING TO REPRESENT THE UWP that the UWP doesn't penalize the country for doing so. Again, the country couldn't claim a UWP mandate or use combined UWP forces and would have to act solely based on its own foreign policy rather than alliance-wide policies. If this attempt to clarify is still confusing, just TG me and let me know. I'll try to do better about writing in plain English.]

I believe nations should be free to make their own policies, acting as independent nations and not represenative of the UWP, with the knowledge that warmongering and aggression may cause them to lose any right to mutual protection from the UWP, should a majority of the Union vote to do so.

I believe nations should be free to make their own policies, acting as independent nations and not represenative of the UWP, with the knowledge that warmongering and aggression may cause them to lose any right to mutual protection from the UWP, should a majority of the Union vote to do so.

<OOC>
I believe most of this is already covered under the section on "Member Obligations". specifically this bit:


- Member nations will refrain from engaging in activities that would result in a direct degradation of the economic or political security of other member nations.
- Member nations also recognize that all rights to collective security can be revoked by majority ruling of the Ministers, if said member is found to be engaging in aggressive or openly hostile policies likely to result in retaliation by the affected parties. In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.


If anyone feels that more specific language is needed, please write it down.

I have already stated that I see no sanctionable activity in Sarzonia's recent action under the UWP Charter- even if the Charter had been in force at the time.

That's my interpretation of this section of the Charter, anyway.


TEO

OOC: That remains just fine for me.

Have Sarzonia's objections to the Charter -as written- been successfully addressed?

Here's the Charter, with some minor modifications - mostly spelling/phrase alteration, although I did make minute changes to the responsibilities, powers, etc of the UWP, ministers, etc.

I ask everyone to please read through it, and vote YES or NO on approving it; if you disagree with it, please provide some explanation.





It is the purpose of the Union of World Powers to improve and maintain trade and security, both political and economic, among member nations.

The Union of World Powers (hereafter referred to as the UWP) will be directed by an elected Council of Ministers (hereafter referred to as the UWP Council). Each Minister will work to ensure the security, prosperity, and stability of the UWP as a whole, without infringing upon the sovereign rights of the individual member nations.

Elections will be held monthly, on the following schedule:

1st Election- Ministry of World Conflicts and Ministry of Economics

2nd Election- Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Recruiting

3rd Election- Ministry of Intelligence and Ministry of State

As each election takes place one month after the previous election, each Minister will therefore serve for a term of three months, unless removed from office, resigned, or otherwise rendered incapable of performing the duties of the office.

The Minister of State may call for a temporary election for any vacant Ministry during the next scheduled election to last only for the duration of the vacant Ministry’s term.

The order of succession of the Ministries shall be as follows:

The Minister of State shall be succeeded by the Minister of World Conflicts.
The Minister of World Conflicts shall be succeeded by the Minister of Recruiting.
The Minister of Recruiting shall be succeeded by the Minister of Defense.
The Minister of Defense shall be succeeded by the Minister of Intelligence.
The Minister of Intelligence shall be succeeded by the Minister of Economics.

The duties of the Minister of Economics shall be jointly undertaken by the Ministers of Intelligence and State until a new Minister is elected.

Note that the order of succession does not denote seniority among the Ministries. The Minister of State is the only Minister who is senior to any other. This order of succession is designed to allow sufficient time for new Ministers to be elected following the election cycle already described.


The six Ministers of the UWP Council will make decisions for the UWP as a whole. The Council will allow all members to debate any given issue for a period of time determined by the Minister of State to be sufficient for any necessary debate. The Council will then vote among themselves on the issue, with a simple majority winning the decision. Any Primary member who objects to any decision by the UWP Council may issue a formal challenge to the decision, before the decision is acted upon. The entire UWP membership will then vote on whether or not to overturn the decision. In order to overturn a Council decision, a simple majority of votes is required- unless the UWP has more than 18 member nations, in which case a 2/3 majority will be required.

MINISTERIAL ROLES AND OBLIGATIONS

Minister of State
Act as chief representative for the Union to the international community, as well as mediator for all internal issues. This Minister's actions affect the reputation of the Union, and how it is judged by other nations. It's chief duties include:
- Preside over all meetings of the UWP Council
- Represent the Union in international summits, conferences and diplomatic functions
- Make any important Announcements to the rest of the world, about specific things the Union needs to put forth, such as economic aid packages.
- Announce to the international community the Union's stance on specific conflicts.

If the Minister of State resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise unable to perform his duties, the Minister of World Conflicts shall assume the duties of the Minister of State for the rest of that position’s term.

Minister of Intelligence
- Keeps track of possible/potential threats to the Union.
- Does everything practical to obtain information on other Alliances/Nations, their policies, and possible future actions.
- Keeps the Union informed on anything that may be of interest.
- Investigates/Announces new Alliances and their intentions.

If the Minister of Intelligence is removed from office, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office, the Minister of Economics shall assume the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Economics Minister

The Economics Minister is responsible for:
- Making sure that the economies of every nation within the UWP is healthy.
- Making proposals and deals with UWP and non-UWP nations alike, for economic boosts, trade, etc.
- Keeping track of donations and who specifically is donating how much.
- Checking the Treasury and how much money is in it. Making sure everything that the Union does is paid for.

If the Minister of Economics is removed from office, resigns, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of State and the Minister of Intelligence will jointly undertake the duties and responsibilities of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of Defense
The Minister of Defense shall be charged with overseeing and directing the collective security of the UWP from foreign entities. His roles and authority include:
- Maintaning the Rapid Deployment Force's ability to assist threatened UWP member nations
- Directing the response of UWP member militaries acting in an official, defensive UWP capacity in assistance of a member nation

If the Minister of Defense resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Intelligence shall perform the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of World Conflicts
The Minister of World Conflicts shall:
- Work closely with the Minister of Intelligence to monitor global events that may infringe or affect the security of UWP members, the UWP as a whole, or the ability of sovereign States to engage in international trade and commerce.
- Provide the UWP Council with all relevant and known information regarding an incident. The UWP Council will take into consideration the response(s) proposed by the Minister of World Conflict. If a military response is deemed necessary, the Minister of World Conflict will request military units from such member nations as he deems appropriate.
- The Minister will organize a Strike Force with the assistance of contributing members and will thereafter direct the strategic actions of the Strike Force until the threat is resolved.

If the Minister of World Conflicts resigns, is removed from office, or otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Recruiting shall perform the duties of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Minister of Recruiting
The Minister of Recruiting will be responsible for the selection of prospective members to the UWP.
- He will also appoint and oversee the Recruiting committee
- Research prospective members with the assistance of the Committee, and make recommendations to the Council on the fitness of a prospective member.

If the Minister of Recruiting resigns, is removed from office, or is otherwise incapable of performing the duties of the office, the Minister of Defense shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the office until a new Minister is elected.

Membership in the UWP

The Recruiting Minister may select no more than 4 member nations to assist him in this effort- including one Provisional Member- to form the Recruiting Committee. The Minister will have two votes, and the remaining Committee members will have one vote each.

Any Primary member may submit the name of a nation to the Committee for review and investigation. The Committee members will review the prospective member's history, economy, and reputation. The Committee members will then vote on whether or not to allow the prospective member into the UWP as a Provisional Member. To advance to the status of Primary Member, a Provisional member must be nominated for advancement by a current Primary member. The Council will then vote on whether or not to allow Primary membership to the Provisional member.

Provisional members are not permitted to vote on UWP issues or for Ministerial elections. They are permitted (and encouraged) to submit issues to the Council or the full membership for debate, and to debate any issue before the membership or the Council. Provisional members are permitted to vote on overturning a Council decision.


MEMBER OBLIGATIONS

The security of the UWP shall be the joint responsibility of the Ministers of Defense and World Conflicts.

- Be it resolved that all member nations are pledged to the defense and security of all members of the Union against any UNWARRANTED AGGRESSION from FOREIGN entities

- Member nations will contribute troops, equipment, and economic support to the UWP on a basis to be agreed to by each member nation and the Minister of Defense

- Member nations will refrain from engaging in activities that would result in a direct degradation of the economic or political security of other member nations.

- Member nations also recognize that all rights to collective security can be revoked by majority ruling of the Ministers, if said member is found to be engaging in aggressive or openly hostile policies likely to result in retaliation by the affected parties. In cases of extreme reckless behavior, member nations can be called before the UWP Council to defend their actions and may face expulsion or other disciplinary measures.

- Members in the Union agree to Free Trade with all member states, in which any nation may engage in inter-union trade free of tariffs, etc. Any disputes over trade barriers will be placed before the Minister of Economics for resolution. If the Economics Minister is involved in the dispute, then the UWP Council will decide the issue, and the involved parties may not vote.

-Union members will also ensure all products exported match or surpass UWP regulations, as ratified by the UWP membership by majority vote.

- Member nations shall agree to refrain from attacks on other UWP members. Members violating this agreement will be summarily expelled from the UWP without debate, and will thereafter be treated as any other hostile nation at war with a UWP member.

- A member nation which acts in a manner contrary to the Union Charter, or whose actions disrupt trade or security for any other member, or for the UWP as a whole in the opinion of any two Ministers will be called before the Council to defend its actions. If the Council votes that a member is in violation of the Charter, then the matter shall be referred to the UWP membership for vote. The membership may vote to expel the trangressing member (Primary or Provisional) from the UWP or to reduce a Primary member's status to Provisional. The membership may also vote to overturn the Council's ruling, as previously provided in the Charter.

OOC: Also, I have been needing to use my Consul is my "Apocalypse Now" RP, and held off because I first thought this would have finished sooner, and then thought it would be best not to distract from this. I'm not wanting this to affect the IC debates or anything, so I hope no one minds if we RP the Consul as having never been in this RP; instead, some top minister and diplomats came in his place. Thanks :)

OOC: Also, I have been needing to use my Consul is my "Apocalypse Now" RP, and held off because I first thought this would have finished sooner, and then thought it would be best not to distract from this. I'm not wanting this to affect the IC debates or anything, so I hope no one minds if we RP the Consul as having never been in this RP; instead, some top minister and diplomats came in his place. Thanks :)

Just use him as you need him. We'll continue with the wrangling over the Charter until we're done. You can just assume that whatever goes on in your other thread take place AFTER the UWP meeting is over.


TEO

Here's the Charter, with some minor modifications - mostly spelling/phrase alteration, although I did make minute changes to the responsibilities, powers, etc of the UWP, ministers, etc.

I ask everyone to please read through it, and vote YES or NO on approving it; if you disagree with it, please provide some explanation.


The Dominion accepts the Charter as written.

OOC: Did ever decide if we needed a simple majority or 2/3 for Charter ratification?

The Star Realm accepts the Charter.

We also accept the charter as it is written.

Eredron also approves this Charter, naturally.

5 nations in favor, with Euroslavia, Hallad, inkana, Parlim, and The Merchant Guilds yet to vote.

"I agree tentatively to the Charter as written," Nelson said. "I must inform you that our House of Delegates must officially ratify any treaty and our President must sign it."

[OOC: That just gives you an idea of how Sarzonia's set up. It WILL get ratified and Sarzo WILL sign it, so you can list me as having agreed to the Charter. That and I don't feel like RPing the debate/vote in the House right now. :p]

Eredron also approves this Charter, naturally.

5 nations in favor, with Euroslavia, Hallad, inkana, Parlim, and The Merchant Guilds yet to vote.

OOC: We approved of it a loooooong time ago.

OOC: We approved of it a loooooong time ago.

OOC: I figured you'd remain in favor, but I figured everyone should have the chance to review this final draft.

So 7 nations in favor, with Hallad, Parlim, and The Merchant Guilds yet to vote.

OOC: Sorry, haven't been keeping tabs on this thread lately thanks TEO for TGing meh.

IC: We accept the charter as it is written.

All nations appear to have signed, with the exception of Parlim.