NationStates Jolt Archive


Category/legality query for UN Proposal

Enn
06-12-2005, 06:37
I've had a draft proposal up in the UN forum, wondering what category it would best fit under. The current draft is:

Drugs Trafficking Act

The General Assembly,

Recognising the right of individual nations to legalise, illegalise, restrict or tax recreational drugs as they see fit, within the bounds of any passed or future UN resolutions concerning such substances,

Aware that in some cases, nations with widely differing policies on recreational drugs share land and/or maritime borders,

Conscious of the high priority many nations place on maintaining strong border control,

Asserting that nations on both sides of any international border are equally responsible for the prevention of the illegal trafficking of any goods, in either direction, across said border,

Recognising the right of nations to punish, according to their own legal system, persons convicted of the production, transport, purchase or supply of illegal substances within their borders,

Worried that lack of accord over such issues may lead to conflict and division between UN member states, persecution of innocent states or individuals ostensibly to prevent traffic of recreational drugs, and/or aggressive support of illegal traffickers in order to strain, subvert and destabilise national law enforcement agencies,

1) Defines drugs as chemical substances that affect the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and potential addiction, and defining all drugs as being recreational, unless they belong to some list of legitimate medical substances as determined by individual nations, and they are used under expert medical supervision;

2) Demands that all nations, in taking actions in their attempts to suppress illegal drug trafficking, recognise the sovereignty of other nations; neither pressuring said nations to adopt changes in their recreational drugs policy, nor violating international borders in military or policing actions, covert or otherwise, without consent; nor using domestic recreational drugs policy as justification for any breach of human rights or international law;

3) Requires that no nation take action against recreational drug production within their own borders by biological, chemical or biochemical methods, such as the introduction of crop-destroying pests or of abortive strains, which may be judged likely to affect the production of nations wherein said crops are legal, or may be judged likely to create health risks;

4) Requests that the law enforcement, customs and border officials of any nations sharing borders share such information as is judged relevant in order to better prevent illegal traffic;

5) Urges that all nations producing recreational drugs closely monitor and publish records dealing with the production capacity and exchange record of any body or individual producing, transporting or purchasing such substances other than for personal consumption; and as far as the domestic point of retail or legitimate export to another nation in which such substances are legal;

6) Recognises the right of vessels, engaged in the transport of recreational drugs legal in both exporting and importing countries, to use international territory without threat of impediment or harassment from other nations; recognising also the right of other nations to monitor such vessels in order to prevent illicit activity; and further recognising the duty of both exporting and importing nations to closely monitor said goods at point of departure and arrival;

7) Recognises the right of nations to deny transit of sovereign territory by vessels transporting recreational drugs illegal within that nation.

Co-authored by Rehochipe

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People have suggested various categories, such as Moral Decency, International Security and the actual drugs categories. I'm really not sure what would be best, hence my asking the mods before submission. I don't want to have spent all this time working on it to find out that it gets deleted for the wrong category.
Enn
07-12-2005, 06:44
24 hour bump
The Most Glorious Hack
07-12-2005, 13:40
Hmm. This is a tough one. Seems like it should be under Recreational Drug Use, but none of the subheadings (Outlaw, Legalize, Promote) match. Moral Decency is right out, as it has nothing to do with restricting freedoms in the interest of moral decency. The only other thing that looks close is International Security: Mild, but I don't much like that one either. I'll have to ponder this a little bit.
Enn
09-12-2005, 00:36
Right, thanks. I won't submit just yet, but it's good to have some idea for when I do.
Mikitivity
09-12-2005, 00:57
Hmm. This is a tough one. Seems like it should be under Recreational Drug Use, but none of the subheadings (Outlaw, Legalize, Promote) match. Moral Decency is right out, as it has nothing to do with restricting freedoms in the interest of moral decency. The only other thing that looks close is International Security: Mild, but I don't much like that one either. I'll have to ponder this a little bit.

I think your impression of IS - Mild might actually be easily defended. :)

From the proposal:

4) Requests that the law enforcement, customs and border officials of any nations sharing borders share such information as is judged relevant in order to better prevent illegal traffic;

That is a mild call to increase funding for police forces, which is what international security deals with.


{edit}
The next clause:
5) Urges that all nations producing recreational drugs closely monitor and publish records dealing with the production capacity and exchange record of any body or individual producing, transporting or purchasing such substances other than for personal consumption; and as far as the domestic point of retail or legitimate export to another nation in which such substances are legal;

Might be an additional justification ... as the resolution is recommending an activity that may or may not exist in nations.