General Assembly

Day breaks on a new General Assembly. Whether through something as baroque as an arcane ritual or as pedestrian as a loose power cord, the old institution is no more and its volume of standing resolutions has been wiped clean.

Thus, it is our privilege and duty as sovereign members of this body of NationStates to forge a new international order. The new General Assembly must seize this opportunity at this critical juncture in history, and learn from the legacy of its predecessor to secure a new vision for the future that centers the needs and sovereignty of its constituents.

In pursuit of those lofty and necessary goals, the General Assembly hereby recognizes the following realities:

1. This new General Assembly is the successor to the one of old, whose resolutions no longer have effect.

2. Member nations are considered competent to manage their own affairs. They possess sovereignty over matters within their jurisdiction, including the ability to freely engage with international affairs.

3. In exercising their sovereignty, member nations may choose to cede it, such as by adopting and implementing resolutions passed by this body or participating in regional or other supranational units.

4. The World Assembly must maintain infrastructure necessary for the execution of its functions and responsibilities, such as administrative bureaucracy and funding mechanisms.

For the benefit of members and future legislative efforts, the General Assembly additionally recognizes the following distinctions:

1. There is a distinction between resolution effects that are Assembly-wide, such as the establishment of agencies or reservation of powers, and effects that are member nation-specific due to flowing from a member nation's obligations under resolutions it adopts.

2. In its capacity as an expression of the collective will of its member nations, the General Assembly expresses collective positions and commitments through resolutions it passes. However, individual member nations subscribe to those positions and commitments by adopting the relevant resolutions.

Based on those realities, and in order to begin the great work of establishing foundational infrastructure for the vibrant legislative efforts sure to come, the General Assembly enacts the following:

1. Member nations possess formal equality under World Assembly law.

2. Member nations must make a good-faith effort to fulfill their obligations under General Assembly resolutions they adopt.

When one chapter ends, another begins. It is time for the General Assembly to usher in a new age of international relations, and to forge a new, better legacy. This body looks forward to the coming era, and eagerly awaits what its members will accomplish. Together, we can improve the world, one resolution at a time.

The General Assembly's primary mission is to improve the world, one resolution at a time. It does so through the collective action and in accordance with the collective will of World Assembly members.

Such efforts should not come at the undue expense of national sovereignty. If anything, upholding and protecting members' sovereignty is one of the purest goals this body can aspire to.

Therefore, the General Assembly hereby recognizes World Assembly member nations to be competent to manage their own affairs, and to possess sovereignty over matters within their jurisdiction unless ceded, including:

1. Authority over internal affairs, such as promulgating and enforcing internal policies.

2. Free engagement in external affairs, including entry into international agreements and association with regional and other supranational units.

In order to better uphold national sovereignty, the General Assembly hereby declares the following to be obligations of the World Assembly to its member nations in executing its responsibilities and functions under World Assembly law:

1. The World Assembly must afford its member nations a presumption of regularity; it must assume its member nations act in good faith and properly execute their obligations under World Assembly law absent clear evidence otherwise.

2. In promulgating policy or resolving ambiguity that affects a given member nation, the World Assembly must extend due deference to the interests and reasonable interpretation of that member.

3. The World Assembly may not impose undue or impractical burdens on its member nations.

4. In exercising authority within a member nation's jurisdiction, the World Assembly must, where appropriate and practical, interface with the member's government rather than commandeering internal government processes or sub-jurisdictions.

Additionally, the General Assembly urges:

1. Member nations to collaborate in good faith on issues of a cross-border or borderless nature, such as public health, environmental policy, and trade.

2. This body's legislative efforts to focus on issues of international character or relevance.

While member nations can and do cede their sovereignty through their participation in the World Assembly, national sovereignty remains a bedrock principle of this body. Member nations should have discretion in how they exercise and cede their sovereignty, and this body should aim to preserve it where practical.

The World Assembly,

Well aware of its newly-minted status of international body, serving tens of thousands of nations worldwide, and the responsibility that comes alongside dutiful oversight of these nations, and

Wishing to establish an early standard of respect within this institution, and between members, which preserves the autonomy of individual members of this body while still being capable of accomplishing policy goals of international significance, therefore

Enacts as follows:

1. All binding actions taken by this Assembly ought to satisfy each of the following conditions:

   1. the subject matter presents a collective action problem that member nations cannot adequately address through independent domestic action, fundamental rights that transcend national sovereignty, or some other transboundary concern;

   2. the scope and intrusiveness of the resolution does not exceed what is reasonably necessary to address the identified concern; and

   3. among the available policy approaches capable of achieving the resolution's objective, the approach chosen is the least burdensome on the domestic governance of member nations, with respect to current understanding of how that is best accomplished.

2. No binding action shall be taken by this body that impedes the sovereign right of members to determine their own constitutional order, or otherwise mandates or prohibits the adoption of any particular form of government, political system, or governing ideology. No resolution should govern a matter which is purely domestic in character and would violate clause 1 of this resolution.

3. In all areas of policy which do not have explicit, active resolutions or clauses governing them, it is to be presumed that the World Assembly reserves governance of this issue to individual members, or independent coalitions of members, where applicable, for their policy assessment.

4. Member nations are expected to extend good faith recognition of domestic policy choices of other members in areas which are not covered by the World Assembly or other relevant treaties, consistent with clause three of this resolution. This clause should not be construed to restrict member governments or officials from expressing political opinion regarding the domestic policies of other members.

The General Assembly,

RECOGNIZING that armed conflict causes immense and unnecessary suffering among civilians;

AFFIRMING that humane conduct in warfare and the protection of civilians are vital principles of international law;

ACKNOWLEDGING that serious violations of moral and humanitarian norms during armed conflict should be recognized as war crimes;

SEEKING to establish standards for the protection of civilians, protected persons, medical operations, and evidence relating to such crimes;

Hereby establishes the following standards regarding war crimes and the conduct of warfare:

1. Defines “civilian” as any individual who is not a member of armed forces or otherwise directly participating in hostilities;

2. Civilians are not legitimate military targets unless directly participating in hostilities, and combatants must distinguish between civilians and military objectives while taking reasonable precautions to minimize civilian harm when engaging lawful military targets;

3. Actions intended to terrorize civilian populations are prohibited, including attacks, threats, demonstrations of violence, or military operations intended to spread fear, intimidation, or severe physical harm among civilians;

4. Defines “civilian infrastructure” as facilities primarily supporting civilian life, including housing, humanitarian shelters, medical facilities, water, electrical, food, and sanitation systems;

5. Targeting civilian infrastructure is prohibited unless it directly and substantially contributes to military operations and its destruction, capture, or neutralization would provide a definite military advantage;

6. Medical facilities retain special protection unless used for hostile military-related purposes beyond their humanitarian function;

7. The deliberate use of civilians, the wounded and sick, or protected civilian infrastructure to shield military objectives from attack is prohibited, including placing military forces or material among them for that purpose;

8. The starvation of civilian populations as a method of warfare is prohibited, including deliberate deprivation or destruction of resources vital for civilian survival and wellbeing;

9. Individuals captured or detained during armed conflict must be treated humanely, including:

   1. protection from torture, cruel treatment, or degrading treatment;

   2. access to food, water, shelter, and medical care sufficient to preserve basic health and survival, to the greatest extent reasonably practicable and without adverse distinction;

   3. protection from execution or punishment solely on the basis of nationality, civilian status, or lawful service in an opposing armed force, except following lawful judicial process and conviction for a specific criminal offense;

   4. protection from being taken or held as hostages;
      

10. Military officials, civilian authorities, or other persons exercising effective authority over combatants or military operations shall be held responsible for war crimes committed by subordinates where they knew, or reasonably should have known, that such crimes were being committed or likely to be committed, and failed to take reasonable measures within their authority to prevent, stop, report, or punish such acts;

11. The wounded and sick, meaning individuals rendered incapable of fighting by wounds or sickness, whether military or civilian, must not be attacked, denied protection, or deprived of adequate medical care except by legitimate medical priority;

12. Medical personnel, medical transport, and exclusively humanitarian medical operations must not be targeted or obstructed unless used beyond their humanitarian function for hostile military-related purposes;

13. Member states shall take reasonable and feasible measures to preserve evidence in their possession or control relating to credible allegations of war crimes, including documentation of civilian harm, preservation of relevant battlefield evidence, and cooperation with investigations;

14. Establishes the World Assembly War Crimes Documentation Commission, tasked with collecting and maintaining records of alleged war crimes reported by member states, assisting with documentation and evidence preservation, and publishing periodic reports summarizing international news and trends relating to violations of this Convention.