URABoard

Noting that GA#8 was passed by a slim margin many years ago,

Observing that many important global events have befallen the international community since that time,

Aware that many of the staff working inside the World Assembly Headquarters would be better off working from home in this day and age,

Cognizant of the carbon emissions resulting from the semi-regular travel of thousands of delegations to and from a single international headquarters,

Suggesting that decreasing the degree of travel necessary for WA diplomats to do their jobs may well aid in the fight against climate change,

Asserting that there are many other uses for the land on which the World Assembly Headquarters currently resides that would provide far more social good, such as, but not limited to:

• Free social housing

• Affordable social housing

• Extortionate social housing

• A shopping centre

• Many pubs

• The world’s largest brothel

• Decorative rubble

Conceding that there may be some alternative uses that might provide a net negative to the international community, such as an office for a law firm,

Ignoring this on the grounds that lawyers will likely be dealt with when the revolution comes,

Hereby Repeals GA#8 “World Assembly Headquarters”.

Believing that there exists few nations of such caliber that can permanently better the fates of their regions through work of extraordinary difficulty and nearly unmatched inspiration, of which Libertanny of The East Pacific (TEP) can be counted,

Applauding Libertanny’s contributions to TEP as Minister of Information in early 2018 and Chief Minister of Communications in late 2018, a period in which they worked to involve members of the unrepresented Regional Message Board (RMB) community within the Ministry, and played an integral role in expanding the reach and scope of the Eastern Pacific News Service (EPNS) as an informative tool, also repealing the EPNS Act (which heavily restricted the operations of the EPNS) in the Magisterium so that the EPNS could function with greater flexibility and effectiveness,

Identifying Libertanny’s contributions to design and art in TEP, serving as Minister of Design in late 2018, where they engaged a formerly decaying ministry, circulating various design programs to assist nations in their pursuits, and creating numerous designs including the TEP delegate seal as well as various flags, badges, and awards.

Admiring Libertanny’s valiant efforts to oppose the 2019 coup d’etat of TEP by Fedele via the founding of a legislative bloc which actively and publicly opposed Fedele’s actions, the proposal of a symbolic Magisterial resolution to condemn Fedele for openly ignoring regional law, and the assistance in unendorsement campaigns during the coup to depose the usurper, ultimately playing a vital role to overcome the subversion,

Recognizing Libertanny’s restructuring of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the coup, creating a new leadership council consisting of senior diplomats and delegating leadership responsibilities to it, helping democratize the decision-making process, ease the burden of leadership, and allow for such greater efficiency that it remains in use to this day,

Noting Libertanny’s extensive structural reforms of TEP’s Government during their eight-month tenure as Delegate, including but not limited to:

1. Empowering World Assembly influence in the region by establishing the independence of the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs from the purview of any other ministries, strengthening its decision-making power and building engagement within this very Assembly,

2. Creating Ambassador positions for various, underrepresented communities within TEP's government, such as the RMB and the Cards Association, TEAPOT; connecting TEP’s government to more isolated parts of the region and fostering a greater sense of community in TEP,

3. Instituting the precedent of allowing regional legislature representation in treaty negotiations, improving upon the prolonged process of drafting treaties and eliminating a large hindrance to the advancement of interregional diplomacy, and

4. Directing the creation of REWARD without aid, a World Assembly Development Program which has strengthened regional security by incentivizing the endorsement of regional security officers and encouraged a more vibrant endorsement culture within the region,

Saluting Libertanny’s contributions to TEP diplomacy during their delegacy, mainly by building treaties emphasizing goodwill, mutual defense, and cooperation, with regions such as The Free Nations Region and Thaecia, both of which have become some of TEP’s closest allies,

Appreciating Libertanny’s initiative in creating and helping to host all editions of the well regarded 2020 “Paradoxical Event”, a gaming festival regularly enjoyed by 100+ nations; this boosted regional activity for participating regions, and encouraging the forming of new and bountiful international relationships; and in founding the subsequent “Paradoxical Corporation,” which will continue to host such events,

Accrediting that Libertanny has single-handedly transformed and bettered The East Pacific as a respected leader, hard worker, and reformer on a caliber befitting such a commendation,

Hereby Commends Libertanny.

Co-authored by Ponthieu.

COGNIZANT that, although thousands of nations have competed in the past 89 editions of the World Cup (the multiverse's oldest and greatest football competition), few get to reach football's pinnacle, and even fewer do so as rapidly and effectively as Nephara, known prior to the 69th World Cup as New sideburn;

IMPRESSED by what the Cormorants, as Nephara's national football team has always been affectionately known, have achieved with their renowned brand of pace-focused, physical and pressing-oriented football, most notably being:

• one of only four nations to win the much-coveted "Triple Crown" of World Cup Committee (WCC)-run tournaments: the 51st Baptism of Fire, the 61st Cup of Harmony, and ultimately the 74th and 87th World Cups;

• winners of Rushmore's regional football tournament, the Copa Rushmori, four times (including on each of the past three occasions), more than any other nation except Pasarga (4) and Polar Islandstates (5); and

• able to boast of winning five Campionati Esportiva (Esportiva's regional football tournament) - a figure matched only by their old colony of Brenecia, which also won the 80th World Cup;

RECOGNISING the Nepharan football league pyramid as one of the most organised, well-documented, and renowned such systems in the world, as well as one which has historically proven itself successful on the international stage; its clubs won two Champions' Cups, three Globe Cups, and a Youth Cup when those competitions were still run by the UICA (not to mention AFC Treason's youth team winning the Rising Stars Cup in the modern IFCF era twice, including a famous 0-0 win on away goals in the inaugural final);

APPRECIATING the international outreach efforts of Nephara's football association: both in helping to educate new or otherwise confused FAs about how to set up, maintain, and present their own national football leagues; as well as in organising an exchange where clubs in all football-playing nations can buy and sell players (at a sensible price, of course);

AWARE that, like all great sporting nations, Nepharan influence and values stretch far beyond the trophy cabinet; for example:

• Markus Rensenbrink has put in major commitment to serve in the two greatest roles of responsibility in international football, firstly as Vice-President and then, for one cycle, President of the WCC;

• The late, great Gethin Ramsey - whose daughter Triffid now manages the Cormorants - not only won the Baptism of Fire with his homeland but also led three countries (Nephara, Cosumar and The licentian isles) to the World Cup proper, the only manager in history to do so;

• The nation also overcame a lack of dedicated rugby stadia, plus flooding that devastated the city of Brinemouth and brought significant political tensions, to solely host the 13th Rugby League World Cup and its 40 participants;

• Nepharim sports publication KarlingSport oversaw the announcement of the list of Galacticos, a totally non-arbitrary list of the multiverse's best and brightest footballers in any given season, for five cycles of international football (the last two UICA and first three IFCF cycles), before compatriots and energy drink bottlers First Wind took over in time for IFCF 4; and

• The work of the Herald (previously called the Brinemouth Herald) must also be applauded for bringing the Cormorants to the attention of the wider world through a skilful journalistic combination of match reports, expert post-mortem analysis, and even the occasional dedicated article about Nepharan politics;

EMPHASISING the significance of Nephara's work during April 2017's nuclear apocalypse in helping the International Geese Brigades (IGB) become the world's third-most successful faction (and the only top-ten faction not to have been irradiated at all), especially considering their position as the IGB's Morale Officer and their participation in the final attack that brought the IGB's rank from eighth to third; and

BELIEVING that the international sporting community has never quite had it so good in large part thanks to the influence of Nephara - consistent, timely, occasionally sharp but never unappreciated:

HEREBY COMMENDS Nephara.

Recognising the numerous social, humanitarian and economic benefits of a healthy, happy populace, and the importance of access to effective medication in maintaining this health and happiness;

Recalling the efforts of resolutions such as GA 333 Preserving Antimicrobials, GA 429 Traditional Medicine, and GA 571 Access to Transgender Hormone Therapy to improve access to safe and effective medication worldwide;

Noting, despite these efforts, the ongoing disproportionate distribution of access to effective medications between nations, and between peoples within nations, including the significant impact of poverty and income inequality on this access, and noting the lack of a globally accepted standard of medical treatment;

Seeking to reaffirm and strengthen its commitment to improving the health of all peoples, regardless of World Assembly (WA) membership status, hereby enacts the following:

1. The World Medications Council (henceforth the WMC) is established as a branch of the World Health Authority, with the purpose of improving access to safe, efficacious, and cost-effective medications in all nations. The WMC shall have the following duties:

   1. To assess and record the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of all known medications, defined as any substance used to diagnose, prevent, treat, or manage the symptoms of disease, medical and/or psychological conditions (including for the purposes of disinfection, immunisation, contraception, abortion, hormone therapy, and euthanasia). In assessing a medication, the WMC must consider:

      1. A medication’s safety, including the severity and frequency of known adverse effects, the therapeutic range, toxicity, interactions with other medications, and requirements for that medication safe storage, handling, and administration of the medication;

      2. The impact of patient factors on a medication’s safety, including species, pregnancy, intercurrent medical and/or psychological conditions, employment, and lifestyle factors;

      3. A medication’s efficacy for all indications for which it is used, including the magnitude of effect, whether a medication is curative or requires ongoing use, the therapeutic dose, frequency of dosing, duration of therapy, and synergistic or adverse effects when used with other medications;

      4. A medication’s relative cost-effectiveness, including the medication price, total cost of therapy, costs associated with storage, handling and transport, staff training and safety protocols required for its use, and relative cost and efficacy compared to other available medications used for the same or similar purposes; and

      5. Any other factors it deems relevant.

   2. To, based on this assessment, create and maintain an Effective Medications List (henceforth the EML), containing those medications that are best suited to meet the needs of an effective health system.

   3. To regularly assess and update the EML based upon the current scientific consensus.

   4. To undertake activities to promote access to medications on the EML in all WA member nations (henceforth members).

   5. To promote access to medications on the EML in non-WA member nations, with the consent and according to the laws of those nations.

2. All members must provide access to all medications included in the EML to all residents of their nation, unless one of the following exceptions applies. Nations are not required to provide access to a medication:

   1. That is illegal, or for purposes that are illegal in that nation, for all of their residents;

   2. For purposes other than the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, or management of disease, medical and/or psychological conditions for which that medication has an established clinical use; or

   3. That they cannot provide access to for reasons outside their control. In this case, they must provide access to an available similarly effective alternative, and provide access to the unavailable medication as soon as possible.

3. Members must ensure that medications are priced in a way that allows all residents to afford all the medications they require while maintaining an adequate standard of living.

4. Members are encouraged to minimise the cost of medications to patients through all appropriate means, including subsidising common and/or effective medications, standardising prices, enforcing strong anti-trust legislation, and creating special access schemes for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

Co-authored by Tinhampton.

INTRODUCING The Matriarchy of Cassadaigua as the only nation to have won all of the following five major single-sport competitions:

• the football World Cup (WC) at its 50th and 51st editions;

• the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at its 14th, 16th, 19th and 50th editions;

• the gridiron World Bowl at its 8th, 22nd and 40th editions;

• the International Basketball Championships (IBC) at their 13th edition; and

• the World Cup of Hockey (i.e. ice hockey) at its 11th and 39th editions;

RECALLING that, while neither the first or the last to have done so, Cassadaigua remains one of the most successful nations to have fielded all-female teams in international competition (most notably their seven victorious squads in the WC, WBC and IBC); especially given its excellent yet ongoing progress towards achieving gender equality in a matriarchal framework, which has been spurred largely by a long-running non-violent movement known as Male Equality Now;

AWARE that many of Cassadaigua's iconic sportswomen continue to inspire women and girls everywhere to this day, including but by no means limited to:

• Courtney Ferguson, who captained the Cassadagan football team from their debut in 30th Baptism of Fire until their group stage exit at the 45th WC - delivering leadership without which Cassadaigua may well have been a nondescript and much-forgotten sporting nation - before serving as Nethertopia's assistant manager as they came third at the 51st WC;

• Jessica Schanke, a quietly confident player whose winning goal in the final of the 51st WC consolidated her reputation as perhaps Cassadaigua's best striker in their early years of success;

• Rachel Schanke, Jessica's granddaughter, who has captained the national football team since the 86th WC - where she scored three in their epic semifinal defeat to Nephara - and remains one of Cassadaigua's most prolific players of recent times;

• Hannah Ranucci, who started for Cassadaigua after its return from a years-long absence from football at the 78th WC, took over the captaincy before the start of the 81st and remained dangerous in front of goal until her retirement after the 84th WC; and

• Stacie Houston, who not only won the 7th series of the NSSCRA (the multiverse's leading stock car racing championship), but also established an eponymous Foundation which seeks to provide essential and targeted support for people with disabilities of all ages;

APPLAUDING the tireless work not only of the Concord Heights Times' journalists (Chelsea Dufresne foremost among them in recent years) but also, on many occasions, the blogs of many Cassadagan sportspeople themselves for helping to deliver to the multiverse unabashedly opinionated yet highly informative tales of Cassadaigua's triumphs, tragedies, successes and failures since time immemorial;

RECOGNISING that Cassadaigua has successfully organised many enjoyable and well-run sporting events, most prominently:

• an astonishing six WBCs - second only to Newmanistan - with almost no outside help whatsoever: the 18th, 26th, 40th, 43rd, 45th and 50th;

• four WCs: the 54th (co-hosted with The babbage islands), 67th (with Equestrian States, now known as Equestria), 84th (with the Commonwealth of Baker Park) and 88th (with Chromatika);

• three Cups of Harmony, for the best football teams to have missed out on the WC: the 57th, 73rd (both co-hosted with Equestria) and 79th (with Northwest Kalactin); as well as

• hosting and helping interested nations sign up for the 9th Volleyball World Expo by themselves in 2020 - a tournament which had not been held in three years but which is now consistently being run for the first time since 2011-12;

NOTING that dedicated and reliable Cassadagan administrators have also served as:

• World Cup Committee Vice-President from the 55th to the 57th and then from the 61st to the 63rd WCs; where they oversaw host votes involving bids from the Presidents' home countries in each term, thus helping to prevent conflicts of interest that could have damaged trust in the Committee; and then

• WBC Council President from the 44th to the 46th and then from the 50th to the 52nd WBCs; where they distributed WBC signup forms, organised host votes, oversaw the induction of nations into the WBC's Council and Hall of Fame, and established an official World Baseball Classic mission for continuity purposes; and

OBSERVING that the multidisciplinary excellence of Cassadaigua, although matched by few (if any) in the sporting world, is respected by almost all nations which are aware of their contributions to international sports, and should similarly be appreciated by this august body:

HEREBY COMMENDS The Matriarchy of Cassadaigua.

Accepting that economic growth follows the economic security of workers,

Hoping to both achieve economic security as well as a healthy, growing populace,

Understanding that one such way to achieve these ideals is through paid leave and securing jobs for workers for them to care for themselves and their loved ones, however careful not to excessively interfere with employers' operations,

Hereby:

1. Defines for this resolution:

   1. economic security as having a stable income or resources to sufficiently support oneself and one's dependents now and in the foreseeable future;

   2. a worker as any individual bound by a contract of employment who works for or services another party as a part of said contract; and

   3. paid leave as time which an employer must not require a worker to work for or service another party per their employment contract, during which the worker receives from their employer:

      1. compensation sufficient to financially support themselves and their dependents if the receiving worker requires it for economic security;

      2. all non-income benefits that the worker would normally receive that could take away economic security from a worker without it; and

      3. the right to the same job or a job with a similar salary, field of work, necessary skill set, set of employment benefits, work schedule, and work location, once the worker returns from paid leave, should the employer be able to provide it without bankrupting themselves.

2. Mandates that member states provide workers requesting paid leave a minimum of the following durations of paid leave or any higher limits that the World Assembly may subsequently set for their respective conditions:

   1. the duration of the worker's illness or injury to recover if the illness or injury directly compromises the worker's or their co-workers' ability to work, unless it is an irreversible illness or injury, in which case the minimum would be four weeks;

   2. the duration of the worker's spouse's, child's, parent's, grandparent's, or dependent's illness or injury to care for the affected individual if the illness or injury directly compromises their ability to function, unless it is an irreversible illness or injury, in which case the minimum would be six weeks, should the affected individual require such care from the worker;

   3. two weeks per year for general purposes; and

   4. twelve weeks to care for the worker's new child, whether from childbirth, adoption, or placement of the new child in foster care, should that child require such care from the worker.

3. Forbids employers from terminating the employment of a worker, reducing the benefits or compensation of a worker, or disciplining a worker with the reason being the worker filed for paid leave, and forbids employers from terminating the employment of a worker while they are on paid leave,

4. Declares that workers must alert their employers as soon as they are aware of any foreseeable events or conditions that may induce the worker to file for paid leave in the future,

5. Restates and clarifies that:

   1. member states and employers may not impose conditions for granting paid leave;

   2. the paid leave minimums only apply to workers on contracts for at least twelve weeks longer than the minimum paid leave duration of the worker's respective condition for paid leave;

   3. only the filing worker is granted paid leave;

   4. paid leave under 2d ends when the worker's child no longer requires care from the worker if it is within the twelve weeks;

   5. member states pay the financial compensation outlined in 1ci unless it is general-purposes paid leave, in which case the filing worker's employer pays, however, employers of workers filing for general-purposes paid leave may force the workers' member states to provide the financial compensation throughout the paid leave if the employer employs less than fifty workers; and

   6. employers and member states may increase the duration of paid leave beyond the minimums listed in this resolution.

Noting that Joe Bobs has been an exemplary contributor to various historically significant regions and to the noble cause of defending,

Recalling Joe Bobs' beginnings as a member of Q102, where it had already garnered praise for its admirable government policies, especially:

1. Having one of the most exemplary historians in NationStates, whose works are best displayed through the incredibly well-detailed documentation of the Bobbian Civil War, even documenting foreign aid to the same level of detail,

2. Running an extremely reliable News Agency that has recorded much of the history of Joe Bobs in astonishing levels of detail, from the attempted invasion by the neighbouring nation of Mweeha to a failed military coup d’etat attempt, and

3. Showing dedication to utopian policies, notably through its universal healthcare, strong opposition to the death penalty, support of the environment and extensive protections of animal rights,

Delighted by Joe Bobs’ contributions to regional politics within Q102, especially through its work as an extremely effective Immigrations and Officials Minister; its diligence in recruitment helped build Q102 into one of the most active regions of its era and increased its size by over 18% in only 3 months; and its introduction of a formal alliance with Europa, which became such a close ally of Q102 that Q102's community later designated the alliance as one of most valued regional relationships at the time,

Acknowledging that Joe Bobs was a central figure in the creation of the Q102 Hall of Fame, allowing the best contributors to Q102 to be officially recognised, and founded the Q102 University, a place for national leaders learn about various subjects, then going on to teach various subjects there such as Philosophy, Literature and NationStates history,

Applauding Joe Bobs' extraordinary show of leadership and diligence when it founded the Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC) in 2006, which helped in the fight against the reprehnsible ideologies of Nazism and racism; Joe Bobs built the ARC into one of the largest historical inter-regional coalitions, with over 500 individual members and several noteworthy regions such as The New Meritocracy and Belgium, and then went on to serve as Chairman (leader) of the ARC,

Impressed by Joe Bobs' significant contributions to the Global Right Alliance (GRA), working tirelessly to build its community and helping start the innovative form of government known as the "rotatorship", where each week a ruler would be chosen to have absolute power, helping increase regional engagement in an entertaining way,

Hailing Joe Bobs' pivotal role in the creation of the GRA Economy program as President, which encouraged government participation by rewarding regional "cash" for participation, as well as Joe Bobs' reorganisation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs by dividing it into the Ministries of Culture and Activity, allowing for further focus on both departments,

Acclaiming that Joe Bobs played an important role in rebuilding the GRA Defence Forces from a relatively inactive state around 2010 through both recruitment and structural reforms, soon making it a dominant force in defending again,

Cognisant that following the GRA's relaunch in 2014 after years of inactivity, Joe Bobs helped rebuild regional infrastructure by creating legislation that defined judicial procedures, World Assembly Delegate elections, and Speaker succession, ensuring the region had integral procedures in place during its redevelopment,

Celebrating Joe Bobs’ work within the Founderless Regions Alliance (FRA), where it notably held a very successful term as Arch-Chancellor in 2014, during which it took action for the FRA to become further involved in the stabilizing of recently raided regions, and hosted the third iteration of FRAVision, a worldwide singing competition that was widely successful and helped promote the FRA,

Extolling Joe Bobs' compiling of the histories of various significant regions, most notably by authoring an in-depth documentation of the history of the GRA known as the "General History of the GRA", and creating a public library in the FRA of the history of multiple important regions such as United Kingdom while Arch-Chancellor; this helped ensure the public accessibilies of regional histories for years to come, and

Believing that while Joe Bobs' flag and national symbol, the penguin, being cute and fluffy is not necessarily enough for interregional recognition, Joe Bobs' achievements in various regions and to the defender cause serve as extraordinary examples of hard work and dedication, and are worthy of the honour,

Hereby Commends Joe Bobs.