Equilism

World Assembly Digest - February 2021
A busy and contentious month in the Assembly

By Boston Castle

This month was extremely active in the World Assembly with several resolutions, some quite contentious, passing in both chambers.

Repeal: “Freedom of Assembly”

This proposal was proposed by Wymondham to repeal a long-time resolution on the books (GA #27-passed in December 2008!). The North Pacific stood against this repeal effort, largely due to concerns about specific wording in the repeal. Wymondham’s resolution was, however, supported by the community-at-large and passed 58%-42% on February 5. This would not be the first thing that Wymondham worked on this month-an active month from an impressive first-time author.

Commend King HEM

On the same day that Repeal: “Freedom of Assembly” passed the General Assembly floor, a proposal passed the Security Council: “Commend King HEM”. The irony here lies in Wymondham’s co-author Maowi getting her month started with passing this proposal. Similar to Repeal: “Freedom of Assembly”, this proposal was quite contentious, with the newly formed Partnership for Sovereignty issuing a statement against it. Despite this, the proposal still passed 77%-23% on February 5.

Commend Northern Borland

Initially intended to be something of a joke proposal and a tongue-in-cheek commendation of the nominee by Honeydewistania, this proposal raised trying questions about pure stats commendations and condemnations that are still being discussed in the Security Council. The vote on this proposal went back-and-forth several times between passing and failing during the several days it was on the voting floor, something reflected in the even-split in TNP’s vote. The proposal’s back-and-forth status was largely due to the influence of 10000 Islands Delegate HumanSanity, whose vote changed several times. This vote passed extremely narrowly 51.2%-48.8% on February 10 giving Honeydew his 6th Security Council Resolution authorship.

Right to Assemble

The second time that the fundamental right to assembly was discussed in the Security Council and the intended partner to the repeal earlier this month, this was the second time that a proposal by the team of Maowi and Wymondham was discussed in February. This proposal capped off a busy month for both authors. As suggested by the title, this resolution codified a right to assembly.

However, this proposal was not without controversy as an effort by Greater Cesnica was introduced at the same time and both proposals made the formal queue. While the original proposal was not as controversial as the repeal effort earlier this month, this proposal passed easily 79%-21% on February 13 giving Maowi her 6th General Assembly Resolution authored.

Commend 1 very fast endotarter

This resolution dealt with the commendation of a figure well-known to many in The North and abroad, 1 very fast endotarter, also known as r3n. While the exploits of his long and illustrious second stint on the game are well-established elsewhere, it is worth noting that this proposal raised the ire of several in the defender community. Some figures in the defending community were reluctant to support the measure, or even outright opposed it, due to r3n’s association with independent militaries for whom the vast majority of activities are raiding in the NPA and the Europeian Republican Navy. Ultimately though, TNP author Noahs Second Country saw his proposal prevail, with TNP’s backing of course, and earned his 4th Security Council Resolution authored, and first of this month, 78%-22% on Valentine’s Day (February 14).

Right to Secure Digital Communication

A new face to many in The North, Greater Cesnica has long been accused of badge-hunting in his exploits in the General Assembly largely due to the large volume of proposals he creates and readily submits. Though some may intentionally vote against his proposals, even ones which deal with such a vital issue as ensuring digital communications are secure, his proposals often pass-such was the case with this one. While mired in questions of what constitutes a badge hunt and even if the term should apply to eager authors who pump out quality proposals, Cesnica saw this proposal passed with an emphatic 85%-15% margin on February 17-giving him his 3rd General Assembly resolution authored.

Liberate The Embassy

Perhaps the biggest topic in gameplay, the one which has led the most people to sound off recently has not been the R/D Presidential election-themed tag raids going on in Lily, Grey Wardens Warden Matthew’s trips to fast-food restaurants after the movies, but rather the invasion of The Embassy and the subsequent closure of over 3,600 embassies. Arousing debate among nearly every force that participated in the invasion, defenders seized on the moment and sprang into action with 10000 Islands Delegate HumanSanity submitting and passing a liberation, stopping raiding forces from holding the region for a potential refound. This proposal passed on February 18 by a 70%-30% margin marking an auspicious Security Council debut from the 10000 Islands Delegate.

Whistleblower Protection Act

Yet another proposal that quietly aroused conflicting feelings among many, this proposal dealt with questions of how to protect those exposing illegal activities. Though the proposal itself remained relatively uncontroversial to many, Europe delegate Imperium Anglorum issued a statement announcing that he could not back the legislation due to deficiencies he saw in the legislation. However, the opposition of that region and The East Pacific during the waning days in which Libertanny held the delegacy did not imperil final passage, it made passage by 78%-22% rather than a larger margin. Passage ensured that The North Pacific’s own Boston Castle earned passage of his 2nd General Assembly Resolution.

Repeal: “Commend Northern Borland”

As mentioned earlier in our roundup of this month’s action in The World Assembly, stats-based commendations and condemnations are still a hot topic of discussion in the wider world of the Security Council. Commend Northern Borland was always a contentious resolution, having passed by an extremely narrow margin when it first came to the floor, and opponents seized on this. While pointing out flaws in the resolution, including its use of tongue-in-cheek sarcastic or ironic language, this Repeal made the case to repeal the Commend and it was, indeed, repealed. This proposal passed on February 22 by a 59%-41% margin without the North’s support. It gave The North Pacific’s Noahs Second Country a 2nd Security Council resolution passed this month, coming 8 days after the passage of Commend 1 very fast endotarter, and his 5th overall.
Supporting People With Disabilities

Occasionally, a proposal will genuinely come to be considered quite “feel good”, this one qualifies under that category. Codifying the rights of the disabled into World Assembly law and “reaffirming the right to not be discriminated against on the grounds of disability”, this proposal passed easily-83%-17%. This proposal, authored by Free Las Pinas marked a promising debut for the author in the General Assembly and his resolution, passing on February 25, received the overwhelming support of the North.

Condemn Lily

One of the most infamous independent militaries of the last few years-Lily has no shortage of detractors and admirers. With their rainbow-colored tags on regional WFEs and the sheer number of operations they undertake, it is clear that at some point, regardless of their affiliation, they would be on the receiving end of a condemnation. One such attempt to condemn Lily came to the floor on February 22 and while it showed condemn worthy things, it did not tell the whole story or prove convincing enough for the North, or the wider World Assembly community, to approve it. This proposal failed by a 78%-22% margin on February 26.