Gruenberg and the United Nations

Gruenberg has been a member of the United Nations since August 2005. Its representatives have been among the most active members of the General Assembly, as well as submitting a number of proposals. Within the UN, Gruenberg has traditionally advocated national sovereignty, whilst supporting the principles of international law in areas of expressly transnational policy.

Voting record

The colour-code key for proposal categories can be found here.

Voting policy

Gruenberg has not exercised a consistent policy in casting its votes on resolutions. Although in general it has supported national sovereignty whilst advocating international cooperation in areas ranging from international security and war crimes to free trade and environmental protection, there have been exceptions. For example, it supported the Workplace Safety Act and Recreational Drug Legalization. Arguably, its voting has become more consistent since the departure of Moltan Bausch.

Gruenberg has supported most repeals; Repeal "Stop dumping - Start Cleaning" was the first instance of its casting a vote against a repeal, and was done so out of fear of a more restrictive replacement than any affiliation to the original resolution. This also influenced its votes against Repeal "Abortion Rights" and Repeal "Stop privacy intrusion". However, it cast its vote for Repeal "Legalise Euthanasia" and Repeal "Definition of Marriage", despite criticising the arguments and possible repercussions of both.

Legislative record

Gruenberg has come to be one of the most prolific sources of legislation within the UN. The precise numbr of resolutions that should be credited to them is somewhat unclear, particularly in the cases of co-authorship or where proposals were submitted on their behalf, but they are generally considered to have had thirteen proposals reach quorum, more than any other nation. Initially, Moltan Bausch concentrated on repeals, but then shifted to substantive proposals, a policy continued by Lori Jiffjeff and Rono Pyandran. Resolutions have covered a wide range of topics, including recycling, landmines and intellectual property rights, and have included several blockers.

Repeal "UCPL"

Main article(s): Repeal "UCPL"

Gruenberg's first legislative success was a motion to repeal UCPL (Universal Copyright/Patent Law). Written by Moltan Bausch after overhearing Varia Yefremova wonder aloud when someone would attempt a repeal, and drafted with help from several members of the United Nations Old Guard, notably the representatives of Ausserland, Repeal "UCPL" set in motion the so-called "War on Copyright". The repeal passed comfortably, and unusually endeared Bausch to the left, but met with vehement opposition from Aram Koopman, who feared for Knootian economic interests that UCPL had served as security for.

Repeal "Right to Divorce"

Main article(s): Repeal "Right to Divorce"

Repeal "Right to Divorce" was the first resolution by Gruenberg, and possibly the first in UN history, to be submitted by another nation on the author's behalf. Moltan Bausch had been the most vocal opponent of Resolution #135, Right to Divorce, and had already prepared a repeal with the help of members of the National Sovereignty Organization as the resolution passed. However, Gruenberg lacked two endorsements at that point, and so could not submit the proposal. As such, the nation of Fonzoland submitted the proposal on Gruenberg's behalf, leading to a legality challenge of questionable intent from representatives of Love and esterel. The submission was ruled to be legal, and the repeal passed by the largest margin of any legislation authored by Gruenberg. It was also the first repeal to pass as the next resolution after the one it repealed; however, two failed proposals - Forced Banishment Ban and Rights of Biological Sapients - came in between the two, meaning Repeal "Promotion of Solar Panels" retained the record for fastest repeal.

• Resolution #141 - Repeal "The Law of the Sea"
• Resolution #150 - UN Demining Survey
• Failed proposal #153c - Repeal "Banning the Use of Landmines"
• Resolution #158 - UN Recycling Commission

Author

• Resolution #147 - Abortion Legality Convention (submitted on its behalf by the Kenny UN Mission)

Co-author

• Resolution #139 - Repeal "MANDATORY RECYCLING" (co-authored with Herconia and Jey)
• Failed proposal #153b - Repeal "Hydrogen Powered Vehicles" (Gruenberg collaborated in drafting on the ACCEL forums, and was initially credited as a co-author along with Westmorlandia, but this was eventually redesignated "the members of the ACCEL" to circumvent the branding clause of the proposal submission rules; Moltan Bausch opined that Gruenberg's contribution to the repeal's text was "not significant")

Telegram campaigns

• Resolution #137 - Repeal "Save the forests of the World"
• Resolution #143 - Repeal "The Rights of Labor Unions"
• Resolution #144 - Repeal "Gay Rights"
• Failed proposal - Anti-Terrorism Act

Notable debates

FOR: Repeal "Protection of Dolphins Act"
AGAINST: Right to Divorce

Other proposals

• Freedom to Transport Goods (submitted on its behalf by Omigodtheykilledkenny)
• United Nations Maintenance Act
• Teddy Bears For Children Drive
• Fair Sentencing Act (submitted by El Caminos In The West, Gruenberg's Texan protectorate)
• UN Landmine Convention

The Bausch Doctrine

Gruenberg has always pursued the "Bauch Doctrine" (named for UN Ambassador Moltan Bausch) of borderline non-compliance with legislation it opposes, although it is yet to be accused of active non-compliance. The three basic points of this approach are:

1. All optional clauses, where possible, are ignored.
2. All necessary projects are given minimal funding, staffing and support.
3. All ill-defined terms are exploited ('loophole wanking').

It should be noted, of course, that the Bausch Doctrine is not an absolute, and enthusiastic support for productive resolutions has always overriden it: for example, Gruenberg has allowed The Microcredit Bazaar to establish several chapters in its territory.

OOC Note

For various reasons, Gruenberg's UN membership has in fact been slightly variable, with membership periodically transferred to puppets, owing to gameplay commitments and other OOC factors. This is not something that is ICly acknowledged, and Gruenberg has always RPed as a UN member.