Esati Hemp Production Advisory Board

The Esati Hemp Production Advisory Board (EHPAB, now defunct) was sometimes viewed as a striking example of the bizarre effects United Nations resolutions may have upon the bureaucratic systems of member States.

ESAT (Extraterritorial Sovereign Ariddian Territory) is a sovereign nation consisting in a single building in the Ariddian city of Rêvane, and is a member of the United Nations. In compliance with UN resolution #85 Support Hemp Production, ESAT set up EHPAB as - in the words of the resolution - an "advisory board [with] the power to provide incentives to farmers that grow or will grow hemp". The fact that ESAT has no agricultural land, and hence no farmers, was dismissed by Esati authorities as "incidental".

EHPAB consisted in a single individual, Dr. Fabien Armand. Dr. Armand's main occupation is as ESAT's representative to the UN Green Think Tank, and he himself admitted that his duties as sole member of EHPAB "don't take up all that much of my time".

Resolution #85 stipulated that each national hemp production advisory board should be funded from farmers' profits, government funds, and funds provided by the United Nations. Given ESAT's moneyless economy, and the inexistence of Esati hemp farmers, the United Nations was EHPAB's sole provider of funds.

When the proposal Repeal "Support Hemp Production" came to be voted upon by the General Assembly, ESAT initially cast its vote in favour, then, apparently deciding not to cut off the source of UN funds provided by resolution #85, changed its vote to one against the repeal.

The resolution was nonetheless repealed by a resounding majority, and ESAT dissolved its Hemp Production Advisory Board.