Gruenberg and the United Nations

Gruenberg joined the United Nations after The Transgender Equality Act failed, and has remained in ever since. A strong supporter of national sovereignty, Gruenberg quickly joined the National Sovereignty Organization, and since joining the United Nations Old Guard has become one of the most active voices in the UN Forum, in general supporting international security and free trade, and favouring fully international issues over domestic micromanagement. The Gruenberger UN Office has authored several repeals, as well as campaigning for a number of resolutions.

Voting record

Since its entry into the United Nations, Gruenberg has voted on every resolution before the General Assembly.

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

Legislative record

The Gruenberger Office of UN Affairs has been one of the most prolific sources of legislation within the UN in recent times. Its legislation has been broadly representative of Gruenberg's main positions and interests within the UN: national sovereignty, free trade, social conservatism, intellectual property and international security. The principal authors of its submissions have been Moltan Bausch and Lori Jiffjeff, the latter being seen as the primary supporter of a move away from repeals to substantive proposals.

The Gruenberger Office of UN Affairs is usually said to have contributed 3 resolutions, 4 repeals, and 1 failed repeal. However, the precise number of proposals for which they are responsible is not clear, and a matter of some debate. Whilst in Malibu Islands, Gruenberg did not always have the requisite number of endorsements to submit proposals, and as such sought help from other nations for submission purposes. Furthermore, Bausch and Jiffjeff were involved in several collaborative drafting efforts, earning co-authorship credits.

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.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS: Gruenberg has at present signed no international agreements with regard to the use of alternative fuel sources. It is however subject to the following UN Resolutions:

• #18, 'Hydrogen Powered Vehicles'. Gruenberg has made efforts to invest in hydrogen power, but currently no process has been made. Funding for the project is extremely limited, and it is not believed to have led to any noticeable decrease in petroleum use or carbon emissions.
• #39, 'Alternate Fuels'. Gruenberger automative manufacturing industries are obligated to lay aside 1% of their post-tax profits into research programmes into alternative fuels. The efficacy of such projects has proved doubtful, and as yet no significant developments in non-fossil fuel technology have been announced by any Gruenberger-based research programmes.
• #71, 'Sustainable Energy Sources'. At present, Gruenberg has not invested in offshore wind platforms. Experiments with solar power have proven more successful, with the government subsidising projects employing solar panels. A tidal power station in operation in the Bay of Abzhan-Rejak briefly produced hope of increased use of tidal energy, but was destroyed by a tsunami wave. It is doubtful that Gruenberg will have increased its sustainable energy resource usage by 2% within the next five years.
• #72, 'Reduction of greenhouse gases'. Gruenberg has thus far engaged in relatively little international exchange regarding climate change prevention. It has also interpreted 'fossil fuel emissions' to refer to 'emission of harmful substances including but not limited to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur trioxide as a result of the use of fossil fuels', and has outlined steps to reduce such emissions, although as yet no major change in industrial processes or annual emission output has been noted. It is extremely unlikely that Gruenberg will have reduced emissions by 10% within ten years unless extreme steps are taken to change industrial practices.

CONSERVATION: Gruenberg has at present signed no international agreements with regard to conservation. It is however subject to the following UN Resolutions:

• #15, 'Protect Historical Sites'. At present, Gruenberg has declared only a handful of cultural sites to be designated to be 'Historical Sites'. The recent demolition of the ancestral home of the Flonde family, once the royal family of The Grand Duchy of Naffarron, to make way for a battery recycling facility was criticised by the Gruenberger Heritage foundation, but justified by Court officials on the grounds that the house was not officially designated as a 'Historical Site'.
• #37, 'World Heritage List'. Gruenberg has designated the mountain Hatash Myari to be included on the World Heritage List as site for special environmental preservation.
• #58, 'SPCC Regulation Act'. By Gruenberger law, all petroleum companies must use double-hulled pipelines and storage/transport vehicles. They are also obliged to contribute financially and technically with clean-up operations arising from oil leakages - although the rate and amount is variable, and dependent on the scale and nature of the spillage.
• #70, 'Banning Whaling'. Gruenberger sovereign waters are not inhabited by whales, and the nation has no history of whaling.
• #106, 'Protection of Dolphins Act'. Gruenberger sovereign waters are not inhabited by dolphins, and the nation has no history of dolphin-fishing.

FORESTS: Gruenberg has at present signed no international agreements with regard to forestry. It is however subject to the following UN Resolutions:

• #23, 'Replanting Trees'. Gruenberg has a well-developed afforestation scheme that has largely rendered this Resolution obselete, as it makes provisions for all logged areas, regardless of area. However, Gruenberg has been criticised by some and even accused of outright non-compliance for asserting that the burden of responsibility for replanting lies with the corporations or agencies involved, and not with the individual loggers.
• #48, 'Save the forests of the World'. Gruenberg does not recognise this Resolution as having any effect in international law and, although it had pledged to investigate the reduction of logging levels, has as yet not legislated to artifically reduce commercial logging levels.
• #66, 'Illegal Logging'. All Gruenberger logging corporations have been accredited by the World Woodland Protection Team, and substantial progress in preventing illegal logging have been made. At present, it is believed that non-WWP accredited logging accounts for less than 1% of Gruenberg's total nation timber production.

RECYCLING: Gruenberg has at present signed no international agreements with regard to recycling. It is however subject to the following UN Resolutions:

• #13, 'Mandatory Recycling'. Gruenberg has struggled to fully comply with this demanding piece of legislation and, although recycling programmes are in place, there remains evidence of illegal disposal of glass, paper, aluminium and batteries by individual and corporations within Gruenberg. Furthermore, it has proven a drain on the economy that many critics of Gruenberg's role in the UN have latched onto as indicative of the fundamental lack of realism embodied by the institution.

WATER: Gruenberg has at present signed no international agreements with regard to water pollution. It is however subject to the following UN Resolutions:

• #9, 'Keep The World Disease-Free!'. Though technically a Human Rights Resolution, this has set out standards for sanitation that Gruenberg has attempted to meet, although success has been by no means total. As such, there are still issues with raw sewage and associated health risks in many more remote areas of Gruenberg.
• #11, 'Ban Single-Hulled Tankers'. The Gruenberg State Department of the Merchant Navy has outlawed the use of single-hulled tankers in Gruenberger sovereign waters by any nation, and any other national or international waters by any Gruenberger national or Gruenberg-based company.
• #34, 'Oceanic Waste Dumping'. The Gruenberg State Department of the Merchant Navy has declared dumping of any waste substances categorised as 'toxic' in any Gruenberger sovereign wtaers by any nation, or any other national or international waters by any Gruenberger national or Gruenberg-based company, to be illegal.
• #35, 'Stop dumping - Start Cleaning'. Dumping of waste into any public water system in Gruenberg is illegal, and punishable with 7 years imprisonment. However, laws on industrial liquid filtration are far more lax, insisting only that insoluble particles greater than 0.5mm in diameter are filtered out, and making no provision for the removal of soluble matter. A few non-profit organizations exist in Gruenberg for the regulation of cleaning: donations to them have however proved extremely limited.
• #52, 'Ballast Water'. The Gruenberger State Department of the Merchant Navy has introduced several elements of this Resolution into its legal framework regarding maritime conduct, including the mandatory installation of nitrogen deoxification equipment on board all freight vessels. Furthermore, strategies to reduce the level and impact of introduction of harmful aquatic organisms into marine ecosystems are taught as part of the required training for High Sultanic Royal and Merchant Navy officers and crewmen, including controlled ballast cycling.
• #74, 'The Law of the Sea'. No areas of Gruenberger sovereign waters have been declared 'Maritime Preservation Zones'. Gruenberg has acted to ensure that its fleet only fish within the limits of UN quotas - in fact, Gruenberg's annual total catch is significantly below any internationally agreed quota level. Measures to reduce maritime pollution have also been introduced, mostly through ratification of other UN Resolutions regarding marine pollution.
• 116, 'Mitigation of Large Reservoirs'. Gruenberg has few large reservoirs, having virtually no hydroelectric power facilities in place. At present, Gruenberg has retained those reservoirs used to attempt to offset its extensive annual flood damage, but has announced plans to experimentally clear two areas of alluvial plain in the Gelzien Nub for use as controlled flooding areas.

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 by the Gruenberg UN Office, and Gruenberg has always RPed as a UN member.