Repeal "Protection of Dolphins Act" (failed)

Resolution History

Overview

This repeal was the first attempt to remove an existing environmental resolution. Voting on this resolution also coincided with a diskspace problem that briefly caused the Nationstates server to crash. The incident is not believed to have significantly affected voting on the resolution. The repeal was also debated immediately before the UNCoESB came to the floor.

Proposal Campaign

UN Debate

One of the primary causes for concern for many who opposed the repeal was the inclusion of the phrase 'national sovereignty' in the first line of text. Given that the Protection of Dolphins Act referred only to international waters, there was some doubt as to the validity of this claim.

Resolution Text

Description:

UN Resolution #106: Protection of Dolphins Act (Category: Environmental; Industry Affected: All Businesses) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

Argument:

WHEREAS, the U.N. Protection of Dolphins Act constitutes an encroachment on national sovereignty, in that it claims jurisdiction over international waters -– restricting the rights of nations who have a presence in said waters, violating treaties and trade pacts between nations respecting said waters, and placing special restrictions on any future such treaties; and

WHEREAS, many member states' economies are heavily reliant on fishing and related industries, and this act severely damages their national economies; and

WHEREAS, it is decidedly outside the jurisdiction of the United Nations to place such precise restrictions on international trade and commerce; and

WHEREAS, dolphins are not an endangered species requiring special protection; and

WHEREAS, the sale and consumption of dolphin meat is prevalent in many cultures, and the Protection of Dolphins Act is culturally insensitive in that regard; and

WHEREAS, the Protection of Dolphins Act does little to advance the central purpose of the United Nations, namely, the promotion of human rights; and

WHEREAS, the provision in the Protection of Dolphins Act, calling specifically for the prevention of "dolphin abuse, in any way that (member states) see fit, provided that no dolphin shall ever be preferred over human lives," is insufficient for the protection of human lives and livelihood:

1. THE U.N. PROTECTION OF DOLPHINS ACT IS HEREBY REPEALED.

Votes For: 4,606

Votes Against: 8,893

Defeated: Aug 28 2005

Gameplay Impacts

The resolution would have had no impact on the way NationStates was played. The forum poll, however, was interesting in that it was likely the most accurate one since the forum starting polling the ambassadors. Though forum voters were more closely divided than the actual UN vote, delegates carry more than one vote, and more delegates opposed the measure than supported it. Forum results, however, were affected by the fact that an earlier version of the poll was more concerned with the ambassadors' feelings on clubbing baby dolphins, the rack on the ambassador from Thessadoria and getting drunk at the Strangers Bar than with the resolution at vote. It did not include the standard "Yes/No/Abstain" options, and was later altered by moderators to a more traditional poll.

Nations participating in the UN forum debate were (eventually) asked to disclose their vote: yes, no, or abstain; the results of this survey are presented above. On the UN forum, 81 nations voted for the resolution, 83 against, and 2 nations abstained. The abstentions are not included in calculating the percentage of votes. Due to the change in the poll options after the first few hours, some votes may have been lost.

While just 34% of the votes cast in the "official" UN vote were in favor, 49% of the forum voters chose "yes," making for a seemingly poor representation of the official UN vote. Previous comparisons between the UN forum and overall UN vote have indicated that the UN forum tends to vote more conservatively, and given that a repeal would remove a resolution, the trend shown here is consistent with prior comparisons.

Additional Materials

• Repeal "Protection of Dolphins Act UN Floor Debate
• Dolphins! Why single them out? Draft Proposal Discussion
• Protection of Dolphins Act Original Resolution's UN Floor Debate
• 0 Of 0 Summary of Diskspace Crash
• UN Timeline
• United Nations