[Note: This post was originally located in OOC Discussion. It has been moved for ease of information access.]
GREETINGS-
In the interest of furthering international diplomacy and strengthened relations among our community, delegates from your country are hereby invited to a summit at Crystal Coast, Tavaris to discuss the establishment of an ALLIANCE OF NORTHWEST GONDWANA:
[mention]ParaSymmetry[/mention]
[mention]Ayaupia[/mention]
[mention]Libertanny[/mention]
[mention]Vultuca[/mention]
[mention]Asendavia[/mention]
[mention]Ragea[/mention]
[mention]Zukchiva[/mention]
[mention]Shavvyboi[/mention]
[mention]OrrestaP[/mention]
(I know this is an OOC forum, but I couldn’t help myself.)
The Alliance of Northwest Gondwana is, as currently envisioned, a free trade agreement between the signatory states, as well as a free travel agreement that signatories can choose to enter or choose not to enter. The name is not decided, and everything else can be up for discussion as well. I figured it might be easier to negotiate over forum rather than by waiting for when we’re all on Discord at the same time.
The proposed charter draft is listed below. Feel free to bring up any questions, comments, or problems you have with it. Once we have settled on something to which we can all agree, we can ratify it. Among notable issues, we will need to decide for certain on the name, and decide where the headquarters will be.
[spoiler]Charter Establishing the
Alliance of Northwest Gondwana
The purpose of the ANG shall be to establish economic prosperity across all member-states through the opening of markets and sharing of economic and cultural ideas.
There shall be among ANG members a free trade agreement known as the Alliance Trade Area, in which there shall be no interior economic controls such as tariffs on goods exchanged across borders. Membership in the ANG requires membership in the ATA.
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Members of the ANG may choose to, in the future, establish a common currency for the ATA. The ANG shall establish economic standards required for adoption of the common currency. Members who have not met these standards may not be admitted to the common currency, but may remain members of the ATA and the ANG.
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Within the ATA, members shall establish a common system of regulation for the safety and quality of agricultural products and other goods.
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Within the ATA, members shall establish a common standard of labor safety regulation and minimum wages.
ANG members may voluntarily choose to join a free-travel agreement known as the Alliance Free Travel Area, in which there shall be no border controls such as visa arrangements or border control points between international borders. No ANG member shall be required to join the Alliance Free Travel Area.
- Citizens of member-states who are in the AFTA shall have the right to visit other member-states in the AFTA without a visa or passport and may reside in and work in other AFTA member-states for up to one year without requiring a permit. Members may choose to extend this period beyond one year, but may not reduce it to less than one year. Member states may impose national-security related restrictions on entrance to their states under the AFTA in the event of an emergency, but any emergency longer than six months shall subject the nation to sanctions from the ANG, including but not limited to imposition of reciprocal restrictions on that state by the other states in the AFTA.
The ANG shall be headquartered in Crystal Coast, Tavaris.
The governing body of the ANG shall be the Alliance Council, composed of one representative named by each member state. The Alliance Council shall appoint a Secretary-General of the Alliance of Northwestern Gondwana, who shall lead the day-to-day administration of the Alliance and lead an Alliance Secretariat of administrative support staff. The Council, Secretary General, and Alliance Secretariat shall be based at the headquarters of the ANG.
- The Alliance Council shall meet at least twice per year. The title of Chairperson of the Council shall rotate among member-states on an annual basis. The chairperson shall preside over meetings of the Council.
Membership in the ANG shall be open to any sovereign state with territory in the region of Northwestern Gondwana who ratifies this charter and agrees to be bound by its terms. “Northwestern Gondwana” shall be defined as those portions of the continent of Gondwana, including islands off the coast, north of the line 15 degrees south of the Aequator and west of the line 100 degrees west of the Prime Meridian. Colonies or otherwise non-self governing territories inside Northwestern Gondwana that are administered by or subject to the authority of sovereign states outside this area shall not be eligible for membership.
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Sovereign states outside this area may be granted “observer status” by unanimous vote of the membership. Observer states shall have the right to attend meetings of the ANG but shall hold no vote in any proceeding and may not join either the ATA or the ATFA. Observer states may negotiate favored-nation status with the ANG for access to the ATA.
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Any nation may choose to revoke its membership in the ANG at any time by issuing a written declaration of such to the Alliance Council. Such revocation shall become effective one year after the declaration is received by the council unless extended.
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Any nation who the Alliance Council determines by 2/3 vote to have acted contrary to the established doctrines of this charter shall be suspended for a finite period of time determined by the council. A unanimous vote of Council members, excluding the member charged with misconduct, shall be required to revoke the membership of a member.
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