General Assembly Resolution #663 “World Assembly Official Merchandise” (Category: Free Trade; Strength: Mild) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
Recognising that Article 1d of GA#663 precludes the WA Trust for Cultural Heritage (WATCH) from offering WA merchandise in any member which does not “meet [that member’s] technological, cultural, social, and other requirements, norms and practices,” which - given the inclusion of “other” standards - could allow member states to impose differential or even overly-rigorous requirements for WA merchandise compared to non-WA merchandise, effectively precluding its sale within their jurisdictions for as long as they persist,
Observing that it may be impossible for WATCH to meet its Article 1f requirement to “[a]rrange for retailing of WA merchandise… across all member states” if some of those member states impose such rules on the sale of WA merchandise above and beyond those necessary to provide for “the[ir] customary methods of retailing,” thereby defeating the purpose and objective of offering WA merchandise at all,
Additionally unsure of the need to require that WATCH encourage members “to license (for valuable consideration)… items deemed significant to their culture for use as WA merchandise,” as Article 1b does, when nothing is stopping those member states from selling and profiting from such items under their own banner and emphasising their links to their nation - rather than to the WA as a whole - and it is not made clear at all what benefit such licensing would have either to the WA (beyond fundraising as specified in Article 2) or the member state (beyond “valuable consideration,” namely appropriate compensation resulting from such licensing, which may be less than the profit they would accrue from direct sales outside GA#663’s scope),
Noting, in fact, that the resolution does not justify itself beyond arguing that the WA should sell branded merchandise to allow “citizens of member states and fans of the WA” to back up their support for it, as though the institution has no other means to financially support itself and its missions, when GA#17 “WA General Fund” already requires all members to make appropriate financial contributions to the WA every year while ensuring that the WA does not spend beyond its means, and
Believing that resolutions which do not adequately and appropriately facilitate the fulfilment of their goals, however lofty or beneficial to WA finances they may be, should not remain on the books…
The General Assembly hereby repeals GA#663 “World Assembly Official Merchandise.”