Maritime Neutrality Covention (Ends April 24th)

[Amy]

Maritime Neutrality Covention

A resolution to restrict political freedoms in the interest of law and order.
 
Category: Political Stability

Strength: Mild

Proposed by: Cobdenia
 
Description: The United Nations,

REALISING that merchant shipping is considered a legitimate target in warfare,

BELIEVING, however, that unrestricted attacks on merchant shipping, particularly neutral shipping or within neutral waters, can lead to international repercussions or otherwise hazard non-belligerent shipping and civilians,

NOTING that belligerent warships may require the use of neutral ports for repairs and maintenance,

The UN hereby,

1) a)DEFINES “neutral shipping” as merchant vessels registered in non-belligerent nations during a time of war;
b) FURTHER DEFINES "merchant vessels" as non-offensively armed/unarmed vessels carrying cargo or passengers,

2) DEFINES “national waters”, for the purposes of this document, as the seas or ocean within the 12 nautical miles adjoining a national coastline; where a body of water is less then 25 nautical miles wide, a one nautical mile channel equidistant from the coastlines is to be considered as international waters,

3) DEFINES a “warship” as an offensively armed vessel, be it surface vessel or submarine, operating under the authority of a national government or international alliance;

4) PROHIBITS a warship, except in the case of persistent refusal to stop on being duly summoned, or of active resistance to visit or search, from intentionally sinking or rendering incapable of navigation a merchant vessel, be it belligerent or neutral, without having first placed passengers, crew and ship's papers in a place of safety. For this purpose the ship's boats are not regarded as a place of safety,

5) DECLARES all merchant shipping, be it neutral or belligerent, within the national waters of a neutral nation to be inviolable,

6) PROHIBITS attacks on neutral shipping, except in the following circumstances:
a) When neutral shipping is within the national waters of an enemy nation;
b) When there is reasonable cause to suspect that the neutral ship is proceeding to an enemy port;
c) When there is reasonable cause to suspect that a merchant ship or warship of an enemy nation is displaying the ensign of a neutral mercantile marine or naval force.

7) PROHIBITS belligerent warships from entering the national waters of a neutral nation under threat of internment, except in cases of extremely inclement weather, or when entering a neutral port in order to undergo repairs urgent for seaworthiness, in which case the following must be adhered to:
a) A team of nautical experts from the neutral nation are to assess the damage to the ship and estimate the maximum time required to repair the ship;
b) No repairs are to be made that will in anyway increase the fighting efficiency of the warship. This includes, but is not limited too, repairs the weaponry, re-armament, radar, sonar and asdic equipment. Only repairs to ensure seaworthiness are permitted;
c) A belligerent warship may not leave a neutral port until twenty-four hours after the departure of a merchant ship of an adversary;
d) Should a warship be discovered not to require any repairs, overstay the time period set for repairs, or be in neutral waters without good cause, the warship and it’s complement are to be interned;
e) Should prisoners of war be present on the warship when it docks in the neutral port, the prisoners of war are to be handed over to the neutral government and interned. Such internees are not to be considered prisoners of war, however they will be entitled to the rights entitled to prisoners of war.

[Eluvatar]

WOW! This is the stuff the UN is supposed to actually cover!!

PASS IT

[Algerianbania]

This is basically unrestricted U-boat warfare used in WWI. The Germans broke it, so in real life, it will probably be broken too. But this isn't real life.  Hurray.

[Zimmerwald]

Actually, this isn't bad.  I had some problems with 1b, but they were alleviated by 6b.  Vote for.