[GA - PASSED] Repeal: "Wartime Journalism Protection Act"

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Repeal: "Wartime Journalism Protection Act"
Repeal | GA #501
Proposed by: Refuge Isle | Onsite Topic
Replacement? | None​
General Assembly Resolution #501 “Wartime Journalism Protection Act” (Category: Education and Creativity; Area of Effect: Free Press) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that wartime journalists provide an essential service to society and deserve the legal protections necessary to carry out their functions,

Concerned, however, that the protections provided in GAR#501 contain broad loopholes, which nations that wish to conceal their activities may exploit,

Perceiving that:
  • A nation which seeks to carry out a military operation that would violate international law, such as the offensive use of chemical weaponry on an enemy nation, may repel reporters under the claim that their presence would interrupt an active combat situation.
  • A nation which seeks to carry out a genocide of its newly conquered territories may shield those activities from journalists under the exception that such reporting would jeopardise the goals of its military efforts.
Observing that even in less extreme cases, a nation is able to strip reporters of their legal protection in situations where:
  • A journalist is in possession of any object which the warring nation may identify or attest to be a weapon, for such a term is undefined.
  • A warring nation deems any reporting of its military activity or other wartime information to be an act of espionage.
Believing that journalists who are adherents of a religion that carries ceremonial weaponry should not be forgotten by the World Assembly, or excluded from its protections in order to carry out their jobs,

Assessing that journalists are unable to carry self-defence weaponry into a war zone without losing their legal protections, rendering them vulnerable to the same brutalities the resolution sought to avoid when they may have otherwise defended themselves,

Resolving that the legislation must be repealed to allow for proper protections for journalists, as it blocks more comprehensive legislation which could rectify the present flaws,

Hereby Repeals GAR#501: "Wartime Journalism Protection Act"
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Note: Only votes from TNP WA nations and NPA personnel will be counted. If you do not meet these requirements, please add (non-WA) or something of that effect to your vote.
Voting Instructions:
  • Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
  • Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
  • Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
  • Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.
Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!
[TR][TD] For [/TD][TD] Against [/TD][TD] Abstain [/TD][TD] Present [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]17[/TD][TD]5[/TD][TD]0[/TD][TD]0[/TD][/TR]
 
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A well-written proposal, "Repeal: Wartime Journalism Protection Act" helps illuminate multiple glaring flaws in the target resolution. There are several loopholes in the resolution which include granting member-states the ability to expel reporters from scenes where chemical and biological weapons are being used on the grounds that it would put the journalist in danger, the ability to cover up crimes against humanity on the grounds that it would jeopardize its military efforts, and the ability to expel journalists carrying objects on the grounds that they are weapons, especially considering that target does not define a weapon. While these are not all the issues with the target, it very quickly becomes apparent that this repeal is necessary.

For these reasons, The North Pacific Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote for the at-vote proposal in the General Assembly, "Repeal: Wartime Journalism Protection Act".
 
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For. I'll post our argument for opposing the target proposal:
A flawed proposal at its core, "Wartime Journalism Protection Act" attempts to ensure that journalists are granted freedom to move and report in warzones so long as their activities do not compromise military operations. However, the very concept of such a proposal is inherently problematic. The nature of information is such that it is nearly impossible to discern whether it could be potentially compromising at some point in the future, and it is equally difficult to prevent information from being released once it is accessed. The simple fact that national militaries would be forced to allow civilian reporting in warzones unless they can prove on the spot that said reporting would definitively lead to a loss of life is reason enough to oppose this proposal.

Additionally, the current writing of the legislation does not prohibit member nations and their armed forces from detaining and arresting journalists for reporting, and does not define what constitutes reporting, meaning that journalists, in effect, can easily be stripped of the freedoms afforded by the rest of this proposal should a member nation desire to do so.

For these reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends voting Against the at-vote General Assembly proposal, "Wartime Journalism Protection Act".
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The target definitely has loopholes pertaining to turning away journalists and stripping journalists of their legal protections. There is also an issue with "reporting" being entirely undefined, and that the resolution doesn't prevent nations from arresting, detaining, or punishing journalists after they report on what they observed in some capacity.

My support of the repeal, however, has primarily to do with the basic nature of information. Let's say a journalist is allowed to report on activities at a military base because his reporting doesn't pose an immediate threat to military operations. Information doesn't work like this. The danger a certain piece of information poses now is often very different from the danger that information could pose in two weeks, or even two days. The one major, crippling flaw of the target and anything like it isn't a few loopholes. It's that trying to mandate the release of information as the information is being produced is utterly and irreconcilably ludicrous. I would support a proposal on the declassification of military records. I cannot support a proposal based on the magical ability to predict unforeseeable consequences. This needs to be repealed.
 
Where these issues brought up during the drafting stage of the target resolution?
 
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