[GA - PASSED] Repeal: "On Scientific Cooperation"

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General Assembly Resolution #322 “On Scientific Cooperation” (Category: Education and Creativity; Area of Effect: Educational) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

The General Assembly,

Recognizing the noble goal of GAR#322: “On Scientific Cooperation” to promote scientific cooperation among the august member states of the World Assembly;

Believing, however, that there are several flaws with this legislation,

Finds as follows:

1. Clause 1(a)’s reference to “any and all publicly available scientific literature”, given the lack of constraint on the word “scientific”, raises a not unreasonable possibility that literature that fails to meet the standards of peer review and, given the lack of a catchment, pseudo-scientific literature published in journals with low evidentiary or replicability standards.
   
   
2. Clause 1(b)’s collection of “all data relevant to it’s mandate” is so vague as to be unviable. The sheer amount of, wide variety of sources of, these data, presents a problem unavoidable given the lack of constraint on the literature collected in 1(a). Unscientific and pseudo-scientific data collection could find its way into the World Assembly Scientific Programme (WASP) archive as a result.
   
   
3. That this resolution fails to take into account the censorship of materials given clause 1(c)’s notation that materials may not be disseminated if they are “illegal under extant national or sub national law”. States could make parts of scientific study illegal and thus prevent the dissemination of materials from the WASP regarding the scientific consensus. Thus, the failure to consider malicious states misrepresenting scientific data undermines the goals of this resolution.
   
   
4. There is no mechanism for WASP to make critical claims regarding settled scientific fact or propagate new ideas beyond sharing them for peer review as in 1(d). Additionally, the lack of blindness in the peer review process provided, since WASP disseminates the data to all member states, raises the possibility of bias–a possibility which undermines the credibility of results obtained by WASP-facilitated peer review or data sharing.

Therefore, the General Assembly repeals GAR#322: “On Scientific Cooperation”.

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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.

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Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!

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"Repeal: 'On Scientific Cooperation'" has passed 13,829 votes (87.5%) to 1,980 (12.5%).

IFV

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Overview
This proposal aims to repeal GAR#322 due to several faults the author believes compromise the good intentions behind its writing. The proposal highlights the fact that there is a lack of constraint on what "scientific" constitutes exactly, thus leading to the potential for pseudo-scientific, unsubstantiated claims being collected and archived by the World Assembly Scientific Programme (WASP). The proposal also highlights Article 1(b) of the target resolution, which mandates the collection of “all data relevant to it’s mandate”- a provision the author regards as untenable. Another flaw the proposal touches upon is its failure to account for member states wishing to censor and otherwise obfuscate certain published materials in order to prevent the dissemination of the scientific consensus, among other possibilities. Lastly, the lack of a mechanism for WASP to make critical claims of any nature, as well as its lack of blindness in the peer review process for materials disseminated to member states are highlighted by the author as flaws that jeopardize the credibility of materials disseminated by WASP.

Recommendation
We find that the author's claims and analysis of the target resolution are credible. GAR#322, though written from a place of goodwill, is easily exploitable and subverted by malicious actors, especially when it comes to the potential for those pushing pseudoscience to use WASP as a platform to propagate falsehoods cloaked in the veneer of scientific credibility, and in regards to member states that seek to seal off their populace from established scientific consensus that may contradict the internal messaging and policies of its governing institutions. Given the existence of a replacement draft, we have no qualms about repealing GAR#322.

For the above reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote For the General Assembly Resolution at vote, Repeal: "On Scientific Cooperation".

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Our Voting Recommendation Dispatch--Please Upvote!

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For (non-WA).

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For, although I have some reservations on the definition of "pseudo-science" on this resolution. "Natural sciences" is also left undefined in the replacement resolution but I am working on that.

Comment: there are many examples of transplants (no pun intended) from Chinese medicine (as an example) to generally accepted medicine, such as the use of arsenic trioxide to treat leukemia and artemisinin (a two thousand year old formula rediscovered from boiling leaves in cold water) to treat malaria.

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This proposal has received the necessary approvals to enter the formal queue. Barring it being withdrawn or marked illegal, it will proceed to a vote in approximately 78 minutes at Minor Update.

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"Repeal: 'On Scientific Cooperation'" has passed 13,829 votes (87.5%) to 1,980 (12.5%). This is author Hulldom's 9th General Assembly Resolution authored (6th on this nation and 5th as submitting author).