Refugia

This document establishes this association of nations and their shared beliefs and values. We define these values as refuge and shelter to all who have need of it, environmental stewardship of our nations while working to improve environmental sustainability, as well as the fair treatment and political inclusion of all peoples. We resolve ourselves to form governments with transparency and integrity in leadership and work to leave things as better than we found them.

Residency:

1. A nation which resides within the Region is defined as a "Resident" and maintains this status for the duration of its residency.

1. A Resident which is the proxy of another nation, and primarily exists within Refugia to accrue influence without community presence, is defined as a "Sleeper".
   

2. Resident may only be ejected or barred from the region in one of the following circumstances:

1. Unruly conduct, where the offending Resident has not been receptive to intervention.

2. Impending threat, where the Office of Operations determines the Resident poses a risk to the stability of Refugia or the security of its inhabitants.

3. Unregistered Sleeper, where the primary operator of a Sleeper has not declared the aims and ownership of that nation to the Office of Operations and Arch-Administrator.

4. The Resident expresses, aligns with, or otherwise represents fascism, hate speech, or intolerance.
   

3. The reasoning for all ejections of Residents must be publicly reported by the responsible party, and the ejected nation may appeal the ejection by soliciting a review to the Regional Council.

1. An appeal vote must be concluded within seven days or with all Councillors having voted.

2. An appeal vote is considered approved if it has less than two Against votes.

3. The banning of Non-Resident nations shall not require public reporting.
   

Member States:

4. Member States are defined as Residents with both a residency of no less than seven days and a continuous World Assembly membership over the same period.

1. A Resident will lose its status as a Member State if it elects to depart the Region, its status is self-requested to be revoked, or the Resident is ejected.

2. Residents that lose their status may apply to reobtain it unless they are barred from the Region. It shall be reinstated if the Resident meets the criteria in RRS 4.
   

5. Residents may apply for Member State status in conditions where admission to the World Assembly is declined, rejected, or impossible.

1. Residents applying for a World Assembly Exemption must have resided within the Region for a period of time not less than fourteen days and receive the unanimous approval from the Regional Council to provide the exemption.

2. In the event that an exempted Member State accrues influence in another region, requests their status be revoked, or is ejected from the region, the Member State’s exemption status is revoked. The Member State can apply to have this status reinstated, following the same protocol as laid out in RRS 5(a).
   

6. Member States are entitled to submit any proposal, amendment, repeal, or revision to any revised statute, including this document in its entirety. Votes must be easily accessible and include the option to abstain. Only one vote is allotted to each Member State per referendum.

1. Proposals must be supported by at least one other Member State, which may be referred to as a "second."

2. Votes will last a period of seven days from the time of announcement and will be enacted or discarded upon conclusion.

3. Proposals which have been defeated will trigger a cooldown period on the sponsor Member State from submitting a new proposal for seven days after the end of the poll defeat.
   

Government Roles and Responsibilities:

7. The Regional Council is defined as the co-equal heads of government in Refugia. It is comprised of the following:

1. The Arch-Administrator, defined as Refuge Isle, which acts as the head of state for the Region for any legal or foreign circumstance which requires such. This Councillor shall:

   1. Appoint and dismiss Councillors into positions as the result of elections to their respective office.

   2. Maintain records of significance to the Region and its history.

   3. Verify voter integrity by maintaining a roster of valid Member States.

   4. Cast votes corresponding to the will of the Region's voting Member States during the circumstance of also being the Region's World Assembly Delegate.
      

2. The Councillor of Foreign Affairs, whose responsibilities are defined as management and maintenance of the travel portals within the Region. The Councillor of Foreign Affairs seeks out ideologically-similar regions to Refugia and builds relationships with them. To that end, the Councillor oversees the construction, maintenance, and withdrawal of embassies. This Councillor shall:

   1. Maintain the relationships between Refugia and its allies.

   2. Appoint and dismiss Envoys, as the Councillor feels necessary, to aid in their duties.

   3. Publish a dispatch to the Region which provides an informed opinion for the reason an embassy should be opened or closed.

   4. Initiate a four-day referendum among Member States, to determine if an embassy may be opened or closed. Such openings and closures may not occur without a referendum, and may not be acted upon contrary to the referendum.
      

3. The Councillor of Culture, whose responsibilities are defined as orchestrating cultural events and developing the identity of the Refugi culture. This Councillor shall:

   1. Develop a Regional Eco Report to fulfill goals stipulated by RRS 14(a) and RRS 14(b) by identifying ways in which Member States of the Region may contributed towards the environmental targets established therein.

   2. Publish regular updates to the Regional Eco Report to maintain its relevance and timely advice.

   3. When additional assistance is necessary to fulfill the duties of office, appoint an assistant.
      

4. The Councillor of Operations, whose responsibilities are defined as directing the Office of Operations, identifying, resolving, or guarding against internal and external threats. This Councillor shall:

   1. Identify and respond as necessary to threats or crises which target or impact the Region.

   2. Eject or bar Residents as necessary via Refugia's Border Control in an applicable circumstance of any subsection of RRS 2.

   3. Develop Refugia's intelligence apparatus to the extent necessary to carry out the subsections of this statute.

   4. Maintain a registry of Sleeper Residents and their respective controllers.

   5. Appoint and dismiss "Wards", acting as staff for the Office of Operations, to carry out subsections of this statute as directed by the Office's Councillor.
      

5. The Councillor of World Assembly Affairs, whose responsibilities are defined as facilitating discussions on World Assembly resolutions-at-vote, developing dispatches with Information For Voters (IFV) on current resolutions at vote, and providing regional recommendations for votes to the World Assembly Delegate. This Councillor shall:

   1. Read and consider proposals in both the General Assembly and Security Council.

   2. Initiate discussions in the Regional Message Board on upcoming proposals, and explain their impressions based on a reading of the draft and records of international debate.

   3. Develop and publish regional dispatches which provide information for voters about the current resolutions at vote in the World Assembly.

   4. If needed, oversee appointment of a second to assist in any of the aforementioned responsibilities.
      

8. The World Assembly Delegate is the Region's envoy to the World Assembly. The Region shall support the Delegate's endorsement, and the Delegate shall apply that support towards World Assembly approval and voting stances that it believes represent the Region's values.

1. The Delegate shall make a public statement to the Region if they choose to not vote in alignment with the Regional majority regarding a World Assembly vote.

2. The Delegate nation is designated and dismissed by the Arch-Administrator, and no nations other than the designated nation is considered the rightful Delegate.

3. A Delegate who loses Member State status or World Assembly membership resigns their tenure, and the nation which possesses the highest level of World Assembly endorsements may serve as Delegate in the interim until a new Delegate is designated.
   

Government Accountability:

9. All Residents within the Region have the right to solicit an official Regional ruling, opinion, or position from the Regional Council, and delivered by a representative thereof, on subjects of:

1. A Foreign Affairs policy, position, or perspective.

2. The status of a Member State.

3. Challenges regarding any ejection or barring of nations from the Region, where a majority of the Regional Council may reverse the action.

4. Challenges regarding the legality of activity by a Councillor or their staff, where a majority of the Regional Council may reverse the action.
   

10. At any time, a Member State can charge a Regional Councillor or Delegate of neglect in their duties or mismanagement of their position. Their charge will be submitted in writing to the Arch-Administrator only after a second member state has seconded the motion.

1. The charge must contain a list of grievances against the accused and arguments as to why these grievances should result in the removal of the accused prior to the next election.

2. If RRS 10(a) is met, the Arch-Administrator will call for a vote of No Confidence among the Member States, lasting five days, and decided by a simple majority.

   1. If the No Confidence vote passes, the target Councillor is removed from office, a new election will immediately be called for that Councillor seat.

   2. If the No Confidence vote is defeated, a standard RRS 5(c) cooldown is applied to the submitting Member State.
      

11. In the event that a Councillor or a Councillor's staff operates in contradiction to the RRS, the Arch-Administrator may suspend the powers of that Councillor or staff member until such time as it may be reviewed under a RRS 9 ruling, which is automatically invoked upon suspension.

Elections:

12. The Arch-Administrator will call elections for all democratic Council seats according to the following convention:

1. During the Candidacy Period, any Member State may declare their intention to stand for office.

2. During the Voting Period, all Member States may vote in all elections via ranked preference instant-runoff; candidates are eliminated by fewest votes in each round of ballot counting.

3. During the Transition Period, elected councillors will receive overlapping access and powers with their predecessors, and all predecessors are dismissed at the end of the Period.
   

13. The following rules govern election procedure:

1. Candidacy declarations must be posted to the Regional Message Board.

2. Candidacies composed of multiple Member States are invalid, and candidacies where a Resident has lost Member State status during the election cycle become invalid.

3. Member States are prohibited from occupying more than one Council seat at a time or occupying the same Council seat more than two times consecutively.

4. In the case that a Member State has won multiple Council seats, they must select their Council seat of preference within 24 hours of the Voting Period's conclusion, otherwise the selection will be carried out by the Arch-Administrator.

5. If a position is unable to be filled or becomes vacant by resignation, absence from existence, or legal impossibility, the Arch-Administrator may act in that position's capacity or appoint an individual who will serve in that capacity for the remainder of the term.
   

Goals and Ideals:

14. The Region defines the goals for both its Members and the Region collectively in the following ways:

1. Reach an average Environmental Beauty score of 1,300 on or before December 31, 2024, and maintained thereafter.

2. Reach an average Eco-Friendliness score of 3,750 on or before December 31, 2024, and maintained thereafter.
   

15. The Region defines its military alignment as "Neutral", shunning the agendas and obligations of the world's self-interested regimes, and only acting in the direct defence of the Region's allies when determined to be necessary by the Councillor of Operations.

16. The Region observes January 31st, the anniversary of the founding of the Region, as a region-wide holiday.