Embassy - The Union of Democratic States

[Markanite]

Welcome to the embassy of
The Union of Democratic States

[Relfa]

Hello all!

Some of you may know me or not. I've been here sometimes since I have a nation in 10000 Islands. This was my first region and I care very much about it. I am The Rejected Realms' Culture Officer, but I'm not here to represent them.

I am also a citizen of the Union of Democratic States, I am their new Director of the Foreign Office (basically Minister of Foreign Affairs) and I am going to be their ambassador to your region.

I am so sorry for our silence. We can see that this thread was created in October 2017 and there wasn't any reply to it, but in my new position, I won't let that this happens again. We will keep you updated of what happens in the region with a bimonthly update.

Thank you for your attention.

[Flemingisa]

Relfa, Glad to hear it. i love seeing more activity! plus you guys have an awesome discord!

[Alkasia]

Hi Relfa! Good to have you here!

[thepeninsular]

G'day there Relfa! Nice ta hear from yall!

[Relfa]

The Union of Democratic States

Constitution ★ Legislature ★ Discord ★ Guide ★ Embassy Policy ★ Forums

Current Government

~Founder: The Noble Thatcherites

~World Assembly Delegate: The Noble Thatcherites

---

~Prime Minister: Khevo

~Deputy Prime Minister: Asdersland

~Minister of Education: The Noble Thatcherites

~Minister of Roleplay: Wonkeyblurtz

~Minister of the Census: Kade

~Minister of Foreign Affairs: Relfa

---

~Chief Justice: Relfa

~Associate Justice: Phoenix

~Associate Justice: Diamond Confederacy

~Associate Justice: Glaciosia

~Associate Justice: United Arkadia

~Attorney General: Comlogical

April General Elections

~The Union had a General Election to all public seats of the region in April 20th. The elected officials were inaugurated in April 30th.

~In the race for Prime Minister, Khevo defeated We The People and Asdersland by 15 votes against 12 and 1, respectively. There was no votes to Re-Open Nominations. Brittalia, who was the sitting Prime Minister decided not to run for reelection.

~In the race for Chief Justice, Relfa defeated the Diamond Confederacy and Phoenix by 14 votes against 10 and 4, respectively. There was no votes to Re-Open Nominations. The position was left vacant since Kanglia resigned in the middle of March.

~Comlogical, who ran for reelection as Attorney General, and The Noble Thatcherites, who ran for reelection as World Assembly Delegate, were lonely candidates for the offices they were running for. Both were elected with 26 votes against 2 votes to Re-Open Nominations.

~In the race for the Senate, the Union was testing a new style of voting system, the Average Placement System. Duckstan, North Plegia, Drawception, Wonkeyblurtz, Australia Hungary, Levantx, Eurech and Tanisha were the candidates. All candidates got elected. Duckstan was further elected Speaker between the senators after facing North Plegia.

Senate Report:



Current Senators:

~Speaker: Duckstan

~Senator: Australia Hungary

~Senator: Drawception

~Senator: Eurech

~Senator: Wonkeyblurtz

~Senator: North Plegia

~Senator: Tanisha

The Senate discussed the following bills in the last two months:

~The UDSAF Incentive Act - Defeated

~The Investigative Standards Act - Passed

~Motion to Amend the Constitution 2018 (2) - Passed

~Motion for an Amendment to the Legal Court System Act - Passed

~Roleplay Improvement Act 2018 - Passed

~Relevant Authorities Act of 2018 - Defeated

~Bill Prioritization Act of 2018 - Passed

~Legislative Docket Officiation Act of 2018 - Passed

~Oath of Neutrality Act of 2018 - Passed

~Motion for an Amendment to CL-010 - Passed

~Electoral Commission Act - Passed

~Motion for the Removal of Provisions Relating to the Founder - Passed

~Motion for an Amendment to the Regional Permissions Act - Passed

~Motion to Amend the Constitution - Passed

~The Premiership Succession Act - Passed

~The Parole Act of 2018 - Passed

~Abstention Act 2018 - Passed

~Motion to Amend the Constitution - Passed

Foreign Affairs Happenings

~The Foreign Affairs Program was started by its author, Relfa. This program established the ambassador program and a bimonthly report program. If you want to check who is our emissary to your region check it here (if there is none, we will get one ambassador to your region as soon as we can).

~The Union has severed all relations with Enadia and rescinded the Enadian embassy status. This happened after Enadia showed total disrespect to our region’s sovereignty. Such acts includes enadian recruitment in the UDS, ejecting and banning official UDS diplomats from their Discord server and comments that undermine nations of the Union. More information can be found here.

Other important happenings:

~Our regional forum was overhauled and it looks a bit different now. If you want to take a look on it, check it here.

~Ozzz, a citizen of the region, accused the former Prime Minister Brittalia of harassment after he complained about the use of certain words on Brittalia’s newspaper, The Union Tribune. The owner of the paper defended himself and counter-accused Ozzz of violating the first amendment of the Bill of Rights by disrespecting the Freedom of the Press. The Supreme Court and the Attorney General are currently working on the case and it may lead to a trial.

~After a discussion in the Senate, Senator Levantx, who couldn’t stand his arguments and got irritated with being contradicted, resigned from his position and left the region. The senator was a controversial figure in the region.

Latest Issues from Our Newspapers:

~The Union Post - The oldest UDS newspaper

~The Union Tribune - The Union's most recurring newspaper

~The Union Times - One of the Union's oldest newspapers

~The Flaming Truth - A Free Conservative Party affiliated newspaper

Written by Relfa

[Lethoica]

Great report Relfa! I can't wait to see more of them.

[Alkasia]

Loving the carrot colour of the report. Goes well on the Paradise theme.

And congrats to you, Chief Justice Relfa! Thanks for the update!

[Relfa]

I have bad news from the UDS. I resigned from my position of Chief Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs along with Thatcher's announcement that he's not running for re-election as delegate and his resignation from Minister of Education. Anything related to UDS affairs, contact Khevo. Now I'm only rejected Relfa

[Lethoica]

I wish I could unlike a post. I do understand why you left your positions and I wish you the best of luck moving forward.

[thatcherwhitehall]

The UDS Government has posted our February Embassy Update! Please feel free to read all about it here: forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=424340

[thatcherwhitehall]

The UDS has updated our consulate and embassy policy. Read more about it here: forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=36877144#p36877144

[Kuriko]

Thanks Thatcher

[thatcherwhitehall]

Mar 26, 2020 16:35:26 GMT -5 Kuriko said:

Thanks Thatcher

You're welcome. Good luck in the Sec Gen election!!

[thatcherwhitehall]

April Embassy Update

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"Drewpocalypse" Causes Massive Population Boom

by Druing

On the 20th of March, the entire community was taken by surprise when a large personality figure publicised a videopiece covering the founding and maintenance of a nation (and subsequently ten days later, a followup), which inspired an inrush of new nation foundings worldwide. The Union saw a major uptick in new arrivals as a byproduct of this, passing the 700 residents mark. As a result, the Ministry of the Census has been inundated with new citizenship applications from all the arrivals, triggering a change in Ministry policy: two new officials were allowed to approve applicants.

The Eagle Bearer Elected to Senate By Slim Margin

by Dome Artan

The Union of Democratic States' most recent Senate General Election was reported on in the March Embassy Update and saw incumbent Senators [nation]The Noble Thatcherites[/nation], [nation]Glaciosia[/nation], [nation]Comlogical[/nation] and [nation]Dome Artan[/nation] all returned to the legislature’s upper house along with [nation]Blazeville Isles Territory[/nation]. A mere four days later, those disappointed on missing out in the election were given another opportunity. Blazeville Isles Territory suddenly resigned their office so recently won. A Senate by-election for the vacant seat was announced by the Office of the Chancellor on the 7th of April and saw many of the candidates from the General Election return to campaigning.

As only a single seat was up for grabs, the election was conducted in a single vote manner, as opposed to the Union’s typical usage of ranked voting; additionally the winning candidate required majority support not simply the most votes. The campaign period was less focused on debate than the General Election and was mostly notable for the endorsements that came in for candidate [nation]The Eagle-Bearer[/nation], particularly that of the region’s President [nation]Phoenix Coalition[/nation].

No candidate ultimately achieved the majority support required, with The Eagle Bearer and [nation]Second United States Republic[/nation] coming closest with 30% and 25% respectively. As such the Office of the Chancellor announced a runoff between the two most supported candidates to determine who would become the newest Senator. Once again the race was incredibly tight with The Eagle Bearer pulling off a one vote victory 10 votes to 9. There was a hint of controversy about ballot disqualification but ultimately the vote was accepted by all candidates and The Eagle Bearer was inaugurated on the 17th of April by the Chief Justice.

Full Candidate List
[nation]Drawception[/nation]
[nation]The Eagle-Bearer[/nation]
[nation]Liberipolis[/nation]
[nation]McCarthany[/nation]
[nation]North Plegia[/nation]
[nation]Second United States Republic[/nation]

Asdersland Retires After Lengthy Career; Dome Artan Announced New WA Delegate

by Dome Artan

April was also notable for an event that had not occurred for well over a year in the Union, a World Assembly Delegate switch. [nation]Asdersland[/nation], the region’s longest serving Delegate had previously expressed a desire to step down from the delegacy stating “This is not to say I will be leaving definitively. I will stick around a little while longer as Delegate until I figure out how my replacement will work out.” The Chancellery, given the power to appoint the Delegate under the Constitution, announced on March 7th the beginning of an official interview process for the delegacy, “The Chancellors are looking for a nominee with the stamina and fortitude to maintain the position of World Assembly Delegate for a substantial period of time.”

After a lengthy review period which involved the conducting of four interviews of prospective delegates, Chancellors [nation]The Noble Thatcherites[/nation] and [nation]Khevo[/nation] made the official announcement of the region’s newest Delegate on April 26th. The statement, found here, honored Asderslands’ many contributions to the region with the formal renaming of the World Assembly Affairs office on the forum to the Asdersland World Assembly Affairs Building and jointly with the President awarded them the First Class Medal of Service.

The nation to take Asdersland’s place as the UDS’ Delegate was Dome Artan. Only 8 endorsements behind at the time of the announcement the transition period was set to be an historically short one. Indeed within the hour Dome Artan was in place to seize the Delegacy without needing an Asdersland resignation. The Chancellery statement cited their belief in Dome Artan’s “strength and fortitude to serve as World Assembly Delegate in the long run.” The delegacy switch comes at a time of great opportunity for the region, as mentioned in the new Delegate’s first dispatch, the so called “Drewpocalypse” resulted in the UDS seeing the greatest WA membership growth per the Shift.

USDAF Update

by Comlogical

For this April, the UDSAF participated in the liberations of [region]Asia[/region] and [region]Imperium of the Wolf[/region]. The organization further detagged ten regions, defended three and sieged two.

With regard to recruitment, six new members joined the armed forces, while two inactive members were reactivated to public service, including the former WA Delegate of the Union.

A Defense Memorandum was issued to outline the revamped ranking system in the Armed Forces.[/box]

[Kuriko]

Tags are broken Thatch . Thanks for the update!

[thatcherwhitehall]

April Embassy Update

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

UDS Invited to Participate in NSGE

by Dome Artan

May had been trending towards a slow month for government activity in the UDS, as the effects of the great Drew Rush dissipated, when the region was invited to host a Regional Exhibit at the NationStates Great Exhibition. The event, currently ongoing, has booths hosted by 18 UCR’s and 5 GCR’s and you can find the UDS’ Regional Exhibit here.

For those unfamiliar with the NSGE, this is the Exhibition’s inaugural year as a self proclaimed “premier yearly event for regions and nations alike to share their ideas, culture and history”. As such the Exhibition is also hosting numerous talks and interviews over the period May 29 to June 1st. For more information on the NSGE please check out the dispatch, gameplay thread and the offsite forum.

New Legal Obligations For Union’s Executive Ministers

by Dome Artan

The Ministries Act, originally proposed by sponsor Senator Dome Artan and cosponsors Senators Glaciosia and The Noble Thatcherites way back on the 25th of March, became Union law this month. The long journey of the Act through the Union’s legislative branch even saw it voted down by its sponsor and cosponsors at one point after the General Assembly (the Union’s lower house, comprised of all non Senate citizens) had approved amendments the Senate claimed threatened the usefulness of the Act.

Post this unusual occurrence the Ministries Act was introduced a second time almost a month after its first introduction, retaining its initial sponsors and cosponsors. After passing the Senate once more the General Assembly was handed the Act for a second time. This time around the amendments proposed and approved by the General Assembly were accepted by the Senate which approved it unanimously on May 10th. Following the Union’s legislative process it was then subject to President Phoenix Coalition’s approval which was granted and signed into law on May 14th.

The Act established the internal chain of commands in the region’s executive ministries but more immediately relevant to the Union’s five ministers was the now mandated posting of ministry organizational charts, the maintenance of accessible application threads on the Union’s offsite forum, and monthly reports of ministry work to the Union.

Endorsements all the Rage in the UDS

by Dome Artan

While May might have been relatively uneventful in UDS on a governmental front, it did see the beginnings of multiple new World Assembly focused initiatives. The first of these was UDS WA Stats which charts the progress of the Union on multiple WA related fronts. The weekly reports have captured the region’s recent surge in WA membership, influence and endorsements with the most recent having been released June 1st.

Two weeks into the stats program came the launch of PIG in the UDS with its lovable (and democratically named) mascot Hamlet. PIG, Promoting Influence Growth, encourages the widespread sharing of endorsements among Unionists, something which fell out of practice since the shuttering of the WAIP. The program initially ran twice weekly but after the fourth edition it was shifted to a weekly release with the Endobacon Awards dispatches taking the place of each week’s second edition.

As a result of the renewed focus on UDS WA membership and endorsements many Unionists have taken it upon themselves to engage in massive endotarting drives, primarily within the last week. Whether this recent endo happy activity is merely an end of spring fling only time will tell.

USDAF Update

by Kanglia

The UDSAF had an incredibly busy month of May, participating in 20 updates, a high point in the last several years of the region. Under the leadership of Comlogical, Kanglia, and Khevo, the UDSAF has been revitalized in a way that has not been seen in years within the region. The UDSAF’s increase in activity is expected to continue into June.

[thatcherwhitehall]

A few days late but please read and enjoy our May embassy update! I hope that you are all healthy and safe.

[Kuriko]

Thank you for the update Thatcher

[thatcherwhitehall]

Jun 10, 2020 16:50:57 GMT -5 Kuriko said:

Thank you for the update Thatcher

Thanks, Kuri! I hope you are doing well!

[thatcherwhitehall]

June Embassy Update

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kanglia Elected Chairperson

by Kanglia

Switching up the typical news report convention here, I (Kanglia) was elected Chairperson this past month. For me, it was my return to NS politics, and my return to the UDS’ political body. Two long years away from NationStates saw me change a ton as a person, but my beliefs on the best things for this region have continued to stay the same. I’m disappointed that there was no one running against me, for elections are always much more fun when you have an adversary, but losing 5 whole votes to RON of all people (UDS has seen Re-Open Nominations turn into a deity of its own) only motivates me to prove to myself and to every person with an eye on the UDS that I still have “it” inside of me. Since my election was announced on June 5th, the General Assembly has seen steady activity at a rate higher than before, and I’m proud of that. I think that a good part of this activity is thanks to the GA Guild that I campaigned on and created as a means for all citizens to come together to better understand and create new legislation for the region. But with three months to go in my term I know that this fight isn’t finished yet. And that fight, that’s what excites me the most.

Third Senate Election Sees Two Newcomers and Some Familiar Faces Elected
by Dome Artan

At the tail end of May the third Senate Elections were opened by Chancellor Khevo. While not as hotly contested as the second Senate Elections in March the ballot was shaping up to be a full one with early announcements of intent by Democratic Republic of Kohland and the The Eastern Straight. However when the candidacy forms were due the field was much less competitive than it had seemed to be. Neither of the aforementioned early announcers had submitted official candidacies and three incumbent Senators had decided not to seek re-election (The Eagle-Bearer, Comlogical and Dome Artan).

Instead the five person Senate election was going to be contested by only six candidates, the lowest of any of the three held so far. Incumbents The Noble Thatcherites and Glaciosia were joined by former President North Plegia and three newcomers Prorescia, Grand Gondor and Davinmark. Campaigning for the election was limited, to be expected when only one candidate will not be elected. However some candidates took this to the extreme and posted no campaign material whatsoever, all of this compared to the hour long voice chat debate of the last election. The only campaign material of consequence was published by North Plegia, notable because it reiterated their commitment to another new constitution (a position which cost them the presidency four months ago).

The Election results were announced by Chancellor Khevo on May 31st. The Union uses a preferential voting system where voters rank candidates from one to, in this case, seven (six candidates plus RON), the candidates with the lowest average score are elected as they are the most preferred. The Noble Thatcherites and Glaciosia, despite posting no campaign material, won big with both being over 2 points clear of the other candidates. The three other positions were filled by Prorescia, North Plegia and Grand Gondor. The strategy of no campaign material, which worked for the incumbent Senators, decidedly did not work for Davinmark who placed last, even behind RON.

The next Senate elections will be particularly interesting as The Noble Thatcherites and Glaciosia, Senate stalwarts since the Constitutional overhaul will be forced out of office due to term limits by that point, leaving the composition of that Senate wide open. As for this Senate, it has already handled the important business of tabling a Criminal Code Act along with a large Constitutional Amendment package.

Recently Elected Senator Grand Gondor Vanishes from UDS
by Dome Artan

As mentioned in the previous article Grand Gondor had won election to the UDS Senate despite their relative inexperience, having joined NS as part of the Drew Rush. During their time as Senator they seemed to struggle with understanding what that meant, continuing to vote on UDS General Assembly (the lower house of the legislative branch) motions. However after the most recent instance of this on June 21st, Grand Gondor suddenly left the UDS discord where their activity had been dropping dramatically.

While Discord involvement is not necessary for participation in government the signs were nonetheless not good for their continued involvement in the region. Directly following this development Grand Gondor resigned the WA, once again not necessary by any means for participation in the region but they had been one of the region’s most involved endorsers, consistently staying up to date on new WA nations. The combination of these two withdrawals from regional life leaves the region pessimistic about the chances of a return for the new Senator.

It has been nine days now of unannounced activity for the Senator, after ten they will lose their position and a snap election will be held.

USDAF Update
by Kanglia

It was a slightly slow month for the UDSAF, with our time in Iran still being the main focus for the first two weeks, updating has yet to return to it’s previous pace. However, with the month closing, Kanglia has returned to the updates. UDSAF personnel was present for only four updates at the time of this writing.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}Participating UDSAF Members (assisted in Libcord):
• Khevo
• Comlogical
• Kanglia
• Glaciosia
• Thatcher Whitehall
• Asdersland

Defenses: 25

www.nationstates.net/region=united_kingdom_of_the_netherlands
www.nationstates.net/region=eurozonereich
www.nationstates.net/region=ooga_booga
www.nationstates.net/region=neoquestria
www.nationstates.net/region=ingerlund
www.nationstates.net/region=everything
www.nationstates.net/region=reunificationnations
www.nationstates.net/region=nasjonal_samling
www.nationstates.net/region=indian_alliance_army
www.nationstates.net/region=orientalium
www.nationstates.net/region=net_neutrality_is_a_form_of_hate_speech
www.nationstates.net/region=mmmmverygoodsmoodie
www.nationstates.net/region=the_union_of_freedom
www.nationstates.net/region=social_democrats_united
www.nationstates.net/region=eastern_region
www.nationstates.net/region=the_buvvins
www.nationstates.net/region=first_bus_kernow_services
www.nationstates.net/region=the_united_micronations
www.nationstates.net/region=disasters
www.nationstates.net/region=athena
www.nationstates.net/region=council_of_constructed_languages
www.nationstates.net/region=the_grand_citadel
www.nationstates.net/region=alnobia
www.nationstates.net/region=nfl
www.nationstates.net/region=versalles

Detags: 16

www.nationstates.net/region=petram
www.nationstates.net/region=upper_mantle
www.nationstates.net/region=battle_royale_with_cheese
www.nationstates.net/region=rojava
www.nationstates.net/region=yorkshire
www.nationstates.net/region=the_ros_empire
www.nationstates.net/region=meridia
www.nationstates.net/region=wallastan
www.nationstates.net/region=munich_pakt
www.nationstates.net/region=gaia_prime
www.nationstates.net/region=north_africa
www.nationstates.net/region=free_nations
www.nationstates.net/region=kittenville
www.nationstates.net/region=the_drew_fanclub_region
www.nationstates.net/region=terra_nova
www.nationstates.net/region=ikaros

Liberations: 1
www.nationstates.net/region=the_transgender_region

[thatcherwhitehall]

April Embassy Update

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Republica Accord, Negotiated, Signed & Ratified

by Druing

Europeia and the Union of Democratic States are regions with a shared commitment to democracy, civil rights and ethical recruiting. As such the Republica Accord was negotiated to strengthen the relationship between the regions. The full statement on the ratification of the Accord can be found here.

Unionist Engagement Reinvigorated In Senate By-Election

by Dome Artan

In our last embassy update, the disappearance of Senator Grand Gondor was reported on. At the time they had one day left in the ten day unannounced activity buffer before an election would be held for their seat. As Grand Gondor did not return, and indeed has since CTEd, the Chancellors opened a Senate By-Election on the second of June. Midway through the candidacy period for the one open seat, a second seat became available following the resignation and subsequent renunciation of citizenship by long time Unionist North Plegia.

Ten citizens declared their candidacy for the two vacant seats with six posting campaign statements. Following a Senate election that had only six candidates for the five seats and minimal campaigning, this was a very welcome sight for the Union’s political landscape. Voting was opened on the sixth of July and beyond Nuevo San Miguel, who had separated themself from the pack by virtue of endorsements from President Phoenix Coalition and former Vice President Asdersland, it was anyone’s race.

The perceived tightness of the race was not borne out in reality when the Chancellors released the results on the eighth of July. Nuevo San Miguel had dominated as expected, with an average ranking of 2.26. Long time citizen Drawception ended up with the second seat with an average ranking of 3.74, well ahead of third place finisher British Isles and Commonwealth Realms with 5.44. The election was also notable for RON’s strong performance, finishing well above half the candidacy pool.

Presidential Election Sees Phoenix Re-Elected For Second Term, With Dome Artan The New VP

by Dome Artan

The Union’s second Presidential term wound to a close at the end of June with the Chancellors declaring the candidacy period open for the third Presidential election on the twenty fifth of June. The election was expected to be a laid back one with Phoenix Coalition seeking reelection following a widely admired four month term. The incumbent did announce a new pick for Vice President following the mutually agreed departure of Asdersland from the position, current WA Delegate Dome Artan would take their place on the ballot. While much of the lead up to the election was filled with jokes about Phoenix Coalition running unopposed, former Chairperson of the Union’s General Assembly Firseria announced their candidacy with Nuevo San Miguel their choice for VP.

Firseria openly admitted they weren’t “in it to win it”, instead there to offer some competition to Phoenix Coalition and get some experience for a potential more serious run at some point in the future. Both candidates did publish extensive campaign statements, but there was minimal other campaigning beyond some citizens asking questions. The campaign period was mostly notable for the Chancellery’s allowance of RMB campaign posts, something long outlawed by the region’s various election officers. The voting period was opened on the 29th of June with thirty six votes being cast, up twelve from the last Presidential election. Phoenix Coalition won reelection handily, taking twenty five of those thirty six votes with Firseria grabbing the remaining eleven.

USDAF Update

by Druing

As the pace picks up since last month, so too do the activities of the UDSAF, having completed far more defenses and detags than last month. This includes a 51 detag update done independently on the UDSAF server.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{UDSAF Monthly Report July 2020}
Participating UDSAF Members (assisted in Libcord):
• Khevo
• Comlogical
• Kanglia
• Glaciosia
• Phoenix Coalition
• The Noble Thatcherites

Defenses: 28

Detags: 52

Liberations: 1UDSAF Monthly Report July 2020