Blocker resolution
Blocker resolutions (aka "blockers") are resolutions introduced and passed with the express purpose of blocking a proposal on a similar topic from being voted on. Blockers may be submitted for a variety of reasons. Authors may simply think a competing proposal would have a damaging effect on member nations and will submit a simpler proposal to prevent other proposals from coming forward. (As contradicting or duplicating existing legislation is illegal under GA rules, the competing proposal would be pretty much dead-on-arrival.) Very commonly, blockers are introduced with a sovereigntist objective in mind -- to the point that the terms blocker and sovereigntist (or "NatSov") blocker are oftentimes conflated. Perhaps the most notorious blockers in UN/WA history are Abortion Legality Convention and Nuclear Arms Possession Act.
History
A commonplace tactic throughout the history of both the UN and the WA, blockers have also been quite controversial. One of the earliest UN resolutions, UN Taxation Ban -- banning the UN from directly collecting taxes from citizens of member states -- is widely considered to have been a blocker, as is Outlaw Pedophilia, originally submitted by Goobergunchia to prevent a more complicated pedophilia ban from reaching vote. The first blocker to be popularly called as such was probably 2005's United Nations Security Act (UNSA), which attempted to block future weapons bans, specifically a proposal seeking to ban bioweapons at the time. However, the moderators ruled that a loophole in UNSA permitting weapons "necessary for national defense" meant that any proposal demonstrating that certain weapons were not necessary to that end could proceed. Therefore, the bioweapons ban referenced earlier was allowed to vote, probably against the UNSA author's intentions.
Shortly before UNSA passed, Nuclear Armaments, preventing future UN bans on nuclear weapons, was adopted. This was significant not only because it blocked nuclear bans, but also because it was the precursor to the WA Nuclear Arms Possession Act (NAPA), which has been an especially contentious resolution and has survived numerous repeal attempts. Many blockers have been passed under the aegis of the WA, but none so volatile as NAPA. By contrast, Abortion Legality Convention (2006), passed by the UN, was also very controversial but proved to be surprisingly stable, and lasted till the UN's last days in 2008. No attempts to repeal it reached vote.
Legality
As GA rules forbid resolutions banning future WA proposals, blockers are at times a bit tricky to formulate. They must include specific instructions to member states as to what actions to take on a particular topic, so many blockers include mild-strength clauses to that effect. Any proposal that does nothing but forbid subsequent WA action will probably be deleted. Choosing which category to submit a blocker under has also proven hazardous at times, as moderators are touchy about whether the effects of a resolution match the effects of its chosen category. This has resulted in abortion blockers being ruled illegal by the mods. A guide on how to write a legal blocker appears below.
Additional materials
- Improving the world, one blocker at a time - general guide on blockers, and tips on writing them
