The United Nations of Earth (UN) is an international union of 189 member countries of Earth as well as the four planetary colonial governments in Sol. The UN functions as the representative governing body of Earth— as well as the Sol system as a whole— and regulates international affairs such as commerce, policy, legal issues, diplomacy, and peacekeeping.
Elevated from its original status as an intergovernmental organization, the UN has since vested its power into a full, almost-proper, world government with the signing of the Constellation Act, prompting the UN to become the sole representative body of Earth as a whole. Though they are almost-proper, as they do not exert de-jure nor de-facto control on individual nations on Earth, having to instead use deliberation in their legislative body to win over nations within its assembly. However, they do still hold tremendous sway nonetheless given their critical position in the future of humanity amidst the stars.
In the wake of space travel, the UN has taken operations as the executive government behind interstellar operations, overseeing colonization, security and defense, trade, and diplomacy. It maintains large military forces as well as a sizeable complement of peacekeeping and diplomatic agencies.
The UN fields two dominant armed forces forming the United Nations Defense Forces: the Peacekeeper Corps for Earth and planetary-based defense and security, and the Sol Defence Corps for interplanetary and space defense and dominance.
As much as the UN values itself to be the idealistic society that previous republics could only dream to be, the UN is still home to heavily corrupt politicians, with thoughts of personal advancement shaping their own agendas and mandates, as the United Nations is still a government of which bureaucracy reigns, no matter the moral agenda of the government.
This has led to staggering amounts of internal conflict and strife within the UN, as underworld enterprises buy out Assembly politicians to forward laws indirectly encouraging criminal enterprises and discouraging control by the United Nations, deferring instead to national governments on Earth whose precedence has decreased by 2117. Several high-profile investigations carried out by the Security Council find dozens of assemblymen guilty of corruption and graft, but as they leave the doors, new waves flood in.
Mega-corporations such as AXIOM continuously fight themselves and other rival corporations, on top of the other interest groups present on Earth, for their own control over the United Nation’s affairs to benefit themselves. While not openly purchasing or hiring politicians, corporations often use their influence through their whatever part of the market they dominate to indirectly sway the opinions of Representatives and Assemblymen in alternate directions that could benefit both parties above collective interests.
While some say the UN might collapse from the inside due to its instability, the majority says that corruption is an inevitable factor of governments—especially worldwide ones.
Organization
The United Nations is a system made of two dominant organizations - Organs and Agencies. The Organs of the UN are the main administrative branches of the UN tasked with its management and legislation. Agencies of the UN are concerned with specialized tasks such as world health and regulations. These are often regulatory or advisory bodies acting as auxiliary institutions to the UN, and are autonomous in nature.
Organs
The Legislature is the bicameral legislation of the UN government, made up of a lower and upper house. It is responsible for passing legislation such as resolutions and acts as the primary forum for international diplomacy.
United Nations General Assembly
The General Assembly (UNGA) is the upper house of the legislature and composes of appointed representatives of UN member states. It is responsible for setting the budget, electing the UN Secretary General, and appointing officials to military or civil positions. Members of the General Assembly are known as Ambassadors. General Assembly members are typically national-level diplomats to the UN appointed by that country's state or foreign affairs department. The President of the General Assembly is elected by their peers within the legislature on an annual basis, though it's a common trend in 2117 to elect the same UNGA President several years in a row, though they never serve more than a decade consecutively as a general rule of thumb.
United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
The Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), also known as Parliament, is the lower house of the legislature composed of representatives from the UN administrative regions elected democratically. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly are known as Representatives. They are responsible for drafting legislature and UN Resolutions, settle international disputes, and hold the administrative bodies of the UN accountable. Instead of being elected directly by the legislative body, the President of the UNPA is also the Deputy Secretary-General, who serves as the middle-ground between the Secretariat and the UNPA and serving as the voice of Representatives to the Secretary-General. However, this does not endow the Deputy Secretary-General with any special powers, only duties, acting as a tie-breaker and responsible for maintaining decorum within the UNPA.
United Nations Secretariat
The Secretariat is the executive body, serving as the primary bureaucratic and administrative wing of the UN, serving to manage and govern all agencies under the supervision of the United Nations. It is headed by the UN Secretary-General, democratically elected for a five-year term by the General Assembly and held accountable by Parliament. A post-Constellation Act Secretary-General is comparable to a President or Prime Minister, whose power is vested within the United Nations and its derivative powers and authorities. Similarly, taking inspiration from the United States Congressional System, executive decisions that override the activities of UN agencies directly by the Secretary-General can be overturned if two-thirds of both the General Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly vote to do so.
Global Security Council
The Global Security Council (GSC) oversees international peacekeeping efforts as well as the administration of the United Nations’ collective military forces for defense and peacekeeping, which also puts it in charge of not only the Peacekeeper Corps, but subsequently related humanitarian efforts on Earth, in cooperation with the SEC. The Secretary of the Peacekeeper Corps is also the Head of the GSC, alongside the other sitting countries on the council, such as the United States, France, United Kingdom, Bharat, and China as permanent members, with the occasional rotation of 6 Non-Permanent GSC Members. The Secretary of the Peacekeeper Corps is chosen by the Secretary-General and approved by the General Assembly.
Interstellar Security Council
The Interstellar Security Council (ISC) is a branch of the Security Council specifically in charge of military and peacekeeping beyond Earth, being placed in charge of the space defense force of the UN, the Sol Defense Corps. The ISC is also responsible for acting as a military liaison body within the United Nations, cooperating with the GSC in regards to terrestrial peacekeeping, cooperating with the Peacekeeper Corps in regards to humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts on interstellar colonies to act as a "mother-navy" for a "terrestrial-peacekeeping" force. Similarly to the GSC, not only are the permanent members of the GSC present on the ISC, though they don't have rotational members like on the GSC, and the Secretary of the Sol Defense Corps is also the Head of the ISC, chosen and approved in the same manner as the GSC.
Colonial Administration Assembly
The Colonial Administration Assembly (CAA) is dedicated to the governance and management of all extraterrestrial colonies owned by the UN, including those on Mars, Venus, and the Moon. Outside of the nuances of interstellar political governance, the CAA also cooperates with the GSC and ISC in regards to humanitarian efforts and peacekeeping, having a direct line with both bodies as a post-Martian Revolution measure. Additionally, the CAA has an appointed "Secretary-Governor" by the United Nations, usually picked from the colonies themselves rather than from Earth, though it isn't illegal. The Secretary-Governor is nominated by the Secretary-General, and then the nomination is either approved or denied by just the General Assembly.
United Nations Socio-Economic Council
The Socio-Economic Council (SEC) is responsible for the economy and social affairs between UN member states. It additionally oversees trade between Sol colonies and cooperates with the ISC to enact anti-piracy measures and the enforcement of interstellar trade-laws. The same goes for the GSC in regards to maritime, air, and land trade on Earth and Terrestrial colonies. The SEC has an executive authority within the organ itself known as the "Chief-Financier of the United Nations", or just Chief-Financier, which is an appointed position by the Secretary-General, not requiring a nomination or approval.
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICOJ) handles disputes and legal affairs between member states, working with the GSC and mainly the Sol Policing Agency to interpret, advise, and ultimate approve or deny international laws in compliance with national laws on Earth, as well as cooperating with the SPA, CAA, and the SEC to process contentious cases between colonies. It's composition is that of having 8 judges elected by the UNGA and 8 by the UNPA for 12-year terms and 3 permanent ICOJ judges that are appointed by the Secretary-General if their positions are not filled, totaling out to 19 ICOJ judges. No more of one nationality or colonial nationality is allowed to sit on the ICOJ at one time. The ICOJ is responsible for the issuing of legal opinions and interpretation of laws on international, global, and interstellar levels. The Chief-Justice and Deputy-Justice of the ICOJ are elected amidst the members of the ICOJ itself, with the ballots kept secret until all ballots have been counted and are all revealed at the same time.
Heads of the United Nations Organs
UN Organ Name | Position | Name |
---|---|---|
Secretariat | Secretary-General | Laura MacPherson |
Secretariat/Parliamentary Assembly | Deputy Secretary-General | Paul Antoine |
General Assembly | General Assembly President | Min Dezhne |
Global Security Council | Secretary of the Peacekeeper Corps | Furukawa Hiroyuki |
Interstellar Security Council | Secretary of the Sol Defense Corps | Song Lee-Seung |
Colonial Administration Assembly | Secretary-Governor of the CAA | Aimo Heikkilä |
Socio-Economic Council | Chief-Financier of the United Nations | Koloman Meier |
International Court of Justice | Chief-Justice | Pieter Marais |
International Court of Justice | Deputy-Justice | Kashvi Bhatia |
Agencies of the United Nations
# | Acronym | Agency | Founded in |
---|---|---|---|
1 | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | 1945 |
2 | ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization | 1947 |
3 | IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development | 1977 |
4 | ILO | International Labour Organization | 1946 (1919) |
5 | IMO | International Maritime Organization | 1948 |
6 | IMF | International Monetary Fund | 1945 (1944) |
7 | ITU | International Telecommunication Union | 1947 (1865) |
8 | UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | 1946 |
9 | UNIDO | United Nations Industrial Development Organization | 1967 |
10 | UNWTO | World Tourism Organization | 1974 |
11 | UPU | Universal Postal Union | 1947 (1874) |
12 | WBG | World Bank Group | 1945 (1944) |
13 | WHO | World Health Organization | 1948 |
14 | WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization | 1974 |
15 | IASO | International Astronautics Organization | 2048 |
16 | CDO | Colonial Development Authority | 2052 |
17 | SOG | Solar Observatory Group | 2068 |
Constellation Act
With the groundbreaking colonization of Mars in 2052, a new act was passed to reform the United Nations into a real planetary government to act as the face of the collective Earth governments. While it does not exercise control over individual nations, it does govern matters that concern the planet as a whole and acts in an official capacity as an international authority. Albeit, the events of the Middle-East Oil Crisis gave the United Nations some de-facto muscle to throw around given the set precedents of the United States and other nations deferring world policing to them, the Act itself serving to simply turn the de-facto into de-jure.
The Constellation Act, however, failed to unite the Earth under a single flag, instead repercussions occurred that sparked several armed conflicts, both conventional and otherwise as well as small, over the future of some countries whose dictators preferred to remain in power, independently and without the increasing, looming presence of the United Nations. While democracy reigns as the majority political system on the planet, small nations still house authoritarian regimes that do not wish to join the forces and governance of the UN. Some nations and peoples have waged conflicts against the UN as a result of this act, and while some of those nations have been reformed by 2117, some governments and groups still stubbornly resist the now highly-present United nations.
Military
With the dawn of a new UN came the dawn of a new military. Pragmatic world leaders agreed that unwavering peace was all but an unreachable hope in humanity and that a new military must be installed to defend the UN’s collective interests and its borders, both inside—with the Peacekeeper Corps—and outside, with the Sol Defense Corps.
The Peacekeeper Corps (abbrev. PKC) form the internal guard and terrestrial warfare wing of the United Nation's military, comprised of detachments of world militaries organized into a new flag, as well as recruited via "soft-quotas" that were given to countries already volunteering troops from their military to the United Nations. Contrary to the PKC’s predecessor, Peacekeepers were paid as full soldiers and were trained as full soldiers under both their nations’ militaries and then the United Nation’s own training regimen. The PC is formed of an infantry unit, a navy unit, and an air force unit, each assembled from the craft, soldiers, and equipment of every member of the UN, with large benefactors being the United States, European Union, Bharat, and China. The Peacekeeper Corps as a whole form the largest military on the planet, forming a massive martial-force led by GSC, headed by the Secretary of the Peacekeeper Corps, to promote humanitarianism, render aid, prevent and mitigate strife, overturn and quell armed conflict, and to exercise these same goals not only on Earth but also on terrestrial colonies.
Outside the atmosphere of Earth in the pitch-black of space lay the immediate domain of the Sol Defence Corps (abbrev. SDC), a new military set in deep space to defend Earth and its parent system from pirates, foreign invaders, and even from itself as shown by the Martian Revolution. The values of the SDC itself remains heavily contested as a result of its semi-tributary nature, with several of its influencers attempting to sway it towards the more idealistic ways of its sibling Peacekeepers, while others try and make it an aggressive agency to claim humanity’s borders through force and install it as a galactic power before others take the throne first. The Sol Defence Corps comprises of a space-based navy along with an infantry unit, the Marines, for ground-based campaigns and operations.
Colonies
Four colonies have been founded on the planets of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, as well as Earth’s own Moon. These colonies are governed by what is known as their own Colonial Administrations (CA, colloquially known as Col-Ad), governments controlled directly by the UN to allocate their resources to both their own development as well as the development of Earth. Each of the colonies has its own dramatic architecture to give them unique appearances as well as suit the environment they’re tailored for, naturally granting enormous tourist presence in the colonies.
- The Colonial Administration of Mars (CAM) is the most populous colony and one of the most famous. Its domed infrastructure and towering oxygen reclaimers make it resemble more of something from science fiction from reality, although it is offset by its violent dust storms and extreme weather conditions. While some say it’s not worth going to the red planet, others claim the very merit of living on another world is enough of a reason to make the journey. The architecture of Mars is dominated by massive glass domes and stainless steel towers, often painted red-orange to match the surface of the planet. Mars’ population sits at around 8.8 million permanent residents as of 2110 and was founded in 2052.
- The Colonial Administration of Venus (CAV) is a newer colony, albeit much more spectacular in its own history. Enormous networks of balloons and thrusters form hovering cities high above the noxious clouds of the planet and tethered by dense graphene cables, forming gleaming platforms that resemble elegant, curving architecture even more extreme and artistic than those on Mars. Its own specializations are sulfur mining and tourism—both earning Venus a remarkable spot in history as one of the most prosperous colonies in human history. It also holds an enormous gambling culture, often giving the planet the unofficial nickname of “Space Vegas”, a title heavily contested by the casino stations scattered across the solar system. Venus sits at around 3.6 million people as of 2110 and was founded in 2056.
- The Colonial Administration of Luna (CAL) is the most influential colony in Sol, forming a massive spaceport processing and shipping the gigatons of cargo that get sent in and out of Earth to the colonies, asteroids, and ships. Its nonexistent atmosphere and low gravity give rise to towering, geometric structures gleaming as white as the lunar surface itself. While its permanent population is relatively small, its workforce is unrivaled, with its enormous amount of job opportunities allowing billions of blue-collar workers new chances at employment outside of the confines of Earth. The Moon has a permanent population of around 1.7 million as of 2110 and was founded in 2054.
- The Colonial Administration of Jupiter (CAJ) is a large economic hub, serving as the UN's central hub of gas mining, atmospheric mineral extraction and asteroid mining. Jupiter is home to many orbital industrial and mining stations, often in low orbit or skimming the gas giant's atmosphere, which extracts valuable gasses from the planet's atmosphere. Several of Jupiter's 79 moons have also been successfully colonized, the largest colony of which being Europa. Jupiter has a permanent population of around 16 thousand as of 2110 and was founded in 2062. All of Jupiter’s moons are controlled by the CAJ.