Micras Treaty Organization

Micras Treaty Organization Micras Verdragsorganisatie
Flag Emblem
Headquarters	MTO Headquarters Huyenkula ( Order of the Holy Lakes)
Official language(s)	Istvanistani
Type	Intergovernmental organization
Leaders
- Secretary-General	Ian Holden ( Aerla)
-
- Main assembly	General Assembly
Establishment	10.XIII.1547
Membership	24 member states
Organisation website
Organisation forum	Forum

The Micras Treaty Organization (MTO) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation between the nations on Micras. It was originally established as a pro-Shirerithian organization under the name Small Commonwealth on 10.XIII.1547 but transformed very quickly into a broader discussion platform between states which were sometimes even enemies.

The MTO is not a merger, nor a monolithic organization, nor an attempt at creating a micronational bloc. Member nations are not required to be on friendly terms or even recognise an other nation, nor are they required to interact with other member nation if they do not desire to do so.

Following the resignation of Secretary-General Linus Truls Thorgilsson in 1728, the Organization has ceased to operate. It still exists formally, however, but has not done anything except pay the rent for the headquarters of the MTO in Huyenkula to the Order of the Holy Lakes. In 1730, Charlène Jolicoeur-Schafenweide took charge of the organization as acting secretary-general, overseeing the election of a new secretary-general. The Assembly elected Gray Rechter of Aemilia as the new secretary-general. Following Rechter's death due to complications from injuries sustained during a robbery in 1734 AN, the Assembly elected Ian Holden of Aerla as the new secretary-general.

The Organization

The Micras Treaty Organization is an inter-micronational organization comprised of various member nations and numerous treaties. The core treaty is the Treaty of General Membership to the Micras Treaty Organization which established the Organization and the basics like the office of Secretary-General and the General Assembly. All other components of the MTO are purely optional, and member nations can pick and choose which treaties they choose to sign.

Member nations signing the core treaty relinquish no sovereignty or authority, nor gain any advantages in the MTO other then a seat in the General Assembly.

Languages and symbols

The de facto working language of the MTO is Istvanistani, as it is the official language of most member states. Treaties are written in Istvanistani and the General Assembly conducts business in that language as well. Batavian was originally co-official, with many original treaties being written in both Istvanistani and Batavia. After the collapse of the Batavian kingdom, and the downturn in MTO activity, Batavian was not used as frequently. Batavia later rejoined the MTO and the Batavian translation of the name of the organization was included on the new flag and emblem.

The emblem of the Small Commonwealth

In the beginning a tree was used while the organization was known as the Small Commonwealth, but eventually - because of its strong connection with Malarbor / Shireroth - it never became widespread after the organization transitioned to the Micras Treaty Organization. A new flag and emblem was proposed and adopted by the General Assembly in 1687–1688.

The Secretariat

The organization's day to day operations are headed and overseen by a Secretary-General, which is a permanent position once appointed by the General Assembly. The Secretary-General also oversees the General Assembly.

There is also a Deputy Secretary-General, who is be vested with the responsibility of assisting the Secretary-General. The Deputy Secretary-General is elected by the General Assembly and has the task to - should the Secretary-General be unavailable or unable to fulfil the duties of the office - exercise the duties of the Secretary-General, until the return of the Secretary-General, or until such time that the Secretary-General is able to resume exercising the duties and powers of his office. The Deputy Secretary may be recalled by a simple majority of the General Assembly.

List of powers of the Secretary-General

The specific powers of the Secretary-General are:

• declare votes passed or failed,
• remind representatives of proper procedure,
• set temporary voting and debate procedures to last in emergencies until cancelled by 1/4 of the Assembly at any time,
• keep debate relevant to the topic,
• serve as spokesman for the Micras Treaty Organization but not for its members,
• command (or officially appoint a commander) official MTO missions,
• delivering an official MTO Opinion to the greater micronational community,
• moderate the MTO's online forums

List of Secretaries-General

Portrait	Name	Birth	Tenure	Death	Citizenship	Comment
	Erik Rrakanychan Agni Raynor	–	1547–1548	1551	Shireroth	Acting Primate
			1548–1551			As elected
	Erik Ezekiel Mortis	–	1551–1564	1564
	Erik Ometeotl Mortis	1536	1564–1570	1570
	Erik Coyotl Mortis	1539	1570–1575	1594		Brother of his predecessor
	Nathan Waffel-Paine	1455	1576–1585	1585	Elwynn	First tenure
					Natopia
	Balarak Alaion	1552	1585–1593	1603	Shireroth
	Nathan Waffel-Paine	1455	1593–1607	1607	Elwynn (until 1600)	Second tenure
					Natopia
	Christophos Eucalyptos	1586	1607–1622		Natopia
	Jaime Augusto Joaquin Primo de Aguilar	1595	1622–1665	1718	Alexandria (until 1650)
					Constancia (1650–1718)
	Christophe Landry	–	1665–1670	–	Caputia
	Marco Lungo	1612	1670–1704		Natopia
	Jan Spiik	1645	1704–1714	1714	Hurmu
	Linus Truls Thorgilsson	1644	1714–1728	1734	Benacian Union
					Hurmu
					Normark
	Vacant		1728–1730
	Charlène Jolicoeur-Schafenweide	1690	1730–1731		Aemilia	Acting Secretary-General
					Order of the Holy Lakes
	Gray Rechter	1690	1731–1734	1734	Aemilia
					Order of the Holy Lakes
	Ian Holden	1671	1734–present		Aerla

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the main deliberative assembly. All member nations may send one representative to the General Assembly, which discusses treaties, and attempts to arbitrate between member states (which sometimes generates larger problems). The General Assembly also discusses topics of general discussion so that member nations may share their point of view on a variety of topics and political issues.

List of powers of the Assembly

The General Assembly has the power to:

• hold a vote of no confidence and remove the current Secretary-General and elect a new one,
• to appoint mediators and arbitrators at the request of any member nation,
• to serve as discussion platform for nations
• to establish offices under the Secretariat to further the mission of the MTO as agreed by the General Assembly
• to confirm the Secretary-General's appointments of administrators to offices within the Secretariat
• to approve MTO Missions
• to pass MTO Opinions
• to approve MTO Ancillary Treaties

List of MTO Missions

• A Mission to Assist the Republic of Alduria: Elwynn, Los Liberados, Kasterburg, Natopia, Alrig, and Constancia voted in favor. None against. Passed July 1, 2019.

List of MTO Opinions

The General Assembly can pass non-binding resolutions known as MTO Opinions that become the official stance of the MTO and General Assembly. While the outcome of the Opinions may generally align with the policies of MTO member nations, it is important to remember that MTO Opinions are not only non-binding, but also do not reflect the formal policy of the MTO members.

List of MTO Resolutions

MTO resolutions are binding, and are used for governing the Organization, approving or disproving treaties, etc.

The list is collated from the time that Jan Spiik was elected Secretary General:

• MTO Headquarters Resolution (GA-1705-1)
• Unsigned Treaties Resolution (GA-1705-2)

Membership

Membership is limited to active nations on Micras as recognized by the Micronational Cartography Society. Removal from the MCS automatically removes the nation from the MTO as well. States wishing to join the MTO must ratify the General Membership Treaty and inform the Secretary-General of their intent to join. The Secretary-General will then add them as a full member.

When joining, States should also inform the Secretary-General which ancillary treaties or conventions they have ratified. Having joined the MTO in 2013, Calbion left the organisation in 1705 over a dispute concerning the role of the MTO in international affairs. Asked to comment on the departure, Governor-General Bevan-Hall described the MTO as "completely irrelevant". Following Calbion's departure the Count of Highpass was asked to comment on the matter, and described Calbion as "completely irrelevant". When asked how relevant his own country was, the Count replied "not very".

Notably countries that have never been members of the organization include Craitland.

Member State	Since	GM	FBW	TNA	CCC	MIPPA	IC	CCA
Aemilia	1724	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Aerla	1723	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Benacian Union	1673	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Çakaristan	1702	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Constancia	1649	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Floria	1664	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Hexarchy	1688	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Imperial Federation	1707	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
International Mandate	1702	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kalgachia	1653	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kurum Ash-Sharqia	1703	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Meckelnburgh	1698	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Mercury	1727	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Natopia	1547	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
New Batavia	1694	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Normark	1705	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Nouvelle Alexandrie	1672	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Oportia	1731	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Order of the Holy Lakes	1689	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Sanama	1676	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Shireroth	1547	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Tellia	1667	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Vegno	1706	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zeed	1689	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No

Ancillary Treaties

The Ancillary Treaties are the original purpose of the MTO. Sometimes referred to as the "treaty buffet," these treaties allow member states to pick and choose exactly what international agreements or organizations they wish to be party too, without putting undue stress on the main Organization. These generally require a signatory nation to first join the MTO before it can ratify the treaty. Although in practice, some states on Micras have copied sections of the text of these treaties for bilateral treaties between members and non-members.

The General Assembly, a member state delegation, or the Secretariat can draft Ancillary Treaties to be proposed to the General Assembly. The General Assembly then approves the text of the treaty by a majority vote to "endorse" the treaty, although voting for the Treaty in the General Assembly does not reflect the member state's endorsement of the Treaty's contents. The MTO then serves as depository for the treaty and may be granted advisory or clerical duties by the specific treaty.

Ratification of ancillary treaties is conducted according to the text of the treaty and the ratification procedures of the signatory nations. Unless given specific powers by the ancillary treaty, the MTO itself has little oversight over the implementation of these treaties and usually only serves as repository or intermediary for notifications. Signatory nations are generally responsible for maintaining the terms of the treaty among themselves, but are encouraged to bring grievances to the General Assembly for arbitration.

• Small Convention on Forum Based Weapons
• Small Treaty of Non-Aggression
• Convention on the Establishment of a Common Court
• Micras Intellectual Property Protection Act (MIPPA)
• Treaty to Establish the International Commission
• Convention on Civil Aviation

In 1709, the Convention on the Laws of the Seas was removed as an MTO ancillary treaty, becoming open for ratification by any MCS state instead.

Links

• Small Commonwealth Forums
• MTO archive on Bastion
• Current forum on the MCS