Conference of American States


 * This international organization is part of the Altverse universe.

The Conference of American States (: Conferencia de los Estados Americanos, : Conférence des États Américains, : Konferenz der Amerikanische Staaten, : Конференция американских государств), or the CAS or CEA, is a - union of 27 member states that are located primarily in. Covering an area of over 879,000 square miles (2,276,600 square kilometers) and with an estimated population of over 600 million people, it includes all of (with the exception of  and Mexico along with the dependent territories of external nations including ). The Conference of American States has a combined of $24 trillion, and if it were a sovereign state, be the largest economy in the world.

The CAS features an organized system of supranational institutions and standardized laws that apply to all member states. The institutions include the Parliament of American States, the American Council, the American Secretariat, American Court of Justice, and the American Customs Authority. Within the St. Louis Area, border control between participating member states (Alyeska,, Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States, Hudson, , Missouri, New England, Rainier, Sierra, and the United Commonwealth) has been eliminated. The CAS features a with an overarching  among all member states. Members of the American Parliament are elected every four years by CAS citizens while members in the Conference's other institutions are appointed internally or by their member states.

Through common agreement and the Treaty of St. Louis, the CAS is enabled the power to protect basic human rights and to enact legislation concerning internal affairs and justice, and common policies on trade, agriculture, and the environment. In recent years however, the scope of legislation for the CAS has expanded to address virtually all areas and issues. Unlike its, there is no although there is  with a.

The CAS was created through the Treaty of St. Louis in 1946, following the conclusion of with the intention of creating an international union that would include all countries in the Americas. With most of objecting to a political union however (and with the alternative creation of the ), namely, in opposition to perceived dominance by the Anglo-speaking nations of North America, the CAS was initially founded with only seven states: Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States, Hudson, Missouri, New England, and the United Commonwealth. Over the years, membership expanded, with Sierra joining in 1965, and all of North America excluding Mexico by 2006. Since then, the possibility of expanding the CAS into South America as it was originally intended has been considered, with all of the South American states (excluding and ) an observer state of the CAS.

As a whole, the CAS has been treated as a supranational entity with some elements akin to that of a sovereign state. In the League of Nations and other organizations, the CAS represents itself alongside its own member states, although only as an observer state. In the LN, it has enhanced participation rights and status as an observer. Featuring some of the wealthiest and most politically developed nations, including Brazoria and Sierra, the Conference of American States has been described as a world by its own right, due to its global influence.

History
In the 19th century, the region today known as Anglo-America was composed of the, (which was technically still administered as British territory at the time), Brazoria, Rainier, Alyeska, and Sierra, the most powerful and largest of which was the United States. As the first true Anglo-American country, the United States was a major influence in the region. From the beginning of its history in the 1770s however, the nation faced, principally between the and. These differences worsened over the years, and by the 1860s, regionalism had fractured the political fabric of the United States that it led to the American Civil War in 1861 when Southern states began seceding from the Union. Although the Union prevailed and regained control over the South by 1865, the assassination of U.S. president and other high-profile American leaders led to political turmoil, derailing into the re-secession of the South, along with New England, New York, and the American West. The states which remained under the American government reorganized as the United Commonwealth, and centralized its government, moving the capital from to Louisville in Kentucky. The South was renamed the Confederate States of Dixie while the State of New York became the Hudson Republic, the New Englander states became the New England Republic, and the American Western states became the Federal Republic of Missouri. The United Commonwealth attempted to restore the Union by invading the self-declared breakaway countries in the War of Contingency but ultimately failed with Brazoria and Sierra aided the freed states, and solidified the new separated countries. These borders remained the same for much of the rest of the century and into, with tensions still high between the United Commonwealth and its neighbors in the early 20th century.

The first major incident that pointed towards a closer union between Anglo-America occurred during. Although at first, all of the states were reluctant to enter the conflict (with the exception of Canada, which joined the war due to its status as a dominion of Britain, a belligerent state), news of rising casualties and destruction horrified citizens, as well as unprovoked attacks by German U-boats on civilian ships enraged the region. After the exposure of the particularly damning, and then Germany's decision to target any neutral ship in a defined war zone, Hudson was the first of the Anglo-American sovereign states to enter the war, followed by the United Commonwealth, Missouri, the Confederate States, New England, Brazoria, and Sierra in that order, all in the year 1917.

The entry of the Anglo-American states proved instrumental in giving the Allies a victory, defeating the Central Powers in 1918. All of the Anglo-American participant states were signatories of the, with the Hudson Republic leading the collective delegation. The war had reignited a sense of commonality and unity, and tensions cooled. Hudson with its exploding population and economy was poised to become the region's leading power in the 1920s but this reality came to end following the which hit Hudson the hardest, sending Anglo-America into economic hardship. During this time, the need for collective collaboration became more apparent, but it was not until the start of was this perceived necessity realized.

Like in World War I, the Anglo-American states were skeptical and hesitant in joining World War II, opting to remain neutral although some of the states actively sent war material and supplies to the Allied powers. Despite this, talks between the nations led to the creation of the North American Defense Organization (NADO), the immediate predecessor to the Conference of American States. Formed in 1938, Hudson, the United Commonwealth, the Confederate States, New England, Missouri, Brazoria, and Sierra agreed to share some of their military bases together and perform annual joint military practices in case of a continental invasion. One of the bases leased was Pearl Harbor in the Sierran territory of Hawaii, which began housing vessels and crewmen of NADO's combined navies in 1940. The base was especially important for Sierra as it was a strategic port to project Sierran power and influence across the Pacific. The introduction of other Anglo-American states in the Pacific was perceived as a threat to the which decided to cripple Anglo-American presence in Pacific by destroying the fleet based in Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese and the attack was seen as a direct threat to the entire region. This attack prompted all of the states to enter including Rainier and Alyeska which were not part of the NADO. During World War II, the Anglo-American states fought in both the Pacific and European theater, and Sierra, Brazoria, and Hudson worked on developing the nuclear weapons that would later be used against Japan towards the end of the war.



Following victory of, American cooperation and integration was deemed necessary to unite the region against future, potential conflicts. Particularly harrowed by the rise of the, the American government, under the , sought to establish a "new order" that would comprise all the nations of the , dedicated towards mutual cooperation, assistance, and defense. At the 1945 New York Convention, the CAS' precursor organization, the American Integration Society (AIS) was founded, with the stated intention of establishing a union as desired by the Americans. The Convention's proposals were universally rejected by nations of Latin America, particularly due to the Spanish-speaking nations' fear of being dominated by their Anglophone neighbors. Bearing this in mind, the CAS would focus primarily on integrating the Anglophone region of North America, as opposed to all of the Americas. In 1946, through the Treaty of St. Louis, the CAS was formally established with seven signatories: Brazoria, Canada, the Confederate States, Hudson, Missouri, New England, and the United Commonwealth.

During its infancy, the modern CAS institutions of the Parliament and Council were rudimentary, with the union's focus primarily geared towards economic cooperation through a. By the 1960s however, the CAS grew more organized, and many provisions of the Treaty of St. Louis were implemented, strengthening the institutions by allowing the Parliament to pass binding legislation, under the principle of. On the condition of membership, member states were obliged to follow policies passed by the Parliament under the supervision of the Council. By 1965, the Centralist Republic of Rainier, the Federative Republic of Alyeska and the Kingdom of Sierra joined as CAS' s as the eighth, ninth and tenth members respectively, followed by, , the , and.

During the, the CAS was the forefront of the international stage, largely due to its most influential members, the Anglo-American group: Brazoria, Rainier, Sierra, and the United Commonwealth, and their fellow CAS allies. The CAS led the "free", capitalist faction and collaborated intensively with its allies in Western Europe and Northeast Asia, and postured itself as a whole, against the and the rest of the.

Following the end of the Cold War, the CAS witnessed its expansion as additional states joined, including Hispanophone nations. In 1999,, , , , and joined. In 2000, the St. Louis Area was created, eliminating border control and visa requirements between Brazoria, the Bahamas, Canada, the Confederate States, Hudson, Missouri, New England, Rainier, Sierra, and the United Commonwealth. In 2002,, , , and became CAS members. In 2006, the Conference of American States saw its most recent enlargement when, , and joined. In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, the American Customs Authority was established to stabilize the CAS' economies as a single market, and had all member states' currencies pegged to the Hudson dollar. In addition, it was afforded limited discretion on monetary policy as calls for a single currency similar to the was advocated for. In 2011, the CAS declared that its membership was now open to select nations of South America as well as dependencies of non-American nations through the Panama Accords, which required prospective nations and dependencies to have an economically developed, a government, and sufficient infrastructure. Since then, all nations under the new criteria aside from Mexico have become observer or partner states, with, , , and elevated to candidate-status in 2012.

Future
Opening its membership up to South America, the CAS has intended to continue the process of political and economic integration of its member states. With Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Suriname entered in candidate status, it is predicted that both will be accepted as members by 2020, becoming the largest single entrance of countries into the CAS since Sierra in 1965.

There have been plans among the member states of the CAS to expand the St. Louis Area, mainly among the Caribbean states. In addition, the CAS has been working towards standardized drug and energy policies. The CAS is also exploring the possibility of including mutual defense policy, increased military cooperation, and continuing its mission towards promoting "peace, democracy, and liberty" across the Americas and the world. One of the Conference's stated goals is to promote democracy in Mexico, an aiml that faces great obstruction due to the Mexican government's resistance against reform and defense of Veracruzism, an ideology that is deemed "fundamentally and morally incompatible" with the CAS. In 2014, the Mexican government-in-exile in Brazoria was officially recognized by the CAS as the official representative of Mexico within the organization, and has been granted special observer status.

Geography
The CAS encompasses all of and the  except, Mexico, and the overseas territories of European countries (such as  and ). Approximately 8,787,300 square miles (about 22,759,000 km2), there are a total of 27 member states in the Conference, of which 12 are also part of the St. Louis Area.

The CAS covers a geographically diverse and vast landscape, occupying much of the North American continent, the Central American peninsula, the Panamanian isthmus, the Caribbean, and several islands in the Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Meteorologically, climate is equally diverse in CAS, ranging from (northern Canada) to tropical (Hawaii and the Caribbean), with much more consistent, and smooth transition of climates along the Atlantic Seaboard, and haphazardly varied climates in the western continental region of the CAS.

Member states
The Conference of American States was originally composed of only seven member states: Brazoria,, Dixie, Hudson, Missouri, New England, and the United Commonwealth in 1946. Since then, membership count has expanded to a total of 27 states. In order to join the Conference, countries must become signatories of the Conference's founding treaties, namely the Treaty of St. Louis and have been approved for ascension by the American Council and Parliament. Members are free to withdraw from the Conference although as of date, there has never been an instance of a member state leaving the CAS. As a member, countries agree to confer some of its sovereignty to the Conference in exchange for representation and participation.

Before a country can even apply for membership, it must satisfy all of the five points of the Louisville Standard. The Standard requires that:
 * 1) the country must be predominantly located in either North or South America;
 * 2) the country must be a fully sovereign state recognized by the League of Nations;
 * 3) the country must have a democratic form of government which allows all of its citizens to participate equally in the national civic discourse and hold free elections at every level of government;
 * 4) the country has a functioning market economy which is capable of competing against and withstanding the international market;
 * 5) the country must have adopted and complied, or is in the process of adopting and complying with the most up-to-date accumulated law of the CAS.

In addition to member states, there are candidate, observer, and partner states. Candidate states are countries which are in the process of fulfilling the Louisville Standard and negotiating with the Conference on the terms of ascension, and the process itself usually takes between 4-10 years to implement. Observer states are countries which are eligible for candidacy but have not elected to undergo such a process at the time being, but enjoy a passive presence in the Conference. Partner states are countries which are ineligible for candidacy (namely as they do not satisfy Rule 1 which requires the country be primarily located in the Americas) but nonetheless, are influential, trusted allies outside the Americas with the Conference who seek to engage and work alongside the Conference as a whole directly.

– Part of the St. Louis Area

Government and politics
Similar to the, the Conference of American States operates as a and supplementary institution governed by the Treaty of St. Louis and other regulatory documents. Laws made by the Conference of American States can be either binding or non-binding, the former generally being mandatory statutes that must be enforced in all member states with or without CAS financial assistance, and the latter recommended implementation plans that always entails guaranteed funding. It is composed of five primary organs: the American Parliament (located in St. Louis), the American Council (located in St. Louis), the American Secretariat (located in St. Louis), the American Court of Justice (located in Austin), and the American Customs Authority (located in New York City).

American Parliament
The American Parliament, alongside the American Council, form the official deliberative, legislative body in the CAS. The Parliament consists of 800 Members of the American Parliament (MAPs) who are directly elected by CAS citizens every four years on the basis of the form of. MAPs are seated and grouped based on political coalitions rather than by nationality, and the number of seats each member state has is based on a fixed proportion grounded on population.

The American Parliament is charged with formulating and passing legislation on virtually every area of issues and policies, and include binding and non-binding legislation, the former being mandatory statutes that must be implemented by member states, and the latter recommended policy plans. The Parliament is in charge of creating the Conference's budget and together with the Council, appropriates funds to CAS bodies and member states to ensure policy can be implemented properly and efficiently. The Parliament is the origin of all CAS law and possesses the right of legislative initiation, but all proposed legislation must be reviewed and approved by the Council. Typically, Parliament and the Council work together in formulating law but ultimately, the Council decides whether or not if a legislation shall pass. Parliament is also responsible for creating and controlling the budget for the Conference. As with normal legislation, any appropriation of funds must be reviewed by the Council.

The Parliament is headed by the President of the American Parliament, who is currently Sofia Muñoz from. The President serves as the speaker and chairperson in the Parliament, and its official spokesperson to the public. The President's signature is one of the names required for legislation to pass. The President and other senior officials in Parliament are elected by MAPs every 2 years and may serve indefinitely renewable terms. There are also group leaders for every one of Parliament's nine official political groups: the Alliance of American Unity (AAU), American Coalition for Liberty (ACL), American Conservative Coalition (ACC), Americans for Freedom and Democracy (AFD), Liberal Democrats of America (LDA), Pan-American Reform Union (PARU), Red-Green Alliance (RGA), Social Democrats of America (SDA), and the United Alliance of the Left (UAL). There is no party leader for the Non-Inscrits which comprises of all parties which are not a part of any of the other nine groups.

American Council
The American Council is a 27-member institution that serves as the other half of the CAS legislature. Each member, known as a minister, is a representative appointed by their respective member state. The Council is led by the Presidency which rotates among the ministers every six-months. The current President of the Council is Jérôme François Brissot from Canada. The Council is primarily concerned with reviewing and modifying legislation submitted by Parliament, and sending back revisions and amendments to Parliament if the legislation requires additional deliberations. Once a compromise has been reached with the legislation deemed satisfactory by the Council, the legislation is passed and signed by the President of the Council, President of the Parliament, and the Secretary-General, thus officiating the legislation into law. If compromise cannot be reached, a conciliatory committee is formed to reconcile differences and disputes between the two bodies. If a compromise cannot be reached within 30 working days, the bill is automatically dismissed and must be re-proposed on the Parliament floor, restarting the drafting process. A bill can be dismissed instantly by the Council if more than 60% of the Council rejects its initial proposal.

On matters regarding foreign policy, defense policy, and transnational security, the Council is responsible for proposing legislation within its floor without the input of Parliament. Although a conciliatory committee may be formed, this is not required, and any legislation regarding these fields may be passed as long as a supermajority is reached and is signed by the President of the Council and the Secretary-General.

American Secretariat
The American Secretariat is responsible for running and administrating the daily affairs of the CAS organization. The American Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General who acts as the CAS leader and official spokesperson. The current Secretary-General is Johann Hauptsmann from Brazoria. In addition to the Secretary-General, he is aided by the Deputy Secretary-General and Adjunct Secretaries who head one of the Secretariat's 12 departments ranging from foreign policy to healthcare. The Secretariat can propose legislation before Parliament and is involved in the legislation process as a moderator, by steering legislation to fit according to the Secretariat agenda. All pieces of legislation require a signature from the Secretary-General in order to pass.

The Secretariat is responsible for ensuring that all member states comply with CAS law and implement the law correctly and efficiently. If the Secretariat deems a nation as non-compliant, it may flag the nation and submit a Writ of Suspension to the defiant government, ordering compliance within a set time period. If the nation fails to meet the requirements by then, the nation's membership can be automatically suspended and all CAS funding to the country can be halted, and representatives placed on administrative leave until the suspended nation can prove it has complied with the Secretariat's orders. It is imperative and within the interest of the Secretariat to maintain continuous dialogue with the governments of all member states, and is seen as the persuasive arm of the Conference to encourage member states to back CAS policy and legislation, and foster cooperation.

In times of emergency or war, the Secretariat acts as the focal point of collective defense and works with coordinating the commanders-in-chief and their militaries of all member states in defending the region from any threats internal or external. Although the Secretariat does not have any direct power or control over any individual military, nor does it control any independent defense organization, it does have limited authority over joint international military bases set aside for the Conference itself.

American Court of Justice
The American Court of Justice is the chief judicial authority in the Conference and is responsible for interpreting American law, and oversees the law being uniformly applied across the member states. Contrary to popular thought, the cases settled by national supreme courts within a member state's own jurisdiction cannot usually be appealed to the American Court of Justice as the Court has no jurisdiction or competence in interpreting the laws of individual member states. However, it does have jurisdiction over the following cases: a member state against another member state; a member state against a non-member state; individuals, companies, or governments whose cases involve American law; internal actions pertaining to the Conference; and any cases involving treaties or international agreements.

American Customs Authority
The American Customs Authority is the most recently established institution of the CAS, created in 2006, superseding the former American Commission on Trade and Finance. Currently, the American Customs Authority is responsible for auditing and reviewing the CAS' finances and budget, oversees economic regulations, and working with national banks. In the future, once a common currency is adopted (most likely the proposed Amero), the Customs Authority has, by a 2011 CAS statute, the right to upgrade into a with control over monetary policy as it was intended to do. It is based in New York City.

Ameroskepticism
Ameroskepticism (spelled as Ameroscepticism in Brazoria, Canada, and Rainier) is the criticism or opposition to the Conference of American States, and consists of two variants: soft (which advocates reforming the Conference) and hard (which advocates for the abolishment of the Conference or the withdrawal of one's state from the organization). Ameroskepticism is contrasted with American unionism which may include soft Ameroskeptics as generally, American unionists believe the Conference is essential towards American unity and integration, and is beneficial to the peoples of the Americas. Ameroskepticism is most prevalent among Sierrans and Confederates who have historically been resistant towards integrating or reluctant to participate with the rest of their Anglo-American neighbors.

Ameroskepticism is both a historic and a recent political phenomenon, with its resurgence occurring after the when several major international cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, and Louisville were attacked by Islamic terrorists. In Sierra, differences on foreign policy, trade, and national sovereignty reignited the discussion and controversy on the nature of the CAS as an organization, and gained traction across both sides of Sierra's political spectrum. These concerns were similarly apparent in the Confederate States, and in minor circles in the other states including the United Commonwealth and Brazoria. In recent years, Ameroskepticism has also been on the rise in Rainier.

In Sierra
Historically, the Sierran government officially maintained a policy of neutrality and a semi-isolationist foreign policy, having only engaged in one foreign war, the War of Contingency before the arrival of the 20th century. Although Sierra's principal ally was Brazoria, Sierran interaction with the rest of Anglo-America was minimal with the exception of trade and transnational commerce. When World War I broke out, Sierra was hesitant to join the collective forces of Anglo-America, and vehemently opposed coalescing its military with others under a defense group.