GLOBAL OBLIGATIONS POLICY STRUCTURE

The draft policies identified below are provided as an indication of the sort of policy commitments and structural and procedural guidelines that may become the basis for the establishment of Global Obligations.

Submissions are invited on all these policy areas or on particular aspects of them, and on the structure, layout, presentation and publication of the policies. Alternative draft policies which in the opinion of the Trustee are viable and consistent with the Key Principles will be published on this site.

If a comment or draft policy is taken from an existing publication please acknowledge the source, so that we can avoid any difficulties related to breaches of copyright. We will assume we can use whatever you give us, and that you can and did grant us permission to use any material provided unless you say otherwise.

The following is proposed as the high level structure:

1 BENEFITS POLICY

2 TITHING POLICY

3 MEMBERSHIP POLICY

4 RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY

5 REPRESENTATIVES POLICY

6 SERVICE OFFICERS POLICY

7 HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES

8 ARBITRATION POLICIES

9 ENFORCEMENT POLICIES

10 INVESTMENT POLICIES

11 ENVIRONMENT POLICIES

12 SOCIAL POLICIES

13 LEGAL STRUCTURE OF ORGANISATION

14 RELATIONS WITH AREA GOVERNMENTS

15 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES

16 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

At the next level down, the main components of the high level structure are indicated as follows:

1 BENEFITS POLICY

1.1 Civil and Political Rights

1.2 Subsistence

1.3 Security

1.4 Health

1.5 Education

1.6 Property Cover

1.7 Legal Aid

1.8 Consumer Support

2 TITHING POLICY

2.1 Member Risk and Cost Profile

2.2 Progressive Redistribution

3 MEMBERSHIP POLICY

3.1 Diversity of Membership

3.2 Viability Entrance Ranking

3.3 Marketing For Membership

3.4 Member's Contract

3.5 Resignation Policy

4 RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY

4.1 Identification and Mitigation of Risks

4.2 Re-Insurance of Risks

4.3 Provisions for Long Term Claims

5 REPRESENTATIVES POLICY

5.1 Electoral Groups and Electoral Procedures

5.2 Higher Level Electoral Groups

5.3 Remuneration of Representatives

6 SERVICE OFFICERS POLICY

6.1 Guidelines for Provision of Services

6.2 Recruitment, Training, Tenure

6.3 Remuneration of Service Officers

7 HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES

7.1 Guidelines for Exercising Administrative Functions

7.2 Recruitment and Tenure of Senior Administrators

7.3 General Conditions of Employment

7.4 Remuneration of Administrative Officers

8 ARBITRATION POLICIES

8.1 Guidelines for Internal Dispute Resolution

8.2 Appointment, Training, Tenure

8.3 Remuneration of Arbiters

9 ENFORCEMENT POLICIES

9.1 Guidelines for Resolving External Disputes

9.2 Recruitment, Training and Tenure

9.3 Remuneration and Compensation

10 INVESTMENT POLICIES

10.1 Capital Investments for Redistribution

10.2 Strategic Investments

11 ENVIRONMENT POLICIES

11.1 Population and the Environment

11.2 Internal Operations and the Environment

11.3 Investments and the Environment

11.4 External Operations and the Environment

12 SOCIAL POLICIES

12.1 Population

12.2 Human Relationships

12.3 Intoxicants

12.4 Gambling

13 LEGAL STRUCTURE OF ORGANISATION

13.1 Structure of Overall Governing Bodies

13.2 Local Structures in Each Jurisdiction

14 RELATIONS WITH AREA GOVERNMENTS

14.1 Tax Treatment

14.2 Relations With Enforcement Agencies

15 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES

15.1 Accounts Receivable

15.2 Accounts Payable

15.3 Fraud Detection and Prevention

15.4 Audit and Process Improvement

16 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

16.1 Survivability and Business Continuity

16.2 Privacy and Confidentiality

16.3 Communications and Interconnection

16.4 Application Architecture

16.5 Systems Development Guidelines

16.6 Hardware

 

Each policy statement will (in time) have:

The following outlines the current detailed structure:

  1. BENEFITS POLICY

This will describe the "cover" to be provided by Global Obligations once it is successfully established.

    1. Civil and Political Rights
    2. Subsistence
    3. Security
    4. Health
    5. Education
      1. Pre School Education
      2. Primary Education
      3. Secondary Education
      4. Tertiary Education
      5. Further Education
    6. Property Cover
      1. Home
      2. Personal Possessions
      3. Small Business
      4. Other Optional Cover
    7. Legal Aid
      1. Criminal Law
      2. Civil Law
      3. Advocacy
    8. Consumer Support
      1. Purchasing Advice
      2. Post Purchase Support
  1. TITHING POLICY

These sections will describe how contributions from members will cover the cost of the coverage defined above.

    1. Member Risk and Cost Profile

Each prospective member will be evaluated in terms of their risk to the organisation and expected costs of admitting the member.

    1. Progressive Redistribution

This section will define how those more able to contribute are tithed more than those less able.

The policy must be based on practicalities as well as principles - with a balance to achieve the highest amount of net donations possible, which can then be redistributed to cover the costs of poorer members.

  1. MEMBERSHIP POLICY

We must encourage members from all countries, and explicitly prevent any one country or ethnic group from dominating the organisation. Members must be admitted taking into account their impact on the ongoing viability of the organisation. Potential members may be "streamed" and members admitted at different rates from different "streams". For instance, net donors should be admitted more easily than net recipients. Members must accept a contract stating their reciprocal obligations. We need to clarify what happens if a member resigns - or a large number of members wish to split taking some share of the assets with them (do they take assets according to the degree they have contributed to them?).

    1. Diversity of Membership
    2. Viability Entrance Ranking
    3. Marketing For Membership
    4. Member's Contract
    5. Resignation Policy

 

  1. RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY

Risk management must identify the likelihood of certain claims (from current and future members) and their expected cost and mitigate these risks, and provide for them.

    1. Identification and Mitigation of Risks
    2. Re-Insurance of Risks
    3. Provisions for Long Term Claims

 

  1. REPRESENTATIVES POLICY

This will cover the method by which representatives are elected and their powers.

    1. Electoral Groups and Electoral Procedures
    2. Higher Level Electoral Groups
    3. Remuneration of Representatives

 

  1. SERVICE OFFICERS POLICY

These sections will cover the provision of services by Service officers, their authority, employment issues, and how we determine the appropriate remuneration package.

 

    1. Guidelines for Provision of Services
    2. Recruitment, Training, Tenure
    3. Remuneration of Service Officers

 

  1. HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES

These sections will cover standard HR policies for a multinational organisation.

 

    1. Guidelines for Exercising Administrative Functions
    2. Recruitment and Tenure of Senior Administrators
    3. General Conditions of Employment
    4. Remuneration of Administrative Officers

 

  1. ARBITRATION POLICIES

These sections will cover the provision of arbitration services by arbiters, their authority, employment issues, and how we determine the appropriate remuneration package.

 

    1. Guidelines for Internal Dispute Resolution
    2. Appointment, Training, Tenure
    3. Remuneration of Arbiters

 

  1. ENFORCEMENT POLICIES

This will cover guidelines and strategies for resolving disputes which affect members, either from outside the organisation or internal disputes between members, and how they may be resolved.

 

    1. Guidelines for Resolving External Disputes
    2. Recruitment, Training and Tenure
    3. Remuneration and Compensation

 

  1. INVESTMENT POLICIES

These section cover the policies for the various investment funds.

    1. Capital Investments for Redistribution
    2. Strategic Investments
      1. Legal Intoxicants
      2. Gambling
      3. Media

 

  1. ENVIRONMENT POLICIES

Preservation of the environment is crucial to us all.  It is not just a matter of the Greens campaigning to save an endangered species, such as the leadbeater possum, for its aesthetic merit, but a healthy environment is vtal to the welfare of all humanity.  Major concerns relate to global warming, the ozone layer, desertification, loss of arable land, loss of biodiversity, fresh water shortages, air, sea and land pollution.  The environment is becoming more of a concern to subsistence farmers, small farmers in developed countries, agribusiness, tourism and outdoor recreation industries.  Mental and physical health problems are being linked to degradations in the quality of the environment.

Three main strategies are required for a sustainable environment:

    1. population management, leading to an eventual reduction in the world population
    2. reduced impact on the environment per capita, especiallyin developed countries
    3. sustainable development, especially in developing countries.

All of these strategies require a reduction in poverty, inequity and ignorance and  increased empowerment. 

All of the strategies will be supported by increases in equity, education, freedom and democracy. 

A sustainable environment is especially dependent on a diversity of opinion, a free press and independent science, which enables inappropriate environmental practices to be identified, exposed and modified.

All strategies will involve controls to be placed on the behaviour of individuals as well as corporations and governments, either under internally enforced, voluntary agreements or codes of practice, or as a result of external pressure.

Mandatory external controls are the responsibility of coercive area government.  Where legislation and enforcement would be ineffective without wider cooperation, national governments must negotiate and comply with international treaties, under the auspices of the United Nations, Word Trade Organisation or other collections of nations..

External pressure can also arise from community activism.  Shareholder activism may be viewed as "external" if it relates only to minority shareholders.  Environmentally sensitive policies arising from major shareholders views may be viewed as "internal" controls for that organisation.

Global Obligations operates on many levels in this analysis:

    1. reducing poverty and inequity,
    2. promoting education,
    3. empowering individuals,
    4. promoting diversity and democracy,
    5. advocacy in government on behalf of affected members
    6. enabling a degree of shareholder activism
    7. in the long term becoming a major shareholder promoting enlightened policies.

Though environmental issues must remain primarily the responsibility of area government, Global Obligations must include policies to minimise the impact on the environment of its own actions and to preserve the members  environments where these are being degraded.

    1. Population and the Environment
    2. Internal Operations and the Environment
    3. Investments and the Environment
    4. External Operations and the Environment
    5. Area Government and the Environment 

 

  1. SOCIAL POLICIES

Global Obligations may need to have explicit policies on various other social issues to clarify the areas where members can expect support. For instance, to raise a relatively trivial issue, Global Obligations should not oppose basic dress rules being enforced by nations or corporations, provided that the rules are not excessively harsh or unfairly enforced, while at the same time generally promoting free dress rules.

    1. Population

Global Obligations must support family planning and approaches to limit population growth such as improving the general education of girls.

    1. Human Relationships

Global Obligations should support diverse forms of human relationships.

    1. Intoxicants

Global Obligations should support harm minimisation approaches to both legal and illegal intoxicants (nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy, heroine etc), advocating minimal usage, while at the same time advocating reasonable punishments for personal abuse of illegal drugs.

    1. Gambling

Global Obligations should advocate strategies to minimise the harmful effects of gambling.

 

  1. LEGAL STRUCTURE OF ORGANISATION
    1. Structure of Overall Governing Bodies
    2. Local Structures in Each Jurisdiction
      1. Australia

Legal and accounting advice is required on the appropriate long term structures.

      1. Rest of the World

Policies to be developed as interest arises in each country.

 

 

  1. RELATIONS WITH AREA GOVERNMENTS

 

    1. Tax Treatment
      1. Australia
        1. Tax Deductions of Gifts

Application will be made for gifts to be tax deductible. This will only apply where the donor receives absolutely no benefit from the donation. Contributions from members made in anticipation of a benefit being provided to the member must be treated and accounted for separately from totally voluntary donations.

        1. Income Tax Exempt

Application will be made for the income of the capital investment and strategic investment funds to be exempt from Australian income tax.

      1. Rest of the World

Policies to be developed as interest arises in each country.

 

    1. Relations With Enforcement Agencies

Global Obligations must support the rule of law and wherever possible co-operate with local authorities.

 

  1. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES

All monies flowing into the organisation and all expenditure must be accounted for, to the satisfaction of the members, donors, auditors and relevant taxation and other national or state authorities.

    1. Accounts Receivable
    2. Accounts Payable
    3. Fraud Detection and Prevention
    4. Audit and Process Improvement

 

 

  1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

Global Obligations will be dependent, like most other global organisations, on information technology. The range of coverage to be provided, the diversity of membership and representation, the complexity of international business administration, can only be implemented with a sophisticated computer system. It is likely that the core systems will be developed as required using a major relational database, located in one or more key sites, with a web browser front end and standard internet data communications protocols.

    1. Survivability and Business Continuity

 

    1. Privacy and Confidentiality

 

    1. Communications and Interconnection

 

    1. Application Architecture

 

    1. Systems Development Guidelines

 

    1. Web Site Guidelines
    2.  
    3.  

 

    1. Hardware

 

Submissions on the structure of the policy or the contents of any policy are invited.

Submission to the Trustee of a proposed policy or comments on any policies or part thereof will be taken by the Trustee to imply permission to use the submission or any parts thereof in the development of policies for Global Obligations and to that extent the author grants to the Trustee copyright in the policies or comments or parts thereof that the Trustee wishes to use for the Trust's purposes and the person or organisation submitting the policies or comments on any policies warrant to the Trustee that copyright is not owned by a third party, unless the source is acknowledged. The Trustee warrants that it will not make use of any policies or comments for any purposes, including any personal gain, other than for the purposes of establishing Global Obligations as defined in the Trust Deed.

To contact send email to: Info@GlobalObligations.com.  Home Page:www.GlobalObligations.com

Address: Global Obligations Establishment Trust, G.P.O. Box 2004, Melbourne, 3001 Australia

 

Copyright © 2000 Global Obligations Establishment Trust, Version 2.1 October 2000