World Assembly HQ – The Sanctarian delegation received a standing ovation yesterday as the World Assembly’s Security Council voted to commend the nation by an impressive 8,807 votes to 1,912. Citing “consistent dedication to furthering peace and prosperity” and “a sizable knowledge of the murky workings of international politics”, the resolution praised both the Sanctarian Department of Foreign Affairs and the Sanctarian diplomatic team in the World Assembly for their “admirable and politically important … body of work”.
Responding to the commendation, which came as a surprise to the Sanctarian government, Prime Minister Mark Kindle said that “Sanctaria is delighted and most humbled by this commendation which serves to underline how vital international cooperation and involvement is to a nation. For the Security Council to hold us as a benchmark is a great honour and one we should all work hard to live up to”. Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yasminé Pontif also said that she was “humbled by the Security Council’s decision” and said that the award was “an endorsement of Sanctarian foreign policy and a recognition of the hard work Sanctaria does on the world stage”.
Dr. Christian Ferguson, Sanctarian Ambassador to the World Assembly, also welcomed the commendation and thanked the Abacathean delegation for authoring it. Ferguson’s legislative work was highly lauded in the text of the award which also called Sanctaria “a valuable asset to the World Assembly”.
The commendation comes at a time when Sanctarian involvement in the World Assembly has taken a back seat to other international commitments; a Sanctarian is currently Secretary General of the Council of International Democratic Union States (CIDUS), a term due to expire at the end of the month, and until recently Secretary Pontif was directing all Department resources towards maintaining and establishing diplomatic relationships with both nations and regions across the world, in particular concentrating on relations with nations that border Sanctarian lands in The North Pacific.
When questioned about whether or not Sanctaria would be throwing itself back into what’s widely reported as the “snakepit” of the General Assembly, Ferguson said that he has “not stopped representing the Divine Republic in the General Assembly and that the only thing that has lessened of late is an interest in authoring and pursuing new avenues of legislation”. Pressed on the matter of Sanctaria traditionally eschewing the Security Council, Ambassador Ferguson said “in light of the commendation, I believe the Department is reviewing the policy”.
KIM TOWERS, World Assembly Correspondent
