Montediszamble Convention
The Montediszamble Convention on Freedom of Expression, Civility and Copyright Protection in Micronationalism, commonly referred to as Montediszamble Convention, is an international treaty which condemns the attacks on freedom of expression, the attempts to implement a cancel culture in micronationalism, the practice of shunning and publicly shaming other micronationalists over political and religious views or personal disagreements, the usage of personal insults in intermicronational discourse and the violation of copyright.
The treaty's author, Yaroslav Mar, pointed out that the convention is binding for its signatories (including himself), who agree to remain civil in their interactions with their opponents, so it also benefits those who have not signed it or oppose it.
The treaty entered into force on 22 November 2020.
History
The idea of the convention belongs to Yaroslav Mar, the President of Lostisland, who drafted the original text. It was edited by Eric Lis, the Emperor of Aerica.
The word "Montediszamble", which gave name to the convention, is the Lostisland's name for the dormant Hunter Island volcano and the proposed name for the Lostislandic capital, which, in turn, was given after the semi-legendary founder of Lostisland, Rolf Diszamble.
Revealing the convention to the public, Yaroslav Mar said that "[b]y signing it, we’re sending a clear message: the largest micronations of the world condemn the practice of shunning, shaming and bullying micronationalists on official websites or other venues over political or religious differences, believe that resorting to personal insults is childish and unprofessional, and do not condone copyright violation."
Global reception
In an interview with Courrier Micronational, the French-speaking newspaper of the Principality of Beremagne, which was the first nation to join the convention after the original signers, he added that the convention doesn't contain any groundbreaking points and its provisions have been understood as the "conventional wisdom" of micronationalism for decades, but that this is the first time that these provisions are codified in a document signed by world's largest and most renowned micronations.
The Montediszamble Convention was largely received positively, but a vocal minority of micronationalists criticized it, claiming it was a hypocritical attempt to silence Pavlov and Lostisland's critics.
Signatory nations
The treaty was originally signed by eleven micronations, but remains open to any micronation interested in signing. It has since been signed by an additional 60 countries.
The original signatory nations were:
- Aerican Empire
- Empire of Austenasia
- Commonwealth of Dracul
- Grand Duchy of Flandrensis
- Empire of Karnia-Ruthenia
- Royal Republic of Ladonia
- Federal Republic of Lostisland
- Occidian Empire
- Empire of Pavlov
- Republic of Užupis
- Grand Duchy of Westarctica