Declaration of the Unified Rights of Humanity (DURH)16 min read

Note: This page will no longer be updated, because it its content has been moved to my policy site. For updates to this page please go to: Declaration of the Unified Rights Humanity @ Interstellar New Deal.

Introduction

This document is a living and breathing list of the inalienable rights and protections inherent to all of Humanity never fully being complete as long as Humanity exists for we never stop growing, evolving, learning, and expanding. As new rights become apparent and need to be protected or for governmental powers to be limited in order to protect those rights in specific ways, then they should be added to this document.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as set forth by the United Nations (which should have been created as a binding document) embodies the freedoms and dignities owed to all Humanity no matter where they are, and they form the basis for the articles in this document. Text and ideals for this chapter were also pulled from: Theodore Roosevelt’s Economic Bill of Rights, and The United State’s various Constitutional Amendments, as well as text added to address other other cultural, political, and societal failings since those documents were drafted.

Humanity should also consider the following universal declarations of rights owed to all of Humanity in their respective spheres:

• Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights
• Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights
• Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights

This document will need to be completely overhauled when my document The 7 Philosophical Pillars for Peace within Humanity (7P3H) is more completely fleshed out and will form the philosophical and fundamental basis for the articles in this document. The 7 Pillars will inform and form the fundamental basis for this declaration of rights, which should be used as the basis for global governance and the peaceful coexistence of all of Humanity.

A – Fundamental Articles

Article 1

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this DURH, without distinction of any kind, such as:

1. gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual identity, romantic identity, familial or other similar close interpersonal arrangements, or any expression thereof;
2. race, color, gender, language, religion, ethnic, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
3. health, medical, physical, mental, psychological, physiological, or disability status;
4. or other similar traits, status, and distinctions.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 2

1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. Human trafficking and enslavement in all forms whether overt, hidden, or institutional shall be prohibited.

Article 3

All natural resources on our planet of origin, Earth, and all throughout the universe are declared as a common heritage to ALL of Humanity. Such resources should be used for the betterment of all Humanity and not just a chosen FEW.

Article 4

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 5

Everyone has the right to access to information about the activities of governmental bodies and to openly and freely monitor them. Governmental processes should be as open and transparent as possible for the information of its citizens and so it may be held accountable.

Article 6

Everyone has the the right to petition for a governmental redress of grievances.

Article 7

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this DURH can be fully realized.

Article 8

Nothing in this DURH may be interpreted as implying for any nation, entity, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

B – Limitations of Government

As a part of the protected rights established herein in this DURH, the Government shall have additional explicit limitations related to those protected rights:

Article 1

The Government, in all forms, shall be prohibited from:

1. making any law establishing an official religion or belief in or for a nation or peoples, or granting preferential treatment to one religion or belief over others;
2. restricting the free practice of religion unless it conflicts with the rights and protections established in this DURH.

Article 2

The right to vote is inalienable. The Government, in all forms, shall be prohibited:

1. from preventing a citizen from voting due to non-payment of a poll tax or any other tax, fee, fine, or compensation, or any other means;
2. from engaging in any activity or creating a policy in order to prevent or limit a citizen’s ability to vote.

Article 3

The Government, in all forms, shall never pass a law granting businesses, organizations, or other artificial entities status equal or near equal to humans, nor shall they gain the rights or qualities of such, for this is an anathema to equality, freedom, and democracy. The Government represents the people and not artificial legal or social entities.

Article 4

The Government, in all forms, shall never pass a law to which they are not also accountable and shall NOT be immune from prosecution of any kind in a court of law. A Government that cannot be held accountable is an anathema to open and ethical society.

Article 5

The Government, in all forms, shall never pass a law which insulates themselves from their Citizens, for an insulated political body is antithetical to equity and humanity.

Article 6

The Government, in all forms, shall never pass a law which purposefully demands, requires, or suggests the ending the life of any human.

Article 7

The Government, in all forms, shall never pass a law which purposefully intercedes itself between a doctor and their patients, nor shall it attempt to legislate care.

C – Interdependence and Sustainability

Article 1

1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 2

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each nation.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his nation.

Article 3

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other nations asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of this DURH.

Article 4

1. Everyone has a right to enjoy access to the holistic, clean, and protected natural world including air, water, plants, animals, and green spaces ,etc.
2. Everyone has the right to clean air, clean water, and unadulterated and healthy food.

D – Humanity and Equity

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 4

1. Everyone of the Consensual Age, without any limitation due to race, gender expression, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or socioeconomic status, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage must be entered into only with the free and full consent of all of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the Government.
4. Each family may choose the definition of their familial arrangement within the constraints of consent and the rights contained within this
   DURH.

Article 5

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 6

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
2. No one may be compelled to religious belief or non-belief, nor to think or believe that which they do not.

Article 7

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 8

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 10

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each nation, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 11

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays (with pay as long as economic systems exist).

Article 12

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, education, medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Parenthood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, regardless of birth circumstances, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 13

Universal access to healthcare and related technologies and innovations is human right and should be free for all.

Article 14

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts, creative expression, and to share in scientific and technological advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the interests and rights resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the author.

Article 15

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of ethics, public order, and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may be, in no case, exercised contrary to the 7 Philosophical Pillars for Peace within Humanity.

Article 16

1. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
2. Everyone has the right to form cooperatives so that all may work and share in the benefit from such work together.
3. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just, favorable, and safe conditions of work

Article 17

As long as economic systems plague Humanity:

1. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work;
2. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection;
3. Everyone who works has the right to protection against unemployment.

Article 18

Every person or organization of business, large and small, has the right to trade and pursue business in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.

E – Justice and Compassion

Article 1

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 2

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this DURH and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution, law, or this DURH.

Article 4

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, punishment, or exile.

Article 5

1. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
2. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to examine all evidence and witnesses without prejudice.

Article 6

1. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 7

1. Everyone shall be protected against self-incrimination and double jeopardy.
2. Everyone has the right to a speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel.
3. Everyone has the right to be protected against excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.

Article 8

Everyone shall have the right to competent counsel. In the event a defendant cannot obtain competent council by his/her own efforts then appropriate legal representative shall appointed as counsel for his/her use.

Article 9

Everyone shall have the right to appeal decisions handed down at trial by a process defined by law.

Article 10

Actions which are consensual in nature should not be construed or named as crimes for there is no victim (such a sex work and personal drug use).

Article 11

1. The right to life is just as important as the right to death. In a society filled with compassion, justice, and support, a person should not desire to end their existence. For such things to happen lays bare a failure of society.
2. However, a person who is set on ending their existence, especially in cases of suffering due to disease and other malady, shall not be impeded. It shall be supported and protected as wholly as all other actions within Humanity are.

F – Education

Article 1

1. Education is a human right in all its various forms.
2. All education shall be universally free including pre-elementary, elementary, high school, university/college, technical and professional schools and apprenticeships to maximize the growth and realized potential of each individual, their happiness and enlightenment, and therefore an equivalent benefit to all of Humanity.

Article 2

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human ability and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as lain forth in the 7 Philosophical Pillars for Peace within Humanity and this Declaration of Unified Rights of Humanity. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, ethnic, and religious groups, and shall further the activities of Humanity for the maintenance of peace.

Article 3

Everyone has a right to have universal, unfettered, and unadulterated access to scientific information about space and all other knowledge areas known to Humanity.

Article 4

1. The freedom of the press shall be inalienable because a free press is responsible for holding a corrupt person, organization, or government accountable; and is a powerful tool for educating the populace.
2. A free press shall be open, informed, fair, ethical, and balanced in all ways otherwise it may become a tool for propaganda or manipulation against public interest.

Article 5

Everyone has the right to freely engage is science, research, art, and the various humanities subject to this DURH, the 7 Philosophical Pillars for Peace within Humanity, as well as ethical standards.