UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH

[draft February 2010]

Preamble

We, the peoples of Earth:

 gratefully acknowledging that Mother Earth gives us life, nourishes
and teaches us and provides us with all that we need to live well;

recognizing that Mother Earth is an indivisible community of diverse
and interdependent beings with whom we share a common destiny and to
whom we must relate in ways that benefit Mother Earth;acknowledging that by attempting to dominate and
exploit Mother Earth and other beings, humans have caused severe
destruction, degradation and disruption of the life-sustaining
communities, processes and balances of Mother Earth which now threatens
the wellbeing and existence of many beings;

conscious that this destruction is also harmful to our inner
wellbeing and is offensive to the many faiths, wisdom traditions and
indigenous cultures for whom Mother Earth is sacred;

acutely conscious of the critical importance and urgency of taking
decisive, collective action to prevent humans causing climate change and
other impacts on Mother Earth that threaten the wellbeing and survival
of humans and other beings;

accepting our responsibility to one another, future generations and
Mother Earth to heal the damage caused by humans and to pass on to
future generations values, traditions, and institutions that support the
flourishing of Mother Earth;

convinced that in order for communities of humans and other beings to
flourish we must establish systems for governing human behavior that
recognize the inalienable rights of Mother Earth and of all beings that
are part of her;

convinced that the fundamental freedoms and rights of Mother Earth
and of all beings should be protected by the rule of law, and that the
corresponding duties of human beings to respect and defend these rights
and freedoms should be enforced by law;

proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth to
complement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to serve as a
common standard by which the conduct of all human beings, organizations,
and cultures can be guided and assessed; and

pledge ourselves to cooperate with other human communities, public
and private organizations, governments, and the United Nations, to
secure the universal and effective recognition and observance of the
fundamental freedoms, rights and duties enshrined in this Declaration,
among all the peoples, cultures and states of Earth.

Article 1.           Fundamental rights,
freedoms and duties

(1)   Mother Earth is an indivisible, self-regulating community of
interrelated beings each of whom is defined by its relationships within
this community and with the Universe as a whole. Fundamental aspects of
these relationships are expressed in this Declaration as inalienable
rights, freedoms and duties.

(2)   These fundamental rights, freedoms and duties arise from the
same source as existence and are inherent to all beings, consequently
they are inalienable, cannot be abolished by law, and are not affected
by the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country
or territory within which a being exists.

(3)   All beings are entitled to all the fundamental rights and
freedoms recognized in this Declaration without distinction of any kind,
such as may be made between organic, living beings and inorganic,
non-living beings, or on the basis of sentience, kind, species, use to
humans, or other status.

(4)   Just as human beings have human rights, other beings may also
have additional rights, freedoms and duties that are specific to their
species or kind and appropriate for their role and function within the
communities within which they exist.

(5)   The rights of each being are limited by the rights of other
beings to the extent necessary to maintain the integrity, balance and
health of the communities within which it exists.

Article 2.           Fundamental rights of
Mother Earth

Mother Earth has the right to exist, to persist and to continue the
vital cycles, structures, functions and processes that sustain all
beings.

Article 3.           Fundamental rights and
freedoms of all beings

Every being has:

(a)   the right to exist;

(b)   the right to habitat or a place to be;

(c)   the right to participate in accordance with its nature in the
ever-renewing processes of Mother Earth;

(d)   the right to maintain its identity and integrity as a distinct,
self-regulating being;

(e)   the right to be free from pollution, genetic contamination and
human modifications of its structure or functioning that threaten its
integrity or healthy functioning; and

(f)     the freedom to relate to other beings and to participate in
communities of beings in accordance with its nature.

Article 4.           Freedom of animals from
torture and cruelty

Every animal has the right to live free from torture, cruel treatment
or punishment by human beings.

Article 5.           Freedom of animals from
confinement and removal from habitat

(1)   No human being has the right to confine another animal or to
remove it from its habitat unless doing so is justifiable with reference
to the respective rights, duties and freedoms of both the human and
other animal concerned.

(2)   Any human being that confines or keeps another animal must
ensure that it is free to express normal patterns of behavior, has
adequate nourishment and is protected from injury, disease, suffering
and unreasonable fear, pain, distress or discomfort.

Article 6.           Fundamental duties of
human beings

Human beings have a special responsibility to avoid acting in
violation of this Declaration and must urgently establish values,
cultures, and legal, political, economic and social systems consistent
with this Declaration that:

(a)   promote the full recognition, application and enforcement of
the freedoms, rights and duties set out in this Declaration;

(b)   ensure that the pursuit of human wellbeing contributes to the
wellbeing of Mother Earth, now and in the future;

(c)   prevent humans from causing harmful disruptions of vital
ecological cycles, processes and balances, and from compromising the
genetic viability and continued survival of other species;

(d)   ensure that the damage caused by human violations of the
freedoms, rights and duties in this Declaration is rectified where
possible and that those responsible are held accountable for restoring
the integrity and healthy functioning of affected communities; and

(e)   enable people to defend the rights of Mother Earth and of all
beings.

Article 7.           Protection of the law

Every being has –

(a)   the right to be recognised everywhere as a subject before the
law;

(b)   the right to the protection of the law and to an effective
remedy in respect of human violations or attacks on the rights and
freedoms recognized in this Declaration;

(c)   the right to equal protection of the law; and

(d)   the right to equal protection against any discrimination by
humans in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to
such discrimination.

Article 8.           Human education

(1)   Every human being has the right to be educated about Mother
Earth and how to live in accordance with this Declaration.

(2)   Human education must develop the full potential of human beings
in a way that promotes a love of Mother Earth, compassion,
understanding, tolerance and affection among all humans and between
humans and other beings, and the observance of the fundamental freedoms,
rights and duties in this Declaration.

Article 9.           Interpretation

(1)   The term “being” refers to natural beings which exist as part
of Mother Earth and includes a community of other beings and all human
beings regardless of whether or not they act as a corporate body, state
or other legal person.

(2)   Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for
any State, 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 in it.

(3)   Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as restricting
the recognition of other fundamental rights, freedoms or duties of all
or specified beings.