We, the peoples and nations of Earth:
considering that we are all part of Mother Earth, an
indivisible, living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a
common destiny;
gratefully acknowledging that Mother Earth is the source
of life, nourishment and learning and provides everything we need to live well;
recognizing that the capitalist system and all forms of
depredation, exploitation, abuse and contamination have caused great
destruction, degradation and disruption of Mother Earth, putting life as we
know it today at risk through phenomena such as climate change;
convinced that in an interdependent living community it
is not possible to recognize the rights of only human beings without causing an
imbalance within Mother Earth;
affirming that to guarantee human rights it is necessary
to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth and all beings in her and
that there are existing cultures, practices and laws that do so;
conscious of the urgency of taking decisive, collective
action to transform structures and systems that cause climate change and other
threats to Mother Earth;
proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of
Mother Earth, and call on the General Assembly of the United Nation to adopt
it, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations of the
world, and to the end that every individual and institution takes
responsibility for promoting through teaching, education, and consciousness
raising, respect for the rights recognized in this Declaration and ensure
through prompt and progressive measures and mechanisms, national and
international, their universal and effective recognition and observance among
all peoples and States in the world.
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Article 1.
Mother Earth
(1) Mother Earth is a living
being.
(2) Mother Earth is a unique,
indivisible, self-regulating community of interrelated beings that sustains,
contains and reproduces all beings.
(3) Each being is defined by
its relationships as an integral part of Mother Earth.
(4) The inherent rights of
Mother Earth are inalienable in that they arise from the same source as
existence.
(5) Mother Earth and all
beings are entitled to all the inherent rights recognized in this Declaration
without distinction of any kind, such as may be made between organic and
inorganic beings, species, origin, use to human beings, or any other status.
(6) Just as human beings have
human rights, all other beings also have rights which are specific to their
species or kind and appropriate for their role and function within the
communities within which they exist.
(7) The rights of each being
are limited by the rights of other beings and any conflict between their rights
must be resolved in a way that maintains the integrity, balance and health of
Mother Earth.
Article 2.
Inherent Rights of Mother Earth
(1) Mother Earth and all
beings of which she is composed have the following inherent rights:
(a) the right to life and to
exist;
(b) the right to be
respected;
(c) the right to regenerate
its bio-capacity and to continue its vital cycles and processes free from human
disruptions;
(d) the right to maintain its
identity and integrity as a distinct, self-regulating and interrelated being;
(e) the right to water as a
source of life;
(f) the right to clean
air;
(g) the right to integral
health;
(h) the right to be
free from contamination, pollution and toxic or radioactive waste;
(i) the right to
not have its genetic structure modified or disrupted in a manner that threatens
it integrity or vital and healthy functioning;
(j) the right to
full and prompt restoration the violation of the rights recognized in this
Declaration caused by human activities;
(2) Each being has the right
to a place and to play its role in Mother Earth for her harmonious functioning.
(3) Every being has the right
to wellbeing and to live free from torture or cruel treatment by human beings.
Article 3.
Obligations of human beings to Mother Earth
(1) Every human being is
responsible for respecting and living in harmony with Mother Earth.
(2) Human beings, all States,
and all public and private institutions must:
(a) act in accordance with the
rights and obligations recognized in this Declaration;
(b) recognize and promote the
full implementation and enforcement of the rights and obligations recognized in
this Declaration;
(c) promote and participate
in learning, analysis, interpretation and communication about how to live in
harmony with Mother Earth in accordance with this Declaration;
(d) ensure that the pursuit
of human wellbeing contributes to the wellbeing of Mother Earth, now and in the
future;
(e) establish and apply
effective norms and laws for the defence, protection and conservation of the
rights of Mother Earth;
(f) respect, protect,
conserve and where necessary, restore the integrity, of the vital ecological
cycles, processes and balances of Mother Earth;
(g) guarantee that the
damages caused by human violations of the inherent rights recognized in this
Declaration are rectified and that those responsible are held accountable for
restoring the integrity and health of Mother Earth;
(h) empower human beings and
institutions to defend the rights of Mother Earth and of all beings;
(i) establish
precautionary and restrictive measures to prevent human activities from causing
species extinction, the destruction of ecosystems or the disruption of
ecological cycles;
(j) guarantee
peace and eliminate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons;
(k) promote and support
practices of respect for Mother Earth and all beings, in accordance with their
own cultures, traditions and customs;
(l) promote
economic systems that are in harmony with Mother Earth and in accordance with
the rights recognized in this Declaration.
Article 4.
Definitions
(1) The term “being” includes
ecosystems, natural communities, species and all other natural entities which
exist as part of Mother Earth.
(2) Nothing in this
Declaration restricts the recognition of other inherent rights of all beings or
specified beings.
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