"It is still time for our laws to recognize the right of rivers to flow, to prohibit actions that destabilize the Earth's climate, and to establish respect for the inherent value of every living being. It is time to stop the rampant commodification of nature, just as the buying and selling of human beings was once prohibited."
Alberto Acosta, Ecuadorian economist and judge of the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature
On April 22, 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, proposed by Bolivia, proclaiming April 22 as International Mother Earth Day. In his speech to the General Assembly, Bolivian President Evo Morales called on UN member states to draft a “Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth,” which would enshrine the right to life of all living things, the right of Mother Earth to live free from pollution and contamination, and the right to harmony and balance among all things.
After the failure to reach an agreement on an international legal instrument to combat climate change at the Copenhagen session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in December 2009, Bolivian President Morales announced that Bolivia would hold a World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in April 2010. He declared his intention to discuss and agree on a draft Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and a draft International Tribunal for Climate Justice.
The World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth finally took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia, from 19 to 22 April 2010. It was attended by more than 35,000 people from over 100 countries, the majority of whom were indigenous peoples, mainly from Latin America. On 22 April, the conference participants adopted a People's Agreement and proclaimed a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, which was drafted by a working group of 400 people, based on earlier drafts, a diverse community of people ranging from rural farmers to academics and experts.
The proclamation of the Declaration was seen as a pivotal moment in an ongoing process that should bring about fundamental changes in the legal, political and economic systems that currently govern the world and that are causing most of the problems such as the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity and threatening life as we know it today. The Declaration declares that in the indivisible community of interdependent beings that is Mother Earth, the traditional Andean term for the Earth, it is not possible to recognize the rights of human beings alone without causing imbalance in the entire terrestrial system. In this sense, the Declaration declares that not only human beings, but everything that exists, has natural rights – at least the right to exist and play its part in the evolutionary process – and defines our fundamental human responsibility in relation to other beings and to the community of Mother Earth as a whole.
The People's Agreement, concluded at the Cochabamba conference, called for the creation of a global people's movement for Mother Earth - based on the principles of complementarity and respect for the diversity of origins and visions of its members - and for a change in the fundamental values and systems of governance of industrial civilizations. Immediately after this, in September 2010, individuals and organizations from four continents met in Patate, Ecuador, and founded the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN; see: https://www.garn.org/), which aims to create a more effective tool for promoting the ideas contained in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. Currently, the Global Alliance brings together more than 400 organizations from all over the planet. In January 2014, the Global Alliance established the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature as a forum for people from around the world to speak out on behalf of nature, protest the destruction of the Earth – destruction that is often sanctioned by governments and corporations – and make recommendations for the protection and restoration of the Earth. The Tribunal provides a framework for educating civil society and governments on the fundamental principles of the rights of nature and is a tool for legal experts to explore the interpretations needed to more fully integrate the rights of nature into the broader context of jurisdiction. While these tribunals are non-binding, they have demonstrated the potential to influence outcomes in practice. See: https://www.rightsofnaturetribunal.org/
George Zemanek
Preamble
We, the people and nations of the Earth:
who realize that we are all part of Mother Earth, an indivisible living community of interconnected and interdependent beings with a common destiny;
who gratefully acknowledge that Mother Earth is the source of life, nourishment, and learning, and that she provides us with all we need for a good life;
who recognize that the capitalist system and all forms of plunder, exploitation, abuse and pollution have caused great destruction, degradation and disruption of Mother Earth and that they threaten life as we know it today, through phenomena such as climate change;
who are convinced that in an interdependent community of life it is not possible to recognize the rights of human beings alone without causing an imbalance in Mother Earth;
who affirm that to ensure human rights it is essential to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth and all beings on her, and that there are cultures, practices and laws that do so;
Who are aware of the urgency of taking decisive collective action to transform the structures and systems that cause climate change and other threats to Mother Earth;
We proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and call upon the General Assembly of the United Nations to adopt it as a common standard for all peoples and all countries of the world; and that every individual and every institution shall assume the responsibility to promote, through teaching, education and awareness-raising, the observance of the rights recognized in this Declaration; and to secure, through prompt and progressive measures and mechanisms at the national and international levels, their universal and effective recognition and observance among all peoples and States of the world.
Article 1. Mother Earth
1. Mother Earth is a living being.
2. Mother Earth is a unique, indivisible, self-regulating community of interconnected beings that supports, contains, and renews them all.
3. Every being is defined by their relationships as an integral part of Mother Earth.
4. The natural rights of Mother Earth are inalienable because they come from the same source as existence itself.
5. Mother Earth and all beings are entitled to all the natural rights recognized in this Declaration without any distinction, for example between organic and inorganic beings, between species, with regard to origin or potential use by human beings, or any other status.
6. Just as human beings have human rights, all other beings have rights that are specific to their species or type and correspond to their role and function in the communities in 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 preserves the integrity, balance, and health of Mother Earth.
Article 2. Natural Rights of Mother Earth
1. Mother Earth and all the beings of which she is composed have the following natural rights:
a/ the right to life and existence;
b/ the right to be respected;
c/ the right to regenerate its biocapacity and to continue its life cycles and processes without human disturbance;
d/ the right to preserve one's identity and integrity as a distinct, self-regulating and interconnected 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 protection from contamination, pollution and toxic or radioactive waste;
i/ the right not to have its genetic structure modified or disrupted in a way that threatens its integrity or vital and healthy functioning;
j/ the right to full and prompt redress for violations of the rights recognized in this Declaration caused by human activities;
2/ Every being has the right to its place and role in Mother Earth for its harmonious functioning.
3/ Every being has the right to a good existence and to a life free from torture and cruel treatment by humans.
Article 3. Obligations of human beings towards Mother Earth
1. Every person is obliged to respect Mother Earth and live in harmony with her.
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/ to support and participate in the learning, analysis, interpretation and communication of how to live in harmony with Mother Earth in accordance with this declaration;
d/ ensure that efforts for human well-being contribute to the well-being of Mother Earth now and in the future;
e/ create and implement effective norms and laws to defend, protect and preserve the rights of Mother Earth;
f/ respect, protect, preserve and, where necessary, restore the integrity of the vital ecological cycles, processes and balance of Mother Earth;
g/ guarantee that the damage caused by human violations of the natural rights recognized in this Declaration will be remedied and that those responsible will be held accountable for restoring the integrity and health of Mother Earth;
h/ to empower human beings and institutions to defend the rights of Mother Earth and all beings;
i/ introduce preventive and restrictive measures to prevent human activity from causing species extinction, the destruction of ecosystems or the disruption of ecological cycles;
j/ to secure peace and eliminate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons;
k/ promote and support practices of respect for Mother Earth and all beings in accordance with the cultures, traditions and customs of individual nations, societies and cultures;
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 that exist as part of Mother Earth.
2/ Nothing in this Declaration limits the recognition of other inherent rights of all beings or of particular specific beings.