A Reasonable and Needed Declaration

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY

A draft presented in the UN Department of Public Information for consideration and possible promotion

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the dignity inherent in all members of the human community, in addition to their equal and inalienable rights being the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, should also include recognition of citizen responsibility for other people;

Whereas irresponsibility of many people including politicians, military and industry managers has led to the new reality of XX-XXI centuries, the threat of an all-civilization collapse, as a result of which the human race may cease to exist;

Whereas in the globalizing world the interdependence of people has grown, and irresponsibility of some turns into lawlessness or limitation of rights of many others;

Whereas acts of irresponsibility on any level are in disparity with the wish of overwhelming majority of people, who intend to live in more orderly and more predictable countries;

Whereas creation of the world, where people have freedom of speech and opinion and are free of fear and want, proclaimed in Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the lofty intention of people, will come closer to its fruition if responsibilities of each human will grow to include responsibilities at levels higher than just family, job, or contractual obligations;

Whereas in the society where socially responsible persons prevail, it is impossible for state power to degrade into a dictatorship, and people do not have to resort to insurrection as their last chance against tyranny and oppression;
Whereas friendly relations between nations at interpersonal and inter-state levels are becoming a natural norm of relations, in which neglecting one’s duties and obligations is a very rare exception;

Whereas in any community where sense of responsibility is expression of human dignity and good, the observance of human rights develops into a habit and opens wider horizons for social self-realization of a person;

Whereas peoples of the United Nations have to see in this Document their faith in fundamental human principles, in the dignity and worth of the socially responsible human persons being able to provide better standards of life for all;

Whereas the United Nations has sufficient authority in the world to achieve success in the promotion of universal respect for observance of human responsibilities and duties;

Whereas Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by heads of state 60 years ago has shown the importance of a similar Charter as the common human document for all the world, for better life of people;

Whereas the state level of responsibility being recommended by Member States as a governing principle in the world, will be an essential factor for development of friendly relations between nations;

Whereas both disregard and contempt for human rights resulting in barbaric acts which insult the consciousness of Humankind, in any degree is explained by that people-to-people responsibilities have not been an issue of world’s concern, have not been laid forth in an international document of Universal Declaration rank and have not entered social consciousness;

Whereas comprehension of comprehensive character of responsibility at all levels is of huge importance for the fortunes of the world,

Now, therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, will strive by teaching and education to promote respect for and observance of human responsibilities and duties and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.

Article 1.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights claimed “Everyone has the right to life” as one of the main rights. For the first time in human history, all of Humankind may be deprived of this right. That is why human behaviour should be determined by such a factor as responsibility of worldwide scale or “planetary responsibility.”

Article 2.

1. The idea of planetary responsibility, correlating with the rights and usual responsibilities and duties, must spread among people not only because it is a necessary condition to minimize and overcome numerous threats which have hung over Humankind, but also because it has the potential to unite and appease Humankind.

2. A human individual realizing his planetary responsibility, correlating himself/herself with the fortunes of the world, grows up as a person, moves into new spaces of thought, acquires better psychological stability.

Article 3.

1. Everyone has responsibilities and duties to the society. In a society of socially responsible persons, human rights are observed and a person is best equipped for personal self-realization.

2. Everyone has the right to select and take on himself/herself that kind/level of responsibility/duty which is acceptable for him/her, measuring against his abilities and aptitudes, to better correspond to it, not to have the reputation of an irresponsible person.

Article 4.

1. One’s responsibility to people should not permit him/her to hold whoever in slavery; slavery and slave trade should be prohibited in all their forms as being in contradiction both with human rights, on the one hand, and human responsibility, on the other hand.

2. One’s responsibility to people should prevent him/her from torturing or other cruel, inhuman treatment or punishment as degrading human dignity, including the dignity of those who perform such acts.

Article 5.

State and municipal organs recognizing the right of everyone to be an entity before the law, should recognize as well the right of everyone to bring action against those organs’ officials who have acted irresponsibly.

Article 6.

Judicial organs pleading a cause have a special responsibility to do all possible in the framework of the law to provide equal rights for those who appear before the court: to judge them without any discrimination, to give equal protection of the law. No one in order of prosecution may be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 7.

The family as the natural and fundamental unit of society should accept domestic responsibility as factor of its stability and hopefulness. One may expect from officials, not burdened with domestic problems to be more responsible in their public service.

Article 8.

1. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and associations should be augmented by responsibility of those in charge of them.

2. High responsibility should be characteristic of those politicians who seek leadership or are already vested in with power.

Article 9.

Pedagogues of all levels, from kindergarten to high school, giving knowledge in subjects to their kids, pupils and students and inculcating in them ability to think, should not forget their responsibility to bring up socially responsible persons, those who are about to enter adult life.

Article 10.

Responsibility of planetary scale applies in the first place to those who have levers of influence on many people’s lives:

1. State leaders, politicians, public figures, military:

Planetary responsibility rules out laying and pursuing of selfish and nationalistic goals and tasks, especially those which allow military methods of their accomplishment; national goals, tasks and actions should be correlated with common human interests and civilization security.

2. Intellectuals, analysts, methodologists and other brainworking people:

Having realized their responsibility to both the people living and of next generations they work for the creation of Strategy of secure sustainable development in harmonious symbiosis with Nature as a common, the most significance their affair, at that as the matter being urgent. For that they will be made overcome their disconnection (explained by mainly individual character of creative work), elaborate effective regalements of problem-resolving, partake in new educational strategy’s elaboration having the goal to teach creative activity in different areas as a standard of the life.

3. Educational sphere’s workers:

Their responsibility is especially hard executed as they are needed to give their kids, pupils and students in any sense more than they have themselves. Having used achievements of sciences on the human and having understood why the human mentality doesn’t cope with global problems, they will have to elaborate the 3rd Millennium level methodology and techniques of teaching, being adequate to challenges of the civilization and opening prospective of humankind’s progressive development.

4. Ecologists, biologists, workers of material production sphere:

Human striving people for better life, i.e., in particular, for higher level of the consumption, is in conflict with possibilities of Nature to assimilate and re-make waste. Ecological imperative stays the task to organize all-planetary ecological monitoring and Strategy of Co-Evolution of Humankind and Nature, proved and correlated after the situation. The Strategy, being elaborated for production workers and ecological inspectorate up concrete requests of the ecological imperative, would outline their spheres of responsibility.

5. Belletrists and artistic actors:

In worried conditions when the question hangs over «to be or not to be», thoughtless and completely entertaining fiction and art, especially if there are finding a place for aesthetics of ugly and vulgar, are perceived as a kind of irresponsibility of creators, producers and investors. Adequate and proved value-containing orientation of creative people, taking into account their planetary responsibility, may help him to create artistic works being able to influence beneficially on moral climate of the society.

6. Those who are working with information and its technical providing:

Problems of common human scale need adequate information servicing, with scientific and technical conveying. Such problems is, for example, how to organize all-wide forum «To Happy Life on the Earth», or a forum-resource to proceed express-referendums on common human problems, in separated time, in all the countries of the world.

Workers of media and advertising as having the most massive influence on the society should to elaborate for them the sense of responsibility for clearness of inter-human space, what is direct to do with moral climate of the society.

The Draft of Declaration proposed by

Dr. Uladzimir Tratsiakou
(Republic of Belarus),
Representative by DPI/UN,
International Scientific Public Union ”IAIT”