Hague Principles
= "presented at the Earth Trusteeship Forum in the Peace Palace, The Hague, on 10 December 2018 to mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to launch a global initiative towards Earth Trusteeship".
Full name: The Hague Principles for a Universal Declaration on Responsibilities for Human Rights and Earth Trusteeship
Context
Earth Trusteeship (.world):
"The Earth community is in grave danger. Over the last 70 years the human population has tripled and disparities in economic wealth have greatly increased. Moreover, overall consumption of Earth’s natural resources by humans has grown at such a rate that the entire Earth system with its interconnected components – the geosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere – are all now at risk. In this way, humanity is threatening the very living conditions that make the enjoyment of civil, political, cultural and economic rights possible in the first place. Human rights must therefore include responsibilities for the Earth community and the entire Earth system. These imply obligations and new opportunities for all human beings to act as Earth trustees.
In the course of the last 70 years, people and organisations in many countries and cultures have called for the recognition of human responsibilities. There are numerous declarations of duties, obligations and responsibilities that are acknowledged and celebrated, including those listed in the Annex hereto. Drawing on these declarations and aware of the challenges that humanity and Earth as a whole are now facing, it is urgently necessary to supplement these instruments with new ones that formally recognise the human responsibilities that exist towards the Earth community and the Earth system.
Human beings must therefore act as Earth trustees individually and collectively through new arrangements of Earth Trusteeship at all levels. We, members of global civil society and representatives of organisations involved with the creation of the documents listed in the Annex, have come together in The Hague, on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to reaffirm our common course and declare our responsibilities as trustees for Earth. We celebrate and embrace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, at the same time, call upon all peoples, the United Nations, and the international community of states, not only to reaffirm their responsibilities for human rights, but also to recognise their responsibilities to the Earth community and the Earth system, and to adopt Earth Trusteeship as an active and all-encompassing way forward."
The Text
"Principles for a Universal Declaration on Responsibilities for Human Rights and Earth Trusteeship
We, citizens of nation-states, actors in the world economy and members of global civil society, Acknowledging that well-being of human beings, our lives, and our survival as a species and as individuals depend on the health and well-being of other beings and ecosystems, Noting that consumerist society and competitive nationalism repeatedly inflicts unbearable injuries to Nature, leading to catastrophic climate change, unprecedented biodiversity loss, and eventual disintegration of the Earth system, Recognizing that disintegration and collapse of ecological systems force numerous people to leave their homelands, creating political and economic instability that may lead to conflict and upheaval in many parts of the world, Considering that the totality of beings and ecosystems on Earth forms a community of life (the ‘Earth community’), Realizing that just as human beings have rights that suit their needs, other beings have the right to exist and flourish according to their specific needs, and that these rights have their source in being part of the Earth community, Understanding that a new, more mindful and appropriate relationship with Earth and Nature is necessary for the flourishing of all beings, Confident that inspired common effort and dedicated collaboration between political, economic and cultural transformation movements can ultimately result in adequate responses to the challenges of the 21st century, HEREBY DECLARE that we have agreed on the following principles as a guide for drawing up a Universal Declaration on Responsibilities for Human Rights and Earth Trusteeship:
Principle 1 Responsibilities for Earth
1.1. All human beings, individually and collectively, share responsibility to protect Nature, of which we are an integral part, the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems and Earth as a whole, home of all living beings.
1.2. Each state individually, and the international community of states collectively, acknowledge that they have, and share, responsibilities for Nature, in cooperation and in alliance with their citizens as equal trustees of Earth and the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems.
Principle 2 Responsibilities within the Community of Life
2.1. Human rights are grounded in our membership within the community of life, the Earth community, which qualifies what rights we are called on to honor and what responsibilities we have for each other and for Nature.
2.2. Responsibilities for Nature, the Earth community and rights of Nature are grounded in the intrinsic values of nature and of all living beings.
Principle 3 Responsibilities for Human Rights
3.1. All human beings are responsible for the protection of human rights and for affirming human rights in their ways of thinking and acting.
3.2. Each state has a prime responsibility for the protection of human rights as a trustee of its citizens and all human beings.
WE CALL UPON the United Nations to initiate a process of consultation, negotiation and eventual adoption of a Universal Declaration on Responsibilities for Human Rights and Earth Trusteeship based on these principles."
History
"The Hague Principles are the result of a collaboration between representatives of a wide spectrum of environmental, indigenous and human rights organisations under the auspices of the Earth Trusteeship Initiative.
The collaboration started with an Earth Trusteeship Symposium at Utrecht University in June 2017. This was followed by various consultations and drafts around human rights and responsibilities and eventually led to an Earth Trusteeship Gathering of 80 delegates in The Hague in June 2018. Following further consultations, the text of the The Hague Principles was finalised in September."
(https://www.earthtrusteeship.world/)
More information
Documents referred to in the Hague Principles:
- See also: Global Ecological Charters
1948 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/mandate/Basics/declaration.asp
1982 IUCN/UNEP/WWF World Charter for Nature http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r007.htm
1990 IUCN/UNEP/WWF Caring for the Earth https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/cfe-003.pdf
1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm
1997 Inter Action Council Declaration on Human Responsibilities https://www.interactioncouncil.org/publications/universal-declaration-human-responsibilities
1998 Declaration on Human Duties and Responsibilities (“Valencia Declaration”) http://globalization.icaap.org/content/v2.2/declare.html
2000 Earth Charter http://earthcharter.org/virtual-library2/the-earth-charter-text/
2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration https://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm
2000 United Nations Global Compact https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles
2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
2010 Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth http://www.rightsofmotherearth.com/declaration-of-the-rights-of-mother-earth
2015 (5th ed.) IUCN Draft Covenant on Environment and Development https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/EPLP-031-rev4.pdf
2015 Oslo Principles on Global Climate Change Obligations https://globaljustice.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/OsloPrinciples.pdf
2016 IUCN World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/world_declaration_on_the_environmental_rule_of_law_final_2017-3-17.pdf
2016-2018 Project on the Rights of Mother Earth and the Duties of Human Beings http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload722.pdf
2017 Proposal for a Universal Declaration of Responsibility in an Interdependent World http://www.alliance-respons.net/IMG/pdf/eng_udir_decl_interdependence_responsibility17.pdf
2017 Draft Global Pact for the Environment http://pactenvironment.org/aboutpactenvironment/the-project/