United Indigenous Nations Petition
"Rights for Mother Earth”

THE GOAL of the campaign is to collect one million letters by people around the world to the heads of state and the UN General Assembly. These letters asking ALL countries to accept and implement the Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights will be presented to Heads of State by a delegation of First Nations at the World Summit on Climate in November 2017 in Asia.

SUPPORT Indigenous Nations for the implementation of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth Today, Nature is treated as property under current law. Nature has no standing and therefore, cannot be represented directly in a court of law. Our call is for governments, corporations and civil society to value Nature as a living being that has rights, in all its life forms, with the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles rather than being seen as property, a resource to be consumed.

We are all part of Mother Earth, an indivisible, living community of interrelated forms. It is clearly evident that all forms of exploitation, abuse and contamination have caused great destruction to Mother Earth.

Be the voice now for Rights of Nature. We are collecting One Million signatures to present to the United Nations and heads of States. Be one of those voices that call forth the worldwide acceptance and implementation of the Universal Declaration of The Rights of Mother Earth. Express that you would like all Nations to adopt Rights of Mother Earth by signing this petition.

Indigenous Nations calling to Defend and Protect our Mother Earth. We belong to Her!

TO WORLD LEADERS: Presidents and Prime Ministers of ALL Nations, UN General Assembly

For the Indigenous Nations, an essential step to achieve recognition of Rights of Mothe r Earth is to introduce a system of jurisprudence that gives natural communities standing in the court of law. A Rights of Nature system treats Nature as a fundamental, rights bearing entity, with intrinsic rights to exist and flourish, irrespective of its use and value to humans.

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to officially recognize the rights of nature in its constitution. In April 2010 the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth was proclaimed in Cochabamba, Bolivia at the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and The Rights of Mother Earth by a diverse gathering of 35,000 people from 140 nations. In 2011 Bolivia introduced Rights of Nature through its Law of Mother Earth. In the United States, over two dozen towns and cities have implemented rights of nature ordinances. In Colombia over 700,000 people have signed a petition calling for the adoption of Righs of Nature as of July 2014. In January 2014 the first permanent Rights of Nature Ethics Tribunal was held in Quito, Ecuador. During the COP 21 in Paris in 2015. And the COP22 in Morocco in 2016.

We are inviting you to sign this petition for the acceptance of Rights of Mother Earth in solidarity with all of life and the people like Indigenous Nations who are defending her directly.

THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH

Preamble

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.

Article 1. Mother Earth

Mother Earth is a living being.
Mother Earth is a unique, indivisible, self-regulating community of interrelated beings that sustains, contains and reproduces all beings.
Each being is defined by its relationships as an integral part of Mother Earth.
The inherent rights of Mother Earth are inalienable in that they arise from the same source as existence.
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.
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.
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

Mother Earth and all beings of which she is composed have the following inherent rights:
the right to life and to exist
the right to be respected
the right to regenerate its bio-capacity and to continue its vital cycles and processes free from human disruptions
the right to maintain its identity and integrity as a distinct, self-regulating and interrelated being
the right to water as a source of life
the right to clean air
the right to integral health
the right to be free from contamination, pollution and toxic or radioactive waste
the right to not have its genetic structure modified or disrupted in a manner that threatens it integrity or vital and healthy functioning
the right to full and prompt restoration the violation of the rights recognized in this Declaration caused by human activities;
Each being has the right to a place and to play its role in Mother Earth for her harmonious functioning.
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

Every human being is responsible for respecting and living in harmony with Mother Earth.
Human beings, all States, and all public and private institutions must
act in accordance with the rights and obligations recognized in this Declaration
recognize and promote the full implementation and enforcement of the rights and obligations recognized in this Declaration
promote and participate in learning, analysis, interpretation and communication about how to live in harmony with Mother Earth in accordance with this Declaration
ensure that the pursuit of human wellbeing contributes to the wellbeing of Mother Earth, now and in the future
establish and apply effective norms and laws for the defence, protection and conservation of the rights of Mother Earth
respect, protect, conserve and where necessary, restore the integrity, of the vital ecological cycles, processes and balances of Mother Earth
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
empower human beings and institutions to defend the rights of Mother Earth and of all beings
establish precautionary and restrictive measures to prevent human activities from causing species extinction, the destruction of ecosystems or the disruption of ecological cycles
guarantee peace and eliminate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
promote and support practices of respect for Mother Earth and all beings, in accordance with their own cultures, traditions and customs
promote economic systems that are in harmony with Mother Earth and in accordance with the rights recognized in this Declaration.

Article 4. Definitions

The term “being” includes ecosystems, natural communities, species and all other natural entities which exist as part of Mother Earth.
Nothing in this Declaration restricts the recognition of other inherent rights of all beings or specified beings.

The term “being” includes ecosystems, natural communities, species and all other natural entities which exist as part of Mother Earth.
Nothing in this Declaration restricts the recognition of other inherent rights of all beings or specified beings.

PÈTITION POUR LES DROITS DE LA TERRE MÈRE

Le but de la campagne est de rassembler un million de lettres adressées par des habitants du monde entier aux chefs d’état et à l’Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies. Ces lettres demandant à TOUS les pays d’accepter et d’appliquer la Déclaration Universelle des Droits de la Terre Mère seront remises aux chefs d’Etat par une délégation de Nations Premières lors du Sommet Mondiale du Climat en novembre 2016 au Maroc.

Signez la Pétition

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