NationStates Jolt Archive

Rights for Intelligent Beings
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.

Category: Human Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: St Edmundan Antarctic

Description: The United Nations,

RECOGNISING that it has already passed a number of resolutions that conferred or confirmed ‘Human Rights’ in various respects,

REALISING that it might pass further ‘Human Rights’ resolutions in future, too,

RECOGNISING that the populations of some of its member-nations include beings who are not actually ‘Human’ (if that term is taken to mean just “members of the biological species ‘Homo sapiens’) but who possess self-awareness, free will, and levels of intelligence that approach, match or even exceed the average for that species,

REALISING that some nations do not regard intelligent non-‘Human’ beings as deserving comparable rights to members of the species ‘Homo sapiens’,

BELIEVING that species should not be considered adequate justification for unfair discrimination between intelligent beings;

1. DEFINES the term ‘Sapients’ as meaning “Beings, of any origin, who possess self-awareness, free will, and levels of intelligence that approach, match or even exceed the average for members of the species ‘Homo sapiens’”;

2. RECOGNISES that many types of Sapients possess various innate physical and/or psychological differences from the species ‘Homo sapiens’, and that in some cases these would actually make granting those beings exactly the same rights as are specified for the members of the species ‘Homo sapiens’ unfair in itself;

3. REQUIRES all member-nations to pass laws recognising all Sapients as legally ‘Human’ for the general purpose of all ‘Human Rights’ that are covered by UN resolutions, and to grant them exactly the same rights as the relevant Resolutions grant to ‘Humans’ except in those cases where their types’ innate differences from the species ‘Homo sapiens’ would make doing so inappropriate and/or unfair;

4. REQUIRES any member-nation that declares any UN-guaranteed ‘Human Rights’ inappropriate and/or unfair for any type of Sapients to grant those Sapients alternative rights, of a more appropriate and fairer nature, to as comparable an extent as the nature of those beings makes practical;

6. ESTABLISHES a committee called the ‘UN Forum on Intelligent Beings’ (or ‘UNFIB’) to judge — using scientific evidence, ordinary observation, and common sense — any disputes that might arise about whether or not specific types of beings are ‘Sapient’, whether denying specific rights to any specific types of Sapients is justifiable, and whether whatever alternative rights have been suggested instead in those cases are adequately appropriate and fair;

7. STRONGLY URGES all member-nations to abolish any unfair discrimination between sapient beings on the basis of species that their laws might allow in any matters that are not covered by UN Resolutions;

8. ACCEPTS that, except in any cases where any previous UN Resolutions that are still in force specify otherwise, nations may choose to make the possession of some or all civil rights dependant upon the acceptance of appropriate civic responsibilities.

Approvals: 15 (Iron Felix, WZ Forums, Ducks of Snow, Snake Venom, Witchcliff, Eirisle, Manussa, Thelostsouls, Sedgistan, Lusapha, Phoot, Errinundera, Homieville, Tarmsden, Coolguyistan)

Status: Lacking Support (requires 107 more approvals)

Voting Ends: Mon Oct 30 2006Posted by Bloodthirsty Dolphins on behalf of St Edmundan Antarctic, as a continuation of and replacement for the thread “SUBMITTED: Recognition of Sapient Rights (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=499157)”.

The Rogue Pod of Bloodthirsty Dolphins and our sponsors, the People's Democratic Republic of Community Property, extend our warm thanks to the Protectorate of St Edmundan Antarctic for taking up this effort and pursuing it. Our comments will follow in the next post.

<Wobbling to the floor in a slightly dripping mechanical suit, desperately trying to shake of a vicious hangover>

“We thank this body for taking up this matter, and for allowing ourselves, as a non-Member observer delegation, to participate in this debate. In the discussion that follows, we will be taking the place of the People's Democratic Republic of Community Property; those who wish to affirm our stand through endorsement – and yes, we're assured that this sort of thing actually happens¹ – should direct such endorsements to the PDRCP.

“This legislation is long overdue; for too long now, the U.N. has maintained an anthropocentric point of view that serves to deter non-human nations such as our own from joining this body. This attitude has also encouraged Member nations who are so inclined to engage in atrocities against non-humans under the guise of conducting 'acceptable' activities such as hunting, fishing, trapping, and the like.

“We believe that this resolution strikes the right balance between the extremes of asserting that the universe belongs to humanity and that all non-human species exist for the purpose of providing food, 'animal' product, draft labor, and sport for humanity, versus the position that humans must not harm any other species, however humble, for any reason. Those of us who are not human will no longer feel that we are at war with the human race, and this can only further peace and understanding among nations, both Member and non-Member alike.”

¹You'd be surprised how many endorsements we've gained (and lost) from our participation in floor debates; while we don't actively solicit such endorsements (and we're not doing so here), we don't want to deny people the right to vote their conscience. Just don't make us Regional Delegate; we don't have time for that - CP.