Human Rights

We all crave similar things, and we all expect similar things of others. For example I expect to be able to walk down the road and not be attacked...

What better way to keep everyone equal while still having some way of knowing what is acceptable and not than revamping Human Rights. You teach these to your children, and that's it. Everyone knows the "law" because everyone is entitled to the same.

Below are the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS in their original form

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Article  1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article  2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article  3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article  4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.


Article 6.

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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Here are a couple of my own amendments:

Article  3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Every person has the right to food, water and shelter.

Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, Elementary education shall be compulsory.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the united people for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children with their children's input.

I don't know about the law bit yet... new forum.

So is there anything that you think should be added to this?

- My concern today is not with the length of a person's hair but with his conduct. - Richard M. Nixon

Great post, although kind of lengthy to analyse I guess there is a lot of things that we think humans deserve by very virtue of existence! We (humans) have the ability to ensure these things for every baby born on this planet, lets do it.
Just clarify please- what do you mean by 'elementary education'? what subjects and until what age should education be compulsory?

As for the " I dont know about the law bit yet.." Clearly the law doesnt work to afford these rights to even a small percentage of the global population so we can abandon that first chance we get!
I have posted a new topic 'power, how can we get it?' in the ideas section which relates to how we might be able to achieve these things within the current framework and without violence or aggression (which, as intelligent beings, we dont need to incite)

Thanks for the post, Since I wrote this I have found out more of other types of education that are already in use... when i come across them again I will link them here. I think as a society people need to have at least a basic understanding of language and how the world works, after that it is my opinion that is should be down to the individual what they learn and aspire to. Learning can take place anywhere, and should not be confined to schools, or even to needing teachers. We should be teaching kids to think for themselves and not listening to one source only. I am no specialist in education, and my ideas are limited as I also do not have children, but that's what the forum is here for, sharing is caring. This thread is about human rights mainly, and while the above information is what the UN says, it is not sufficient in my opinion...

Just watch "a world without water" on youtube or films for action and you'll see why it is so very important that we stand up for the rights of people all over the world, if the big corporations can do it in other countries when they run dry guess who's next. So my first human right suggestion would be the right to food, clean water and shelter from the elements, as well as a place to provide all this (land that can not be taken from your family and technology.)

I got 10 new human rights here, just to get the ball rolling!

1. To food, water and shelter, these are the basics of life.

2. To land, somewhere to live and call your own without interference from the outside and that can be passed down the family line. This should have enough space to grow food to sustain all occupants.

3. To not be oppressed coerced, assaulted or otherwise harmed.

4. To equality.

5. To freedom of travel, this is everyone’s planet and one should not be restricted to one place simply because they were born there.

6. To all information and technology currently available on Earth.

7. To preserve the culture and way of life of individual and collective peoples.

8. To individual opinions and beliefs.

9. To an equal say in the development of their community, to debate and agree on subjects that affect themselves and the wider community.

10. To an equal say in all public services. Any service that reaches more 25%? of a given population is considered public.

Great list with only nuanced corrections from my angle. Passing land down the line may prove a little contentious, as you are making land a commodity. I'm sure it could be done, but most probably misunderstood in the early stages where we will still be living off of the current frameworks of 'private property' and 'inheritance'. I know what you mean is that the land of native people shouldnt be re-appropriated in the way we have seen in our last few hundred years of human history, but we need some wriggle room as it might become necessary if people do begin to re-commoditise land, become selfish with its use etc. If somebodys land is on a lake for example, who knows if we wont need to publicise that water source in the future.But yes, something to guarantee food security and a safe place to lay your head should be a must. Where you have 'freedom of travel' also 'freedom of settlement'. Everybody should be allowed to live anywhere they choose, with whoever they choose. Perhaps there is an 'inn' or some such for travellers, a hostel for newcomers, and land and building materials/utilities provision for settlers. I dont think we need a hard definition of when a service becomes public, it should become self-evident. Perhaps?