GLOBAL BILL

OF RIGHTS
VERSION 10

The future belongs to

those who believe in the
beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Table of Contents

Introduction

GLOBAL BILL OF RIGHTS

Preamble

Section I Fundamental Rights

Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
Article 6
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
Article 11
Article 12
Article 13
Article 14
Article 15
Article 16
Article 17
Article 18
Article 19
Article 20
Article 21
Article 22
Article 23
Article 24
Article 25
Article 26

Human Dignity
Freedom of Speech and the Media
Education
Freedom of Assembly and Association
Health Care
Life
Physical Integrity
Freedom of Religion
Equality
Representation and Voting
Environment
Shelter
Physical and Intellectual Property
Labor
Privacy and information
Family Life
Children
Citizenship and Movement
Culture
Arrest and Fair Trial
Search and Seizure
Due Process of Law
Responsability for Violantion of Rights
Trial for Violation of Rights
Independent Judiciary
Funding Rights and Court

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Section II International Court of Human Rights

Article 27
Article 28
Article 29
Article 30
Article 31
Article 32
Article 33
Article 34

Donation

Composition of the Court

Terms of Service for Justices
Application in all Countries
Supremacy of Rights
Submission of Claims
Hearings at the International Court
Court Decisions
Enforcement of Decisions

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Let the voices of all the

people be heard.
Nelson Mandela

Introduction
Unite for Rights is an ongoing international social movement for
fundamental rights for all people on Earth. Unite furthers this movement
by placing a document, a Global Bill of Rights, on the table, both digital and
physical tables, and asks individuals, businesses (including nonprofits) and
governments to focus together, sign and share a Global Bill of Rights.
The Global Bill of Rights is now before you. This next instant is crucial: its
when you decide whether to collaborate with people around the world
to prepare a list of rights that you would want for yourself, and for
them. Doing so will improve your life, the lives of others and the lives of
generations to come. Our greatest power comes in doing something together.
Einstein said The problems of the world do not exist because of the evil
people, but because of the good people who do nothing about them. There
are good people all over our world. They want to do something, but lack the
ability to bind together to meet the global problems that face us with global
solutions. In Unite we provide the opportunity.
Participation in Unite only takes a few minutes: simply skim, sign and share
and ask yourself, if people internationally are agreeing to this Global Bill
of Rights, will you do the same? If you dont agree with one of the Articles,
but do support a Global Bill of Rights, then please sign noting an exception
for that Article. Also, if you have an idea for an Article you think should be
added, or language that you think can be improved, tell us.
A Global Bill of Rights is a work of art. The goal is to create the optimum list
of rights, not what is politically acceptable. As you reflect on the list, think for
yourself, do not think about what this government or that government would
do. Unlike a painting that might be best created by a single artist, a Global
Bill of Rights is a mosaic, the more people, businesses and governments who
participate in Unite, the more beautiful the document becomes.

So what can you do? Sign the Unite for Rights Pledge: I pledge to support a
Global Bill of Rights. Log on to www.uniteforrights.org to sign the pledge.
We ask only for your name, email and country. Its easy, and we never share
your email with anyone. Unites present goal is to have 1% of humanity sign
the Global Bill of Rights. You can keep track of Unites progress through the
counter on our website.
We also ask that you help fund the translation and distribution of this
booklet. If you are able, please consider the amount that you give annually to
charity, and give Unite 1% of that amount. This may only be a few dollars, or
a larger sum. Unite is also asking businesses, including foundations, to give
1% of their annual giving. We need to unite with funding so that we can unite
with signatures.
Unite also asks businesses, both nonprofits and for-profits, to support Unite
by contributing their logo to the Unite website. Unites goal is to have 1% of
businesses worldwide contribute their logos. Submitting a logo indicates
support of the Unite business pledge: Our business supports a dialogue
about a Global Bill of Rights. Many people in business today are working
for the expansion of the rule of law, and the opening of the marketplace of
ideas. Unite furthers these efforts.
Finally, Unite asks governments to create a working group at the Human
Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva to draft a Global Bill of Rights
that will consolidate existing documents,and be enforceable in the courts of
all countries. This booklet provides a good start.
Thank you for your participation.
For more information, please look at our website.

GLOBAL BILL
OF RIGHTS

Preamble
We the people of our international community, our human family, declare
that there are certain fundamental rights that are inherent in every human
being, that they are inalienable for all people in all countries, and they are
enforceable in the courts of all countries:
Each of us, by signing this document, agrees as follows:

Section I Fundamental Rights

Article 1 Human Dignity
Human dignity is the source of all human rights, and every person can
enforce in court the rights stated herein, whether they are in their
homeland, or any foreign land.
Article 2 Freedom of Speech and the Media
Every person, and the media, has the right to freedom of speech and
expression; this right includes freedom to see, receive and share
information and ideas on public property, or private property that has been
opened to the public such as shopping centers, whether the ideas are popular
or not, and to freely criticize government, religious or business leaders
through any media and regardless of borders.
Article 3 Education
Everyone has the right to education, from pre-school through college, for free
or low cost, as defined by law. Parents have the responsibility to enroll their
children in school, unless comparable schooling is offered at home.
Article 4 Freedom of Assembly and Association
Everyone has the right to gather peacefully, in small groups or large ones,
without weapons, and to hold meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and
pickets in public squares and other public places.

Article 5 Health Care

Everyone has a right to free or low cost health care, including pre-natal,
vision, dental and mental care, as well as sufficient food necessary for good
health, as defined by law.
Article 6 Life
States may not practice capital punishment, and given that weapons of
mass destruction entail a grave threat to the right to life of all humanity, the
use of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, biological
or other similar types of weapons, is prohibited.
Article 7 Physical Integrity
Torture, or cruel and degrading treatment are prohibited.
Article 8 Freedom of Religion
Everyone has the right to choose his or her own religious beliefs, including
the right to change ones religion, or to have no religion, and government and
religion shall remain separate.
Article 9 Equality
Everyone is equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the
law, no one shall be prejudiced or favored because of his or her birth, race,
sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, color, desability,
wealth, language, national origin, faith, religion or political opinion. In
order to promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other
measures designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons,
disadvantaged by past unfair discrimination may be taken.
Article 10 Representation and Voting
All power to govern emanates from the people through their choice of
representatives and not from military position, religion, caste, heredity or
any non-elective title or position, therefore, anyone 18 years old, or older,
has the right to run for office and to have the chance for election through
a secret ballot. To ensure opportunities for widespread participation within

the democratic process, and to protect against corruption, no political

representative shall serve more than 20 years in one position. Only
individuals, not corporations or other entities, shall be allowed to contribute
money or other assets to candidates or ballot measures, but individuals
may combine to contribute as a group. The total annual contribution by
any individual, whether it is to one candidate or divided among several
candidates and ballot measures, shall not exceed the median income for the
country in which the person resides.
Article 11 Environment
Everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment, including
water that is safe to drink, food that is safe to eat, and air that is safe to
breathe. In addition, both for the benefit of future generations and for
the species themselves, there is also a right to the preservation of species
and their habitat, and all large scale development projects shall consider
environmental impacts, including the opportunity for public review
and comment.
Article 12 Shelter
Everyone has the right, along with his or her family, to shelter with safe water,
electricity, and sanitary conditions, as defined by law, and every person or
family given assistance with shelter has a responsibility to help maintain that,
or other, shelters.
Article 13 Physical and Intellectual Property
Everyone has the right to own, buy and sell property and the government
may not take private property except for public use, and if it does, then
it must pay market price for the property. The government must publish a
public record showing precisely who owns a piece of property, and what
boundaries and limitations exist for the property. Also, everyone engaged
in cultural, artistic and scientific fields has the right to the protection of their
intellectual property.

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Article 14 Labor
Everyone has the right to choose his or her occupation or profession and
to a living wage for their work, as well as the right to form and join a union
and to participate in the activities and programs of a union, including the
right to strike and collective bargaining. To recognize merit and fairness, no
employer or officer of any public or private company of more than 20 people,
shall earn more than 2,000 times the lowest paid worker of that company.
Article 15 Privacy and Information
Everyone shall have the right to privacy in his or her home, hotel room,
vehicle, or vessel and to have interpersonal relations as they choose;
therefore, eavesdropping or surveillance of private communications or
relationships is forbidden without a court order as part of a criminal
investigation. In addition, everyone has a right to access, obtain, and correct
information collected about them by the government or private companies,
unless such information is part of a criminal investigation or prosecution.
Article 16 Family Life
People of full age have the right to marry and choose who they will marry.
Also, men and women are entitled to equal rights at marriage, during
marriage and at its dissolution.
Article 17 Children
Every child has the right to a name and a nationality from birth and no child
under 18 may be recruited as a soldier or otherwise used in armed conflict,
even voluntarily. Children 16 or younger shall not work full time during
school hours unless provisions for home schooling have been established,
as defined by law.

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Article 18 Citizenship and Movement

Everyone has the right to a document of citizenship. No citizen may have his
or her citizenship revoked, nor may any citizen be denied the right to enter
freely and leave his or her country, but citizens also have the responsibility
to share the costs of public expenditures, including the payment of taxes.
To prevent the misuse of taxes, any person who presents evidence to their
government of the improper use of government funds, and the governmenwt
retrieves some or all of those funds, may receive 5%-20% of that amount,
plus attorneys fees and costs, as determined by the Court.
Article 19 Culture
Everyone has a right to his or her cultural identity, including the right to use
his or her own language and engage in his or her own cultural traditions,
provided that such exercise does not prevent the traditions of others, or
violate the rights embodied in this Bill of Rights.
Article 20 Arrest and Fair Trial
No person shall be arrested or imprisoned without a judicial warrant and an
arrestee has the right to counsel. Any charges shall be made in a courtroom
open to the public, including the news media, and the arrestee has the
right to personally appear in court and have the validity of the arrest or
detention determined within 72 hours by an independent judge. Everyone
who is charged with any criminal offense has the right to be released prior
to trial absent a showing that they will flee or are a danger to others. Trial
includes a fair public hearing by an independent and impartial court within
three months from arrest and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,
according to law.
Article 21 Search and Seizure
Everyone is protected from unreasonable searches and seizures of his
or her person, home, car and belongings such as a phone or computer,
among other things, therefore, a warrant must be obtained from the court
prior to the search or seizure unless the search or seizure occurs during
or shortly after the commission of a crime and there is evidence linking
the items seized to the crime.

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Article 22 Due Process of Law

Everyone is entitled to fair procedures to safeguard his or her rights,
therefore, no one may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law. To insure the full realization of rights, everyone is entitled to
counsel in a court of law when the rights listed herein are at issue against a
government, government official, or private individual acting closely with
government officials, or on behalf of the government.
Article 23 Responsibility for Violation of Rights
Any private individual, private or public company, or public official,
agent or employee of the government, as well as the government itself,
that violates the rights set forth in this Bill of Rights, is not immune from
liability, qualified or otherwise, and is responsible to pay damages, including
attorneys fees and costs, to the person whose rights have been violated.
Article 24 Trial and Injunctive relief for the Violation of Rights
Any person, organization, or company who claims a violation of this Bill
of Rights by government officials, agents, or employees, or any private
individual or private or public company, shall have a right to a public trial,
and to injunctive relief either stopping or requiring an act in accordance
with the application of the rights herein. Weather the case is decided by the
court or a jury, a public decision will be issued, determining if these
rights have been violated.
Article 25 Independent Judiciary
All judges are beholden to the fair and impartial interpretation of this
document, and not the nation from which they were appointed, or any
other nation, or private entity. No person shall give a judge any money, gift
or service other than the judges official salary, and no party to a case, nor
any person acting on his or her behalf, may speak to a judge about a case
without the presence of, or at least knowledge of, the other party. Judicial
independence requires financial independence and no judge shall earn less
than three times the national median income.

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Article 26 Funding Rights and Courts

The rule of law and rights herein benefit the citizens and businesses of all
countries, therefore, each country shall annually contribute one percent of
its gross national product into an international fund for the creation, use
and support of educational, healthcare and judicial facilities, and salaries
internationally, including the Courts described in Articles 27-34. The funding
shall be distributed by an independent international non-governmental
organization comprised of leaders appointed in a similar manner to the judges
on the International Court of Human Rights described below.

Section II International Court of Human Rights

Article 27 Composition of the Court
An International Court of Human Rights shall be created. The Court shall be
comprised of one judge from each country that has ratified this Bill of Rights
in its entirety, without reservation. Regional courts, subject to review by the
International Court, and composed of one judge from each country in the
region, shall also be organized through the continued operation of existing
regional courts, and the creation of new ones.
Article 28 Terms of Service for Justices
The judges terms for the International Court of Human Rights and the
regional courts shall be 6 years and no judge may serve more than three
terms. Each judge shall have 4 law clerks, selected by the judge, with at
least 2 of the 4 coming from countries different than the country that
nominated the judge.
Article 29 Application in All Countries
The rights included in this Bill of Rights may be raised before the courts
of all countries, as well as all regional courts.

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Article 30 Supremacy of Rights

This Bill of Rights establishes a minimum standard to which all people are
entitled, and is superior to any law that conflicts with it. Any country may
enact a law or interpret its own Constitution to provide for rights greater than
those guaranteed by this Bill of Rights.
Article 31 Submission of Claims
No claim for a violation of rights may be brought before the International
Court of Human Rights until the claim has first been brought in the domestic
courts of the country in which the claim arose, including an appeal to the
highest domestic appellate court, as well as any regional court. A case may,
however, originate at the regional court if there is a showing of strong and
convincing evidence that redress from the domestic court is untimely or
impracticable.
Article 32 Hearings
Cases in the International Court are heard by Chambers of fifteen judges,
fourteen randomly selected, along with the judge from the country in which
the case arose. A Chambers decision may be reviewed by two thirds of the
Court, randomly selected, along with the judge from the country in which
the case arose, if a majority of the judges on the Court agree to review
it. Regional Courts shall establish their own hearing procedures, but any
decision may be reviewed by two thirds of the judges of the Regional Court,
randomly selected, along with the judge from the country in which the case
arose, if a majority of the judges on the Court agree to review it.
Article 33 Court Decisions
Once a case has been admitted, oral argument shall be the norm and a
written decision by the majority of the Chamber, or the review from the
Chamber, for the International Court, and all Regional Courts, shall be
published in an official reporter. Dissenting opinions shall also be published,
and each judge may write separately or join in an opinion by a group.

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Article 34 Enforcement of Decisions

Decisions of the International Court of Human Rights, and all Regional
Courts, are enforceable through the domestic courts in the country from
which the case arose. Failure of any government to comply with the
decisions of the Court may result in expulsion from the Global Bill of Rights
treaty following a vote of two thirds of the judges of the International Court.

Donation
Even with the benefit of the Internet, it takes funding for Unite for Rights
to translate this booklet and disseminate it to people internationally so that
they too can read, sign and share. Your participation is essential, and if you
can, please donate so that others in all countries have the opportunity to
participate with you. You may easily make donations by credit card on our
website, www.uniteforrights.org.
There is a story told in a poem by Joseph Malins that foretells this moment.
Its titled An Ambulance or a Fence? In the poem people are falling off of a
cliff and the town below the cliff is deciding whether to build an ambulance
to pick them up, or a fence up top to stop them from falling. The ambulance
prevails. But later, a call for a fence is made. Of course, we should not stop
building ambulances, they will always be needed, but we should build a
fence constructed of fundamental rights as well: Unite is that fence.
Thank you.

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You must be the

change you wish to
see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi

California Nonprofit

Geneva Nonprofit

Executive Director
Dr. J. Kirk Boyd
kboyd@uniteforrights.org

President
Bruna Molina
bmolina@uniteforrights.org

International Coordinator
Joshua Cooper
jcooper@uniteforrights.org

Vice President
Alfred de Zayas
adezayas@uniteforrights.org

Education Coordinator
Ruth Berkowitz
ruth@uniteforrights.org

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