Universal Charter of Sentient Rights

Modified from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UNIVERSAL
CHARTER OF SENTIENT RIGHTS

Whereas
recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all sentient beings is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the Frontier Sector,
Whereas
disregard and contempt for sentient rights have resulted in barbarous
acts which have outraged the conscience of all right-minded
sentients, and the advent of a universe in which sentient beings
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and
want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration,
Whereas
it is essential, if sentient beings are not to be compelled to have
recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and
oppression, that sentient rights should be protected by the rule of
law, 

Whereas
it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations
between planets, 

Whereas
the peoples of the United Planetary Federation have in the Charter
reaffirmed their faith in fundamental sentient rights, in the dignity
and worth of the all sentients regardless of kind and have determined
to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom, 

Whereas
Member Planets have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation
with the United Planetary Federation, the promotion of universal
respect for and observance of sentient rights and fundamental
freedoms, 

Whereas
a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the
greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, 

Now, therefore,
The Council of Worlds,
Proclaims this
Universal Charter of Sentient Rights as a common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all planets, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this Charter
constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote
respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures,
planetary and interplanetary, to secure their universal and effective
recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member Planets
themselves and among the peoples of territories under their
jurisdiction.
<h3 class="western">Article
1. 
</h3>
All sentient 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.
<h3 class="western">Article
2. 
</h3>
Everyone is entitled
to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as species, race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, planetary or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no
distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,
jurisdictional or interplanetary status of the planet, country or
territory to which a being belongs, whether it be independent, trust,
non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
<h3 class="western">Article
3. 
</h3>
Everyone has the right
to life, liberty and security of self.
<h3 class="western">Article
4. 
</h3>
No one shall be held
in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
<h3 class="western">Article
5. 
</h3>
No one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
<h3 class="western">Article
6. 
</h3>
Everyone has the right
to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
<h3 class="western">Article
7. 
</h3>
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.
<h3 class="western">Article
8. 
</h3>
Everyone has the right
to an effective remedy by the competent national, planetary, or
interplanetary tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights
granted him by the constitution or by law.
<h3 class="western">Article
9. 
</h3>
No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
<h3 class="western">Article
10. 
</h3>
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.
<h3 class="western">Article
11. 
</h3>
<ol><li>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. 

</li><li>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, planetary,
or interplanetary 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.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
12. 
</h3>
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.
<h3 class="western">Article
13. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the
borders of each Planet. 

</li><li>Everyone has the
right to leave any state, country, or planet including his own, and
to return to his state, country, or planet.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
14. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone has the
right to seek and to enjoy in other jurisdictions asylum from
persecution. 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 Planetary
Federation.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
15. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to a citizenship. 

</li><li>No one shall be
arbitrarily deprived of his citizenship nor denied the right to
change his citizenship.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
16. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Beings
of full age, without any limitation due to species, race,
citizenship 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. 

</li><li>Marriage
shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the
intending spouses. 

</li><li>The family is the
natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
17. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to own property alone as well as in association with
others. 

</li><li>No one shall be
arbitrarily deprived of his property. 

</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
18. 
</h3>
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.
<h3 class="western">Article
19. 
</h3>
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 borders.
<h3 class="western">Article
20. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. 

</li><li>No one may be
compelled to belong to an association. 

</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
21. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to take part in the government of his country or
planet, directly or through freely chosen representatives. 

</li><li>Everyone
has the right to equal access to public service in his country. 

</li><li>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. 

</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
22. 
</h3>
Everyone, as a member
of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to
realization, through national and planetary effort and interplanetary
co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of
each Planet, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his
personality.
<h3 class="western">Article
23. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work and to protection against
unemployment. 

</li><li>Everyone,
without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal
work. 

</li><li>Everyone
who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring
for himself and his family an existence worthy of sentient dignity,
and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.


</li><li>Everyone has the
right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his
interests.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
24. 
</h3>
Everyone has the right
to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay.
<h3 class="western">Article
25. 
</h3>
<ol><li>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. 

</li><li>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.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
26. 
</h3>
<ol><li>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. 

</li><li>Education
shall be directed to the full development of the individual
personality and to the strengthening of respect for sentient rights
and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance
and friendship among all planets, racial or religious groups, and
shall further the activities of the United Planetary Federation for
the maintenance of peace. 

</li><li>Parents have a
prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to
their children.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
27. 
</h3>
<ol><li>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. 

</li><li>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.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
28. 
</h3>
Everyone is entitled
to a social and interplanetary order in which the rights and freedoms
set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
<h3 class="western">Article
29. 
</h3>
<ol><li>Everyone
has duties to the community in which alone the free and full
development of his personality is possible. 

</li><li>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. 

</li><li>These rights and
freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Planetary Federation.
</li></ol>
<h3 class="western">Article
30. 
</h3>
Nothing in this
Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any Planet, 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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