Declaration of the Forum for Food Sovereignty — Nyéléni, Mali, 2007
Editor’s Note: This declaration, the outcome of a forum made up of a global network of grassroots activists dedicated to advancing the rights of peoples to determine for themselves food and agricultural policy across the entire network of food production. DECLARATION OF NYÉLÉNI, 27 February 2007, Nyéléni Village, Sélingué, Mali Declaration of the Forum for Food Sovereignty We, more […]
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2009)
Editor’s Note: On September 13, 2007, this ground-breaking declaration was approved by the UN General Assembly, with 144 states voting in favor, with four — the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia, which have large indigenous populations — voting against, and with 11 states abstaining. Australia endorsed the document, which is not legally binding, on […]
Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins (2010)
Editor’s Note: This declaration, which spells out what it maintains should be the legal rights under international law of whales and dolphins, is a product of the Helsinki Group, formed, as the website issuing the document says, “out of the ‘Cetacean Rights: Fostering Moral and Legal Change Conference,’ held in Helsinki, Finland in May 2010, […]
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
Editor’s Note: This convention, a binding treaty endorsed by 176 nations (referred to in this document as “state parties”), was adopted by the UN General Assembly on the 30th anniversary of 1959 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Convention on the Rights of the Child U.N. General Assembly (12 December 1989) with AnnexThe General […]
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1793
Editor’s Note: An expanded version of the 1789 French declaration, this revised version goes even further than its predecessor — it places greater emphasis on egalitarianism and endows all humans with even greater rights. Though it was never officially enacted, it nonetheless has been highly influential when it comes to advancing notions in the generation sto […]
Occupy Wall Street Principles of Solidarity (2011)
Editor’s note: When the September 30, 2011 manifesto of Occupy Wall Street was released, a statement promised that it would soon be accompanied by a ‘declaration of demands’ and also a document elaborating ‘principles of solidarity.’ A footnote to these principles states: “The Working Group on Principles of Consolidation continues to work through the other […]
A Draft Declaration of Demands for the Occupy Movement (2011)
Editor’s Note: Released on November 21, 2011, this declaration is a follow-on to the Occupy Wall Street Manifesto that was issued on September 30, and in which it was promised that a “declaration of demands” would soon follow. If there is another later version that supplants this ‘draft,’ I haven’t been able to locate it. […]
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789
Editor’s Note: If there was a declaration to be written in the years soon after the founding of our republic, who better than Thomas Jefferson to have at least have some hand in its composition? As U.S. minister to France, Jefferson at times leant his expertise and insights — in many ways the product of […]
Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention (1833)
Editor’s Note: Written by the abolitionist, journalist and social former William Lloyd Garrison, this declaration of sentiments — published on December 14, 1833 in The Liberator — heralded the birth of the American Anti-Slavery Society, incorporating key passages of our Declaration of July 4, 1776 to advance its arguments. Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention The Convention, assembled […]
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man – 1948
Editor’s Note: Adopted in April 1948 at the International Conference of American States in Bogota, Colombia, this document represents the first attempt on the world stage — coming out eight months before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations — to set forth and enumerate the rights, and duties, of each […]
