UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SAVE THE WORLD

 

Preamble

Considering the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of future generations, the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations, the Declaration of Principles of International Cultural Cooperation, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development , the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action;

Ratifying the Universal Declaration of Spiritual Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace, the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Buddhist Peoples and Spiritual Communities, and the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Non-Human Beings;

Assuming the social engagement of the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) to save all sentient beings from suffering;

Recalling the unfinished commitment assumed by the international community in order to save future generations from the scourges of war, which is a principle established in the constitutions of UNESCO and the UN;

Showing concern for the historical threats faced by humanity in order to survive, such as the evils of war, poverty, ignorance and pollution;

Emphasizing that respect for human rights and rights of Mother Earth is the basis for the Salvation of humanity and nature, building a civilization based on world peace, social justice, advanced education and environmental health;

Emphasizing the need to establish bonds of solidarity with other living beings and ecosystems, since humanity interexists with the whole field of life;

Calling on the generations of the present to have Mindfulness toward compliance with the duty to ensure the safe existence of future generations;

Determining that in order to save the world it must be abandoned the archetypal burden that is the repetition of errors of the past generations;

Recognizing the ethical mission of the spiritual masters when protecting the interests of humanity and sentient beings, since Spirituality is a Path of serenity, law, knowledge and solidarity;

Bearing in mind that the fate of humanity depends on the actions of the present generation, which must urgently solve the problems of war, poverty, ignorance and pollution in order to leave a healthy world for future generations;

Ensuring that Buddhism has an ethical and spiritual obligation to formulate a global leadership, orienting and guiding civilization toward Salvation and not towards the current prospect of destruction;

The United Buddhist Nations Organization solemnly proclaims the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION ON THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SAVE THE WORLD.

 

Article 1 – Humanity has the duty to protect the interests and needs of present and future generations through humanitarian and environmentalist actions.

Article 2 – Humanity has a duty to defend freedom, equality and fraternity, especially the fundamental human rights and the political, economic, cultural and environmental development of peoples.

Article 3 – Humanity has a duty to preserve the ethical and spiritual wealth of all traditions of the past and present, allowing them to develop in order to persist and evolve in the future.

Article 4 – Humanity has the duty to maintain and perpetuate life, ensuring that species can survive with dignity, since the human being has no right to destroy sentient beings.

Article 5 – Humanity has the duty to preserve the diversity, balance and integrity of ecosystems, promoting sustainable industrial development without depredation of natural resources and without contamination of flora and fauna.

Article 6 – Humanity has the duty to protect the existence and health of the Mother Earth, not destroying the organs of the planetary body which are the ecosystems, but neither hindering or damaging the self-regulation and self-healing systems of Mother Earth.

Article 7 – Humanity has the duty that technological development is in harmony with life, not jeopardizing the survival of the world under no circumstances, so that technologies such as weapons of mass destruction must be abolished.

Article 8 – Humanity has the duty to protect its genetic heritage, respecting the intrinsic dignity of the human being when carrying out scientific interventions that affect present or future generations.

Article 9 – Humanity has the duty to protect and preserve cultural heritage and legacies, contributing to the transmission of this common heritage.

Article 10 – Humanity has the duty to foster intercultural cooperation, especially between different religions and different civilizations, since the spirit of friendship and mutual support is the best ethical and spiritual education for the people, encouraging the awareness that peace and justice are fundamental for the salvation of the world.

Article 11 – Humanity has the duty to provide advanced and free education for all peoples and social classes, since education is the main resource and power for every individual to develop and free themselves from the misery of war, poverty and pollution.

Article 12 – Humanity has a duty to create a world of peace, social justice, tolerance and solidarity, where each human being benefits from the compassionate wisdom and can have full access to a life of Liberation and Awakening.

Article 13 – Humanity has a duty to identify, protect, conserve and transmit the spiritual heritage to the generations of the present and future, which is the key to the Salvation of the world.

Article 14 – Humanity has the duty to ensure that the generations of the present and future are able to achieve the Salvation and Evolution of the world, ensuring that each subject, institution or government assumes the responsibility to contribute to the ideals of this Supreme Purpose which is the ethical mission of the United Buddhist Nations Organization.

 

Date: February 10, 2017

By Master Maitreya Samyaksambuddha

President of the United Buddhist Nations Organization