Declaration of the Rights of the Mediterranean Bioregion
Introduction
A Declaration calling for the recognition of the Mediterranean Bio-region as a legal entity subject of rights in order to permanently protect and restore it for the benefit of all living beings and for future life in harmony and cooperation with her
Just as human beings have human rights, other beings have rights unique to their species or ecosystem and appropriate for their role and function within their communities. The rights of each being are limited by the rights of other beings and any conflict between their rights must be resolved in a way that maintains the integrity, balance and health of the Mediterranean Bio-region (hereinafter “the Mediterranean”).
Care of the Mediterranean will be governed by the following principles:
Prevention: In the face of imminent risk or danger, preventive measures will be taken, including evaluation, monitoring and control necessary to avoid the violation of the Rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region. I Precaution: When there is a danger of loss, damage or significant impact on the Mediterranean Bio-region, lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone the adoption of protective, effective and timely measures for the protection of the Rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region.
Restoration: Through the process of restorative justice, the States will guarantee the restoration of the Mediterranean Bio-region in order to rehabilitate its functionality, recover its evolutionary processes, structure and functions in an integral manner, and to ensure peaceful enjoyment of the Med bio-region by all its inhabitants , without prejudice to the State’s right of enforcement against those responsible for the damage caused.
Stewardship and Intergenerational Equity: Stewardship of the Mediterranean Bio-region on behalf of all its living beings will be implemented by protecting, caring for and ensuring responsible benefit of the marine environment, maintaining the integrity of marine ecosystems and preserving the intrinsic value of biodiversity within the Mediterranean Bio-region.
In dubio pro Natura: To protect the Mediterranean Bio-region, when it is in violation due to any conflict, the interpretation that applies the broadest and most favourable meaning to protect and guarantee the Rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region, will prevail. In case of doubt, legal void or contradiction in the processes before courts, administrative bodies and other decision makers, they will be resolved by giving preference to the least harmful alternatives .
Preamble
We, the peoples and nations of the Mediterranean
Considering that we are all part of the Mediterranean, an indivisible, living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a common destiny, holders of of intrinsic rights to life, to thrive and evolve naturally.
Recognizing that the Mediterranean is uniquely located at the intersection of Africa, Asia and Europe, and as such is the historical and cultural home of a diversity of civilizations that have had a global impact in the areas of religion, science, agriculture, literature, culture, and more;
Gratefully acknowledging that the Mediterranean is the source of life, sustenance, nourishment’;
WHEREAS, Increasing number of countries have already embraced Rights of Nature or recognized Nature as a legal entity, whether in the form of constitutional amendments, national laws, judicial decisions, treaties, local laws, or resolutions: for example, in Ecuador, Uganda, Mexico, Spain, India, Colombia, Panama, New Zealand, the United States;
WHEREAS, the lagoon Mar Menor became a Mediterranean precedent for rights of Nature when in 2022 Spain recognized it as a legal entity and the Spanish Parliament granted it legal rights ;
WHEREAS, Rights of Nature seeks to respect and protect the complex and diverse relationships amongst the natural world and humankind through a fundamental shift in our values and ethics underlying our legal, governance and economic systems;
WHEREAS, International and regional institutions, bodies, and agreements call for the adoption of Earth-centred governance, and the Rights of Nature, including UN General Assembly resolutions calling for the promotion of harmony with the Earth, including “The Future We Want” (A/RES/66/288), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), the Convention on Biological Diversity Zero Draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, HRC resolution 48/13 “Human Right to a Healthy Environment” 2021, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature through Resolution 100 (2012) and World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law (2016);
With the intention of strengthening the The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and its protocols as the key regional framework for cooperation for protecting the Mediterranean by twenty one nations of the region and the European Union,
Deeply concerned over the increasing degradation of the Mediterranean by the impact of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and in particular development and sprawl, off-shore installations and operations, chemical pollution, eutrophication, exploitation of fisheries, marine litter, marine noise, and invasive species;
And also deeply concerned that the Mediterranean is under great pressure as a result of a rapidly growing coastal population of already more than half a billion people as well as increasing economic growth with about one quarter of global shipping, while enormous amounts of plastic waste (estimated 730 tons of plastic reaches the Mediterranean every day as determined by the United Nations Environment Programme in the 2022 UN Ocean Conference.
Expressing our anxiety that climate change is warming the Mediterranean 20% faster than the rest of the planetas disclosed by report of the United Nations Environment Programme
Convinced that an interdependent living community requires recognition not only of the rights of humans but of ALL other living beings, species and natural entities as well, to protect the right to life within the Mediterranean;
Conscious of the urgency of taking decisive collective action to transform governance and corporate structures and systems that cause climate change, biodiversity loss and other threats to the Mediterranean bio-region;
Proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region, and call on the nations and peoples of the Mediterranean region to adopt it, and to promote it through legal means, education and awareness-raising amongst other means, and to ensure its implementation by all peoples and States in the Mediterranean and in accordance with the following provisions:
Article 1. The Mediterranean Bio-region
(1) The Mediterranean Bio-region is a living being entitled to exist and to thrive and possesses the inherent rights as determined in this Declaration.
(2) The Mediterranean Bio-region is a unique and indivisible community of interrelated individual beings and ecosystems.
(3) The Mediterranean bio-region is a legal entity.
(4) The rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region are inherent and inalienable.
(5) The Mediterranean Bio-region and all beings within it are entitled to all the inherent rights recognized in this Declaration without distinction of any kind, species, origin, use to human beings, or any other status.
Article 2. Legal Status for the Mediterranean Bio-region
(1) The Mediterranean bio-region is an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea, incorporating the Mediterranean sea basin and the surrounding land and all of its physical and metaphysical elements defined by its watershed.
(2) The Mediterranean bio-region is a legal person and has the rights of a legal person.
(3) Mediterranean states are responsible for ensuring and protecting The rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region.
(4) Mediterranean Bio-region can be represented by individuals, communities and organisations directly impacted by the region, in the manner provided for in this Part and in.
Article 3. Inherent Rights of the Mediterranean Bio-region
(1) The Mediterranean and all beings of which the region is composed have the following inherent rights:
(a) the right to life and to exist;
(b) the right to thrive;
(c) the right to be respected;
(d) the right to regenerate its bio-capacity and to continue its vital cycles and processes free from disruptions by humans;
(e) the right to maintain its identity and integrity as a distinct, self-regulating and interrelated being;
(f) the right to clean water as a source of life to all living beings in the region;
(g) the right to clean air that impacts the region at large;
(h) the right to integral health;
(i) the right to the ecological integrity of its own unique biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial;
(j) the right to be free from contamination, pollution and toxic or radioactive waste;
(k) the right to be free of all kinds of sewage, waste and litter dumped or discharged into its waters ;
(l) the right to be free of human operations that require installations on its seabed and that threaten its ecological integrity;
(m) the right to be free from any kind of mining, coastal or deep sea;
(n) the right to not have its genetic structure modified or disrupted in a manner that threatens its integrity or vital and healthy functioning;
(o) the right to full and prompt restoration from violation of the rights recognized in this Declaration caused by human activities;
(p) every being has the right to wellbeing and to live free from torture or cruel treatment by human beings
Article 4. Obligations of the Mediterranean governments and people
(1) Human Mediterranean communities including the individuals of these communities, Mediterranean governments, and corporations operating in the Mediterranean, are obligated to to live in harmony with the natural ecosystems of the Mediterranean bio-region.
(2) In particular, Mediterranean communities and individuals, governments, corporations and all public and private institutions should:
(a) respect the rights of the Mediterranean as recognized in this Declaration and act in accordance with them;
(b) Implement and and enforce the rights recognized in this Declaration through, amongst other means, effective laws and policies;
(c) promote and participate in learning, analysis, interpretation and communication as to living in harmony with the Mediterranean Bio-region in accordance with this Declaration;
(d) ensure that the pursuit of human wellbeing does not cause harm to the Mediterranean and the life within it;
(e) respect, protect, conserve and restore the integrity, of the vital ecological cycles, processes and balances of the Mediterranean ;
(f) guarantee that the damages caused by human violations of the inherent rights recognized in this Declaration are rectified and that those responsible are held accountable for restoring the integrity and health of the Mediterranean Bio-region;
(g) empower individuals, communities, and local and state governments to defend the rights of Mediterranean Bio-region and of all beings;
(h) establish precautionary and restrictive measures to prevent human activities from causing injury to the Mediterranean, including the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems or the disruption of ecological cycles;
(i) promote economic systems that are in harmony with Mediterranean Bio-region and in accordance with the rights recognized in this Declaration.
Signed this day____ of ______ 20______
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