Challenging God by equating Animals to Human beings using Junk Science : From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Universal Declaration of Sentient Rights

 

MUST READ:

Bestiality: the Next Abomination to be Declared Normal?

https://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2016/09/bestiality-next-abomination-to-be.html 

The mystery of Babylon the great slowly unveiled : The day the US Senate tactfully Approved Bill that Legalizes Sodomy and Bestiality in U.S. Military : Street Preacher Brutally Beat Down During Seattle ‘Gay Pride’ Event

https://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-mystery-of-babylon-great-slowly.html 

Worse than Sodom and Gomorrah!!! From homosexuality to Bestiality and nudity rights : 'Animal Brothels' Are On The Rise As Bestiality Becomes 'Lifestyle' Choice: Pedophiles want same rights as homosexuals: Claim unfair to be stigmatized for sexual orientation: Naturists fights for right to remain naked

http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/07/worse-than-sodom-and-gomorrah-from.html

 

Universal Declaration of Sentient Rights

https://medium.com/@jamie.woodhouse/universal-declaration-of-sentient-rights-4b43d428c590 

Jamie Woodhouse

Written by

Jamie Woodhouse

Sentientist (so vegan and humanist). I wrote this as an intro: https://medium.com/@jamie.woodhouse/sentientism-is-the-answer-but-most-disagree-b84c19d77352

May 16, 2019 ·

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a milestone in moral and political thinking and remains an influential reference today.

Given Sentientism extends moral consideration to all sentient beings, not just humans, shouldn’t we consider extending the UDHR? As a thought experiment, I’ve set out some thoughts on what a Universal Declaration of Sentient Rights might look like. Many thanks to those in our Sentientism community (all welcome to join) who have helped.

At the moment I’ve done this by updating the UDHR and removing some of the more formal language. Ultimately it may be more useful to re-write it from scratch.

Please help me improve it — feedback very welcome via comments below or @sentientism.

Challenges include:

• Do sentient animals need all of these rights — does it matter if they have rights they can’t or won’t use?
• Do sentient animals need specific additional rights?
• Do rights need to differ for wild animals?
• Can we apply duties and responsibilities to animals in the same way as we do to humans?
• Do these rights work as-is for artificial or alien beings that have human-equivalent sentience? What about those with a higher degree of sentience?
• Do we need to grant rights differentially by different degrees of sentience?
• Does granting rights more widely constrain our ability to sensibly prioritise causes?

Preamble

Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the inalienable rights of all sentient beings is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.

Sentient beings all experience forms of suffering which they wish to minimise and flourishing or well-being which they wish to enhance. They share evolutionary origins and share environmental habitats and resources.

Disregard and contempt for the rights of sentient beings have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged our consciences, caused the suffering and death of billions and damaged our shared environment. The advent of a world in which sentient beings shall enjoy freedom from constraint, fear, and suffering has been proclaimed as our highest aspiration.

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 their rights should be protected by the rule of law.

It is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, groups and species.

The peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in the fundamental rights of sentient beings, in the dignity and worth of sentient beings and, within that structure, in the equal rights of all those with human-level sentience. We have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.

Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of the rights and fundamental freedoms of sentient beings.

A common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge.

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF SENTIENT RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all beings and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the beings of Member States themselves and among the beings of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1 — Freedom and Equality

All beings with a human-equivalent level of sentience or higher are born or created free and equal in dignity and rights.

Beings with lower than human levels of sentience are born or created free and are accorded dignity and rights in accordance with their degree of sentience.

Those beings endowed with reason and conscience should act towards all sentient beings in a spirit of solidarity.

Article 2 — No Discrimination

Every sentient being is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration in accordance with their level of sentience, without distinction of any further kind, such as species, race, colour, sex, gender, sexual preference, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a being belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3 — Life, Liberty, Security

Every sentient being has the right to life, liberty and security.

Article 4 — No Slavery

No sentient being shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5 — No Torture

No sentient being shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6 — Recognition Before the Law

Every sentient being has the right to recognition everywhere as a sentient being before the law.

Article 7 — Equality Before the Law

All equivalent-level sentient beings 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.

Article 8 — Effective Remedy

Every sentient being has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted them by the constitution or by law.

Article 9 — No Arbitrary Arrest or Exile

No sentient being shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10 — Fair and Public Hearings

Every sentient being is entitled to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of their rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against them.

Article 11 — Presumed Innocent

(1) Every sentient being charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence.
(2) No sentient being shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international 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.

Article 12 — No Arbitrary Interference

No sentient being shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon their honour and reputation. Every sentient being has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13 — Freedom of Movement

(1) Every sentient being has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Every sentient being has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14 — Asylum

(1) Every sentient being has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) 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 Nations.

Article 15 — Nationality

(1) Every being with human-level sentience has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change their nationality.

Article 16 — Family

(1) Sentient beings of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality, sexual preference 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.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

Article 17 — Property

(1) Every sentient being has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property.

Article 18 — Freedom of Thought

Every sentient being has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change or cease their religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest their religion, belief or worldview in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19 — Freedom of Expression

Every sentient being 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 frontiers.

Article 20 — Peaceful Assembly and Association

(1) Every sentient being has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21 — Government and Representation

(1) Every sentient being has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly, through freely chosen representatives, or, where beings are not capable of choose representatives, through appointed representatives.
(2) Every sentient being has the right of equal access to public service in their country.
(3) The will of sentient beings 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, by equivalent free voting procedures or through appointed representation where beings are not capable of voting individually.

Article 22 — Social Security

Every sentient being, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for their dignity and the free development of their personality.

Article 23 — Work, Unions and Compensation

(1) Every sentient being capable of work has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Every sentient being, without any discrimination, has the right to equal compensation for equal work.
(3) Every sentient being who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Every sentient being has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.

Article 24 — Rest and Leisure

Every working sentient being has the right to rest, sleep and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25 — Standard of Living and Well-Being

(1) Every sentient being has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and of their family, including food and drink, 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 their control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All offspring, whatever their family circumstances, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26 — Education

(1) Every sentient being capable of receiving an education 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.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the personality and to the strengthening of respect for rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children as long as that education is committed to the application of evidence and reason and the granting of degrees of moral consideration to all sentient beings.

Article 27 — Culture, Science and Intellectual Property

(1) Every capable sentient being 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.
(2) Every sentient being has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the author.

Article 28 — Social and International Order

Every sentient being is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29 — Duties, Rights of Others

(1) Every sentient being has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of their personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of their 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.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30 — Protecting Rights and Freedoms

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, 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.

NEW Article 31 — Right to Refuse to Kill or Harm

Every sentient being has the right to refuse to kill or cause harm to another sentient being.

NEW Article 32 — Right to Die

Every sentient being has the right to die at a time of their choosing. Sentient beings also have the right to assist others who wish to exercise their right to die, subject to appropriate safeguards.

---

Further Reading

Human Rights:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Wikipedia article
• Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Wikipedia article (useful for considering beings with less than human adult maturity?).

Animal Rights:

• The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (note focus on welfare, not rights)
• Proposals for Universal Declarations of Animal Rights, here, here and here
• Marc Bekoff’s Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience
• Alastair Cochrane’s “From Human Rights to Sentient Rights”
• The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness.

Robot / Artificial Intelligence (AI) Rights:

• Wikipedia page on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, including a section on Robot Rights
• Article by David Petrasek on the possible convergence of Human and non-human rights.

Science Fiction and World Building:

• The Universal Declaration of Sophont Rights in the Orion’s Arm world
• Universal Declaration of Sentient Rights in the Sufficient Velocity world.

A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending

We have had ample data for a long time to declare animals are sentient beings.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animal-emotions/201306/universal-declaration-animal-sentience-no-pretending  

About the Author

Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Online:

marcbekoff.com, Twitter

Posted Jun 20, 2013

Anyone who says that life matters less to animals than it does to us has not held in his hands an animal fighting for its life. The whole of the being of the animal is thrown into that fight, without reserve.” (Elisabeth Costello, in J. M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals)
This past weekend during a series of lectures I presented in Germany a number of people asked questions of the sort, "Isn't it about time we accept that animals are sentient and that we know what they want and need, and stop bickering about whether they are conscious, feel pain, and experience many different emotions?" Of course, this isn't the first time I've heard these queries, and my answer is always a resounding "Yes, we do have ample detailed scientific facts to declare that nonhuman animals are sentient beings and there are fewer and fewer skeptics." People are incredibly frustrated that there are still skeptics who deny what we know, and they also want to know what we are going to do with the knowledge we have to help other animals live in a human-dominated world.
As I was flying home I thought of a previous essay I wrote called "Scientists Finally Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings" in which I discussed the The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness that was publicly proclaimed on July 7, 2012 at the University. The group of scientists wrote, "Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates." They could also have included fish, for whom the evidence supporting sentience and consciousness is also compelling (see also). And, I'm sure as time goes on we will add many other animals to the consciousness club.
A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: Animal sentience is a well-established fact 
Based on the overwhelming and universal acceptance of the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness I offer here what I call a Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience. For the purpose of this essay I am defining "sentience" as "the ability to feel, perceive, or be conscious, or to experience subjectivity" (for wide-ranging discussion please click here.)
I don't offer any specific location for this declaration because with very few exceptions, people worldwide, including researchers and non-researchers alike, accept that other animals are sentient beings. However, a notable exception is Oxford University's Marian Dawkins who continued as of a few months ago to claim we still don't know if other animals are conscious using the same data as those who wrote The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness. I call this Dawkins's Dangerous Idea.
It's also important to note that the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare is based on the indisputable fact that animals are sentient and that they can suffer and feel pain, as is the Treaty of Lisbon and the rapidly growing field of compassionate conservation.
"Evidence of animal sentience is everywhere": It's a matter of why sentience evolved, not if it evolved
article continues after advertisement A strong and rapidly growing database on animal sentience supports the acceptance of the fact that other animals are sentient beings. We know that individuals of a wide variety of species experience emotions ranging from joy and happiness to deep sadness, grief, and PTSD, along with empathy, jealousy and resentment. There is no reason to embellish them because science is showing how fascinating they are (for example, mice, rats, and chickens display empathy) and countless other "surprises" are rapidly emerging.
A large amount of data are available on an interactive website called the "Sentience Mosaic" launched by The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA; for more details please see also) dedicated to animal sentience. A systematic review of the scientific literature on sentience in an essay written by Helen Proctor and her colleagues at WSPA concluded, "Evidence of animal sentience is everywhere." Using a list of 174 keywords they reviewed more than 2500 articles on animal sentience. And, what is very interesting is that they also discovered "a greater tendency for studies to assume the existence of negative states and emotions in animals, such as pain and suffering, than positive ones like joy and pleasure." This is consistent with the historical trend of people who readily denied emotions such as joy, pleasure, and happiness to animals accepting that animals could be mad or angry (see also Helen Proctor's "Animal Sentience: Where Are We and Where Are We Heading?". There is also an upward trend in the number of articles published on animal sentience (using sentience-related keywords) from 1990-2011.

Number of articles published between 1990--2011

Source:

Solid evolutionary theory, namely, Charles Darwin's ideas about evolutionary continuity in which he recognized that the differences among species in anatomical, physiological, and psychological traits are differences in degree rather than kind, also supports the wide-ranging acceptance of animal sentience. There are shades of gray, not black and white differences, so if we have something "they" (other animals) have it too. This is called evolutionary continuity and shows that it is bad biology to rob animals of the traits they clearly possess. For example, we share with other mammals and vertebrates the same areas of the brain that are important for consciousness and processing emotions.
We surely are not exceptional or alone in the arena of sentience and indeed, membership in the sentience club is rapidly growing. There are sound biological reasons for recognizing animals as sentient beings. We need to abandon the anthropocentric view that only big-brained animals such as ourselves, nonhuman great apes, elephants, and cetaceans (dolphins and whales) have sufficient mental capacities for complex forms of sentience and consciousness. So, the interesting and challenging question is why has sentience evolved in diverse species, not if it has evolved.
article continues after advertisement It's time to stop pretending that we don't know if other animals are sentient: We do indeed know what other animals want and need
“Those who define ‘us’ by our ability to introspect give a distorted view of what is important to and about human beings and ignore the fact that many creatures are like us in more significant ways in that we all share the vulnerability, the pains, the fears, and the joys that are the life of social animals.” (Lynne Sharpe, Creatures Like Us)
We need to stop pretending we don't know if other animals are sentient. We also need to accept that we know what they want and need. Their minds aren't as private as some claim them to be. Surely, we might miss out on some of the nitty-gritty details but it is safe to say that other animals want to live in peace and safety and absent fear, pain, and suffering, just as we do. Despite the erroneous claim that other animals are not known to worry, there is ample evidence that they do indeed worry about their well-being (please see "Do Animals Worry and Lose Sleep When They're Troubled?") and that excessive worrying and a lack of rest and sleep can be costly.
While some still claim that we do not know that other animals are sentient beings, countless animals continue to suffer in the most egregious ways as they are used and abused for research, education, food, clothing, and entertainment, for example. And indeed, animal sentience is assumed in many comparative studies and recent legislation protecting chimpanzees from invasive research is based on what is known about these amazing sentient beings. We really don't need any more invasive research to move on and to strongly declare that other animals are sentient. For example, Farm Sanctuary has put out a call for proposals for observational research on the cognitive and emotional lives of farm animals. Some researchers are indeed looking into using brain imaging to access the minds of other animals (see for example Emory University's Gregory Berns's work with dogs; Dr. Berns told me that he now has 11 dogs who are "mri-certified").
article continues after advertisement For an essay I wrote for New Scientist magazine called "Animals are conscious and should be treated as such" about The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness there is a wonderful cartoon of animals sitting around a table discussing these issues (reprinted here with permission of the artist, Andrezj Krauze). The print copy was called "Welcome to our world" and it's about time we did so with open hearts.

Source:

The time is now to shelve outdated and unsupported ideas about animal sentience and to factor sentience into all of the innumerable ways in which we encounter other animals. When The Cambridge Declaration was made public there was a lot of pomp, champagne, and media coverage. There is no need to have this fanfare for A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience. It can be a deep, personal, and inspirational journey that comes from our heart and also has a strong and rapidly growing evidence-based foundation.
The animals will be grateful and warmly thank us for paying attention to the science of animal sentience. And, when we listen to our hearts we are recognizing how much we know about what other animals are feeling and that we owe it to them to protect them however we can. Please, let's do it now. It is easy to do and we can do no less.
 

The Declaration Of Animal Rights 

http://www.declarationofar.org/textSign.php 

SINCE THE DAWN OF HUMANITY, there remains a group so persistently abused and marginalized, that their suffering is ingrained in our everyday lives. If animals could freely talk, their chorus of cries would drown out every other sound in the world. We are all animals. We are all living, breathing beings who share the same Earth. We all feel pain and suffer when we are hurt or deprived of our lives, our families, our freedom. We all have the right to experience kindness, compassion and dignity. We believe in the kinship of all beings, and the possibility for us to coexist in peace and harmony on planet Earth.

CONSIDERING that all living beings on planet Earth came originally from the same source, and follow the same evolutional principles;

CONSIDERING that all living beings on planet Earth inhabit the same lands, seas and air, and therefore share them and their resources to live within, and to live off of, comprising one ecological system;

CONSIDERING that all living beings possess the same basic needs: to survive, to seek happiness and pleasure and avoid pain, to live comfortably, to procreate, create families and other social structures;

CONSIDERING that all living beings, as known to humankind, are sentient beings, and therefore can feel pain, pleasure, sensations, feelings and emotions;

CONSIDERING that the human species is only one of millions of animal species, and comprises a minute minority in number, compared to the billions of animals living on this planet;

WE HEREBY PROCLAIM THAT:

1. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all beings are created equal, and have a right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of their Happiness.
2. Therefore, all animals have the same natural right to exist, as any other living being.
3. All animals have the right to be free, to live their lives on their own terms, as intended by nature.
4. All animals have the right to eat, sleep, be physically and psychologically comfortable, be mobile, healthy, safe, and fulfill all their natural and essential needs. As such, all animals are to be free from hunger, thirst, and malnutrition; physical discomfort and exhaustion; confinement against their will, bad treatment, abusive or cruel actions; pain, injury and disease; fear and distress; and free to express their normal patterns of behavior.
5. All animals have the right to reproduce, live with their offspring, families, tribes or communities, and maintain a natural social life. They have the right to live in their natural environment, grow to a rhythm natural to their species, and maintain a life that corresponds to their natural longevity.
6. Animals are not the property or commodity of humans, and are not theirs to use for their benefit or sustenance. Therefore, they are to be free from slavery, exploitation, oppression, victimization, brutality, abuse, and any other treatment that disregards their safety, own free will and dignity. They should not be slaughtered for food, killed for their skins, experimented on, killed for religious purposes, used for forced labor, abused and killed for sport and entertainment, abused for commercial profit, hunted, persecuted or exterminated for human pleasure, need, or other ends.
7. Humans shall do whatever is within their means to protect all animals. Any animal who is dependent on a human, has the right to proper sustenance and care, and shall not be neglected, abandoned, or killed.
8. Animals who have died must be treated with respect and dignity, as humans are.
9. We call for the protection of these rights. They must be recognized and defended by law, as human rights are. Any act which compromises the wellbeing or survival of an animal or species, or jeopardizes, contradicts, or deprives an animal or species of the rights listed above, should be deemed a crime, and should be punished accordingly.

   IN WITNESS THEREOF, this Declaration is hereby signed today, Sunday, June 5th 2011, The First    National Animal Rights Day, in the City of New York, The United States of America.

(Original text written by Aylam Orian, and edited by Aylam Orian and Zelda Penzel)