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The Earth Charter/Rio De Janeiro Declaration and the Oneness
of Humanity
Presented in brief to Working Group III of the Preparatory
Committee for the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED)
New York, USA
4 March 1992
In the opinion of the Baha'i International Community, the Earth
Charter has the potential to become the most important document
to emerge from the Earth Summit. It could offer a unifying vision
for the future and articulate the values upon which a peaceful,
prosperous and harmonious world society could practically be constructed.
In so doing, the Earth Charter could lift the context of deliberations
on humanity's future to a new level -- to the level of principle.
Only discourse at the level of principle has the power to invoke
a moral commitment, which will, in turn, make possible the discovery
of enduring solutions to the many challenges confronting a rapidly
integrating human society.
There are spiritual principles, or what some call human values,
by which solutions can be found for every social problem. Any
well-intentioned group can, in a general sense, devise practical
solutions to its problems, but good intentions and practical knowledge
are usually not enough. The essential merit of spiritual principle
is that it not only presents a perspective which harmonizes with
the inherent nobility in human nature, it also induces an attitude,
a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery
and implementation of practical measures. By proclaiming such
principles, the Earth Charter can tap a powerful source of individual
and collective motivation, which will be essential for the reorientation
of the world toward a sustainable future. Leaders of governments
and all in authority would be well served in their efforts to
respond to the dangers facing the world community if they would
first seek to identify the principles involved and then be guided
by them.
No principle, it seems to us, is more fundamental to the environmental
and developmental challenges facing the peoples of the world than
recognition of their common humanity. Accordingly, we earnestly
propose that the principle of the ONENESS OF HUMANITY be given
special attention in the formulation of the Earth Charter, preferably
in its Preamble.
Acceptance of the principle of the ONENESS OF HUMANITY -- a
principle which science amply confirms -- will enable the world's
diverse peoples to work toward a common future. It will make possible
the reorganization and administration of the world as one country,
the home of humankind. Only when individuals see themselves as
members of one human family, sharing one common homeland, will
they be able to commit themselves to the far-reaching changes,
on the individual and collective levels, which an increasingly
interdependent and rapidly changing world mandates. This principle
-- the ONENESS OF HUMANITY -- should, therefore, be proclaimed
in the Preamble to the Earth Charter, taught in schools, and constantly
asserted in every nation as preparation for the organic change
in the structure of society which it implies.
The principle of the ONENESS OF HUMANITY does not imply abandonment
of legitimate loyalties, the suppression of cultural diversity
or the abolition of national autonomy, so essential if the evils
of excessive centralization are to be avoided. It calls for a
wider loyalty, a higher aspiration than has yet animated human
efforts. It insists on the subordination of national impulses
and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It
is inconsistent with excessive centralization, on the one hand,
and with any attempt to impose uniformity, on the other. Its watchword
is "unity in diversity."
As a statement of principle and as the ultimate goal of human
existence, the ONENESS OF HUMANITY provides both a unifying vision
and the foundation for a new system of values. It has the power
to inspire the transformation of individual attitudes and behavior.
It can, at the same time, help chart the structural changes necessary
for the emergence of a sustainable pattern of development in a
peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous global society. The Baha'i
International Community would be pleased to offer the assembled
Delegates any assistance they would deem useful as they complete
the draft text of this historic document.
BIC Document #92-0305
©The
Baha'i International Community United Nations Office 1998
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