The Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities (DHDR) was written for reinforcing the implementation of human rights under the auspices of the UNESCO and the interest of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and was proclaimed in 1998 "to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)" in the city of Valencia. Therefore, it is also known as the Valencia Declaration.
Looking toward the coming 21st century, the authors sought to address the unfinished realization of universal human rights. Expanding on the UDHR, the DHDR formulates related duties and responsibilities related to relationships between people and states.
The point of departure of the DHDR Preamble is the shared concern regarding the lack of political will for enforcing globally human rights fifty years after the adoption of the UDHR and following human rights instruments. The preamble cites existing declarations on the subject, affirms the rights of all beings, recognizes the challenges the new technologies have brought about, and recognizes specific groups in need of special mention, including women and Indigenous people.
Its 12 chapters and 41 articles can be compared with the human rights such as formulated in the UDHR and recent initiatives that reflect a similar preoccupation for the formulation of duties and responsibilities, such as the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Statute of Rome, the Global Compact, The Earth Charter, the Kyoto Protocol, and UNESCO declarations and conventions.
History
The declaration was drafted by a diverse group of experts integrated by Nobel laureates - Joseph Rotblat, Wole Soyinka and Dario Fo. It included scientists, politicians, and philosophers, including, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Richard Falk, Ruud Lubbers, Lord Frank Judd, Sergey Kapitsa, Jakob von Uexküll, Fernando Savater. Its chairman was South African judge, Richard Goldstone. This process was inspired by the need –in words of Justice Goldstone- of the transition from a “formal equality” to a "substantial equality" with a shared concern of the situation of millions of ignored and marginalised people in our globalised world: “the recognition of human rights is insufficient, … if such so rights are to be realized it is necessary that they are enforceable... There must be a duty on all relevant authorities and individuals to enforce those rights.” With a convergent perspective, Norberto Bobbio has entirely supported the initiative and the text of the DHDR, in particular taking into account the main concern for humanity of reinforcing the international systems. In that context, he has established an interesting comparison between the transition from “moral rights” to “legal rights” and the need to transform “moral duties” into “legal duties” (See: Norberto Bobbio, Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities, page 98).
This Declaration proposes comprehensively the implicit system of duties and responsibilities contained in our human rights systems, in particular, that enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in subsequent international human rights instruments and establishes consequently their bearers.
DHDR Chapter I: The General Provisions
In DHDR Article 1 “duty” and “responsibility” are defined for the purpose of the declaration: "duty" means an ethical or moral obligation; and "responsibility", an obligation that is legally binding under existing international law. The DHDR explains in details the complexity of the exercise of responsibilities. The bearers are the members of the global community that have collective, as well as individual duties and responsibilities, to promote universal observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. “Global community" means both States and non-States actors: international, regional and sub-regional intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, public and private sector (trans)national corporations, other entities of civil society, peoples, communities, and individuals taken collectively.
The DHDR reflects the gamut of both states and non-states actors that have to be mutually supportive bearers of duties and responsibilities. On the contrary, the UN Millennium Declaration (MD), a recent international document addressed to the governments, is focused primarily on the States responsibilities that are shared and collective: “We /heads of State and Government / recognize that, in addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality, and equity at the global level. As leaders we have a duty therefore to all the world’s people…”
DHDR Article 2 is dedicated to postulate exhaustively the bearers of duties and responsibilities: “Members of the global community have collective, as well as individual duties and responsibilities, to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.…” This declaration considers the existence of collective responsibilities inside the limits traced by the universally recognized rights, with the implicit consequences of accountability that would be fairly distributed. The DHDR addresses simultaneously the responsibilities of individuals and groups. It states: “As the holders of human rights and fundamental freedoms, all individuals, peoples, and communities in the exercise of their rights and freedoms, have the duty and responsibility to respect those of others, and a duty to strive for the promotion and observance thereof”. This statement continues appropriately the way initiated by the UDHR in Article 29 and reiterates the interaction of duties, responsibilities, and rights of the International Covenants on Human Rights of 1966.
DHDR Chapter 2: The right to life and human security
Most of the titles of the DHDR chapters enunciate a right or fundamental freedom that will be the thematic focus of the related duties and responsibilities. Chapter 2 begins the list of duties and responsibilities with the right to life and human security, rights to be secure for the present and also future generations in the awareness that for the first time in human history the humankind survival is in peril due to human action. Following the UDHR Article 3 “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”; this chapter draws our attention to the intergenerational responsibility.
DHDR Article 3 is dedicated to the duty and responsibility to protect the life of every member of the human family and ensure the survival of both present and future generations. That means “to take reasonable steps to help others whose lives are threatened, or who are in extreme distress or need”. A key element of the formulation of the DHDR has been the present duty and responsibility for the potential consequences of our actions for the future generations. “The rights of these future generations are the duties of present generations” summarises Federico Mayor, the then Director General of UNESCO. Therefore, the right to peace and the right to live in a balanced ecological environment have to be recognized and guaranteed. In a broader sense, the Earth Charter, a declaration of principles for a sustainable world, emphasises the urgency of sharing responsibility for caring for the community of life, including the well-being of the human family.
DHDR Article 4 enunciates the duty and responsibility to promote collective security and a culture of peace of all members of the global community. War and conflict prevention, fostering international peace, global security and cooperation are needed for this purpose. The responsibility of States, according to UN Chapter 7, is underlined and also their duty strengthening mediation, conflict prevention, and post-conflict peace-building mechanisms and peace-keeping capacities.
DHDR Article 5 is dedicated to the duty and responsibility to promote rapid and effective disarmament in the interests of peace. Primarily the States are in charge of reducing military expenditure in favour of human development, and together with no-States actors to carry our nuclear disarmament, to cease any production or use of all chemical and biological weapons, and use of landmines.
The Duty to intervene to prevent gross human rights violations is stated in the DHDR Article 6 that means the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other gross or systematic human rights abuses in all circumstances. States are mainly in charge of preventing and also punishing such violations, and there is also a collective duty of the States to intervene in the case where individual State fails to prevent such abuses. UN Chapter 7 remains general framework for this responsibility. For defining gross human rights violations and the need of prevention and punishment this chapter has been inspired by the Rome Statute that was adopted some months before this Declaration was finalised.
DHDR Article 7 enunciates the duty and responsibility unconditionally and in all circumstances to respect international humanitarian law during times of armed conflict. This law, obligates government forces, insurgents, and military or paramilitary forces, to refrain from committing acts of genocide; crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as mass killing, torture or rape.
The focus of DHDR Article 8 is the duty and responsibility of humanitarian assistance and intervention to those in need. In a globalised world with millions of displaced people, it is claimed for the adequate provision of food, shelter, health care and other essential requirements for survival to ensure the right to life for everyone in the world.
DHDR Article 9 finishes this chapter with the duty and responsibility to protect and promote a safe, stable and healthy environment, promoting respect, protection and preservation of the uniqueness and diversity of all forms of life. An adequate use of resources avoiding excessive exploitation and consumption, collaborative scientific research and exchange of information are required. This article is similar to the Kyoto Protocol, an international and legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases emissions worldwide, an urgent change of attitude towards the environment. This duty for the present and future generations has already been confirmed by a broad scientific consensus on the existence of climate change and human responsibility.
DHDR Chapter 3: Human security and an equitable international order
DHDR Article 10 emphasises the duty and responsibility to promote an equitable international order for the universal enjoyment of sustainable human, economic, social, cultural, political, scientific and technological development and equitable participation in the decision-making processes for an interdependent and technologically well equipped world, providing an extensive vision of the general formulation of the UDHR Article 28: “Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized”. The DHDR statements are categorical: “Economic policies and development should not be pursued at the expense of human rights or social development” (6), “Economic and social development shall not be pursued at the expense of the environment and natural resources” (7), and “As sovereign and equal members of the international community, all States have the right to participate fully, equitably and effectively in international and global institutions and decision-making processes…(8)” Coincidentally to the DHDR proposals, the “millennium development goals” of the MD set an agenda for a global partnership to fight poverty and establishing shared goals for a better world by 2015. Their fulfillment is measurable by progress at a quantitative level.