Universal Declaration of Civilization Rights

Affirming people’s entitlement to the respect of the cultural heritage that forms an integral part of their identity, history, and civilization is a fundamental human right recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and guaranteed by international law and other relevant universal and regional instruments,

Affirming further that disregard and contempt of cultural rights in any form is a violation of people’s collective cultural dignity that is as severely and equally harmful as any violation of their dignity,

Convinced that illicit possession, display, creation of replicas, and exploitation of heritage structures, monuments, statues, and artifacts of all types and sizes is a form of violation is as harmful as their destruction, mutilation, theft, and smuggling,

Recognizing and reaffirming that countries and nations possess collective rights to safeguard heritage structures, monuments, statues, and artifacts of all types and sizes derive their significance and distinctive character from their perceived historical and cultural values and their meaningful relationships with the sites, environments, nations, and civilizations that originated them,

Bearing in mind that existing regulations and intellectual property have fallen short or, at best, inadequate in protecting these rights and that a common understanding of these rights is of the greatest importance for the full realization of Civilization Rights,

Now, therefore,

We, the undersigned, pronounce this Universal Declaration of Civilization Rights to set a common foundation to safeguard and promote the heritage, cultural rights, and Civilization Rights of every individual and nation through the following principles:

Article 1: 

Each country is entitled to claim the material and moral rights of its cultural and civilization heritage from any entity that exploits or employs this heritage directly and indirectly, whether through pictures, models, imitation copies, names, slogans, or other forms of exploitation of the nation’s cultural heritage. The return of these claims should be directed to safeguard and sustain civilization heritage in their original homeland from extinction.

Article 2: 

Civilization rights claimants must be up to the custodianship responsibility and capable of dealing with their civilization heritage in its original environment.

Article 3: 

Observe Civilization Rights Day every year on June 10 to commemorate the issuance of this declaration as a milestone document in proclaiming civilization rights worldwide.

Article 4: 

Unite efforts at the national and international efforts to raise awareness and assert civilization rights.

Article 5: 

Form mechanisms to secure moral and material rights from any entity that violates civilization rights in profitable activities that do not have returns to the civilization heritage custodian.

Article 6: 

Emphasize the continuity of civilization rights, from the ancestors who made civilization to the grandchildren in today’s generation, the custodians of these rights.

Article 7: 

Promote initiatives, developmental projects, and collaborations that aim to assess the needs of civilization heritage sites, implement conservation interventions, and accelerate progress toward sustainable development goals in these sites.   

Article 8: 

Support the formation of a Civilization Rights Alliance to promote and increase awareness of these rights and encourage adoption.