Foreword: This blog was written by Maya Forte, Unite for Right’s Social Media Director. This blog was produced as a combination of external research in both English and Spanish, and examination of inherent rights of nature explored by our associates at EarthLaw. Visit EarthLaw and Unite for Rights to learn more about how environmental protections expand into the realm of international human rights.
The lawsuit to obtain recognition of the Marañón River’s legal rights was filed by the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana, a federation of Kukama Indigenous women. Credit: Miguel Araoz/Quisca
Rights of Nature and Environmental Protections
While many cases of environmental protection, including from habitat destruction, pollution, and wildlife trafficking have been brought forward for their effects infringing upon restrictions outlined in domestic and international legal protections, this case sets itself apart for its focus on nature’s rights inherent, making a river a rights holder in the same way as a human being.
The Rights of Nature movement holds that Nature itself, including rivers and ecosystems possess legal rights regardless of people’s dependence on them. To Rights of Nature, nature is guaranteed these rights, yet needs human defenders to protect and safeguard those rights. Learn more about human rights law and RoN from this EarthLawCenter article.
The case of the Marañón
On March 18th, 2024, a major environmental legal victory set a new stage for environmental protections around the world with an incredible declaration: a river as a holder of rights itself. Mixed Court of Nauta legally recognised the Maranon River as a holder of rights, appointing its protection to the Indigenous communities and Peruvian state to defend, guard, and represent the river.
It is through a federation of Peruvian Kukama Indigenous women that the case was brought forward, who view the river as a sacred center to their ancestors and representation of the health of the homeland; the state oil company PetroPeru had not updated its environmental management plan, and as a result pipeline leaks had contaminated the river.
Under Resolution number thirty-one, the Marañón river has “; it has the right to flow to guarantee a healthy ecosystem, the right to provide a healthy ecosystem; the right to flow freely from all contamination; the right to feed and be fed by its tributaries; the right to biodiversity; the right to be restored; the right to the regeneration of its natural cycles; the right to the conservation of its ecological structure and functions; the right to protection, preservation and recovery; the right to be represented and that the State must legally protect, because they are an important part of the fundamental rights of every human being and of our future generations as they are life, health and represent one of our basic needs for our subsistence, so they have to be represented.”
Unite for Rights
How does this case connect to Unite for Rights?
In the case of the Marañón River, human rights were foremost relied upon, despite legal precedent connecting to RoN both in Latin America and Europe. The InterAmerican Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), based in Costa Rica, issued an advisory opinion in 2019 connecting the right to a healthy environment as a distinct human rights. Not only did this opinion provide regional level basis for precedent of the non-human exclusive nature of human rights considered by international courts, but provides inspiration and basis for courts around the world. In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) built on this advisory opinion, expanding the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights defining nature as a rights holder. In the case of KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland, suing the Swiss government for inaction to curb climate change; inNeubauer v. Germany, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act was incompatible with constitutional rights to life and health (EarthLawCenter, 2025.)
So, what do these cases have to do with Unite for Rights? Namely, its a matter of efficiency in expanding rights around the world. It’s clear through these cases that the various international court systems both on regional and domestic scales are all reexamining approaches to environmental litigation in light of climate change and huge environmental degradation, with increasing devastation of both human and nonhuman effects. With Unite’s proposed International Bill of Human Rights universalized across these systems, beginning with the regional courts, the ease of expanding rights for both humans and nature will be much more efficient, and we will have more time to focus on the real issues- mitigating climate change and its adverse impacts on both mankind and nature.
The author, Yuval Noah Harari, has written that humans are the most powerful species because they can collaborate. Humans ability to read and write facilitates collaboration.
Does this apply to organizations and businesses also? Yes it does.
There are over 2 millionnonprofits internationally – and over 260,000 foundations. Through collaboration they can achieve their greatest power – it is time to unite philanthropy to unite humanity.
But why do this? Self-interest. Through collaboration, individual philanthropies can achieve most of their missions.
How can philanthropy collaborate? One step is for foundations to get on the globe as a green light on the Unite homepage.
When foundations collaborate internationally, their solutions to humanity’s most intransigent problems will be international as well.
President Roosevelt provided philanthropy an international example to follow when he gave his famous Four Freedoms speech.
He stated the following in his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress in January 1941:
“We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms:
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want — everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear — everywhere in the world.”
These Four Freedoms are a formula for social sciences as important as the formula (e = MC2) to the physical sciences.
When humanity has the first three freedoms “everywhere in the world” then we all live with the fourth freedom – Freedom from Fear.
President Roosevelt’s recitation of the phrase “everywhere in the world” at the end of each freedom is key. He was so adamant about these words that he personally added them; he handwrote them onto the pages of the speech he gave.
He made it perfectly clear that the Four Freedoms were not just for Americans. His own speechwriters questioned him about this, saying that “Americans wouldn’t be much concerned about the people in Java.” Roosevelt’s response was that Americans had better care because “we are all interconnected now.”
Now we need foundations and, individual donors, to show similar resolve.
It does not matter if a foundation is a small local one, or an international one, all are welcome as green lights! Freedom from want, including healthcare, is for people “everywhere in the world.”
If philanthropy is truly concerned about well-being for all, then one percent of its collective funding should go to supporting the revival and implementation of the UDHR – which is built on the foundation of the Four Freedoms.
With advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence, the provision of rights such as healthcare, can be efficiently provided “everywhere in the world“. It is a question of collaboration, and the willingness to do so.
When foundations unite, humanity will unite as well.
This blog was written by Unite for Rights Social Media Director Maya Forte
Social Media and Human Rights- How do they fit?
It’s likely that if you’re reading this blog, you’ve at least heard of social media, if not have a few accounts of your own. With whole online worlds dedicated to helping you land the next job, perfect your next banana bread recipe, or even something as big as finding global solidarity behind the fight for equal rights. As internet and travel combine to make the world infinitely globally interconnected, it seems that humans are able to feel closer to each other and connect in a variety of ways- some of which have even been the spark that lit the fire of a complete societal revolution. Just as community, messaging, and working all look different than they did just a few years ago, advocacy, protest, and the fight for human rights and democracy do too.
Some of the biggest social movements, revolutions and protests since the early 2000s can be attributed in some part to social media and online protests, such as the Arab Spring Revolutions, Black Lives Matter, Climate Fridays, and #MeToo. Through internet campaigns and petitions (for instance, our 38 degrees petition you can still sign here to support!) This blog isn’t a straight forward, technoutopian perspective on how social media is the new savior of mankind, and that legislative action and protections have to fall to the wayside of Tweets and reposts; if you’ve read any of our other posts or know about our organisation, you’ll know how important safeguarding the rule of law is to safeguarding human rights protections worldwide.
Digital activism- it’s perks and important drawbacks
Through intentional and calculated use of these new technologies, messages and organisations like Unite for Rights have the capacity to spread like wildfire- with the real chance of universal and fluid human rights documents like the UDHR having power they’ve never had before. Article 19 of the UDHR is Freedom of Expression, a right often revoked and echoed through domestic legislation in countries like the US and UK.
Now with social media, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Speech can allow for communities to come together regardless of geographic proximity- and do things like facilitate worldwide pro-democracy protest events like the recent No Kings Day events this past summer. At the same time though, we see the rise of communities built on destroying or targeting certain individuals, either explicitly or through the slow manipulation of hate or blame on a certain group. Disinformation campaigns, including deepfakes and other artificially-generated content, alongside deliberate spread of misinformation, is an incredibly powerful tool that can have immense impacts on the decision-making ability and influence entire populations. In the months leading up to the full scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia began releasing information on public news and media platforms like TikTok, Telegram, and other social platforms to gain support and justify the war both within the Russia-controlled media and to individuals abroad. Social media, just as it can be an asset- is also now being used as a weapon. Lots of other criticisms, such as that social media’s communicative ease lessens the burden of participation but makes movements die out faster, corporate ownership of the platforms means that content moderation and blocking from powerful actors can manipulate messaging, and lack of clear leadership can dilute and change messaging.
How do we effectively use social media for human rights?
One key way is through information creation and dissemination, but with the key element of a critical eye. As Uniters and individuals who care for others on the most basic level, we owe it to ourselves and to mankind to try our best to separate fact from fiction. Just because something has been spreading on social media doesn’t make it true, and just because an issue or petition is trending, doesn’t mean that there is equal action behind it in the real world. We call this “clicktivism” or “slacktivism”, the idea that liking a post is so easy to do that we don’t find ourselves actually financially or physically committing to support causes we care about. To dissuade this, we challenge you to yes- use social media to engage with local and international connections about the importance of the rule of law and the potential of the UDHR as a founding force for good- but also show up to that protest, talk to your neighbor or family member that has a different political belief or doesn’t understand why they should care about human rights. Physical changes will not only allow you to literally see progress in your actions, but build real community beyond the screen.
Navigating truth in the land of social media is already a difficult task in and of itself. And yet, it’s the effective and calculated use of tools like social media platforms that enable movements to quickly grow and gain support overnight. Unite’s mission, reviving and implementing the rights in the UDHR, including the strengthening and expansion of regional court systems, is putting social media to good use.
People ask, “What is Unite doing.” Our answer is “Unite works to revive and implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an International Bill of Rights.” A picture is worth a thousand words.
To which they often answer, “why now” and we answer, “Because at a time when authoritarianism is on the rise and the biosphere of Earth is being ruined, we need to do more than vote or recycle, we have to take 1% of our time, and our funds, to address global problems at a global level.”
Then they ask, “how do we revive the and implement the UDHR” – this blog answers this question: “We Unite globally.”
This blog also announces specific acts we can take to Unite globally:
1) Help gatherpeople, nonprofits, businesses and governments on the Unite globe for the 80th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 2028.
2) Attend an event Unite is hosting at the War Memorial Opera House (the birthplace of the UDHR, see Blog #16) in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, 9 December 2028, to celebrate and reaffirm our support for the UDHR, the closest humanity has ever come to reaching an agreement to live together.
In essence, we are uniting to tell each other one of the best stories that has ever been told internationally: That we can live together as an international community based upon enforceable fundamental rights for people in all countries.
The UDHR is one of the most translated documents in history. In many countries 10 December is recognized as a day of importance.
So, would you like to be a part of this story? Two and a half years, 10 December 2028 may seem like a long time from now, but it will arrive quickly – the time to act is now.
The way to act is first to get on the globe and encourage others to join you. This is not a replacement for voting or recycling, or other local charitable activities, keep doing them, but do this too. It literally takes one minute.
What is unique about the Unite movement is that it unites people, nonprofits, businesses and governments in one place – a globe, just like we live in one place, Earth.
Unite does not seek to convert those who dislike rights for all, but to unite those who believe the fundamental premise of the UDHR: fundamental human rights are for all humans, regardless of which countries they live, and they should be enforceable in courts. For the 80th anniversary of the UDHR, please bring those who share this belief to join in.
If you are interested in attending the event at the War Memorial in San Francisco, once you are on the globe, you’ll be informed more about it, and those on the globe receive a 50% discount on their ticket, which will include food and music as well as performances related to the UDHR on the stage.
One of the great features of the 80th anniversary event, and why it’s worthy to plan so far ahead, is that it will not only be a celebration, but involve education and participation to achieve the implementation of the UDHR.
There will be pictures and exhibits exhibiting the enforcement of the rights in the UDHR within the regional courts, including the European Court of Human Rights, the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
In addition, during the two-year preparation for the event on the 80th anniversary, there will be outreach to all who would like to participate in the drafting of an International Bill of Rights (IBOR) on the Unite website, and on the night of the event, there will be laptop computers at which people can see the draft document and contribute their thoughts to it.
The International Bill of Rights is a continuation of the original intent of the UDHR. At the War Memorial building in San Francisco, on the very stage where the Unite event will be, President Truman told the closing ceremony for the U.N. Charter in San Francisco “The first thing we will do is prepare an International Bill of Rights.”
President Truman then turned to Eleanor Roosevelt, and appointed her a delegate to the United Nations, where she became Chair of the newly created Human Rights Commission. The Commision’s goal was to implement this plan for an International Bill of Rights, and Eleanor, along with an international body, set out to draft an International Bill of Rights.
When asked what they were doing, they specifically said they were “drafting an International Bill of Rights”.
By 10 December 2028, the draft IBOR document will be ready for submission to the Human Rights Council, the International Law Commission and the General Assembly of the United Nations for ratification by countries as a treaty. (see Blog #26).
Dr. Martin Luther King said “people make better taillights than headlights.” Thank you for being a leader, a headlight, both to the globe and to the War Memorial – others will follow you.
Here you can add movies, music, books – anything that you think generally supports of idea of an International Bill of Rights enforceable in the courts of all countries.
