Norms for a Global World
The All Win Principle
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Earth Charter
Ethical Guidelines for Engineers
Introduction
There are a number of documents which are universally accepted, but not always adhered to. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter. In addition there are a number of standards which are widely accepted. These include the Earth Charter, the Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities, and the Declaration for All Life and a number of professional codes. There are also some important standards which are in the process of being increasingly accepted such as the Global Compact, standards for businesses, introduced by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. In this section you will find a number of these documents.
Source: United Nations Department of Public Information
http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/index.htm
The All Win Principle, a Step in the Evolutionary Walz
Introduction
Stress is increasing as our world 'goes global'. Each of us has one foot in a personal world and the other foot in the world as a whole, as the media, the people we meet, the products we buy and the work we do entwine us with the rest of humanity. The stress decreases to the degree we can integrate these two worlds.
As a human race, there are also two forces at work: One is conflicted, chaotic tearing us apart. The other is bringing us together, as myriad strands of communication encase us in a cocoon within which humanity is reconstituting itself into one indivisible whole.
It is not clear which course our evolution will take. Will we fall apart or come together? Humanity is torn between remaining a caterpillar or taking its next evolutionary leap into 'butterflyhood' by becoming a global community based on unity in diversity. Systems theory provides us with insights into how we can take our next evolutionary leap with the help of the all-win principle. Here is a brief summary of the two principles...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights consists of 30 fundamental human rights belonging to each person in the world. It is up to us to see to it that our rights are implemented by our governments and legal systems. In the United Nations there are a Human Rights Committee which deals with breaches of our human rights and a newly created Human Rights Counsil.
The Earth Charter
Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has provided the conditions essential to life's evolution. The resilience of the community of life and the well-being of humanity depend upon preserving a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, a rich variety of plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean air. The global environment with its finite resources is a common concern of all peoples. The protection of Earth's vitality, diversity, and beauty is a sacred trust. Therefore in 1990 during the preparations for the UN's Earth Summit in Rio civil society began writing the following document...
Ethical Guidelines for Engineers
Many people today no longer have an unequivocally positive perception of technology. Engineers, both individually and as a group, are being questioned regarding their conduct, since they are the technical experts by definition. Within this context and following the lead of other professional associations, it is advisable for an engineering society such as the K VIV to consider the ethical accountability of its members’ professional activities. With its newly conceived “K VIV Ethical Guideline for Engineers”, the K VIV wishes to testify to its awareness of the role and responsibility of engineers in our society. It arose from a wave of self-reflection and invites engineers to consider the ethics of their own jobs from time to time.