A Global Bill of Rights

[Cartoonist]

Here's something the UN should do. Craft a universal Bill of Rights. Individual countries would not be required to adopt them, but those that don't should be regarded as backwards and detrimental to world peace. Eventually, peer pressure should bring them in line.

A. Freedom of speech
B. Religious freedom. No apostasy laws
C. Freedom of self. No anti LGBT laws
D. Racial and Sexual equality

Of course there could be more, but let's keep it simple. I've tried to limit it to the individual. Are there other issues to consider?

[AtheistCrusader]

1. Freedom of association, for labor and other issues.

I'm fond of some of our other rights, trial by jury of peers, equal protection under the law, barring unreasonable search and seizure, due process, etc.

[Cartoonist]

2. They're all good

But like I said, let's start out with the basics.

Also, some of those are too wordy and subject to interpretation. We have them in this country but don't always find them observed or applied equally.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Oh absolutely, we don't enforce them equally.

But we don't have them because they are enforced perfectly. We have them for the purpose of attaining that goal.

I would include the 2nd amendment as well, but that is going to be a contentious issue. I see the means of self-defense as a fundamental right of any living creature, and as a tool-using mammal, it's high on my list. Not so high for others. I know some that prefer the UK's right set, they don't protect our access to arms, and that's desirable to some, but they don't protect freedom of speech like we do either. I don't think any one nation has ever nailed it, stem to stern.

A higher priority for me would be that I'd like to codify a right around reproductive freedom, in line with your item on sexual identity/freedom of self.

[Yorktown]

4. Added some no-no's

A. Freedom of speech. No blasphemy laws
B. Religious freedom. No apostasy laws
C. Freedom of self. No anti-LGBT or adultery laws.
D. Racial and Sexual equality. No slavery.

[Cartoonist]

5. Definitely no slavery

I really hate that this is still going on.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. 77 years ago, a week tomorrow ...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 General Assembly resolution 217 A as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
...
Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
...
Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

Nothing in there about LGBT rights, which isn't a surprise for something that old, so it could do with updating. But I think this shows that peer pressure doesn't have that much effect on governments.

[Cartoonist]

7. Too ambitious

At least 19 articles with too many words. Small wonder that it went into the circular file.

Who signed on to it? What kind of support did it receive?

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Basically, the free countries of the world signed on

while the USSR and puppet governments, apartheid South Africa, and Saudi Arabia, didn't.

On 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly by a vote of 48 in favor, none against, and eight abstentions (the Soviet Union, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, People's Republic of Poland, Union of South Africa, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).[15][16] Honduras and Yemen—both members of UN at the time—failed to vote or abstain.[17] South Africa's position can be seen as an attempt to protect its system of apartheid, which clearly violated any number of articles in the Declaration.[15] The Saudi Arabian delegation's abstention was prompted primarily by two of the Declaration's articles: Article 18, which states that everyone has the right "to change his religion or belief"; and Article 16, on equal marriage rights.[15] The six communist nations abstentions centered around the view that the Declaration did not go far enough in condemning fascism and Nazism.[18] Eleanor Roosevelt attributed the abstention of the Soviet bloc nations to Article 13, which provided the right of citizens to leave their countries.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights#Adoption

It was highly influential in the drafting of the European Convention on Human Rights, which governs basic human rights in nearly all European countries - for instance, British courts (or the European court which acts as the final court of appeal) can find a British law to be in contravention of it, which means the government has to rewrite the law.