Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all sentient beings is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the Frontier Sector,

Whereas disregard and contempt for sentient rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of all right-minded sentients, and the advent of a universe in which sentient beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration,

Whereas it is essential, if sentient beings are not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that sentient rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between planets,

Whereas the peoples of the United Planetary Federation have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental sentient rights, in the dignity and worth of the all sentients regardless of kind and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member Planets have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Planetary Federation, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of sentient rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The Council of Worlds,

Proclaims this Universal Charter of Sentient Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all planets, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Charter constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, planetary and interplanetary, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member Planets themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.

All sentient beings are inherently free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

Every sentient is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Charter, without distinction of any kind, such as species, race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, planetary or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or interplanetary status of the planet, country or territory to which a being belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

Every sentient has the right to life, liberty and security of self.

Article 4.

No sentient shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

No sentient shall be subjected to torture or to cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

Every sentient has the right to recognition everywhere as a being before the law.

Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Charter and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

Every sentient has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national, planetary, or interplanetary tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted them by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

No sentient shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

Every sentient is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of their rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against them.

Article 11.

1. Every sentient charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence.

2. No sentient shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national, planetary, or interplanetary law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

No sentient shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon their honour and reputation. Every sentient has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

1. Every sentient has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each Planet.

2. Every sentient has the right to leave any state, country, or planet including their own, and to return to their state, country, or planet.

Article 14.

1. Every sentient has the right to seek and to enjoy in other jurisdictions asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Planetary Federation.

Article 15.

1. Every sentient has the right to a citizenship.

2. No sentient shall be arbitrarily deprived of their citizenship nor denied the right to change their citizenship.

Article 16.

1. Sentients of full age, without any limitation due to species, race, citizenship or religion, have the right to enter into such reproductive and social relationships as they choose. They are entitled to equal rights before, during, and after the dissolution of such relationships (should that occur).

2. Such relationships shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending parties.

3. Such relationships are the natural and fundamental group units of society and are entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

1. Every sentient has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

2. No sentient shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property.

Article 18.

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

Article 19.

Every sentient 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 borders.

Article 20.

1. Every sentient has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

2. No sentient may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

1. Every sentient has the right to take part in the government of their locality, country or planet, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

2. Every sentient has the right to equal access to public service in their locality, country, or planet.

3. The will of the populace shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal sufferage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Every sentient, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national and planetary effort and interplanetary co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each Planet, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for their dignity and the free development of their personality.

Article 23.

1. Every sentient has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

2. Every sentient, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

3. Every sentient who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of sentient dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

4. Every sentient has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.

Article 24.

Every sentient has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

1. Every being has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and of their families, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.

2. Offspring and those traditionally charged with their care are entitled to special care and assistance. All offspring shall enjoy the same social protection regardless of any other status.

Article 26.

1. Every being has the right to education. Education, in any necessary form, shall be free, at least in the fundamental stages. Basic education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

2. Education, whatever its form, shall be directed to the full development of the individual personality and to the strengthening of respect for sentient rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all planets, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Planetary Federation for the maintenance of peace.

3. Parents/reproductive groups have a prior right to choose the kind of basic education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

1. Every sentient has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

2. Every sentient has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the author.

Article 28.

Every sentient is entitled to a social and interplanetary order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Charter can be fully realized.

Article 29.

1. Every sentient has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of their personalities is possible.

2. In the exercise of their rights and freedoms, every sentient shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Planetary Federation.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Charter may be interpreted as implying for any Planet, group or sentient any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

• I prefer the descriptor "sentients" in favor of "beings".  Partly aesthetic/linguistically, but also in due deference to any non-coporial or true-group consciousness life forms that may be discovered in the future.
• In regards to 21.3, I feel compelled to insist on the principle of free elections for all.  If our Clarionese friends wish to robe their government in the ceremonial trappings of monarchy, by all means they are free to do so.  However, the form of said government must be based on free elections.  If this Charter is to be a truly universal document, the standards it contains must apply equally to all citizens of the Federation and at all levels of government.  To make exception makes a mockery of the very concept of the Charter, and we are all be wasting our time.
• In regards to 24, I should think it's not too difficult to understand.  After all, Vrusk need time off to actually look at their art collections.  I acknowledge that they need far less time for personal development and interests than other species do.  I understand the power of developmental biology in shaping thought patterns (I've read my Lakoff), and it has been a cultural barrier (espcially between Humans and Vrusk) for as long as we've been associating with one another.  However, as with my thoughts about the Clarionese situation above, the standards of the Charter must reasonably accomodate both the needs and interests of all the species of the Frontier, not just Vrusk corporatism.  To use the vernacular: they need to "loosen up a bit".  And not just for the sake of an intellectual/moral point.  Light knows we don't need any more Kraatar Liberation Corps...
• In general terms regarding the use of the word "family"/"families".  We could be pages listing every set, subset, style, form, variation, etc of reproductive/social arrangement.  As I stated previously, a certain amount of linguistic convention is useful on a number of fronts.  I tried to strike a balance and re-worded a few things slightly, but some cases it was just plain easier to use the colloquial vernacular.  We're all adult sentients, capable of reading the necessary context.