Toward a Common Global Ethic: A Proposal for a Declaration of Customary Global Law

by Agybay Smagulov, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan

In the age of planetary risks — climate disruption, pandemics, AI proliferation, resource depletion — humanity faces not only practical but normative uncertainty. The old rules are no longer sufficient, yet the new ones remain undefined. Global interdependence is real, yet the legal and moral frameworks guiding it are fragmented or absent. We live together, but think apart.

To address this vacuum, a new draft initiative titled the Declaration of Principles of Customary Global Law has been released for global discussion. It proposes not a supranational authority or binding legal regime, but a shared normative foundation — one capable of shaping the behavior of states, institutions, and individuals in the interest of long-term human survival and dignity.

Rethinking Sovereignty and Responsibility

This proposed declaration does not seek to challenge the sovereignty of states, but to redefine its moral perimeter. Sovereignty in the 21st century cannot be absolute in face of absolute risks. Ecological collapse in one region affects the whole. AI development in one lab can echo globally. Decisions about the biosphere, weaponized technologies, or cultural heritage are never purely local anymore.

The declaration introduces a concept of “limited sovereignty in global matters” — not as legal coercion, but as ethical realism. No country forfeits its independence, but each must acknowledge its role in shaping planetary consequences.

From International to Global Norms

International law, as we know it, is built on treaties, diplomacy, and state consent. But there is growing recognition of moral-political principles that emerge outside this framework — through consensus, shared experience, and the pressures of interdependence. These are the seeds of what could be called customary global law.

The declaration outlines eight principles: planetary responsibility, global solidarity, the primacy of human survival, protection of humanity’s common heritage, ethical universality, precaution in technology, and intergenerational responsibility. These principles are aspirational yet grounded, abstract yet actionable. They are not enforceable, but they are enforceable by conscience.

A Soft-Law Charter for a Hard World

The goal is not to legislate the world into unity. Rather, it is to equip global actors — especially states — with a common moral compass, a language of accountability that transcends treaties. Just as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights began as moral affirmation before becoming legal infrastructure, this declaration aspires to open a normative horizon that law and policy can gradually follow.

Why Now?

The current decade is decisive. The post-Cold War order has faded without clear replacement. Multilateral institutions struggle. Nationalism and ecological stress grow in parallel. And yet, across these divides, there is a shared anxiety — and perhaps readiness — to rethink what holds us together as humans.

A declaration of customary global law will not solve these problems. But it may help orient us within them. It can provide a moral reference point that complements international law and fills the ethical void of global politics.

Such a declaration requires a voice — ideally from a head of state or a respected global figure — to bring it into the arena of international discourse. It also invites the participation of scholars, civil society, and youth movements. Its authority will not lie in force, but in resonance.

We live at a planetary scale. It is time to think in planetary terms — not only strategically, but normatively. This declaration offers a beginning.

Draft Declaration of Principles of Customary Global Law

In the interest of universal stability, sustainability, and the future of humankind

Preamble

We, the states, nations, and citizens of the world,

Recognizing the unprecedented interdependence of humanity in the context of globalization, technological advancement, and growing global-scale threats;

Acknowledging that the existing forms of international law, grounded in agreements among sovereign states, remain foundational to the international legal order, yet are insufficient to respond normatively to the threats affecting humankind as a whole;

Understanding that a sustainable future requires new ethical and political frameworks and commonly accepted principles capable of guiding the actions of states, international organizations, private actors, and individuals on a global level;

Affirming the necessity of developing the foundations of customary global law as a body of universally recognized moral and political norms;

Hereby proclaim the following principles.

I. Principle of Planetary Responsibility

Each state, international organization, private actor, and individual bears responsibility for the consequences of their actions on the stability of the biosphere, the climate, public health, ecosystems, cultural heritage, and the well-being of future generations.

II. Principle of Global Solidarity

In the context of interdependence, states are obligated to develop cooperation, not confrontation, particularly in responding to global threats such as climate change, pandemics, poverty, hunger, nuclear danger, and technological risks.

III. Principle of the Primacy of Human Survival

No political, economic, ideological, or other interest may justify actions that endanger the existence of human civilization or undermine the foundations of global security.

IV. Principle of Limited Sovereignty in Global Matters

The sovereignty of states must be respected and preserved; however, it shall not be used as a basis for refusing to participate in addressing issues that affect the fate of all humanity, nor for evading obligations of global responsibility.

V. Principle of Protection of the Common Heritage of Humanity

Cultural, scientific, natural, and spiritual resources of global significance must be protected as the common heritage of humankind and may not be destroyed, appropriated, commercialized, or militarized.

VI. Principle of Ethical Universality

Fundamental values — respect for human dignity, life, freedom, justice, peace, and truth — shall be upheld regardless of cultural, religious, or political differences.

VII. Principle of Technological Precaution

The development and use of new technologies (including artificial intelligence, bioengineering, autonomous weapons systems, and space technologies) must be guided by global safety concerns and subject to ethical and normative constraints.

VIII. Principle of Responsibility to Future Generations

Each generation has a duty to pass on to future generations living conditions no worse than those it inherited. All decisions affecting the natural, technological, and social environment must be assessed in light of the rights and interests of those yet unborn.

Final Provisions

1. This Declaration does not replace international law nor infringe upon the sovereignty of states. Rather, it seeks to shape a new normative consciousness capable of ensuring the long-term stability of humanity.

2. The principles of customary global law are of universal character and may serve as a foundation for lawmaking, education, research, international policy, and planetary ethics.

3. All parties who recognize these principles are called upon to endorse, disseminate, and implement them in governance, legal practice, and international cooperation.