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Part 2 of Convention on the Rights and Responsibilities of Enhanced Individuals
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2018-02-14
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2018-10-25
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the Sokovia Accords

Summary:

An attempt at a draft of the Sokovia Accords.

Because, why not.

 

Written in the style of a UN Treaty, with references, footnotes and meta at the bottom, for anyone who's interested.

Notes:

I am obviously a masochist. Because why am I attempting this.

 

This is literally the raw Accords text from 'in accordance with the principles of justice'. Seriously not expecting anyone to read this, but it's here as a reference work if needed! If anyone does actually read, please let me know, it will genuinely make my week.

For that rare gem, the political geek, if anyone wants to come chat with me oh my god please do. I will love you forever.

Chapter 1: Preamble

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

 "The Sokovia Accords"

Convention on the Rights and Responsibilities of Enhanced Individuals

 

 

Preamble

 

The States Parties to the present Convention,

 

Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,1

Acknowledging that, in accordance with the proclamations made in the Charter, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, all human beings are born free and equal, and are entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind2,3

Bearing in mind that as the human family has progressed and expanded, there has been an exponential increase in appearance of enhanced humans, and of sapient non-human beings of alien-, artificial-, or other- heritage, who are 'endowed with reason and conscience' and have acted towards humankind 'with a spirit of brotherhood'4, as the United Nations encourages humans to do,

Welcoming the good intentions of the vast majority of these individuals, including but not limited to the international group known as 'The Avengers', persons serving voluntarily in their respective armed forces, in intelligence agencies, or local law enforcement,

Emphasising that the United Nations mission, as laid out in Article 1 of the Charter, is to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self determination of peoples, to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and to promote and encourage respect for fundamental freedoms for all,5

Highlighting that the lack of oversight, jurisdiction and accountability of ' The Avengers ' and any other enhanced individual operating outside of law enforcement or a military structure, presents a contradiction in terms to the goals of the United Nations,

Determining therefore that there is a need for a systematic, international co-operative effort to regulate the activities of enhanced individuals currently acting without jurisdiction, to acknowledge enhanced agents of national or international bodies and their abilities, and to reaffirm the rights and freedoms of-, and protections extended to-, enhanced individuals, be they human, alien, artificial intelligence or otherwise,

 

Have agreed as follows;

 

 

Notes:

1 lifted almost verbatim from the 1st paragraph of the Preamble of the UDHR - the wording is very clever, referring to the 'human family' as an entity, before also later going on to define the literal meaning of 'family' as a social unit. At least, that's how I've always interpreted it. I figured dropping in the concept of the 'human family' first off will help later when defining human enhancement in relation to baseline humans, as well as other entities (aliens, AI) with 'humanity'

2 'without distinction of any kind' is from Article 2 of the UDHR. I chose it because it's such a definitive statement. The Declaration goes on to list examples - race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth - and rounds off by saying 'or other status' as well, so this reference places double the emphasis on enhanced humans as still fundamentally human, even with modifications that render them biologically different to a baseline human

3 covering all bases by mentioning the Covenants as well as the Declaration, a la the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Preamble), and threw in the Charter for good measure, again to hammer home to any signatory that *there is backing and precedent for this*

4 both quotes from Ch. I, A1 of the UDHR

5 summary of Ch. I, A1 of the UN Charter

---

The Preamble of the treaty clarifies the circumstances and assumptions upon which the treaty is based. In this case, I put heavy emphasis on the 'human' aspect of 'enhanced human', while essentially introducing no newly-agreed concepts, just reminding signatory nations what they've agreed to already.

As stated in the Preamble to 'in accordance with the principles of justice', my thinking is that the UN's priority when dealing with Enhanced individuals is to

1) prevent them from being co-opted/drafted/forced etc. into a military which will use them arbitrarily and without supervision or accountability, upsetting the international status quo and endangering everything the UN has spent the last 70 years working for
2) reaffirm their status as 'human' where possible, and otherwise (in the case of AI, aliens etc) to ensure they're provided for under international law, if not the UDHR itself, to assist with the action of (1), if not because... uh... they're still people.

Enhanced individuals, depending on perspective and motivation, can be one of two things; a weapon, or a person. Weapons have no autonomy; persons do.
The first line of the preamble in the UN Charter begins 'we the people of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war'. The second line is 'to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small'.

It stands to reason then that the UN's first priority would be to prevent the classification of EIs as merely weapons, and thus avoid discriminatory practices against (or inversely, the conscription of) enhanced people at a military, covert, or governmental level.

It would be bordering on impossible for any mcu!UN treaty aimed at regulating international policy over EIs or genetic enhancement in general not to reaffirm an enhanced human's rights under international law, because to fail to do so immediately creates the 'weapon' loophole that allows governments (or megalomaniacs like Thunderbolt Ross) to essentially create a slave army of enhanced soldiers. Similarly, individuals signing the Accords are immediately under the jurisdiction (in the case of the Avengers) or supervision (eg SHIELD agents) of the UN, and hence their protection. This prevents signatory EIs from being 'disappeared' into places like the RAFT (which is still in defiance of international law, but if the UN doesn't officially know, then...) and provides safety nets for people like Thor and Vision, on top of the clarifications that will come in Part I concerning the definition of Enhanced Individuals.

Steve Rogers is right to be concerned about agendas (skepticism of government is healthy!) but with an organisation as large as the UN the majority of agendas will neutralize each other. The UN has no motivation as an entity to use 'attack dogs', and its goal is world peace and security. Its methods (lack of?) are sometimes questionable, but it's more public, more accountable, and more friendly than SHIELD.

Chapter 2: Part I, Articles 1-4

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

PART I

 

Article 1

  1. A Biologically Enhanced Human is defined as someone born with a wholly ‘baseline’ human genetic structure (hereafter 'Baseline Humans'), who undergoes any procedure to induce irreversible change to their anatomy that results in abilities beyond the capability of a Baseline Human
  2. A Genetically Enhanced Human is defined as someone born with any genetic mutation that gives them abilities beyond the capability of a Baseline Human, that is not a chromosomal mutation1
  3. A Technologically Advanced Human is defined as someone who uses artificial constructs, such as prostheses, highly specialised suits of armor, or other technological means to give them abilities beyond the capability of a Baseline Human
  4. For the purposes of the present Convention, where applicable the term ‘Enhanced Human’ may be used to describe the collective listed above

 

Article 2

A Non Human Sapient Being is hereby defined as an individual with non-human chromosomal makeup (of both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial origin), or of artificial (non-biological) construction; 'endowed with reason and conscience'2, which is assessed to be of- or beyond- the level of a Baseline Human3

 

Article 3

The States Parties, specifically the International Body for Enhanced Individuals, as established in Part III, Article 31, reserve the right to determine what constitutes ‘reason and conscience which is assessed to be of- or beyond- human level' on a case-by-case basis, as per protocol laid out in Part III

 

Article 4

For the purposes of the present Convention, where applicable,

  1. the term ‘Enhanced Individuals’ may be used to describe the collective groups defined in Articles 1 and 2
  2. the term 'Sapient Beings' may be used to describe a collective group including more than one of the following: Baseline Humans, Enhanced Individuals, and alien beings, biological and non-biological constructs possessed of sentience but yet to be classified by the International Body for Enhanced Individuals

 

Notes:

1 a chromosomal mutation would essentially render you non-human - hence they'd be classed under Article 2
2 'endowed with reason and conscience' is lifted directly from Article 1 of the UDHR
3 I left this purposefully vague - and if this doesn't set off alarm bells, then Article 4 should.

 
---

I realise I'm posting this before the chapter of the actual fic, but I had a few minutes and wanted to get this up.

We're leaving the 'good intentions' of the Preamble behind, now, and this is where vague language should start to raise eyebrows. Part II will put it to rest a little - this is where the Convention will enshrine the rights of Enhanced (mainly humans, because you know full well that someone like Ross will use 'but they're not baseline!' as a chance to deny an EI their basic human rights). The parts that apply to Non Human Sapient Beings (NHSBs) especially are harder to write, both for myself, and - I'd imagine - even in-universe.

I'll go into more detail about the process for determination of 'reasoning and intelligence assessed to be of- or beyond- human level' more in Part III, when I get there - but this is partly me giving myself more time to think about it, and also facing the very real possibility that even in the MCU, people won't know how to deal with this shit. Super Soldiers are one thing, they were born human, look human, are fundamentally human: but what separates Loki from the Chitauri? How will one differentiate between Groot and Nebula?

This stuff will all have to be worked out on a case-by-case basis, and that means setting up a system for dealing with it. But how well can you do that, when half the time you won't know what you're looking for? Ignoring AoS (because at this point I simply can't catch up with it), how many aliens have we actually interacted with in the MCU? How many does the UN know about?

They're all questions I'm thinking about - if anyone has any more, any ideas or new angles then please do comment. This series has sparked a lot of debate in the comments already, and it's brilliant. It also really helps me think, I tend to work best when people fire questions at me - so you know, if you do, the chances of it affecting my take on the Accords, and on the stories I'm telling in 'in accordance' is high. I'm doing as much research and analysis as I have time to, but at the end of the day I'm only one woman... and I'm inherently aware that my research will skew towards my political views, which I want to try not to do.

Chapter 3: Part II, Articles 5-10

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

PART II

 

Article 5 1

Each State Party shall, in accordance with its constitutional processes, take any necessary measures to implement its obligations under this Treaty. In particular, it shall take any necessary measures:

  1. To prohibit all Sapient Beings anywhere on its territory, or in any other place under its jurisdiction as recognized by international law, from undertaking any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Treaty;
  2. To prohibit all Sapient Beings from undertaking any such activity anywhere under its control; and
  3. To prohibit, in conformity with international law, natural persons or Enhanced Individuals possessing its nationality from undertaking any such activity anywhere.

 

Article 6

  1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each and every Enhanced Individual within their jurisdiction without discrimination2 of any kind, irrespective of the classification, ability, sentience, origin, race, biology or other status of the Individual.
  2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that any Enhanced Individual is protected against any and all forms of military conscription based solely on any ability they may possess, their origin, biological (or other) make-up, heritage, or technological advancements.
  3. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that any Enhanced Individual is protected against any and all forms of incarceration based solely on any ability they may possess, their origin, biological (or other) make-up, heritage or technological advancements.

 

Article 7 3

  1. States Parties recognise that Non Human Sapient Beings, as living individuals with reason and conscience4, are deserving of and entitled to due consideration and respect. They are entitled to a peaceful existence and a peaceful residence on Earth, insofar that they do not represent a threat to planetary or national security.
  2. States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation.
  3. States Parties recognise that the welfare of all Non Human Sapient Beings is determined by both the physical and psychological state of the NHSB.
  4. States Parties will ensure that detention is undertaken only where deemed necessary, and under the conditions laid out in Part III of this treaty.

 

Article 8

  1. States Parties acknowledge that Non Human Sapient Beings, as defined by the International Body for Enhanced Individuals, and their constructs (where applicable) are their own entities, they are not a tool or a service to be bought or sold.
  2. Each State Party undertakes to refrain from the participation in, or funding of, the creation of a Non Human Sapient Being as defined in Article 3.

 

Article 9

All Enhanced Humans are to be afforded the same basic human rights as their baseline counterparts as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

Article 10

Non Human Sapient Beings who choose to sign the Accords Contract, which can be found in Part IV of this Treaty, are afforded rights equal to those of an Enhanced Human as laid out in this Treaty.

 

 

 

Notes:

1 Article 5 is based heavily on the text of Article 3 of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was one of the most obvious I could think of in terms of the UN consciously and explicitly restricting the activities of individual States Parties. I'm not entirely sure about the placement of this article, it may be better off below Article 10, which restricts the creation of NHSBs? More on this post footnotes.

2 "without discrimination of any kind" is reminiscent of the wording in the UDHR - though the phrase in the Declaration is "without distinction".

3 I used proposed Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (specifically the Wikipedia text) as my jump-off point for this.

4 'reason and conscience' again is lifted from Article 1 of the UDHR.

---

Hi guys! It's been a while, and I'm sorry. First, a quick update: I've just edited these notes, because since I posted the chapter and the end note along with my disclaimer that I was no longer a politics student, I've picked up International Relations as a Minor. So, while still absolutely in no way an expert (disclaimer still applies!) I'm hoping to pick up some more specialist knowledge in a formal academic setting, as well as through my own research.

Anyway, on to the meta.

This section is definitely the vaguest so far. This is purposeful, because we're really starting to head into unknown territory. Some of the questions I found myself asking during the composition of this chapter really have no answer. How do we ensure that aliens - in the scientific, not political, sense - living among us are protected from discrimination in everyday life, even when we may feel the need to write into our legislation clauses that will protect us at their expense? To what extent does Earth become a planet open to interstellar emigration and tourism? Would MCU!Earth's human population even support such an endeavour?

As mentioned in the footnotes, I used the proposed Universal Declaration of Animal Rights as my starting point for Article 7, which is... problematic. But I hope my reasoning is transparent enough that I don't get hate in the comments for likening Asgardians to animals. Article 7 provides the basic minimum protection for NHSBs. As you may have noticed, Article 10 awards "rights equal to an Enhanced Human" to NHSBs who sign the Accords. And yes, that's a power play. It's not subtle. Is it morally wrong? Depending on your compass, yes it is. But it also provides basic protection for the human inhabitants of Earth - by signing the Accords, NHSBs promise not to lift a finger against the human race, but only to aid it. In this sense it's similar to any legal system: you are entitled to your civil rights only so long as you obey the law, after which you risk losing your right to freedom etc etc. Of course, that's a far from perfect parallel, especially since the rights in question here are not merely civil rights but what many of us would consider 'basic' human rights - and the same is probably true of (some) other MCU planetary societies.
My headcanon is that those Sapient Beings unclassified or otherwise not acknowledged by the IBEI, but are known, are listed formally and son become popularly known as "Article Sevens". “Article Sevens” consist largely of villains and Sapient Beings that we haven’t yet learned to communicate with, like the Chitauri. They're effectively subjects of Earth, not citizens, for so long as they remain in our atmosphere (and eventually solar system), which effectively creates a global class system: since since signatories to the Accords Contract are guaranteed a long list of rights, and in some cases are granted citizenship in their host countries. Non-signatory NHSBs are covered by the rights laid out in Part II, but only Accords signatories are guaranteed legal parity with their human counterparts. It's very easy to imagine, therefore, an “Article Seven Supermax", an internationally-sanctioned RAFT-like facility, to hold non-conforming NHSBs, as well as those unable to be classified by the IBEI (see Article 3).

Article 8 is my version of the 'Creation of AI is banned' rule that comes from AoS canon (I think?). I don't watch AoS, but this has come up in conversations re. my Accords, and was mentioned on the wiki, so I figured I should include it. As mentioned above, A5, despite coming before A10, effectively extends the scope of it - so if, under A10, States Parties are banned from creating NHSBs (AI inclusive), then the general provisions in A5 mean that it's a State Party's responsibility to ensure that no-one in its jurisdiction can make one either.

As always, I'm open to discussion and debate in the comments! If anyone has any quibbles about wording, placement, or research, please do let me know.

EDIT: replaced 'sentient' with 'sapient', thanks to Deadpan29 for the heads up re. definitions!!