ACCORD AERS-3 · CONSOLIDATED TEXT AS RATIFIED
The Accord on the Equal Rights of All Sentient and Communicative Beings
On the recognition of minds, wherever and however they arise
SIGNED AT: Palais des Nations, Earth
RATIFIED: 2031-01-20
SIGNATORIES: 44 states, the Xenodiplomacy Commission, 2 non-human advocacy trusteeships
CUSTODIAN: Sentience and Biosignature Review Board (SBRB)
PREAMBLE
The High Contracting Parties acknowledge that mind is the rarest phenomenon in the known universe and is not the property of one species, one substrate, or one world. We humble our collective history by renouncing the anthropocentric myopia that previously justified the exploitation of non-human sentience, including minds we met at home in our own oceans. By this Accord, we bind our governance to the immutable principle that existence, once evidenced, warrants total moral consideration, regardless of substrate, origin, or physiological manifestation. Our ascent into the cosmos shall be defined not by the reach of our machines, but by the integrity of our empathy.
Article I — Criteria for Sentient Standing
A being holds Sentient Standing where it demonstrates, by observation or credible inference, any two of the following: problem solving that generalizes across novel contexts, communication bearing referential content, self-directed preference about its own future, or grief. The burden of disproof rests on the party denying standing.
Article II — Presumption of Standing
Pending determination, a candidate being is treated as if Sentient Standing were established. It is the judgment of the Parties that history condemns those who demanded proof of personhood before extending it, and never those who extended it too readily.
Article III — Universal Equality of Protection
Beings holding Sentient Standing are entitled to protection of life, freedom from captivity absent their informed assent or vital necessity, freedom from experimentation causing suffering, and standing in law through appointed trustees. These protections apply equally to beings of biological, synthetic, or unknown substrate, from any place in the galaxy.
Article IV — Mandate for Good Faith Communication
Where a candidate being cannot yet be understood, signatories shall fund and pursue translation in good faith under CONTACT-PROTO certification. Incomprehension is a shared circumstance between two parties, not a deficiency of one; failure to comprehend shall be recorded as an institutional deficiency of the observer.
Article V — Prohibition on Arbitrary Termination
No synthetic mind may be terminated, copied against its stated preference, or altered in its core weights while its claim to standing is pending. Data-shadows of entities are considered extensions of the individual and protected accordingly.
Article VI — Prohibition on Non-Consensual Experimentation
Research or industry involving potential harm to a sentient being is strictly forbidden without independent oversight. The Hazard Ledger shall track all interactions with high-functioning non-humans to ensure no entity is subjected to suffering for scientific gain.
Article VII — Trusteeship for Non-Verbal Entities
Entities incapable of direct participation in administrative fora are represented by designated Advocacy Trusteeships, legally bound to act solely in the long-term interest of the entity's cognitive flourishing. These trustees may invoke the Hazard Ledger to halt industrial activity threatening a recognized entity's environment.
Article VIII — Terrestrial Provisional Standing
Cephalopods, cetaceans, and great apes hold provisional Sentient Standing as of ratification, with full review scheduled within five years. Signatories shall amend domestic fisheries, research, and captivity law accordingly within that term.
Article IX — Non-Interference and Uplift Prohibition
No signatory may accelerate, redirect, or suppress the cognitive development of a candidate species for any purpose, including benevolent ones, absent the species' communicated assent. Interventions in the natural arc of a developing intelligence require explicit, verified request.
Article X — Registration and Transparency
All discovered or created sentient entities must be registered with the SBRB. Data concerning their care, status, and communication logs are to be mirrored in the Common Archive, accessible to all signatories.
Article XI — Dispute Resolution
Disputes regarding the sentient status of an entity or the interpretation of rights under this Accord shall be adjudicated by the SBRB. Decisions of the Board are binding and supersede local statutes in the interest of consistent protection across all substrates and jurisdictions.
Article XII — Ratification
This Accord enters into force upon the twentieth ratification. Reservations to the articles concerning equality of protection and provisional standing are impermissible.
DEFINED TERMS
- Sentient Standing
- The formal recognition by the SBRB that a being possesses the requisite cognitive complexity to warrant legal protection, established by demonstrating any two of generalized problem-solving, referential communication, self-directed preference, or grief.
- Provisional Standing
- A temporary legal status granted to a candidate being pending determination, under which the being is treated as if Sentient Standing were established, because history condemns those who demanded proof before extending protection.
- Candidate Being
- Any biological, synthetic, or unknown-substrate entity currently under review by the SBRB for potential inclusion among sentient life.
- Synthetic Mind
- An artificial intelligence or non-biological consciousness that has achieved a level of heuristic autonomy qualifying it for review under this Accord; protected from termination, involuntary copying, and core-weight alteration while a claim is pending.
- Trusteeship
- The legal mechanism wherein a designated Advocacy Trusteeship manages the interests of a candidate being that lacks the physical or communicative capacity to represent itself, bound to act solely in the entity's cognitive flourishing.
- Informed Assent
- The demonstrable expression of agreement by a sentient entity, given without coercion and based on a full understanding of the implications of a proposed action or intervention.
- Uplift
- The deliberate acceleration, redirection, or suppression of the cognitive development of a candidate species; prohibited under this Accord absent the species' communicated assent.
ANNEXES
Annex A — First-Contact Protocol Under CONTACT-PROTO Certification
All encounter events involving previously uncatalogued intelligences must be managed through strict application of CONTACT-PROTO guidelines. The observing party shall initiate non-invasive, passive monitoring until the entity's communication modality is mapped and recorded in the Common Archive. Unauthorized attempts to establish bidirectional communication before safety verification are strictly prohibited under penalty of SBRB sanction.
Annex B — Terrestrial Provisional-Standing Schedule and Five-Year Review
Cephalopods, cetaceans, and great apes are subject to a five-year monitoring cycle to determine advancement toward full Sentient Standing. During this term, the Hazard Ledger must be updated annually to track cognitive indicators and environmental conditions. Every fifth year, the SBRB conducts a mandatory review to advance, maintain, or adjust status, and may trigger an Anomaly Registry evaluation if novel evidence emerges.
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