Special Note: Please note that this scenario is meant to be read as entertainment, not as an accurate prediction of the future. Also note that the viewpoints and opinions that may come across in this scenario are not necessarily the viewpoints and opinions of the author.
The Universal Peace Charter of 2037 was ratified by the United States of Europe, the Eurasian Union, the People's Republic of China, the Indo-Pakistani Empire, Brazil, The Secular Republic of Israel (formerly the Zionist nation of Israel), Egypt, Rwanda-Burundi (RyansWorld), the United Kingdom and by the United Nations themselves on January 1, 2037 at exactly 12:01 AM Greenwich Mean Time.
Some people saw this peace charter as the final conclusion of the Second Dark Ages and the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity. Any unemployment caused by the peace charter will be offset by the creation of jobs not involving war or nation-sanctioned violence. Shortly after the treaty is signed, most of the Northern Hemisphere would go through an economic depression. It would take five years in order to absorb the laid-off military workers into the private sector. By 2044, the world economy returned to the prosperity that it enjoyed in the early 2020s; allowing people to afford the education needed to have jobs involving the colonization of other planets. These newly re-employed people would go on to become the founding colonists of the Lunar Protectorate nearly 23 years later.
Rationale[]
Elite foot soldier used by the United States of Europe's military forces, circa 2040.
This treaty signifies that all combat positions must be filled with robots instead of human beings. While this shrank the world's armed forces by 95%, it would also provide motivation for countries to divert their funding from general defense to the space programs. It also states that only non-profit organizations can use nanorobotics, stem cell therapies, and all methods of human cloning. Universal healthcare will become mandatory for all ratifying nations of this document. All other nations agree to eventually sign the treaty by the year 2100 (they will be absorbed into the United States of Earth where they will have to abide by the peace charter anyway). The first major war in the Singularity era (the First Galactic War) was shown to be completely compliant with the rules in regulations found in the Universal Peace Charter of 2037.
The document will be completely electronic, powered by solar energy, and use absolutely no paper, electricity, or fossil fuels to operate. The Popular Press will applaud it for being the most environmentally friendly treaty in the 21st century. Under the treaty, all racing vehicles (including NASCAR stock cars and pick-up trucks) must operate under a fuel blend of at least 45% ethanol, or through various forms of hydrogen, electricity, or solar power methods. Using fossil fuels as backup is at first strongly discouraged and finally prohibited in the 2042 amendment to the Peace Charter. Petroleum-dependent vehicles will be abolished worldwide by the year 2044. Since the world's oil supply will run out in the year 2054, the use of oil will be limited to the Middle East by the year 2040 anyway. All other regions will use wind, solar, and eventually nuclear fusion. The Peace Charter allows for easier colonization of planets like Mars and Venus due to fewer military entanglements.
Part of the agreement involved the construction of a new United Nations building in Brussels, Belgium, U.S.E.. and moving the United Nations organization there from New York City due to an increasing level of apathy from the conservative elements of North American society; especially the Christian Republicans who admire George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan's sense of nationalism.
Gender/sexual orientation clauses[]
Both men and women are bound by this treaty and it affects everyone with no cut-off date for veterans and no grandfathering of older people and military personnel who are above a certain rank. The 2042 amendment would include wording specifically for homosexuals, transgendered people and androgynous people, as to not confuse them about the "exact language" of the Peace Charter. There are no use of the gender pronouns "him," "her," "she" or "he" in the Peace Charter. Instead, the singular use of the word "they" is meant to be a gender-and-sexual orientation-neutral pronoun designed please all parties.
LGBT members of the military could still serve in the military as robot builders, engineers, doctors, nurses, repairmen in addition to a variety of non-combatant roles.
Successor states[]
The following nations are legally considered to be the successors to the Universal Peace Charter of 2037:
- United States of Earth
- Lunar Protectorate
- United States of Mars
- United States of Venus
- Republic of Sol
- Barnard's Star