CHAPTER 2 :

HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. We are all
equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated,
interdependent and indivisible.

Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties,
customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law.
International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to
refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms of individuals or groups.

2.1 Nature of Human Rights

Universal and inalienable

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights
law. This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948,
has been reiterated in numerous international human rights conventions, declarations, and
resolutions. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, for example, noted that it is
the duty of States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless
of their political, economic and cultural systems.

Interdependent and indivisible

All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such as the right to
life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights,
such as the rights to work, social security and education , or collective rights, such as the rights
to development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. The
improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one
right adversely affects the others.  
Equal and non-discriminatory

Non-discrimination is a cross-cutting principle in international human rights law. The principle is

present in all the major human rights treaties and provides the central theme of some of
international human rights conventions such as the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women.  

The principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms and it prohibits
discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive categories such as sex, race, colour and so
on. The principle of non-discrimination is complemented by the principle of equality, as stated in
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights.”

Rights and Obligations

Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under
international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means
that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The
obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights
abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the
enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights,
we should also respect the human rights of others.

Human Rights as Inspiration and Empowerment

Human rights are both inspirational and practical. Human rights principles hold up the vision of a
free, just, and peaceful world and set minimum standards for how individuals and institutions
everywhere should treat people. Human rights also empower people with a framework for action
when those minimum standards are not met, for people still have human rights even if the laws
or those in power do not recognize or protect them.

We experience our human rights every day in the United States when we worship according to
our belief, or choose not to worship at all; when we debate and criticize government policies;
when we join a trade union; when we travel to other parts of the country or overseas. Although
we usually take these actions for granted, people both here and in other countries do not enjoy all
these liberties equally. Human rights violations also occur everyday in this country when a
parent abuses a child, when a family is homeless, when a school provides inadequate education,
when women are paid less than men, or when one person steals from another.

2.3 Origin of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Rights for all members of the human family were first articulated in 1948 in the United Nations’
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Following the horrific experiences of the
Holocaust and World War II, and amid the grinding poverty of much of the world’s population,
many people sought to create a document that would capture the hopes, aspirations, and
protections to which every person in the world was entitled and ensure that the future of
humankind would be different. See Part V, "Appendices," for the complete text and a simplified
version of the UDHR.

The 30 articles of the Declaration together form a comprehensive statement covering economic,
social, cultural, political, and civil rights. The document is both universal (it applies to all people
everywhere) and indivisible (all rights are equally important to the full realization of one’s
humanity). A declaration, however, is not a treaty and lacks any enforcement provisions. Rather
it is a statement of intent, a set of principles to which United Nations member states commit
themselves in an effort to provide all people a life of human dignity.

Over the past 50 years the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has acquired the status
of customary international law because most states treat it as though it were law. However,
governments have not applied this customary law equally. Socialist and communist countries of
Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia have emphasized social welfare rights, such as
education, jobs, and health care, but often have limited the political rights of their citizens. The
United States has focused on political and civil rights and has advocated strongly against regimes
that torture, deny religious freedom, or persecute minorities. On the other hand, the US
government rarely recognizes health care, homelessness, environmental pollution, and other
social and economic concerns as human rights issues, especially within its own borders.

The idea that human beings should have a set of basic rights and freedoms has deep roots in
Britain. Landmark developments in Britain include the Magna Carta of 1215, the Habeas Corpus
Act of 1679 and the Bill of Rights of 1689. See the British Library's website for more
information on these and other icons of liberty and progress.

The atrocities of the Second World War made the protection of human rights an international
priority. The formation of the United Nations paved the way for more than 50 Member States to
contribute to the final draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948. This
was the first attempt to set out at a global level the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all
human beings.

The Declaration formed the basis for the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in
1950. British lawyers played a key role in drafting the Convention, with Winston Churchill also
heavily involved. It protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of
Europe, including the UK.

The Human Rights Act 1998 made these rights part of our domestic law. The Act means that
courts in the United Kingdom can hear human rights cases. Before it was passed, people had to
take their complaints to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
 CHAPTER 3:
GLOBALIZATION

3.1 What is Globalization

Globalization is a spontaneous or consciously promoted movement (along the historical or

temporal axis of the coordinate) of the world socioeconomic systems (of the potentially planetary
countries) towards a solar system (so to say) with a single star economy, working as the center of
the orbits on which the planetary objects move around. When the system does not have proper
balance, it wobbles, generates vortices, jerks, etc. Globalization is removing these imbalances
either by self-organization or by conscious human effort.

The market economy of the world today is gradually moving towards the said balance. Earlier
there were two (or perhaps more) stars. A prolonged cold war ultimately vanquished the other
star and now only s single star remains. Yet, the balance is not as much as desired. There are
bottlenecks in the presence of the gravitational force due to unevenness of the space in which the
star and the planets are located. Unevenness is caused by geography, resource deposits, political
systems, nationalities, cultural structure, stickiness to or preference for independence and identity
and so on. These must be removed. Globalization is a movement towards removing them. Full
globalization is a complete surrender of the planetary economies to the star economy; it is
owning the interest of the star economy by the planetary economies and surrendering own
interest, or altering the preference structure of their own in the interest of the star economy.

As stated and summarized above, globalization is a modern concept referring to the development
of a particular commodity, to make possible international influence or operation. This can be
reflected in either a positive, or negative way.
If you were to rummage through your wardrobe or set of draws, guaranteed 90% of the time you
could pick up any one shirt and identify another country specified on that loosely hung tag at the
rim. Generally stating, and most often something like 'Made in China'. What's more than that,
before it reached your average retail store, where you would've found that authentic blue shirt, it
could have very well been made with Chinese cotton, sewed by Thai hands, shipped across the
Pacific on a French freighter crewed by Spaniards, to a Los Angeles harbor. This is fine example
of what globalization is and means to the world, many could interpret this as a positive or
negative thing.

For years there has been ongoing debates on whether ‘globalization’ is a good or bad thing.
However, what we are certain of, is that globalization is still occurring and will continue to occur
until the end of time. The following list of positives and negatives below, are not in order to
confirm your opinion or belief, but to obtain a good sense of the bigger picture.

3.2 Reasons for Globalization

 Improved technology in transportation and telecommunication

What makes the rest of this list possible is the ever-increasing capacity for and efficiency of how
people and things move and communicate. In years past, people across the globe did not have the
ability to communicate and could not interact without difficulty. Nowadays, a phone, instant
message, fax, or video conference call can easily be used to connect people. Additionally,
anyone with the funds can book a plane flight and show up half way across the world in a matter
of hours.

 Movement of people as capital

A general increase in awareness, opportunity and transportation technology has allowed for
people to move about the world in search of a new home, a new job, or to flee a place of danger.

Most migration takes place within or between developing countries, possibly because of lower
standards of living and lower wages push individuals to places with a greater chance for
economic success.
Additionally, capital (money) is being moved globally with the ease of electronic transference
and a rise in perceived investment opportunities. Developing countries are a popular place for
investors to place their capital because of the enormous room for growth.

 Diffusion of knowledge

The word 'diffusion' simply means to spread out, and that is exactly what any new found
knowledge does. When a new invention or way of doing something pops up, it does not stay
secret for long. A good example of this is the appearance of automotive farming machines in
Southeast Asia, an area long home to manual agricultural labor.

 Non-Governmental Organizations and Multinational Companies

As global awareness of certain issues has risen, so too has the number of organizations that aim
to deal with them. So-called non-governmental organizations bring together people unaffiliated
with the government and can be nationally or globally focused. Many international NGOs deal
with issues that do not pay attention to borders (such as global climate change, energy use, or
child labor regulations).

Examples of NGOs include Amnesty International or Doctors without Borders.

As countries are connected to the rest of the world (through increased communication and
transportation) they immediately form what a business would call a market. What this means is
that a particular population represents more people to buy a particular product or service. As
more and more markets are opening up, business people from around the globe are coming
together to form multinational corporations in order to access these new markets.Another reason
that businesses are going global is that some jobs can be done by foreign workers for a much
cheaper cost than domestic workers; this is called outsourcing.

At its core globalization is an easing of borders, making them less important as countries become
dependent on each other to thrive.
Some scholars claim that governments are becoming less influential in the face of an
increasingly economic world. Others contest this, insisting that governments are becoming more
important because of the need for regulation and order in such a complex world system.
 CHAPTER 4:
IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION

4.1 Positives of Globalization

As Western society is becoming more knowledgeable of the issues taking place in developing
countries, there is greater opportunity for the people in those countries to economically succeed
and increase their standard of living.

 Increase in competition, forces companies to lower their prices. This benefits the end
consumers.
 Increase in media coverage draws the attention of the world to human right violations.
This leads to improvement in human rights.
 Global competition encourages creativity and innovation and keeps prices for
commodities/services in check.
 Developing countries are able to reap the benefits of current technology without
undergoing many of the growing pains associated with development of these
technologies.
 Governments are able to better work together towards common goals now that there is an
advantage in cooperation, an improved ability to interact and coordinate, and a global
awareness of issues.
 There is a greater access to foreign culture in the form of movies, music, food, clothing,
and more. In short, the world has more choices.

Globalization also boosts the ongoing competition between countries all over the world as well
as within any particular country; hence making sure that prices of commodities are lowered to a
considerable extent. This is a great chance for all end- users to procure goods at low rates.

Thanks to the reach and influence of media these days, increased media coverage helps in
drawing attention towards those parts of the world where human rights are violated for the
benefit of the rich and powerful. This leads to improvement in human rights.
4.2 Negative of Globalization

 The benefits of globalization is not universal. The rich are getting richer and the poor are
becoming poorer.
 Outsourcing, while it provides jobs to a population in one country, takes away those jobs
from another country, leaving many without opportunities.
 Although different cultures are able to interact and share there ideas and innovations,
everything is beginning to meld, and their becomes a loss of tradition and culture.
 There may be a greater chance of disease spreading worldwide, as well as invasive
species that could prove devastating in non-native ecosystems.
 There is little international regulation, an unfortunate fact that could have dire
consequences for the safety of people and the environment.
 Fast food chains, such as Mcdonalds and Burger King, are spreading in the developing
world. Meaning more consumption of junk foods from these joints  resulting in an
adverse impact on people’s health.
 CHAPTER 4:
GLOBALIZATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The growth of international trade is exacerbating income inequalities, both between and within
industrialized and less industrialized nations. Global commerce is increasingly dominated by
transnational corporations which seek to maximize profits without regard for the development
needs of individual countries or the local populations. Protectionist policies in industrialized
countries prevent many producers in the Third World from accessing export markets; the volume
and volatility of capital flows increases the risks of banking and currency crises, especially in
countries with weak financial institutions.

Nations human rights mechanisms have debunked the traditional view that civil and political
rights entail only negative obligations, while economic, social and cultural rights give rise to the
more complex issue of positive State obligations which require resources to be expended.
Considering globalisation from the health and disease angle, it has impacted seriously on the
epidemiology of infectious diseases, as regards the ability to prevent, control and eradicate these
diseases, worldwide and especially in developing countries. One of the ways by which this has occurred
is the enhancement of technological capacities worldwide, leading to increased emissions and a
resultant global warming. Over the years, large increases in international trade have encouraged the
introduction of western diets to the previously natural diets of most developing countries. This has led
to changes in dietary habits as the so-called “ethnic foods” have been relegated to the background and
more and more junk food are being consumed in the name of western diets . And in the long run,
western diseases are gradually becoming prevalent in developing nations.

Again, introduction of western lifestyle through globalization to the developing has led gradually loss of
core values leading to increased looseness and promiscuity among the youth and adults alike. This has
caused a surge in the numbers of those living with HIV/AIDs, and the long-term effects on the economy
and society at large.
Globalization has increased the vulnerability of the rural farmer in the remotest village to world events.
An example is the case of coffee farmers in Uganda. Prior to the start of liberalisation, the country’s
Coffee Marketing Board (CMB), on the behalf of the government, served as the middle-man between
the coffee farmers and foreign buyers. In doing this, the Coffee Marketing Board made sure that the
farmers themselves were guaranteed standard coffee prices based on assured quotas negotiated by the
Coffee Marketing Board on the world coffee market on the government’s behalf. Although the individual
farmer had to pay the cost of this existing infrastructure, thereby reducing the net income to the
farmer’s pocket, he/she was still assured of a standard price. But since globalization came in and the
Coffee Marketing Board was abolished, the farmers have been made vulnerable to changes and shocks
in the world market. And for developing countries to have buoyant agricultural sectors, the farmers
have to be sheltered from the full vagaries of the world market, a task made very much impossible by
globalization.

In addition, globalization has resulted in the loss of cultural boundaries. In this wise, it has caused the
extinction of several languages in many developing nations. The way languages are going extinct is very
rapid, and this has been predicted to continue unless something can be done to stop the complex
process of globalization. The enhanced interaction of western cultures with local cultures in the
developing world has led to melting of previously existing cultural barriers so that the individuality of the
local cultures begin to fade. The increase in international travel has also contributed to this as the World
Health Organization estimates that approximately 500,000 people are in airplanes at any one point in
time. Also, the adoption of multiculturalism coupled with the melting of international barriers and easy
spread of propaganda through the internet has led to youths of developing nations imbibing extremist
ideas, causing their being used by terrorists in suicide attacks, as is occurring in many developing nations
such as Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, etc.

Other negative impacts of globalization in developing countries include the alteration of the
environment and reduction in environmental sustainability, increase in human trafficking, exploitation
of cheap labour by foreign industrialists.
 CONCLUSION

In an age of globalization, the struggle for human rights has become more complex and
challenging. Realizing human rights especially economic and social rights is becoming
increasingly difficult. One of the most profound challenges that we face as a community of
nations is to understand better the emerging socio-economic forces and forms of globalization,
to shape them to serve our needs and to respond effectively to their deleterious consequences.
Human rights can balance forces of globalisation within a just international legal framework.
Maintaining balance between globalisation and protection of human rights should be a priority.
Human rights are what make us human. They are the principles by which we create the sacred
home for human dignity. Human rights are what reason requires and conscience commands.

A global watch should be established to monitor and report the unethical transactions that take
place between the governments of developing nations and global corporations. The governments
of developing nations should not continue to get rich by selling their factors of production (land,
labor) to global corporations. Requirements to become a free trading nation should be revised.
Present requirements eliminate many developing countries. Developed countries need to do more
to assist by making it easier for developing countries to benefit from trade and investments.
-Treaty-based mechanism focusing on the responsibilities of multilaterals as well as private
actors in protecting human rights is an extremely significant step in the current economic
environment. -Efforts by states to create investment rules must be subjected to scrutiny and
analyzed through human rights discourse.