What does it mean to violate human rights? Do we know when our rights are violated? If you can answer these questions you probably
know that human rights are “the rights a
person has simply because
he or she is a human being”, which are embodied in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Officially, there is a universal consensus about them. Nevertheless, I sincerely doubt
whether this universal consensus is put into practice in the world we live in.
As rights
and values are defined and limited by cultural perceptions and there is no universal culture which all
human beings identify with, denial of universal rights is frequent in our
modern multicultural society. Even
though we might think that human rights violations do not occur in the
countries we live in, the reality is that no single country is left unaffected.
Human rights violations
take many forms and are rampant
in developing countries, where government corruption is part of everyday life and
resources to fulfill the basic rights of the population are scarce. Extreme
poverty and insecurity are the common denominators, which make people even more
vulnerable. Without options and government protection, they are often treated as less than human beings. For
instance, endless human rights abuses in the form of mass atrocity
crimes are being perpetrated in countries such as the Central African Republic,
South Sudan, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo; prisons with inhuman conditions and strong repression
against freedom of expression have been reported in Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, China, Malaysia and in many
African countries; child labor is particularly common in Haiti and chronic
gender-based violence in India, where gang-rapes are frequent. Stoning and
religious intolerance have been found in the Middle East and in African
countries; cases of systematic torture and arbitrary detentions are committed
in countries from South-East Asia and Latin America, where the abuse of non-democratic powers also restricts
minorities’ rights; modern forms of slavery such as child marriage and bonded
labor are widespread, as well as terrorism; the list goes on and on.
However, we should not
make the mistake of believing that developed countries are free from all guilt.
Global interdependence has engendered human trafficking and human rights abuses
by powerful transnational corporations, which are characterized by forced labor
and sexual exploitation. And behind these cruel practices, there are always individual
perpetrators who authorize the
ordeal and ignore the most basic rights of the victims.
But, do human rights violations affect all of us
in the same way? Definitely they do not. Since a victim from a developing
country is usually exposed to extremely cruel situations in their home regions,
accepting the offer of a “better job” abroad – usually in a developed country – is seen as the only escape. But the job is a
fantasy. On arrival in the destination country, isolated and with no knowledge
of the language, this person can be forced to work under appalling and
deplorable conditions; totally at the mercy of the traffickers. If they escape,
they usually end begging on the streets, homeless, where they risk dying
without anyone noticing their “absence”. On the other hand, a victim from a developed country can see her
social, economic and cultural rights limited or even reduced[1];
as a consequence, the present gap between rich and poor people becomes bigger. For
instance, this situation is occurring in some Western European countries where
the economic crisis has had a strong impact.
Additionally, more and
more people have ended begging in the streets; torture of people who have
participated in demonstrations by authority forces is also an increasing tendency
concerning human rights violations in some developed countries that suffer from
the economic crisis; and discrimination based on skin color, gender, religion or
even for just being a “poor” person is increasing, which can even turn into violence or
aggression. Human rights
are alleged to be guaranteed by law, but despite the multitude of international
instruments, governments are rarely
willing to ensure that those who profit from vulnerable people are punished;
and civil society remains passive towards such injustices.
Reflection on human
rights abuses from a global approach is therefore more necessary than ever. The
interdependent world we live in makes us all responsible for human rights violations
(when we buy products from companies that use forced labor; when we do not take
action against corruption and violence against women; or when we do not claim
for equal opportunities, to mention a few). Even though it is very difficult to eradicate human rights violations, knowing
our rights is the first step. The second consists of attacking discrimination,
combating poverty, promoting respectful and tolerant education, and providing
access to justice for all. We need to ask ourselves what kind of world we live
in when we allow such outrageous practices to persist. We cannot deny the fact of
the human condition, which
encompasses both the unique and common features of every human being, making us
all equal on the face of the Earth.
[1] According to the United Nations, “economic, social and cultural rights include the rights to
adequate food, to adequate housing, to education, to health, to social
security, to take part in cultural life, to water and sanitation, and to work”.
Disclaimer: Blog posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Human Rights Defence.
