DIVINER, A Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol.
4, No 2, July 2007
GLOBALISATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS:
Emerging Trends in the New Millennium
Dr. Mohammed Khalid Department of Evening Studies, Panjab University
Chandigarh—160 014 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Globalization encapsulates the growth of connections between people on planetary scale. It involves reduction of barriers to establish trans-world contacts and engage with each other on this globe. Technology and unprecedented growth of electronic medium has made the globalisation possible. Since the last 20th century the entire world as a whole is fastbecoming a single social space in its own right. Explicitly more visible in Europe, North America and East Asia, globalisation has not reached its finality but it is likely to engulf the hitherto untouched areas soon. The rise of global consumerism (internet marketing, trade and commerce), global currencies (US dollar, Euro), global finance (saving and credits), global concerns (global warming, ozone depletion etc.), volunteer associations (Amnesty International, WTO etc.), outsourcing of skilled professionals, multinational corporations, broadcasting (CNN, BBC) and globalization of education (branch campuses of Universities in other countries, giving franchises) are but a few signs of globalisation. The satellite communications has brought in a global consciousness in almost every sphere. Increasing globalisation of the world economy, the mobility of the people and capital and the world wide penetration of media has combined to circumscribe the freedom of action of the State and has cast positive as well as negative impact on individual rights. The McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, KFC etc. have manipulated the personal tastes of the people and have influenced the policies of the host governments thus becoming new forms of political and economic domination. The control of culture and its production has become tremendously important and dangerous even then the political subjugation. The export of popular culture related to life style, pop music, film, video,comics, fashion, fast foods, beverages, home decorations, entertainment etc. has fast mutilated local cultures, economies, politics, languages, education. The penetration of world wide web since 1990s has trampled the codes of ethics in many countries. As the world is irresistibly and at times mindlessly plunging into the globalisation, it is important to look at the emerging trends vis-a-vis the human rights. We all know that rights of individual have always remained a prime concern of human beings from the early days of inception of society and the state. In the Greek City States, 2,500 years back, the polis satisfied the religious, cultural, political and economic needs of the whole community. Slavery was justified and individual rights or freedoms were unheard of. The Roman State, called res publica or Commonwealth, extended to all Roman citizens, their rights and determined their responsibilities but individual was expected to make necessary sacrifices of individual liberties to the need of the state. Throughout the Middle Ages between the end of the Roman empire in the 5th century till the 15th century there were no individual rights guaranteed by the State, if at all these were restricted to one privileged group or class. Slavery remained a necessary institution of the society, Church too played a dominant role along with the State to deny the rights to individual. The end of middle ages brought the re-birth of Europe, called Renaissance, and raised the problems of religious and intellectual freedoms, and the freedm of conscience. During the 16th, 17th and 18th tenturies the debate on sanctity and definition of natural rights consumed most of the human rights debate. Hobbes’s, giving absolute sovereignty to State vis-a-vis the individual, Lock’s limited sovereignty and more rights to the individual culminated into Rousseau who gave the state authority to the general wiJl of the people. Three great revolutions helped to define the rights of individual. (1) The Glorious revolution (1688-89), which imposed judicial and legislative restraints on the monarch thus ensuring certain rights to individual. (2) The Bill of rights adopted by the British Parliament against Stuart monarch in 1689 establishing representative government. (3) The Declaration of Independence in July 1776 and the first ten amendments also known as Bill of Rights in American Constitution. The Declaration asserted that governments were established by the consent of the people to protect rights and that, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Sadly however, the declaration did not extend human rights to all the human beings. The first US constitution preserved the institution of slavery. Even later the Equal Rights Amendment designed to give women equality was defeated in a referendum. The French Revolution of 1787-89 was turning point of individual-state relationship. It ended the theory of the divine rights of the king and gave birth to the notion that the source of all state powers was the people. The declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen adopted by France’s National Assembly between 20th and 26th August, 1789 emphasized that “men are born free and equal in rights. Social distinction may be based only on consideration of the common good” (Art 1). It aimed at preservation of natural and imperceptible rights of man i.e. right to liberty, property, safety and resistance to oppression (Art 2). The doctrines of Human Rights that we have today are direct descendants of this thinking. Human Rights are natural in that everyone owns them, not because they are subject to any particular system of law or religious or political administration. The most common of these rights are the right to life; to freedom; to own property (limiting where government may intrude); citizenship rights (voting, nationality, and participation in public life); rights to standards of good behaviour by governments (or protection of rule of law) and social, economic and cultural rights. After the end of Second World War and during the process of formation of United Nations the human rights were given adequate consideration. It resulted into the Universal declaration of Human Rights adopted by UN General Assembly in December 1948. This Declaration can be regarded as the greatest 20th century statement of ‘natural’ or human rights. The objective of this 30-article Declaration is to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The declaration proclaims the personal, civil, political, economic social and cultural rights of humans. The United Nations has become over the last 60 years as the focal point for efforts to preserve and protect the human rights. There are charter based bodies like (1) Human Rights Council, (2) Commission on Human Rights (3) Sub- commission on the promotion and protection of Human Rights. Treaty-based Bodies of the UN include: Committee against torture; Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Committee on Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families; Committee on the Rights of the child; Human Rights Committee. But we will here concentrate on the impact of Globalisation on basic human rights. There is no doubt that globalisation is one of the manifestations of capitalism supported by global economic forces. It is not merely an economic process but also has social, economic, political, cultural dimensions, including the human rights. There is little systematic evidence about the overall impact of globalisation on human rights. Many studies have contradicted each other in this regard. However, a new discourse has begun if the human rights and globalization are compatible or not. Or does the globalisation present new challenges for human rights. There are two ways to look at globalisation from human rights point of view. 1. Globalisation is positive, beneficial and good. 2. Globalisation is negative, exploitative and bad. Globalization is positive for human rights when it enables the exchange of information. The argument goes that those countries have succeeded best at helping their citizens escape poverty who have effective governments, embraced free markets, free trade and technological change. Those countries had faster growth which were more involved in the process of globalisation. It is progressive and integrates economies and societies. It has created millions of jobs and new avenues, given economic independence to women and improved physical health and well being. By dragging local economies into the market it has broken down the feudal exploitative system. It is helping to create a global civil society. On the other hand globalisation is regarded as a soulless force, promoting violence and vulgarity. It is not warm nd humane as it is based on selfishness and exploitation of resousces. It is operating in a global environment without any effective institution to protect the human rights. There is increasing frustration and disillusionment with market led globalisation which is evidenced by the protests at G8, INTO, European Union summits. Globalisation has increased inequalities and threatened social rights of citizens, e.g. (i) It has increased the flow of unauthorised, undocumented migrations. Many human rights are violated when thousands of people are killed in the process e.g. on U.S.-Maxico border, Malta Tragedy, languishing of many illegal migrants in jails of other countries. If they reach their destinations, they work as sweat-shop labourers and are exploited by the local businessmen. It is in way modern day slavery. (ii) As the power is shifting from the State of global economic forces, the multinationals sometimes are more powerful than the host nation state. They abuse the labour rights of workers in the host countries. (iii) Globalisation has forced liberalization before these countries and could evolve some safety nets. (iv) The structural adjustmeits forced by WTO regime have forced downsizing of subsidies and increased prices of food, health, schooling. (v) Under the WTO regime, essential drug prices have gone up. (vi) Globalisation has adversely affected the local cultural tradition through Westernization and the Hollywoodization of cultures. (vii) Under the influence oI globalization and fast changes it is bringing in the indigenous languages and dialects are loosing to the language of the world wide web. (viii) Intellectual property rules are favouring the developed countries and unfairly the patents are claimed by them. They also indulge in unfair trade practices. (ix) A new culture, the Mall culture, the McDonald, KFC are ruling your tastes. As a result millions of local grocers, middle men are becoming unemployed. (x) Denial of clean environment as the Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) from developed countries are shifting their polluting industry to the developing Countries. The discourse on the impact of globalisation on human rights is setting in, but it is still inconclusive as the globalisation itself is. Human rights were developed in the context of the State, but the role of the State is shrinking and global market forces are taking over as the biggest influence on state policies. Globalisation has exposed the weaknesses of human rights under the United Nations System. Thus, it becomes the duty of the State to become the main administrator of globalisation and allow it to spread with a humane face so that it can protect and preserve the rights of individual in the new millennium.