Globalization and Human Rights in Contemporary World
__________________________________________________________________________________Does globalization goad the improvement or deterioration of human right?
Introduction
Globalization, a phenomenon of turning the world into one global village and interpenetrating states, markets, communication and ideas across borders, is one of the characteristic of the 21st century. With the marching of globalization, international institution for the protections of human rights is believed to be more developed than any time throughout the history. One could not help but ask if human rights are better off in the hand of globalization which purports to promote development, democracy and remove barriers across nations. This blog, aims at taking a closer look on the human rights impact of globalization, is created to investigate whether globalization is generating problems or opportunity to the development of human rights.
To begin with, let us understand what human rights are. Human rights, indeed, is a norm that codifies how people should be treated by their government or institution. The emersion of first human rights guideline can trace back to World War II. Not long after the World War II, the United Nations (UN) erected. The UN established an international bill of rights known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. These rights can be classified into seven main categories namely security rights, due process rights, liberty rights, political rights, equality rights, economic rights and social rights. The video clip shown below can give you more idea about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Because of the broad areas that human rights touch on, it will be quite difficult to examine the impact of globalization on each aspect. Thus, we would only select three territories to explore. The three realms we would like to have in-depth discussion are liberty rights, political rights and equality rights.
Liberty rights address the protection of freedom on one’s belief, speech or expression. We would like to use Google case as well as human activist Liu Xiao Bo’s case to illustrate if globalization makes countries more aware of the right.
Equality rights advocate equal citizenship and nondiscrimination. We would mainly focus on women’s right. We would like to inspect if women’s social status is improving under globalization.
Economic rights refer to the freedom to produce, trade and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force. It includes property rights and freedom of contract and freedom of economic initiative.
Liberty rights
We are going to investigate if globalization leads to more advanced development of liberty rights in countries that is often being criticized for a lack of such rights like China, Burma etc.
While some people are hoping for globalization to work wonder to the development of liberty rights in countries with such deficiency, others are dubious if it can really help on this matter. Take China as an example, does globalization, free flow of information, trade, ideas and communication, help China to make progress on the rights. Let us use some cases for discussion.
China, with its rapid development in economic, is gradually open its market to the world under the impact of globalization. To gain the world’s recognition and status, China is working hard in all aspects including economy, sport, and infrastructure and so on except on area of human rights. China, not only did not pay much effort in improving its liberty rights, it even rolled back the rights in the past few years by expanding restrictions on media and Internet freedom and tightened controls on human rights activists. There are two recent cases to demonstrate such repression- imprisonment of Liu Xiao Bo’s and censorship of Google’s search engine.
Imprisonment of Liu Xiao Bo
China is notorious for its suppression on human rights activists. The most recent controversial issue concerning such matter is the imprisonment of Liu Xiao Bo who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. After spreading a message to subvert the country and authority, Liu was arrested and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Indeed, it is not the first time he is put in jail for expressing his belief. However, it is the first time he is imposed of such heavy punishment. Part of the reason is that China wants to use this opportunity to show others not to meddle with its affair. Below is a table showing the prison terms of Liu Xiao Bo for expressing his view over the past two decades. Prison terms for Liu Xiaobo | ||
Prison term | Reason | Result |
| June 1989 – January 1991 | Charged with spreading messages to instigate counterrevolutionary behavior. | Imprisoned Qincheng Prison, and discharged when he signed a "letter of repentance." |
| May 1995 – January 1996 | Involved in democracy and human rights movement and voicing publicly the need to redress government's wrongdoings in the student protest of 1989 | Released after being jailed for six months. |
| October 1996 – October 1999 | Charged with disturbing the social order | Jailed in a labor education camp for three years. |
| December 2009–2020 | Charged with spreading a message to subvert the country and authority | Sentenced for 11 years and deprived of all political rights for two years. |
Liu Xiao Bo discusses freedom of expression in China
Censorship of Google’s search engine
Another hot topic regarding liberty rights in China is Google’s case. The trend of globalization has attracted corporation to operate in a global scale. One of the big corporations that are spreading its web to different part of the world is Google. However, it encountered some problems that are against its notion about freedom of information and expression when renewing license in China several months ago.
In order to successfully gain the license renewal in China, Google was forced to comply with the Internet censorship policies in China. Some of deemed sensitive topics concerning the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, independence movement of Tibet and Taiwan are blocked in the Google’s search engine.
This forceful act by China did nothing to show that China is on any progress to the development of liberty rights.
Conclusion on liberty rights
This two cases, actually, show that despite the belief that globalization will bring improvement to human rights because of the pressure imposed by western countries deal to free flow of information, there is little sight indicating this is the case in China at least not likely to occur in the foreseeable future.
Equality rights-Woman’s right
How has woman’s right changed under globalization?
Economically, globalization brings new resources and chances to women. However, the most important thing is that globalization promotes the diffusion of ideas and norms of equality for women. The current situation of globalization has significantly improved the lives of women globally, particularly in the developing countries.
There are two views on the effects of globalization on women,1. critical (negative)
2. optimistic, but with reservations (positive)
From the critical point of view
Globalization brings new jobs to women, but their work is generally highly exploitative and features low wages, poor working conditions, and little opportunity for advancement or security.
Hidden Face of Globalization Conclusion
It confines women to low pay, low status, often part-time jobs that reinforce their subordination of women’s work in most societies. The reason behind is the increasing Global demand among multinational firms for flexible, cheap labor. This has constantly encouraged offshore production using low-paid women. Eventually, women remain excluded from the more stable and higher-paying jobs.
Besides, the removal of barriers to transnational investment, far from empowering women, has brought them dismal jobs in offshore production sites where they might subject to sexual discrimination and harassment.
From optimistic point of view
The openness of foreign direct investment under globalization has led to the infusion of women into job markets. It has brought great freedom to women, particularly those living in traditionally lower income countries like Ireland and Thailand, where women can now have chances to be economically independent of men. Also, they can have at least some control on their personal lives.
Foreign multinationals often offer better paying jobs to women. Eventually, by bringing women into the workforce, globalization has given women a power they lacked years ago - the power to end the system that breeds poverty, oppression and exploitation.
The global development of capitalism over the last 20 years has depended almost everywhere on women pouring into the formal workforce. Table 1 shows the provision of women workers in the new labor force in both the Asian and Celtic 'Tiger' economies. The number of women in the workforces is increasing.
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1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | |
| Indonesia | 16,934.6 | 22,506.5 | 29,422.7 | 31,729.0 | 33.079.0 | n/a |
| Ireland | 346.44 | 332.0 | 371.5 | 482.9 | 539.7 | 643.9 |
| Thailand | 10,657.0 | 10,749.1 | 14,386,2 | 14,795.2 | 15,041.3 | 14,365.9 |
| Korea | 5,222.0 | 5,833.0 | 7,376.0 | 8,256.0 | 8,686.0 | 8,303.0 |
Philippines | 6,070,0 | 7,569.0 | 8,185.0 | 9,505.0 | 19,451.0 | 11,709.0 |
Women and the Economy
Mary Robinson - a tribute to an amazing Irish woman
Case
Nastya Buchok
Nastya is 13 years old. She grew up in the capital of Karakalpak Republic - Nukus of Uzbekistan. She participated in the Global Connections Tech Age Girl's Project sponsored by the International Research and Exchanges Board.
This project "provides encouragement, support, and training to a select group of young computer-oriented girls." The program gives the young women skills in computers and technology and encourages them to become leaders and start projects in their own communities.
Here is the question about globalization and women.
1. Has globalization affected your life?
Yes, globalization really affected my life. And I start understanding, that is very important not just for me, but for other people too. I am another person now and I watch the world from another side and try to change it. I want to teach people on IT, leadership and help them to become big people. My life has changed.
Conclusion on women's rights
After reading the sources concerning the issues of globalization and the worldwide women's rights, I found that it is not necessary that globalization leads to a positive result on woman's rights. Women's rights have been regarded as so insignificant that it has long been exploited. Particularly in those developing countries, women lack most of their freedom to express themselves and do whatever they like. However, globlazation, to many extents, did change women's status to a good side. Gradually, people realize that women, as capable as men, do deserve having the same rights as men.
Economic rights
Can we trade globally?
In the globalized world market, international trade and investment are taken place within the legal framework economy. This economic globalization has a focus on economic efficiency, the goal is to improve economic well being through efficient market exchanges. The system is based upon enhancing the economic well being of nations through trade, on the theory that gains are maximized through the unrestricted flow of goods across national boundaries. The system rests upon a view of humans as economic beings that seek to maximize wealth and self-interested satisfaction of personal preferences. In a pure economic model, values outside efficiency are irrelevant, even pernicious because they complicate or hamper the trading system.
How is world trade important to globalization?
According to the reading from Globalization : A World-Systems Perspective, it stated that “Economic globalization means globe-spanning economic relationships. The interrelationships of marketsofiance, goods and servicesoand the networks created transnational corporations are the most important manifestations of this. Though the capitalist world-system has been international in essence for centuries, the extent and degree of trade and investment globalization has increased greatly in recent decades. Economic globalization has been accelerated by what telematics has done to the movement of money. It is commonly claimed that the market’s ability to shift money from one part of the globe to another by a push of a button has changed the rules of policy-making, putting economic decisions much more at the mercy of market forces than before.”
Interrelationships means that countries are connected in the global network of give and get in terms of products and services. The extent and degree of trade and investment globalization are measured in the sense of sales volume and sales growth. When sales volume changes, it also affects the GDP and GNP of the countries which need to be considered before making policy decisions. Telematics is referenced to the number of sales transactions between trading countries which exchanges for products and money shifting. The rules of policy-making is focusing on making economic decisions which favor their countries in order to maximize their benefits.
Is World trade helping the world market?
In certain basis, the world trade is really helping the market to balance between the profits and costs. Like most US companies and organizations, they will import products from China, the world largest manufacturing factory, as they are of the lowest costs. It helps both US and Chinese market. From the US point of views, they have to minimize the costs as well as maximizing the profits. On the other hand, Chinese market got the wholesaling orders from US which enhance their GDP growth and maintain their labor market.
However, this world trading system would create the inefficiencies and imbalance of other manufacturing countries which would damage their economic growth and result in many economic side effects. There is a news about a South Korean farmer commit suicide during a violation demonstration against the World Trade Organization (WTO).
A piece of News on World Trade
Lee Kyung-hae, aged 55, stabbed himself in protest against WTO agricultural policies in September 2003. He was among hundreds of farmers from different countries, who staged angry protests at the sidelines of the trade talks. According to the WTO, South Korea, like Japan, has a very protected rice market. Its farmers are therefore keen to protect their generous government subsidies from being reduced under a more open market system. "Mr Lee committed suicide after seeing how the WTO was killing peasants around the world," according to a statement by about 50 South Korean farmers. According to witnesses, Mr Lee told other protesters at the demonstration: "Don't worry about me, just struggle your hardest," before stabbing himself in the heart with a knife. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, but died nearly three hours later. Mr Lee used to be the president of the Korean National Future Farmers Association, one of South Korea's main farming lobby groups. The country's farmers vehemently oppose any opening of the agricultural market, or measures leading to a reduction in government support. They demand the exclusion of the agricultural sector from all world trade negotiations, arguing that an open market would be a huge blow to South Korean agriculture. Reforming global agriculture is one of the most contentious issues on the WTO summit's agenda, and there are deep divisions between the participating delegates. Protesters argue that each country has a right to protect its food supply, and that farmers should not be forced to compete on a global level. But others insist that large subsidies provide an unfair advantage to those farmers who receive them.
It was a sad story on making world trade globally. With reference to the reading from Globalization : A World-Systems Perspective, it explained that “Trade Globalization can be operationalized as the proportion of all world production that crosses international boundaries.” What the world market operating is the developed countries are looking for developing countries manufacturing low cost products. Who make the good quality goods with lowest price, who is able to capture most market share and win this world trading game. This competition is fair enough that without any international boundaries. That means all developed and developing countries, or even undeveloped countries, are free to join this game. However, no game would result in win-win situation in long term basis. It only has the short term victory. This is the basic rule of the game. How to determine which countries we decide to cooperate with depends on which ones can help to maximize the efficiencies and effectiveness in terms of quality, profits and communication relationship.
Stop “SWEATSHOPS” please!!!
Undoubtedly, globalization does provide numerous opportunities to commerce and the free market is rapidly expanding, therefore, the standards of living is improving in some developed countries has been raising. Nevertheless, the better quality product with lower price does come at the expense. In order to survive in this competitive market, adding to the more featured products, cost deduction is another important concern. Thus, most of the leading marketers have contracted their manufacture around the globe, mostly at the developing countries. Nike is a typical example of operating more than 600 factories around the world. However, along with its tremendous success in athletic apparel market, it is always blamed for opening “sweatshops”. What does it meant for “sweatshops”? Obviously, it is not praise. The word 'sweatshop' has been in existence since the latter half of the nineteenth century. Webster's provides the following definition of a 'sweatshop', "A shop or factory in which workers are employed for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions."
With the symbol of workers’ right exploitation, Nike has taken many steps to counter the protests from NGOs, including requiring the subcontractors to obey the local law for minimum standards of working conditions and pay. During 1970s, most Nike shoes were made in South Asia countries including China, Vietnam and Indonesia etc. the government of these countries prohibited independent unions and set the minimum wage at bottom. The wages are around USD $1-2 but the estimated livable wage is USD$3-4 which implied that workers failed to afford to support their basic livings. After several decades, the situation does not have much improvement. According to Nike’s report, it confessed that the workers’ abuse is still existing in 1/4 South East Asia countries including prohibition of drinking water and go washroom during work time. Moreover, more than 50% workers from factories have to work exceeding 60 hrs per week. Although the basic wages increase from RMB 1200-1300 to RMB 2000-2200, still, the stress from the work cannot be tolerated. In the letter from Nike's VP for Corporate Responsibility, "Nike does require that factories manufacturing our products comply with local legal minimum wages, and this is something we aim to verify in our auditing process. However, because factories are not Nike-owned, it is not possible for us to mandate what wages should be paid by the factories to workers. Moreover, this data is not something that we collect; it is owned and managed by factories, which is why Nike cannot disclose workers' wage rates."
The criticism of workers abuse is also faced by Apple’s suncontractors—Foxconn which recently occurred near 20 suicide cases in China because of the intolerable wages and working conditions. The iPod is assembled by Foxconn, a manufacturer headquartered in Taiwan that own factories in China and elsewhere. Foxconn is a trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, a $16 billion giant and one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world, which makes everything from Playstations for Sony to iPods for Apple. In 2006, a report in the middlebrow Mail on Sunday entitled “iPOD City” disclosed that Foxconn's giant Longhua plant employs 200,000 workers, who work 15-hour days but are paid just $50 a month. It claims they work and live in the plant, in dormitories housing 100 people, and outside visitors are forbidden.
Like Nike’s response, Apple strike to get rid of the adverse image of operating “sweatshops”. However, according to the findings Apple 2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, Apple has discovered that 60 of their manufacturers have been exceeding the 60 hours a week which is the maximum times out of Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct. The report also mentions having found several cases where wages, compensation, and benefits were all being withheld improperly according to the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct. At 48 facilities Apple found that overtime wages were being improperly calculated and recorded, resulting in the workers not being paid for their labor. In another instance, Apple discovered 24 facilities had wages below the minimum wage set by Apple's code.
After China opened up to the global market economy and joined the global competition, its most useful weapon is cheap labor, factory owners are trying to minimize any cost including that of workers’ safety, due to lack of safety regulation in foreign investments. In the industrial zones for foreign capital in China, like in other countries, workers are deprived of the right to organize themselves in order to improve their working conditions. This is the reality of workers behind the strong international competitive performance of China.
It is understandable that global corporations have capitalized on developing countries because of the fruitful resources and the lower wages of labors. However, in order to develop globalization as a facilitator of human rights, management should not only meet the trading and wages standards of local government. Usually, these standards are underpriced for the sake of the competitive advantage. however, the income from these unfair trading and low wages always fail to support workers’ livelihood. Although nowadays many giant global corporations set up their minimum global standards, they are not lawfully forced and therefore, its impact have not changed the situation. It is suggested that companies should strictly require its subcontractors to ensure the workers right and protect them from exploitation.
References
References
- BBC News (2003, 11 September). S Korean kills himself over WTO. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3099568.stm.
- Dinah Shelton. Protecting Human Rights in a Globalized World. Retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bciclr/25_2/06_TXT.htm.
- World Trade Organization. (2008, 23 July) Members and Observers. Retrieved from http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm.
- Charles Hill,Gareth Jones(2009). Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach.South Western, Cengage Learning
- 史靖洪(2005年04月15日) 耐克承认旗下工厂虐待员工 在亚洲工厂尤为严重. 北京娱乐信报
- Leander Kahney(2006, June 13) Judging Apple Sweatshop Charge. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/06/71138
- Selvon M. Waldron(2010, August) Globalization and its impact on the development and protection of human rights evaluations and recommendations. Retrieved from http://www.guyanajournal.com/Globalization_policy_Selvon_Waldron.html
- How does globalisation affect women. (2001). In International Socialism Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2011, from http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj92/horgan.htm
- Women and globalization. The State University of New York, Globalization 101. Retrieved January 30, 2011, from http://www.globalization101.org/uploads/File/Women/Women2010.pdf
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