Transcript Slide 1

Chapter 13: Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization
Human rights is an issue that is in the news a lot. Even though the UN has created the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 it is not being followed in all countries different countries and cultures treat each other (and their citizens) differently.
One of the most well known groups for being a voice for human rights is Amnesty
International. They bring attention to human rights abuses all around the world through
media, marches and protests.
• The fact that groups like Amnesty
International exist:
– Demonstrates that not everyone agrees on
the issue of human rights.
– raises questions such as:
• what is a universal right?
• should everyone have the same rights?
• Can rights that focus on things like
individual freedom undermine important
collective rights and values - such as
those emphasized by other non-Western
countries and Indigenous people?
• Ex: could emphasizing individual freedom
of action limit people’s ability to protect the
environment?
Assignment Booklet: Views on Human
Rights
• Look at Figures 13-2 to 13-5 (pg 306).
• Discuss:
– Which of the human rights would you support
most strongly, and why?
– Be prepared to defend your decision.
How did ‘human rights’ come to be?
- can be traced back to a large European middle class and influential
individuals such as Adam Smith and John Locke.
-they believed in:
-individual independence
-freedom
-governments should exercise only limited control over citizens.
-The Enlightenment period also played an important role in the evolution of
human rights and which rights are inalienable (cannot be taken away).
• These ideas on rights were
able to spread because:
– inventions like the printing
press:
• books, pamphlets, and
newspapers could be printed
and distributed more cheaply
and quickly.
– technological changes:
• people could travel farther,
faster, and more often than
before.
Democracy & Human Rights
• “Democracy” and “human rights” seem to
be terms that go hand in hand.
• Yet are human rights always protected in
democracies? Can dictatorships care
about human rights?
Ancient Persia
• Cyrus, the king of
Persia in 6th century
BCE (600 BCE – 501 BCE), is
said to have ruled with
religious tolerance.
• When he conquered
Babylon, (present-day
Iraq), he even restored
the temples of people
he conquered.
The Cyrus Cylinder
• Archeologists believe that Cyrus ordered
his promises recorded on the Cyrus
Cylinder, which describes his conquest,
and then the just and tolerant way people
would be treated.
• Some historians call this cylinder an early
version of a charter of rights.
In ancient Babylonian
civilization, important
information was sometimes
inscribed onto a clay cylinder.
This small cylinder measures
23 by 8 cm.
Ancient Greece
• In the sixth century
BCE (600 BCE – 501 BCE),
any male citizen of
Athens could vote
and participate in
democratic debate.
Ancient Rome
• In the first century CE (1
CE – 100 CE), the Roman
emperor Claudius passed
laws protecting slaves who
were sick.
• He also decreed that
conquered peoples could
become Roman citizens
and even members of the
Senate.
Ruled 41 CE – 54 CE
Ancient India
• Laws of Manu:
– written in 1st or 2nd century
CE, but grew out of traditions
that existed long before that.
• Laws include statements
about how women, children,
and various members of
different castes – social
classes defined by Hindu
religion – should be treated
and how they should
behave.
Important Documents in the Evolution of
Human Rights Recognition:
1. The Great Law of Peace – established by Native peoples
before European contact
regarding elected representatives and decision making
2. The American Constitution – 1787 by the 13 colonies that
eventually formed the USA,
was the early makings of the government and decision
making.
3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (see Ass’t bklt)
4. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Adopted
in 1982 as part of the constitution
put more emphasis on human rights and protecting rights
and freedoms.
The Great Law of Peace
• Created by the Haudenosaunee, who lived
near the lower Great Lakes.
• Before the arrival of Europeans, five
Haudenosaunee nations formed the Iroquois
Confederacy.
• The Great Law of Peace set out a decisionmaking process in which elected
representatives of each nation met to make
decisions on issues that concerned the
confederacy.
The American Constitution
• Created in 1787 by representatives of the
13 colonies that had formed the US.
• established the Congress, which consists
of the Senate and the House of
Representatives and set out a decisionmaking process.
• Benjamin Franklin, one of the developers,
was influenced by the Great Law of Peace
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
• Made to try and prevent a recurrence of
the atrocities of World War II.
• Sets out individual rights in six areas:
political rights (right to vote and participate in gov’t)
civil rights (right to freedom of opinion and expression)
equality rights (right to be free from discrimination)
economic rights (right to fair wages and safe working
conditions)
- cultural rights (right to speak one’s home language)
-
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
• Adopted in 1982 as part of the Constitution Act.
• Protects the following rights and freedoms:
-
fundamental freedoms (right to freedom of religion)
democratic rights (right to vote)
mobility rights (right to move within Canada)
legal rights (right to life, liberty, and security of people)
equality rights (right to protection of the law without
discrimination of race, religion, sex, age, disability, etc.)
- language rights (equality of French & English language)
- minority-language education rights (provincial gov’t must
provide certain language rights to French or English
minorities)
Human Rights and Colonization
• Assignment booklet
• Read text pgs 314-316.
• Complete both questions.
Many people would argue that globalization has increased the support and
advancement of human rights around the world. Why is this so?
On the flip side, because of outsourcing and companies moving their
factories to where labour costs are cheaper, many companies have been in
the news for abuses of human rights at their factories.
Savar Building Collapse:
http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Gallery+more+hope+Bangladesh/8309786/story.html
Trade & Human Rights
• Trade can be a powerful force in stopping
human rights violations.
• Apartheid era in South Africa:
– many countries boycotted South African
products and refused to trade with the South
African gov’t.
• Economic sanctions such as these are
often an effective tool for persuading a
gov’t to stop violating people’s human
rights.
Trade & Human Rights
• Trade sanction do not always work and can
sometimes make a situation worse.
• 1990: the United Nations imposed economic
sanctions on Iraq after President Saddam
Hussein ordered troops to invade Kuwait.
– As a result, Iraqi citizens suffered tremendously
because they were deprived of basic necessities,
such as food and medicine.
– They could do nothing about it since they lived in a
repressive dictatorship and were powerless to stop
Saddam.
Transnational Corporations &
Human Rights
• For transnational corporations, economic
globalization is about securing their right to
move people and goods freely across
borders.
• Many transnationals move factories to
countries and regions where labour costs
are lower and environment regulations
less strict.
• This practice has led to many human
rights violations. (Savar, China, etc.)
Privatization & Human Rights
• Economic globalization has also placed
pressure on gov’ts to reduce spending and
lower taxes. This has reduced money for
health care, education, and water.
• Human rights activists argue that cutbacks
in gov’t spending increase inequality. This
is because private companies take over
previous public services and jack up
prices. Some ppl no longer can afford to
use these services.
Human trafficking
• Another issue that we are seeing with more globalization and freer
movement of trade is a disturbing trend in human trafficking
• people who want a better life in another country are preyed on by
criminal organizations that help them immigrate illegally, often forced
into situations that would be a huge violation of human rights.
• People usually come from the poorer regions of the world, where
opportunities are limited, and are often from the most vulnerable in
society, such as runaways, refugees, or other displaced persons.
• People who are seeking entry to other countries may be picked up by
traffickers, and misled into thinking that they will be free after being
smuggled across the border.
Children & Human Trafficking
• Trafficking of children often involves
exploitation of the parents' extreme
poverty.
– Parents may sell children to traffickers in order
to pay off debts or gain income or they may be
deceived concerning the prospects of training
and a better life for their children.
– In West Africa, trafficked children have often
lost one or both parents to the African AIDS
crisis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAaWjsAOCA
Media can help:
A positive role that the media can play in these types of
situation is to bring light to the situation. The media has the
potential to have millions of viewers at any one time, it is a
very fast way to educate the public.
Shows such as 20/20 and Dateline are good examples of this.
Tank Man
Pg 219