How the Notion of "Human Rights" was Formalized
In today’s post, we look back at the development of Human Rights, the International Standards adopted by the UN as well corporates’ role in ensuring Human Rights within their value chain.
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Human Rights, the fundamental rights we are all entitled to, is a term we all most likely heard of. This encompasses the right to food, education, and freedoms regardless of nationality, race, origin, or any other status. But the idea of an international Human Rights standard was not something that has always been around or has been established. These modern fundamental rights developed in the mid-1900s are anchored in place by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Let’s Go Back 100 Years Ago
If you are like us and get intrigued by war books, I was surprised to learn while reading that Human Rights were brought to mainstream attention after World War II. The idea of Human Rights has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1948 that a universal standard was developed by the United Nations.
Prior to the development of the UDHR, there were other standards in place that provided basic protections to civilians including the International Labor Organization (ILO). The ILO was geared toward the protection of the rights of workers. In 1919, after the first World War, the initial draft of the ILO was created as part of the Treaty of Versailles. The founding principles of this document were based upon social justice and the protection of workers’ rights. US trade unionists tackled the issue that labor wasn’t a commodity and that all workers had the right to living wages, regulation of working hours, and prevention from unemployment should they get sick arising from their employment. In one of their first conventions, the eight-hour workday was a topic of discussion but it wasn’t until years later that a guaranteed minimum wage was defined. The idea of Freedom of Association was another objective that was part of the initial ILO constitution. The Freedom of Association was stated in the preamble of the constitution and provides protections to workers who want to unionize, take collective action, and have the right to organize. The ILO was a pivotal organization as it helped balance the power between workers and employers. [1]
Moving into the late 1930s, the Second World War was looming. The most powerful counties in the world were involved in six long years of the most horrific war, destroying the lives of millions. Atrocities like genocide, starvation, and war crimes were committed against civilians and prisoners of war. Outraged by the violence and horrors everyone was exposed to, the United Nations, which was newly established at the time, began to create the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The creation of this document was the first time counties had agreed on a comprehensive explanation of human rights all are entitled to. Included were 30 fundamental rights and freedoms that all people are born with including freedom of expression, freedom from discrimination, as well as social, economic, and cultural rights. At the time, the document wasn’t a treaty, meaning counties didn’t legally have to abide by it, but it did have a profound impact on the two international laws that would follow six years later. [2] With all governments expressing support, two separate covenants were created, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Collectively, these three documents became known as the International Bill of Human Rights.
Towards the end of the war, the ILO remained highly important to workers and its presence was growing. Going into the mid-1940s the United Nations began to enter an agreement with the ILO and the two entities established a partnership. By 1946 an agreement between the two groups was formed and it became the first specialized agency under the United Nations. Since their partnership, the ILO has continued to tackle workers’ rights. Notably minimum age laws in the 1970s, field working conditions and environment in the mid 1970s, and a focus on health & safety in the 1980s.
The Three Defining Standards
There are three main documents that set the standard for Human Rights today including:
1. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2. The International Bill on Human Rights
3. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As described above, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first common standard of Human Rights internationally. The declaration was drafted by the chairman at the time, Eleanor Roosevelt, and officially signed on December 10th, 1948. Since then, it has been translated into over 500 different languages. Included in the declaration are 30 fundamental rights including the right to be treated fairly, all humans are free and equal, innocent until proven guilty, the right to asylum, and the right to privacy. [3]
The International Bill on Human Rights
The International Bill on Human Rights is a bill comprised of several declarations and standards including the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Together, these bills define human right and it was formally adopted in 1966. While the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights was a huge accomplishment for that time, it wasn’t legally binding. This bill set the legal standards of Human Rights Standard internationally. [4]
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
The UN officially endorsed a set of principles known as The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to guide governments, businesses, and other stakeholders in addressing business-related human rights issues in 2011. While these principles are not legally binding, they have been adopted and referenced by many influential governments, corporations, and civil societies. These principles are based on three pillars: Protect, Respect, and Remedy. The first pillar states governments have the responsibility to protect human rights from violations against businesses and other third parties. The second pillar states that businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights and should take action if violations occur. The third pillar states the need for businesses and governments to remedy violations and harm that had occurred.
Corporate Responsibility
While the rights we covered in this post seem like a given for any worker, it really wasn’t that long ago when they were developed. For our millennial readers, most of them came into force when our parents were kids and our grandparents were in the workforce. And while we don’t hear about human rights issues as much on mainstream news, they are still very prevalent today. Remember the 2021 Netflix documentary, Seaspirecy? A lot of astonishing claims were made that sparked debate, however, they did shed light on a variety of human rights and trafficking issues still found in the fishing industry today. As we discussed with Meagan Tenety in our last post, most human rights violations are found deep within the supply chain and out of sight from most of the workforce.
Corporates have the responsibility to uphold the laws, norms, and rights of every worker that is part of their value chain. They also have the opportunity to impact Human Rights in a positive way but also in a negative way. From a positive perspective, they provide people opportunities to work, learn, and earn living. Negative actions could include turning a blind eye to labor risks, forced labor, or debt bondage.
There has been mounting pressure from stakeholders and investors on the implementation of human rights standards. Investors, NGOs, and non-profits are asking more sophisticated questions about how corporates are identifying human rights abuses, labor risks, and how they are monitoring them over time. Last year, we saw one of the biggest asset managers start directly engaging with all their holding companies, especially high-risk industries, on human rights due diligence processes, materials sourced from high-risk areas, and supply chain practices.
There is gaining momentum for corporates to publicly disclose their human rights policies. Included in these policies you may find the commitments to the ILO or standards abided by as outlined in the International Bill on Human Rights. But companies should take this a step further and discuss the process by which they are identifying risks and their diligence procedures when working with a potential new supplier. Transparency on feedback mechanisms in place or access to reporting hotlines is critical for companies to disclose on. Additionally, are extra measures like conducting safety audits throughout their whole company and deploying safety investigations when needed disclosed? Taking these extra steps, not only will it protect their employees, but could also protect them from the financial and reputational damage that would arise from human rights violations.
Hot Tea
With ranging wildfires, historic flooding, and severe droughts sweeping the globe, more countries are announcing commitments to climate mitigation. This week’s Hot Tea takes a look at some recent headlines happing across the globe.
Sustainability Mover & Shakers
Love is in the air this summer and that means a new gleaming rock to show off. Dimond mining and exploration have had a poor reputation for society and the environment. Deep within the supply chains, there have long been issues with poor working conditions, child labor, low wages, and forced labor. Our Mover & Shaker this week is CO2 Diamonds. This company plans to create lab-grown diamonds that use captured CO2 to grow their diamonds while not causing environmental impacts. While they are still in the early stages of development it’s interesting to see all types of companies adjusting business models to do their part in building a more sustainable future.
[1] https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm
[3] https://opseu.org/wp content/uploads/2018/12/30_basic_human_rights_list_english.pdf
[4] https://www.ohchr.org/en/what-are-human-rights/international-bill-human-rights