Trading Rights And Human Rights
| As per the Article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is the fundamental right of every individual in this world to have a respectable and adequate standard of living. |
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The standard of living should be adequate to suffice a person’s food, clothing, housing, medical expenses, family requirements and other necessary social services. Apart from that, standard of living should also provide support and security in the times of unemployment, old age, sickness, disability, widowhood and during circumstances when there is no means of livelihood.
Even though international trade and globalization have eased the barriers that separate countries and improved standard of living, they have indeed ignored and overlooked the value of human rights. There are multiple ways by which human rights are being violated through trade practices.
Commodities such as agricultural products and foods that are produced in developing and under-developed countries are getting diverted to richer nations since they can pay for it. Countries with strong economy have better and improved opportunities. Poor economic countries spend thousands of dollars towards giving training to skilled professionals. However, their services and wealth are getting utilized in countries with better economy primarily due to ‘brain drain’ phenomenon. Another form of human rights violation is taking advantage of cheap labor available in poor nations through outsourcing services.
With open trade policies and stringent quality control measures, business firms from richer countries are expanding their horizons creating opportunities in poorer countries. However, with the implementation of new technologies, they are displacing unskilled labor from their jobs, thereby blowing air to the problem of unemployment.
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