Human Rights in Integrity and Social Responsibility - Essay Example

Universal human rights are the rights that are stated and guaranteed by national law, customary international law, general principles, treaties, and other sources of international law (Ohchr.org, n.d.). International human rights law imposes obligations and responsibilities on Governments, and thus promotes and ensures protection of the fundamental freedom of groups and individuals (Ohchr.org, n.d.).Thus, Governments play a significant role as they are responsible to comply with the international human rights law and refraining from acts that are contradictory to this law. Human rights are based on the principle of universality, which is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This principle was first declared in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 (Ohchr.org, n.d.). Also, human rights are interdependent, interrelated, and indivisible, whereas all people have the right to life, freedom of expression, equality before the law, right to education, social security, work, self-determination, and personal development (Ohchr.org, n.d.). Another cross-cutting principle in international human rights law is the principle of non-discrimination.

This principle is integrated into all major human rights treaties and has a central theme in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ohchr.org, n.d.). Today, human rights are identified and declared in the numerous declarations, resolutions, and conventions, including the following: United Nations Convention: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Protocols; The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action; ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998; and United Nations Convention: International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Global Reporting Initiative, n.d.).

Human rights in international business/organizational context

Increased public awareness and the presence of various international organizations facilitate the process of respect of human rights by business enterprises. For example, an international organization the United Nations Global Impact sets the benchmark for many international organizations. According to the first principle of the UN Global Impact, “businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights” (Unglobalcompact.org, 2006). This principle is viewed by both the general public and business organizations as a “must follow” and thus is expected to be integrated into any business activity. As a result, an increasing number of companies recognize their moral, legal, and commercial need to address human rights issues within their business environment (Wynhoven, n.d.). In order to address these issues, the companies implement corporate sustainability strategies, where they aim to achieve not only economic benefits but also to address important social/community aspects.

Indicators on the human rights performance

Moreover, international companies are often subject to various international ratings and indexes. Thus, for example, there is a Global Reporting Initiative which is an international set of indicators on human rights. These indicators set the requirement for many organizations, as they should report on “the extent to which human rights are considered in investment and supplier/contractor selection practices” (Global Reporting Initiative, n.d., n.p.). These Indicators cover such issues as non-discrimination, child labor, indigenous rights, forced and compulsory labor (Global Reporting Initiative, n.d.). Below are provided some real-life examples of where international businesses have been involved in various violations of human rights.

Child labor

One of the examples well illustrating the role of international human rights in international business is the case of Nestle. Once the company has been accused of the use of child labor in its cocoa supply chain, Nestle has developed a plan of action in order to address child labor on the cocoa plants in Côte d' Ivoire (Nestle.com, n.d.; Nestlecocoaplan.com, n.d.). Thus, even though being not directly in the exploitation of child labor in West Africa the company has shown its commitment to respect and compliance with international human rights. Another company, which has discovered the use of child labor in its supply chain is a well-known US-based company Apple. The company has reported that 11 factories-suppliers employed children for making different products (Garside, 2013). In order to address this issue, the company has been required to bring children back to their families and pay out compensation to all who suffered from child labor exploitation in Chinese plants (Garside, 2013).

Forced and Compulsory labor/Discrimination

Another human rights violation was fixed by Apple in relation to its Chinese suppliers, who were violating international human rights, by deducting wages of employees and imposing mandatory pregnancy testing (Garside, 2013). In order to address this issue and avoid bigger international scandals, Apple’s management has addressed these issues. Also, the company was associated with the use of bonded labor, which is an element of forced and compulsory labor. Many workers have paid fees to recruiters and other agents to find jobs by incurring huge debts. Their wages were automatically set to pay out debts, thus enforcing people to work for free (Garside, 2013).

There are many other different cases of violation of human rights associated with big international brands. Even though these scandals are referred to the violations on behalf of the suppliers/partners of international companies, international businesses have full responsibility for establishing ethical and legal supply chains. While not addressing human rights issues in their supply chains, international companies face high risks of negative international publicity, reduced customer loyalty, and as a result, a decline in sales and revenues.