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3. Globalization for Human Rights

The Rise of NGOs in Global Health Governance and Credibility Issues in the 21st Century 1

  • Non-Governmental Organization:
    • It refers to non-state actors, voluntary Civil Society Organizations, associations and non-profit institutions that promote issues in the public interest.
    • Any non-profit organization that is independent of government.
    • Forces for democratizing development.
    • Agents that increase citizen participation.
    • Issues of transparency and effectiveness remain to be resolved.
  • International NGOs have a long tradition, with the founding of the Anti-Slavery International in 1839 being considered the beginning.
  • The period of the Hague Conferences (1899-1907), and the 1920s, when twice as many international NGOs were created as in the entire 19th century.
  • the number of international NGOs increased from 6,000 in 1990 to 26,000 in 1996.
  • Globalization and technological developments, which among other things make finding and sharing information faster than ever before, have strengthened civil society and the capacities of NGOs.
  • Types of NGOs:
    • NGO: Non-Governmental Organization.
    • NPO: Non-Profit Organization.
    • SBO: Social Benefit Organization.
    • CBO: Community-Based Organization.
    • CSO: Civil Society Organization.
    • CSO: Citizen Sector Organization.
    • AO: Advocacy Organization.
    • PO: Patient Organization.
    • VO: Voluntary Organization.
    • GSO: Grassroots Support Organization.
    • NSA: Non-State Actor.
  • Particularly with the rise of neoliberalism and the imposition of the “Washington Consensus”, NGOs have taken on the task of filling the huge gaps in welfare created by the deliberate withdrawal of the state.

NGOs, the United Nations and the World Health Organization

  • There were representatives from 1,200 voluntary organizations at the UN founding conference, significantly influencing the content of the founding treaty.
  • As of September 2021, about 5188 NGOs with consultative accreditation to the UN are counted through the ECOSOC CsoNet database.
  • NGOs contribute to a range of activities:
    • Information dissemination.
    • Awareness raising.
    • Education.
    • Policy advocacy.
    • Joint operational projects.
    • Participation in intergovernmental processes.
    • Contribution with specific technical expertise.
  • The first World Health Assembly in 1948 adopted the first framework of rules for the development of formal WHO-NGO relations, which has been continuously updated and updated over time.

Examples of Active NGO Participation in Public Health

  • In the United States:
    • Government intervention in health care is limited.
    • Over 40% of health insurance services are owned by NGOs.
    • Community hospitals, nursing homes and health centers are for the most part run by NGOs.
    • NGOs at the local level are providing additional health benefits to members of local communities (health education and training programs, research support, reduced insurance premiums, etc.).
    • NGOs that assist war veterans of the US military.
    • Examples:
      • American Lung Association (ALA). Started in 1904.
      • AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Started in 1987.

Credibility and Legitimacy Crises in the 21stο Century

  • Compliance mechanisms are lacking.
  • Funding mainly comes from developed countries which may lead to issues in their objectives and cause conflicts with authoritarian regimes.
  • In the developed world, NGOs are accountable to the state and the private sector through taxation and the publication of annual reports.
  • Poor performance and inefficient bureaucracy.

Are universal human rights universal? 2

  • One of the issues constantly discussed in the context of human rights is their assessment as universal or relative.
  • UN documents on human rights:
    • International Bill of Human Rights.
    • Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948.
    • International Covenants on Human Rights. 1966.
  • While human rights are considered universal, they lose the signs and qualities of universality under the:
    • Influence of various socio-cultural.
    • National traditions and customs.
    • Religious and other factors.

What Do We Mean By “Human Rights”

  • Currently, there are more than 200 international human rights instruments developed only within the framework of the United Nations.
  • The modern concept of human rights embodies the provisions of religious doctrines as well as philosophical, political, and legal teachings of different eras.
  • To clarify what we mean when we talk about human rights, it is appropriate to distinguish three different levels of interpretation of this idea:
    • The first level is purely speculative; it presupposes the existence of a belief that human rights truly exist and the translation of this belief into appropriate verbal forms. The most famous examples of such formulations are the Declaration of Human and Civil Rights of the French Revolution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.
    • The second level is the legislative consolidation of individual (or all) human rights at the level of national states.
    • The third level is the legal validity, that is, the implementation and operation of these laws, the actual observance or violation of human rights.
  • Natural human rights: the right of everyone to life, liberty, personal integrity, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, etc.
  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
    • Adopted without a special vote, with only 8 countries abstaining.
    • It does not reflect mainly Western values, since it was attended by numerous non-European countries.
    • Although this document is not binding, it can be considered a universal set of human rights and freedoms, on the basis of which a system of international standards in this area has been developed.

Controversy Over The Universality Of Human Rights

  • Universal human rights should be based on a common morality, and this premise should be accepted as the main basis for the existence of rights and freedoms.
  • The ideas of cultural relativism were most definitely expressed by the delegations of China and Iran during the discussion of human rights issues in the framework of the UN and the World Conference on Human Rights, which was held in Vienna in 1993.
  • Countries at different stages of development or with different historical traditions and cultural values have different understandings and practices in regard to human rights. Accordingly, the human rights standards and models adopted by some countries cannot be assumed to be the only ones, and all countries cannot be required to comply with them. Attempts to impose human rights criteria adopted by some countries or regions lead to a violation of the sovereignty of countries and interference in their internal affairs. The view that the principle of non-interference in internal affairs is not applicable in this area is only a form of political pressure.
  • The fundamental international legal documents that reveal the meaning of human rights and regulate the norms of their legislative support state that fundamental human rights and freedoms are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.

Human Rights In China

  • The concept of harmony, which is key in Confucianism, is generally aimed at the ‘social’ rather than the ‘individual.’ Taking into account the fact that this teaching has largely influenced the education system of China, it can be said that the priority of the state before the individual is instilled in young residents of the People’s Republic of China from childhood on.
  • A clear distinction between ‘senior leader’ and ‘junior subordinate’ is contrary to Western concepts, because by and large, the basic provisions of human rights may be reduced to the sole right to equality, which as such is alien to the Chinese public.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 3

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
    • Signed on December 10, 1948, in the General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).
    • It is written in 500 languages.
    • It led to the adoption of more than 70 international human rights treaties.

UDHR Articles

  1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
  2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind.
  3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
  4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
  5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
  6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
  7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.
  8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
  9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
  10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
  11. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
  12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation.
  13. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
  14. Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
  15. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
  16. Men and women of full age have the right to marry and to find a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
  17. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
  18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
  19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
  20. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
  21. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
  22. Everyone has the right to social security and is entitled to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
  23. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
  24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
  25. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
  26. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
  27. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
  28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
  29. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
  30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Video Resources 4 5

References

  1. Sidiropoulos, S., Emmanouil-Kalos, A., Kanakaki, M. E., & Vozikis, A. (2021). The Rise of NGOs in Global Health Governance and Credibility Issues in the 21st Century. HAPSc Policy Briefs Series, 2(2), 278–288. https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/hapscpbs/article/view/29516 ↩

  2. Yarulin, I., & Pozdnyakov, E. (2021). Are universal human rights universal? Politeja, 71, 67–77. https://journals.akademicka.pl/politeja/article/view/3709 ↩

  3. United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights ↩

  4. TED-Ed. 2015. (October 15). What are the universal human rights?  - Bernadetta Berti  [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nDgIVseTkuE ↩

  5. UN Human Rights. (2017, November 22).UDHR @ 70: The History [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uA1IZkWycMk ↩