Human Rights Principles in Developing Countries

Human Rights Principles in Developing Countries

Introduction

The subject of human rights implementation has remained a challenge to many countries around the world. Depending on the countries under consideration, any of the following could be the obstacle limiting the implementation of human rights: geography, anthropology, demographics, ineffectiveness of human rights organizations and state sovereignty. In addition,  lack of a universal definition of human rights has been an obstacle towards implementing human rights. This  paper will evaluate  the difficulties related to implementing human rights in developing countries.

Geography

The developing countries are widely distributed in the world, but the majority are in Africa. The governments in these developing countries fail to prioritize human rights because the available resources are dedicated to eradicating poverty and increasing development. As  such, the work of ensuring human rights is left to activists who are sponsored by organizations from the developed countries (Arat 23). Since the developing countries have poor infrastructure, accessing those places highly rated for human rights violation becomes a challenge. Since many human rights abuses happen in Africa, it is difficult to enforce human rights observation since the entire continent is similar in characteristics. Countries in Africa tend to have little priority for human rights. Consequently, when human rights abuses occur in one country, the neighboring country cannot stand to correct the other.

Anthropology

Anthropology refers to the study of humans present and past lives, which include culture, sexuality, race and gender. The aspects and activities covered in anthropology affect human rights in a variety of ways. In developing countries, communities have held fast to their traditional cultures that give them identity. Some practices within these cultures have been classified by the international community as human rights abuses (Goodale 47). Some cultural practices in the developing countries that are considered human rights violations form the basis upon which cultures are formed. Challenging these practices become impossible since such an action would be interpreted as undermining the foundations of these communities. For instance, female genital mutilation has been classified as a human rights violation. In the communities that observe this practice, women who fail to go through this process are scorned and disrespected. Human rights activists argue that women are forced  to undergo female genital mutilation. However, even in countries where the law prohibits these practices, the cultural shame that accompanies those who fail to go through the practice is so traumatizing that women voluntarily accepts to participate in the right of passage. Female genital mutilation is one of the cultural practices that indicate the difficulty of attempting to implement human right principles in developing countries. The governments in the developing countries are made up of people who come from communities that practice cultural rituals classified as human rights violations. Therefore, they uphold the beliefs and customs of their cultures to the extent that they are incapable of implementing human rights principles that seem to violate cultural norms.

Another anthropological aspect that hinders implementation of human rights principles is sexuality. In many developing countries, women are treated differently from men. Almost all societies in the world are patriarch and acknowledges men as the heads of homesteads. In developing countries, the roles played by men and women are clearly defined. These roles define power relations between the two genders and determine how things are done in the society. The gender imbalance created by these power relations permeates all levels of society, including leadership. The majority of the lawmakers in the developing countries are men. When men are lawmakers in societies that discriminate against women, the laws cannot support human rights principles that challenge the societal perception of sexuality. The absence of laws that support the implementation of  human rights principles in developing countries has made it difficult to enforce conformity to the rights.

Race has played an enormous role in the difficulties facing human rights principles’ implementation in developing countries. In developing countries, there exist people of different races. The coexistence of various races is exemplified in Latin American countries and parts of Africa. People of diverse originalities have varied beliefs about their place in society. Some believe that they are superior than others. Such perceptions encourage discrimination based on race.  The implementation of human rights principles can only be achieved through reconciliation of the races, which has been  an exhausting task. The leadership of these countries is also shaped by racial segregation, which makes it impossible to tackle racism without interfering with the leadership. he human rights violations witnessed in Sudan are based on racism between the black Africans and the Africans of  Middle East origin. The solution to such problems is achievable through the country’s leadership by implementing human rights principles and enforcing them. Since the government is involved in violating the rights, it becomes impossible to implement them.

Demographics

Several demographic characteristics have contributed to the difficulties of human rights implementation in developing countries. One of these characteristics is low education levels. A population with high levels of education is enlightened and understands  its human rights. On the other hand, when the population is uneducated, its members are not aware of their rights and may not realize when the rights are violated. In many developing countries, the population is uneducated with limited education backgrounds. The low levels of education mean that these people cannot secure employment in high paying jobs to support their livelihood. Consequently, they focus on activities that only ensure their survival. Their highest priority is to secure employment and improve their living standards. Therefore, they do not contemplate human rights and activities that violate their rights. Education empowers people to challenge the rulers and other organizations that perpetuate human rights abuses. When a population lacks this empowerment,  the government and other institutions can violate people’s rights without anyone challenging them. Consequently, there is no one to advocate for the implementation of human rights principles.

The high rates of population growth in developing countries have led to competition for resources. This competition leads to depletion of natural resources and degradation of the environment to the extent that it cannot support the population. Consequently, conflicts arise as people grapple with the problem of limited resources. These conflicts escalate, leading to violent fights that claim the lives of children and women in the population. Implementing human rights principles in such environments is almost impossible because sometimes the countries lack a sense of direction and leadership.

Ethnic diversity in the developing countries promotes ethnic identities instead of national identities. The elected leaders in these countries come from the ethnic groups with the highest number of people. The government is, therefore, not a representative of the entire population. To make matters worse, the government is reluctant to include the minorities who lost during the elections. The minorities feel left out in the process of nation building.  Such governments that fail to promote national identities become corrupt since there is no powerful opposition to counter their activities. They make decisions that favor their ethnic communities at the expense of the minorities. Consequently, the minorities’ basic rights are violated. When the communities decide to fight for their rights, the government use the excessive force of police and military to silence those advocating for the rights. Implementing the principles of human rights in such countries is almost impossible. The impossibility arises from the fact that the governments are against the idea and those whose rights have been violated are too afraid to support the implementation.

When the governments in developing countries use physical force to silence those fighting for human rights, the international communities, through non-governmental organizations support the activists. Consequently, the governments declare that the fight for human rights is a national security issue sponsored by foreign governments to disrupt the countries’ stability. Such claims by the governments coupled with calls for patriotism excite the populations to rise and defend the countries against external aggression by foreign countries. Consequently, the implementation of human rights principles loses legitimacy in the eyes of the citizens and becomes difficult to implement.

Ineffectiveness of International Human Rights Organizations

The ineffectiveness and deficiency of international organizations has made implementation of human rights principles in the developing countries difficult (Uvin 102). The resources required to implement and monitor human rights activities are enormous. The available resources are not enough to serve all the  countries in the developing world, which require human rights principles’ implementation. Consequently, the scarcity of resources leads to the deficiency of international human rights organizations in developing countries.

The effectiveness of these organizations depends of their legitimacy in the eyes of the public. When the public perceives them to be fair and genuine in fighting for human rights, the organizations gain support. On the other hand, the organizations may lose their legitimacy if the public does not approve of their work. Many international human rights organizations in developing countries have received negative publicity and their legitimacy questioned. The characteristics of human rights organizations are viewed from the perspective of their donors (Hunt 123). Donors of various organizations are governments from developed countries. Governments in developing countries have been skeptical about the intentions of these organizations and view them as tools used by western countries to propagate neocolonialism and introduce regime change. These governments convince the public that the organizations are meant to disrupt the running of the government through instructions from foreign countries. When this happens, the human rights organizations lose their legitimacy and fail to implement human rights principles in developing countries.

In some countries, the local members of these organizations lack integrity and participate in actions that lead to loss of trust from the public. During demonstrations against human rights abuses, the members of the human rights organizations should behave with decorum and in a responsible manner. They should also use a decent language when communicating their displeasures. Good behavior from the members can earn the support of the public and legitimize the organizations’ actions. However, this is not usually the case. There are some human rights organizations whose members do not have integrity, which translates to a loss of public trust and ineffectiveness.

Although human rights organizations can take part in economic, social and political developments within the countries they operate, they should not be partisan to the actual political process (Donnelly 90). They should avoid taking sides in elections and issues relating to the politics of the countries. Some international organizations are used by the governments of various countries to protest policies in developing countries that do not conform to their wishes. When that happens, even if the concerns are genuine, the motives behind the protest can limit the effectiveness of international human rights organizations operating in developing countries. A good example relates to the anti-homosexuality law passed in Uganda. Uganda and the United States have disagreed publicly on the issue where the United States has threatened to withdraw aid from Uganda. An international organization that is supported by the United States government cannot gain legitimacy in Uganda. It will be viewed to perpetuate the United States’ government foreign policy. Such an organization face opposition from the government and the public.

State Sovereignty

Every country, including the developing ones insists on being sovereign in dealing with internal matters. They require non-interference by other nations on matters relating to internal governance of their countries. However, in cases where human rights have been violated, it becomes difficult to draw the line on where sovereignty should reach and where human rights organizations should intervene (Meijer 24). Nations in developing countries, especially those that had been colonized feel intimidated by the presence of international human rights organizations and treat them like an extension of the countries from which they come. Developing countries feel that the international human rights organizations are organs created by other developed countries to influence them (Cox and Shawki 75). Governments in developing countries rally their populations against the human rights organizations by creating a perception that the organizations exist to undermine the countries’ sovereignty. When this happens, the human rights organizations cannot find support in the developing countries, which leads to their failure to implement human rights principles.

Absence of a Universal Definition of Human Rights

Every society and country in the world defines human rights differently. The various definitions of human rights come from the values held by different societies and cultures (Coicaud, Doyle and Marie 49). The values held by one society may not be relevant to others, which makes it difficult to have a universal view of human rights. Over the years, anthropologists have refrained from taking part in discussions related to the creation of human rights charters. Their decision to keep off the subject of human rights has been influenced by their understanding of how communities and cultures are diverse. The diversity creates different meanings where no one can decide which meaning is right or better than the other (Coicaud, Doyle and Marie 132). A clear example of how various communities differ in the values they place on activities include the issue of homosexuality and polygamy. Homosexuals are protected by the law as having rights in the United States.  On the other hand, countries in Africa and parts of Eastern Europe treat homosexuality as an abomination and have created laws that punish homosexuals. In many western countries, they treat polygamy with contempt while societies in Africa and other developing countries value polygamy. In such situations, it becomes impossible to implement human rights principles in the developing countries that are deemed to originate from developed countries’ values. The success of international organizations in implementing human rights principles depends on their acceptance that they must consider the definition of human rights from individual developing countries’ perspective. When the definition attempts to consider each country’s values, it becomes impossible to have a single universal definition since the world has numerous diverse cultures. The absence of a common definition of human rights is among the biggest obstacle that hinder international human rights organizations from implementing human rights principles in developing countries.

Conclusion

Human rights principles’ implementation in the developing countries has been marred with challenges and difficulties. The challenges are diverse and include geography, anthropology, demographics, ineffectiveness of human rights organizations, state sovereignty and absence of a universal definition of human rights. Each of these factors has had a different impact on the operations of human rights organizations in developing countries. Some of the obstacles are created by governance structures in the developing countries while others are cultural and deep rooted in the traditions of various societies. Ideological differences and lack of trust between developed and developing countries has created some of the obstacles. For instance, sovereignty and ineffectiveness of international human rights organizations have been influenced by the relationship between developed and developing countries. The absence of a single definition of human rights and anthropology is an obstacle that has been created by culture and traditions of communities in the developing countries.

Works Cited

Arat, Zehra. Democracy and Human Rights in Developing Countries. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2003. Print.

Coicaud, James., Doyle, Williams., & Marie, Andrew. The Globalization of Human Rights. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2003. Print.

Cox, Michaelene., & Shawki, Noha. Negotiating Sovereignty and Human Rights: Actors and Issues in Contemporary Human Rights Politics. New York, NY: Ashgate Publishing, 2009. Print.

Donnelly, Jack. Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003. Print.

Goodale, Mark. Surrendering to Utopia: An Anthropology of Human Rights. California: Stanford University Press, 2009. Print.

Hunt, Lynn. Inventing Human Rights: A History. New Jersey, NJ: Norton & Company, 2007. Print.

Meijer, Martha. Dealing with human rights: Asian and Western views on the value of human rights. Illinois: Greber Publishers, 2001. Print.

Uvin, P. Human rights and development. Sterling: Kumarian Press, 2004. Print.

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