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American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Vo1. 1, No, 1, 2013, 18-24DOI: 10.11634/232907811301320

ISSN 2329-0781 Print/ ISSN 2329-079X Online/ World Scholarshttp://www.worldscholars.org

Globalisation and Human Rights: An Overview of its Impact

Shabina ArfatFaculty of Law, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Kashmir, J&K, India

The development of human rights law in response to globalization is not new, and there is nothing inherent inthe international system that would prevent further protective measures. A number of U.N. specializedagencies have also addressed the question of globalization. This global development is sometimes viewed as

being responsible for exploitation, and other forms of human rights abuses. On the other hand, improvementsin human rights are sometimes attributed to the spread of liberal ideas and movements, which is one of the keydimensions of globalization. Critics say human rights have been adversely affected by globalization forinstance right to equality and other socio economic rights. The commitment of the United Nations to theindivisibility of human rights is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are the

first responsibility of governments. While globalization offers great opportunities, the fact that its benefits arevery unevenly shared and its costs unevenly distributed represents an aspect of the process that affects the fullenjoyment of all human rights, in particular in developing countries. Inequality has risen during this presentglobalization period. In this paper an attempt has been made to highlight the impact of globalization on humanrights regime.

Keywords: development, economic rights, globalisation, human rights, inequality

Introduction

Global development is sometimes viewed as beingresponsible for disenfranchisement, exploitation,and other forms of human rights abuses (Rabet,Delphine, 2009). On the other hand, improvementsin human rights are sometimes attributed to thespread of liberal ideas, which is one of the keydimensions of globalization (Rosenau, 2003). Onthe one hand, many (Evans & Tony, 1999) arguethat economic integration in trade and investmentgenerates incentives for governments to abuse poorand disenfranchised people, so that repression,exploitation and human rights abuses arise. Economicfreedom refers to the internal liberalization ofeconomic rights, such as the freedom to engage ineconomic transactions, without governmentinterference but with government support of theinstitutions necessary for that freedom, including ruleof law, sound money, and open markets (Dreher,Gassebner & Siemers, 2010). Globalization is amultidimensional phenomenon, comprisingnumerous complex and interrelated processes that

have a dynamism of their own (U.N, 2000). Itinvolves a deepening and broadening of rapidtransboundary exchanges due to developments intechnology, communications, and media (UN, 2001).Such exchanges and interactions occur at all levels ofgovernance and among non-state actors, creating amore interdependent world (Steiner & Alston, 2000).

Human rights violations continue to be thenorm rather than the exception. According toAmnesty International (2006), millions of people

worldwide are still denied fundamental rights(Dreher, Gassebner, Lars & Siemers, 2010).Development poses challenges to internationalhuman rights law, because for the most part that lawhas been designed to restrain abuses by powerfulstates and state agents. While globalization hasenhanced the ability of civil society to functionacross borders and promote human rights, otheractors have gained the power to violate human rightsin unforeseen ways. International human rights lawaims primarily to protect individuals and groupsfrom abusive action by states and state agents.

The authors of Global Issues (Rajamoorthy,Undated) states that globalization resulted in theviolation of the fundamental right to work. In 1995,the ILO announced that one third of the worldswilling to work population was either unemployedor underemployed. Globalization has also resultedin informalization of labor. Only 8% of the laborforce in India is in the formal economy while 90%work in the informal economy with no legal

protection or security and are subject to ruthlessexploitation. Many companies ,including TNCs(transnational companies) got rid of their unionizedlabor force and moved their operations to low wageand depressed areas to avail themselves of the largesupply of unorganized and unprotected , mainlyfemale labor. Mathews George Chunakaradescribes the state of workers in developingcountries after globalization as a race to the bottom,

and the bottom means slave like conditions. Heexplains this by the search of transnationalcompanies for cheap labor in order to maximize

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their profits, so the governments of developingcountries compete for the investors by providingcheaper labor. International Statistics (GlobalIssues, Poverty Facts and Stats) shows that:-Half the worldnearly three billion peoplelive onless than two dollars a day

-The wealthiest nation on earth has the widest gapbetween rich and poor of any industrialized nation-The top fifth of the worlds people in the richestcountries enjoy 82% of the expanding export tradeand 68% of foreign direct investment while the

bottom fifth , barely more than 1%-In 1960, the 20 % of the worlds people in therichest countries had 30 times the income of the

poorest 20% and in 1997, 74 times.-A few hundred millionaires now own as muchwealth as the worlds poorest 2.5 billon people.-The combined wealth of the worlds 200 richest

people hit $ 1 trillion in 1999; the combined incomes

of the 582 million people living in the 43 leastdeveloped countries is $ 146 billion.

In Asia, in particular, the migration of largenumbers of female workers to the Middle Eastfrom, for example, West Asia, and South-EastAsia, has had a strong impact both socially andeconomically. It has been estimated, for example,that the ratio of females to males who comprisemigrant labour is 12:1 among Filipinos migratingto Asian destinations; 3:1 among Indonesians and3:2 among Sri Lankans (Riham el-Lakany, 1999).Many of these women work as domestic workers,seamstresses, nurses, assistants in retail shops and

restaurants, and as entertainers oftentimes in thesex industry (Robinson, 1997). While most womenhave the opportunity of earning higher wages thanat home, labour conditions and mechanisms of bothsocial and physical security in receiving countriesseem to be perilous at best. More often than not,receiving States tend not to observe even minimallabour standards with regard to migrant workers,

particularly women. Heavy economic dependenceof the sending States on the inward monetaryremittances of migrant workers has inhibited themfrom demanding fair labour conditions and

protection from receiving States, thereby further

weakening the position of such workers. Womenhave entered the workforce in large numbers inStates that have embraced liberal economic

policies. One United Nations survey concludes that"it is by now considered a stylized fact thatindustrialization in the context of globalization is asmuch female-led as it is export led" (United

Nations, 1999). The overall economic activity rateof women for the age group 20-54 approached 70

per cent in 1996. The highest absorption of womenhas been witnessed in the export-oriented industrialsector. Such industries are also labour intensive,service oriented and poorly paid (Hilary, 1999).

Thus, according to the Women's Environment andDevelopment Organization (WEDO) women bear

the disproportionate weight of the constraintsintroduced under the yoke of globalization (Rihamel-Lakany, 1999).

According to the World Bank report, some 2million people were forced to leave from their land

because of huge infrastructure development

projects funded by World Bank from 1986 to 1993.As many as 80% of those displaced were in Asia.Mega projects which take land from people includedams, seaports, airports, highways, bridges,industrial estates, golf courses and other types ofresort, prawn farming and all kinds of plantation.All these massive development projects have been

promoted by TNCs in collaboration with localgovernments. The Asian region, the growth centreof the world, has been the main target of such megadevelopment projects (Chunakara, Undated &Samithy, 2000).

International Response

In his report to the UN Millennium Summit, KofiAnnan, described the world of globalization, as

a new context for and a new connectivity amongeconomic actors and activities throughout theworld. Globalization has been made possible by the

progressive dismantling of barriers to trade andcapital mobility, together with fundamentaltechnological advances and steadily declining costsof transportation, communication and computing.Its integrative logic seems inexorable, itsmomentum irresistible (Robinson, 2002).

When globalization is interpreted asinternationalization, the term refers to a growth oftransactions and interdependence between countries.From this perspective, a more global world is onewhere more messages, ideas, merchandise, money,investments and people cross borders betweennational-state-territorial units. A second commonanalytical dead-end in discussions of globalizationhas equated the notion with liberalization. In thiscase, globalization denotes a process of removingofficially imposed restrictions on movements ofresources between countries in order to form an

open and borderless world economy. On thisunderstanding, globalization occurs as authoritiesreduce or abolish regulatory measures like trade

barriers, foreign-exchange restrictions, capitalcontrols, and visa requirements (Scholte, 2002).

The development of human rights law inresponse to globalization is not new, and there isnothing inherent in the international system thatwould prevent further protective measures. Theresulting movement led to the creation of the ILOin 1919. Unlike all subsequent internationalorganizations, the ILO engaged all the relevantactors in its operations from the beginning. Using a

tripartite structure of representation, the ILOensured the participation of business, labor, andgovernments in developing worker rights and

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minimum labor standards for member states. Whilethe standards adopted are addressed to memberstates for implementation, compliance requires thecooperation of the non-state actors as well, becausethe organization primarily aims to respond throughregulation to poor treatment of labor by private

industry. Such regulation is made easier by theparticipation of labor and business in the law-making and supervisory procedures of the ILO.The international protection of civil and politicalrights emerged later, becoming an aim of theinternational community at the end of World WarII in response to the atrocities committed duringthat conflict.

A number of U.N. specialized agencies havealso addressed the question of globalization. TheILO has long tackled the phenomenon. From theCopenhagen Social Summit in 1995 to the 1998Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights

at Work, the ILO has pressed for an internationalconsensus on the content of the core laborstandards that provide a social floor to the globaleconomy. In 1998, the ILO adopted the Conventionconcerning the Prohibition and Immediate Actionfor the Elimination of the Worst Forms of ChildLabour (Convention No. 182). It also adopted itsDeclaration on Fundamental Principles and Rightsat Work together with a follow-up procedure basedupon technical cooperation and reporting. The

principles have been incorporated into codes ofconduct by the private sector and also used as a

basis for action by various regional communities,

such as the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity and the Caribbean Community. U.N.

bodies and specialized agencies, such as the U.N.Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR), and the U.N. EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), have all carried out work thathas implications for the overall response by theU.N. to the phenomenon of globalization. On theregional level, the European Union, in the contextof negotiations for the fourth Lom Agreement withcountries of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific

(ACP states), sought to include good governance inpublic affairs, democracy, respect for human rights,and respect for the rule of law, essential in theelements of the accord, with the termination ofassistance for non-respect of any of the elements.

Jurists are analysing the issue whetherglobalization impacts on the implementation ofhuman rights as stated in the Universal Declarationof Human Rights (1948) and the subsequent United

Nations agreements , particularly the covenant oncivil and political rights (1966) ,the covenant oneconomic, social and cultural rights (1966) and thedeclaration on the right to development

(1986).They often relate one aspect of human rightsto the other aspect of globalization for instance

relating poverty in developing countries to debt orrelating unemployment to privatization , or relatinghealth deterioration to the monopoly of medicine

patents. They also enumerate the aspects ofdeteriorations in human rights, such asimpoverishment and lowering standards of living,

increasing inequality, discrimination, deprivation ofsatisfaction of basic needs such as food, clean water,housing, and illiteracy.etc. The impact of the adverseconsequences of globalization on the enjoyment ofhuman rights is multidimensional; all aspects ofhuman existence be they political, economic, socialor cultural, are affected. The negative impact on onedimension of human rights, e.g. economic rights,necessarily has a domino effect on other rights. Thisreality reinforces the principle enunciated in theVienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 1993that human rights are "universal, indivisible,interdependent and interrelated" (Oloka-Onyango &

Udagama, 1999). Today, international human rightsobligations have to be viewed through the prism ofthis fundamental principle. The Charter of theUnited Nations recognizes the important linkages

between the maintenance of international peace andsecurity, the establishment of conditions ofeconomic and social progress and development, andthe promotion and protection of universal humanrights (Charter of the United Nations, 1945). Asingularly important development is the imposition

by the Charter of a legal obligation on MemberStates to take joint and separate action incooperation with the Organization to promote, inter

alia, higher standards of living, full employment andconditions of economic and social progress anddevelopment, and universal respect for, andobservance of, human rights (Charter of the United

Nations, 1945). Action taken by Member States,either collectively or singly, to defeat this pledge isclearly a violation of the Charter, which undercertain circumstances may amount to violations of

principles ofjuscogens.The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme

of Action, while recognizing the benefits ofglobalization, cautions: "At the same time, therapid processes of change and adjustment have

been accompanied by intensified poverty,unemployment and social disintegration. Threats tohuman well-being, such as environmental risks,have also been globalized. Furthermore, the globaltransformations of the world economy are

profoundly changing the parameters of socialdevelopment in all countries. The challenge is howto manage these processes and threats so as toenhance their benefits and mitigate their negativeeffects upon people" (Report of the World Summitfor Social Development, 1995). These very samesentiments are expressed in the Statement of theCommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights on globalization issued in May 1998(International Human Rights Reports, 1999). It

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calls on the World Bank, the IMF and WTO todevise methods of measuring the impact of their

policies on the enjoyment of economic, social andcultural rights (social monitoring) and to revisethose policies accordingly (Globalizing EconomyMeeting, 2000).

The U.N. General Assembly ResolutionInternational Convention on the Protection of the

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members oftheir Families (1990) contained direct verbiage inregards to the protection of migrant workers andtheir families from exploitation and servitude,stating that migrants and their families shall have

the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

In 2001, U.N. Secretary General, Kofi Annan,urged universal ratification on InternationalMigrants Day (December 18), noting: the fate of

many migrants lies in stark contrast to theaspirations reflected in the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, human rights norms and laborconventions (Waldron, 2010).

The commitment of the United Nations to theindivisibility of human rights is reflected in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. Thisinstrument recognizes the right to an adequatestandard of living, social security, the right to workand just and favourable conditions of work, and theright to education, in addition to traditional civiland political rights. Significantly, the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights also recognizes theright of everyone to a social and international orderin which the rights and freedoms set forth in it can

be fully realized (Art. 28). Furthermore, theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights explicitlyrecognizes that nothing in it may be interpreted asimplying a right to destroy any of the recognizedrights. The International Covenants on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and on Civiland Political Rights (ICCPR) further elaborateupon the foundation laid by the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights. Both have beenratified by large numbers of States and areextremely important in pinpointing the specificlegal obligations of State actors with regard to allaspects of human rights protection.

The right to development is of equalimportance when examining the human rightsimplications of globalization. The internationalcommunity through the General Assembly hasrecognized the right to development as aninalienable human right (Declaration on the Rightto Development). The United Nations Declarationon the Right to Development recognizes that thecentral focus of the process of development is thehuman person, who should be the active participantand beneficiary of the right to development.Development itself is recognized as a multifaceted

process that embraces the development of

economic, social, cultural and political aspects ofhuman life (Article 2). This position is affirmed by

the widely respected Human Development Indexadvocated by UNDP as a means of realisticallyassessing levels of development. It is also affirmed

by the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme ofAction (1995) on social development (Report of theWorld Summit for Social Development, 1995).

The UNDP Human Development Report1999 argues that reaping the benefits of a globalizedeconomy cannot be done by merely forcingcountries to open up their economies. To make themost of those benefits there has to be a policy

package. Governments have to ensure that soundpolicies for social development and protection,poverty eradication, income distribution andenvironmental protection are put in place, just aswell-thought-out macroeconomic policies andinstitutions have to be established to ensure soundeconomic management. In the absence of thatcombination, sustained and sustainable development

will remain illusory. It is also the case - assuccessive waves of financial crises have taught -that sound social policies have to be in place in orderto absorb the shock of the vagaries of market forces(United Nations Development Programme, HumanDevelopment Report, 1999). The report also calls fora reorientation of global governance that ensuresequity in international negotiations and that has as itscentral focus human development and human rights.

According to the report of Committee onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights, on the rightto food appears to deal with the issue of foodsecurity within the context of globalization

(General Comment, 1999). Significantly, it drawsattention to the responsibilities of private actors,aside from the obligation of States parties toappropriately regulate their conduct, in therealization of the right to adequate food. Thecomment goes on to stipulate that "the private

business sector - national and transnational - shouldpursue its activities within the framework of a codeof conduct conducive to respect of the right toadequate food, agreed upon jointly with theGovernment and civil society". Furthermore, itcalls upon the IMF and the World Bank to payattention to the protection of the right to food in

drawing up lending policies, credit and structuraladjustment programmes.

In a resolution on the question of the impact ofglobalization and its effect on human rights, theUnited Nations General Assembly recognizes that:while globalization offers great opportunities, the

fact that its benefits are very unevenly shared andits costs unevenly distributed represents an aspectof the process that affects the full enjoyment of allhuman rights, in particular in developing countries(UN). The United Nations General Assemblyemphasizes that: While globalization, by its

impact on, inter alia, the role of the state, may

affect human rights, the promotion and protectionof all human rights is first and foremost the

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responsibility of the state (UN). It is put forwardhere that the Declaration on the Right toDevelopment sets out a national and globalframework of responsibility for states to do so.Human rights discourse has also been devoted tothe study of multinational corporations and their

direct effect on human rights (Addo, 1999;Kamminga, & Zia Zarifi, 2000; 2002).

Impact of Globalisation on Human Rights

There are group of human rights in the form of

economic rights, labor rights, cultural rights, civiland political rights etc. The globalization isconsidered to have an impact on the followingrights (Sykes, 2003) as:-The admission to the WTO of nations that violatehuman rights extinguishes opportunities for valuablesanctions to discourage such violations.-Open trade causes production to relocate to areaswhere environmental standards are lax and results inenvironmental degradation. Likewise, the competitive

pressures that result from open trade cause regulatorsto lose control over local regulatory matters and

precipitate a race to the bottom over matters such associal welfare standards, environmental standards,and worker protection legislation.-Open trade exacerbates inequality in thedistribution of income.

Similarly the negative impact of globalization -especially on vulnerable sections of the communityresults in the violation of various rights guaranteed

by various Covenants in particular on the;-the enjoyment of fundamental aspects of the rightto life,-freedom from cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment,-freedom from servitude, the right to equality andnon-discrimination,-the right to an adequate standard of living(including the right to adequate food, clothing andhousing),-the right to maintain a high standard of physicaland mental health,

- the right to work accompanied by the right to justand fair conditions of labour,-freedom of association and assembly and the rightto collective bargaining, have been severelyimpaired.

Developing States are, more often than not,compelled by the dynamics of globalization to takemeasures that negatively impact on the enjoymentof those rights (Oloka-Onyango & Udagama,1999). Globalization has not caused developingcountries to catch up with the developed world.Inequality has risen during this presentglobalization period. The developed world - their

intellectuals and policy makers - view globalizationas providing good opportunities for their countriesand their people. Globalization can be preserved

from two angles. One angle is that globalization isa means of increasing the wealth of nations and

promoting international trade. However,globalization is a direct cause for the wideningeconomic gap between developing countries and

developed countries (Waldron, 2010). There is

relationship between globalization and equality andnon-discrimination in a more concrete fashion. Thetwo concepts are central to the corpus and ethos ofhuman rights instruments and practice. TheUniversal Declaration and other human rightsinstruments are unequivocal in their declarationthat all persons are equal, and that the right to non-discrimination is a basic and fundamental humanright. Inequality and discrimination unfortunatelyexisted long before globalization was recognized asa distinct phenomenon on the international scene(Oloka-Onyango & Udagama, 1999).

Among the distinct groups of society upon

whom globalization's impact has been most telling,women clearly stand out. Few observers will denythat the general issue of gender relations globally,and the question of women's human rightsspecifically, has undergone significanttransformation. Spurred on by the variousinternational conferences, declarations and, mostsignificantly, by the Convention on the Eliminationof All Forms of Discrimination against Women, therespect for and recognition of women's humanrights has made significant advances worldwide.The phenomenon of globalization adds greatercomplexities to this quest, particularly in the

economic arena, but also within the context ofculture and politics.

Women in the agricultural sector have alsobeen adversely affected by the promotion ofexport-oriented economic policies, tradeliberalization and TNCs' activities in agriculture-related industries. Emphasis on export crops hasdisplaced women workers in certain countries from

permanent agricultural employment into seasonalemployment. Subsistence farming has beenseverely affected in the new economicenvironment, leaving women farmers to seekseasonal employment (United Nations, 1999).

Aside from the tenuous and low economic returnsof seasonal agricultural employment, the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) has noted that the destruction of subsistencefarming, increased industrial pollution and the lossof land to large commercial ventures, oftenfinanced by TNCs, have given rise to grave

problems relating to food security and the health ofthe rural poor (Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations, 1998).

It is increasingly becoming clear that it is nolonger tenable to draw a neat distinction betweenthe nature of State obligations with regard to civil

and political rights on the one hand, and economic,social and cultural rights on the other. United

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Nations human rights mechanisms have debunkedthe traditional view that civil and political rightsentail only negative obligations, while economic,social and cultural rights give rise to the morecomplex issue of positive State obligations whichrequire resources to be expended. The United

Nations Human Rights Committee has interpretedcertain rights guaranteed by the ICCPR as entailing

positive obligations. This is clearly the case withregard to the right to life. In General Comment 6(16) on article 6, the Committee interpreted (Reportof the Human Rights Committee, 1982) the right tolife in a broad manner that requires States parties totake positive action, e.g. to reduce infant mortality,to increase life expectancy and to take measures toeliminate malnutrition and epidemics (McGoldrick,1991).

The negative effects of corporations on humanrights in development can be divided into two

categories. First, the corporation may directlyviolate human rights by itself or in conjunctionwith another actor. This typically involves civil and

political rights, such as the right to personalsecurity. For example, a corporation may hire statesecurity forces to protect its facilities that engage intorture as occurred in Myanmar in association withUnocal Corp.29 Also, a corporation may directlyviolate rights by prohibiting collective bargainingor discriminating against minorities. The secondcategory concerns indirect effects. This involvesthe corporations influence on host governments.

Corporations can undermine the states ability to

fulfill human rights law. They use their influence toencourage governments to adopt policies ofliberalization, deregulation and privatization thatignore human rights consequences. This secondeffect concerns mostly economic, social andcultural rights, which are vital in developing states.Corporations are the engines of economic growthupon which states depend for the provision of theright to development. Increasingly, corporations aremore economically powerful and influential thanthe developing host-states from which they extracttheir profits.

Members of the World Trade Organization

when negotiating and implementing internationalrules on trade liberalization, should bear in mindtheir concurrent obligations to promote and protecthuman rights, mindful of the commitment made inthe Vienna Declaration 1993, that human rights arethe first responsibility of governments. While theWTO agreements provide a legal framework forthe economic aspects of the liberalization of trade,the norms and standards of human rights balancethis by offering a legal framework for tradeliberalizations social and ethical dimensions.

The human rights violations resulting fromglobalization are failures of governance. Human

rights law is capable of monitoring and regulatingforeign investment. Respect for human rights

requires governments to protect, promote and fulfillobligations. The right to development process can

provide a framework focused on the implementationof a rights-based approach to development. The rightto development is versatile and promotes globalresponsibility for globalization. The Declaration on

the Right to Development requires states toguarantee rights in a manner applicable toglobalization. In order to be universal and remainrelevant, human rights law must protect thosemarginalized by the exigencies of globalization byempowering local peoples (De Feyter, 2005).Development strategy consists of liberal tradingregimes with a reduced role for the state. Despitethe new challenges arising from the globalization

process and, the state remains the only full subjectof international law responsible under human rightslaw. It is the state, acting individually orcollectively, that ultimately controls international

relations.The protection of rights generally requires a

legal system that is effective and credible, and suchsystems do not come free. Moreover, many rightsrequire some additional sacrifice of other humanwantsminimum wages, rights to unionize,environmental standards, and social securitysystems, for example, all come at the price of anincrease in the cost of goods and services, or anincrease in taxation. Not all effects of globalisationwill infringe human rights, but some of them may(Sykes, 2003).

Conclusion

In an age of globalization, the struggle for humanrights has become more complex and challenging.Realizing human rights especially economic andsocial rights is becoming increasingly difficult. Oneof the most profound challenges that we face as acommunity of nations is to understand better theemerging socio-economic forces and forms ofglobalization, to shape them to serve our needs andto respond effectively to their deleteriousconsequences. Human rights can balance forces of

globalisation within a just international legalframework. Maintaining balance betweenglobalisation and protection of human rights should

be a priority. Human rights are what make ushuman. They are the principles by which we createthe sacred home for human dignity. Human rightsare what reason requires and consciencecommands.

Suggestions

-A global watch should be established to monitorand report the unethical transactions that take place

between the governments of developing nationsand global corporations. The governments of

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developing nations should not continue to get richby selling their factors of production (land, labor)to global corporations.-Requirements to become a free trading nationshould be revised. Present requirements eliminatemany developing countries. Developed countries

need to do more to assist by making it easier fordeveloping countries to benefit from trade andinvestments.-Treaty-based mechanism focusing on theresponsibilities of multilaterals as well as privateactors in protecting human rights is an extremelysignificant step in the current economicenvironment.-Efforts by states to create investment rules must besubjected to scrutiny and analyzed through humanrights discourse.

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