Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Slavery. Discrimination. Bonded labor. These are all part of our reality, in spite of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Most of the population at the University of Kansas does not even know that this document, signed by countries such as China, Iraq and the United States, even exists. But, though the rights protected by the declaration are violated every day, we have the power to affect how many and where these violations occur just by becoming aware of the contrast between the ‘perfect world’ painted in the UDHR and the real world.
Article 4 of the UDHR: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Reality: According to Anti-Slavery International 20 million people are currently held in bonded labor, which basically means they will have to work long hours for scarce pay until the day they die. Many times, the debt will be passed on though generations. The “work,” of course, lasts 12 or more hours a day with few, if any, days off, not even when sick.
Article 23 of the UDHR: Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
Reality: Women are paid 30 to 40 percent less than men for comparable work according to the National Organization for Women. Today, even in industrialized countries, women receive 73 cents to every dollar earned by a man. I know, it is hard to believe that these numbers are coming out of the 21st century.
Article 24 of the UDHR: Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working and periodic holidays with pay.
Reality: A report by the Asian Monitor Resource Center and the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, which was taken after interviewing sweatshop workers from a factory wthat made tennis shoes for Reebok and Nike, indicates that employees had to work 12 hours a day. Only after those 12 hours had passed could the worker receive overtime.
With all the advances we have made, it is outrageous that these numbers and stories exist. Few people care to do anything about it. As citizens of the world, we should demand our government’s respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many of the violations can be fixed by simply acknowledging the problem and enforcing laws.
Every number above has a face and story deeper than anything I could tell in this limited amount of space, but though this declaration seems idealistic, our government and world will never improve unless we, the people, ask for the best.
- Vilchis is a Shawnee freshman in journalism and international studies.Politically Correct: The ethics of torture tactics
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