Human Rights Go Corporate

by Sarah Sloan

This summer, I am working in the human rights and business section of a human rights organization in Denmark. The department works directly with companies, providing them with tools to evaluate how well they adhere to human rights standards, research about the laws and practices of different countries where they may want to operate, and advice about how to uphold human rights in countries where violations are common. Beyond that, it is up to the companies to incorporate what they've learned, to change their practices, to follow through with our advice. We don't monitor companies. Instead, we give them the resources to monitor themselves.



My work this summer has made me think deeply about the role of businesses in human rights. Corporations now operate in countries around the world, from Nigeria to Vietnam, Iran to Guatemala. Oftentimes, the countries are plagued by unstable governments, corruption, and violence. It is common knowledge that the leaders of some of these countries consistently abuse the human rights of their people. The question, then, is what role companies should play- both legally and morally- in such situations. Does working in a country with an oppressive regime legitimize the government, even empower it? Or does the company's presence open the country up, provide jobs to its people, and allow the government to be somewhat monitored? Or, if the company itself is not violating any human rights standards, does its presence even have a significant effect- positive or negative- on the country?

I honestly don't know the answers to these questions, and I'm not so sure that there's one clear answer that fits every context and situation. But the more I work here, the more I see the potential benefit of having responsible, human rights-upholding companies operating in troubled countries. A company can extend its influence throughout a particular region, perhaps even throughout a country, and its presence keeps the line of communication with the government, and with the people, open. After all, the practice of operating in countries with less than ideal human rights records is already so entrenched in the corporate world it would be difficult to completely eliminate it. I'm far from convinced by either side, but I strongly believe that the conversation
is one well worth having.

The Danish Touch

by Sarah Sloan

I’ve been in Copenhagen for a few weeks now, and the thing that strikes me most is that it's a city that makes sense. Everything about it is considered and planned, designed with its citizens' best interest in mind. It seems engineered to keep people healthy and safe and the environment clean. Beautiful and well-kept public parks encourage people to go outside, and a well-run public transportation system makes the whole city easily accessible. Not only is it physically convenient to bike- there are paths and lanes everywhere- but also financially convenient: cars here are taxed at nearly 200% of their value. Grocery stores here simply do not provide bags; you are forced to bring your own.

The longer I’m here, the more I think about what human rights means in developed countries. It’s easy to focus on blatant abuses in war-torn and destabilized countries, but what about the more subtle abuses in Europe or the United States?

In my opinion, Denmark has excelled at upholding some of the rights from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that are often overlooked or deemed less important than others. The Declaration guarantees the right to rest and leisure, the right to an adequate standard of living, and to just and favorable conditions of work. In this vein, Danish law states that no employer can expect anyone to work more than 37 hours a week. Working more certainly happens, but there cannot be a base assumption that it will. The Danes clearly respect life outside of work; in fact, they are required to take 6 weeks vacation. What’s more, fathers get 2 weeks off immediately after their child is born, and mothers can get up to a year off for maternity leave, which they can divide with the father: 6 months and 6 months, 7 and 5, etc. Of course, taxes are extremely high here (sometimes over 60% of one's income) but as a result, the gap between rich and poor is much less obvious here than it is in the United States. I have yet to see a truly rundown part of Copenhagen.

While the Danish system is far from perfect, I can't help thinking that the United States could learn from its example.

Ka'aba

WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Blogger Yasmin Zaher, June 20th 2009

I have been in Copenhagen for almost three weeks now. While you may be asking what human rights violations, or what touching stories about poverty and pain happen in the world's happiest welfare state, the past few weeks have taken me deep into the darkness of political refuge seekers. Denmark has accepted almost 15,000 Iraqi refugees, most of them on basis of political asylum, but it is also home for many Palestinians, Somalis and former Yugoslavians. To keep this short, while they enjoy free education and welfare and live a relatively high quality of life, being a refugee in Denmark is anything but gentle.

Researching the psycho-social conditions of these Iraqi refugees, I've spent many hours listening to their courageous stories. They come from diverse backgrounds (Baghdad, Karbala, Mosul) and have been affected by Saddam's regime for different reasons, some were involved in communist or democratic parties, some are simply Shia'a, and with others you never find out. This heterogenous community, suffering at once from both cultural isolation and internal tensions, shares the word Ka'aba, pain, in common. Ka'aba is such a common word to hear in interviews, it has become trivial to me that integration is failing for the older generations, especially when it comes to psychological distress. Complaints of racism and unemployment are anything but irregular, and when asked about three wishes, 'returning to Iraq' has so far scored my entire interviewed population. Ironically, these people only wish for an Iraq like in Saddam's era, and hopes of return after the fall of Baghdad are now slowly disappearing.

In any case, it is safe to say that Denmark has closed its gates of immigration since the loss of the Social Democratic Party in 2001, and all Iraqi refugees who sought asylum after the war were actually former translators for the Danish forces.

In any case, it is safe to say that Denmark has closed its gates of immigration since the loss of the Social Democratic Party in 2001, and all Iraqi refugees who sought asylum after the war were actually former translators for the Danish forces.In Norrebro, inner Copenhagen, the so-called immigrant ghetto where Danske and immigrant gangs lead drug wars, where Shia'a and Sunni families are described to repeat religious bloodiness, 60 Iraqi asylum seekers sit and wait in Borsons church. They have reached focal point in both local and international media as them and 250 other Iraqis are facing forced repatriation. I quote Andreas Kamm, head of the Danish Refugee Council,

"Many of the Iraqi asylum-seekers here have been in the country for five to ten years. For most of that time the situation in their country has been so unstable that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has recommended that countries like Denmark give them protection. Denmark has ignored this. The politicians have instead insisted that people go back to a country so clearly aflame."

I guess you could read more about this online, but I found a really touching article by a Danish volunteer, remembering Oskar Schindler and how history will not repeat itself again.
Happy World Refugee Day.