Protecting the Economic Right to Sustainability

Although the theory and practice of international human rights has greatly evolved since 1945, achievements are minimal due to the grounded ideology in state sovereignty. In an increasingly globalized world economy, privatization of transnational corporations and a rapidly growing starved population limit the access to the most basic human needs. As a result, economic rights of individuals are threatened and, in turn, human security is violated in many countries of the world. Because an international government in which all states agree upon fails to exist, economic rights like accessibility to food and water are unprotected and eventually places the world in face of global crises. However, it is through the persistence and grassroots efforts of non-state actors such as non-governmental organizations that the practice of human rights continues to advance.

To begin, the theory of human rights, specifically economic rights, has undergone significant historical development. Many religions, philosophical and political analyses have contributed to the ideologies of international human rights law. Traditionally, international law on economic rights was associated with the belief of state sovereignty in which realist states held to their state-centric approaches. Matters of national security and state survival took precedence over human rights. As Forsythe concludes, “Most states, in negotiating human rights agreements, do not want authoritative international means of protection” (Forsythe, 57). The fact is that realist states are more concerned with state policies than recognizing universal human rights, but ideas of economic rights continue to expand. In 1945, with the United Nations established at the close of World War II ambitious human rights goals were set. Overtime, countless proposals were made for the UN Charter to protect economic social rights from social security to employment but was met with opposition from key actors like the United States. Nevertheless, the U.S. showed its support with President Roosevelt's ideas of “freedom from want,” emphasizing economic security, and the drafting of an international Bill of Rights. These proposals later greatly influenced the UN's drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Adopted in 1948, the UDHR was translated into treaty obligations to ensure that these rights are being guaranteed in their respective countries (Alston, 271). Such are the developments and foundations of international economic human rights since 1945, but it remains a challenge in regards to worldwide implementation.

Because of the lack of humanitarian law enforcement and overriding state interests in the the global community, securing economic rights of individuals is not always a first priority. Water is a necessity of life, especially in impoverished countries where populations are constantly on the rise and resources are becoming more scarce. In Latin America, where only one in six persons has access to sanitary water, the privatization of water beginning in the 1990s has created many conflicts over water management (Boscov-Ellen). As depicted in the film The Big Sellout, California engineering corporation Bechtel is behind the privatization of water in Bolivia. With the World Bank pushing to privatize water, the existing water deal with the Bolivian government prohibits even means of retrieving water from outside sources—some were charged collecting water from their wells or rooftops (Boscov-Ellen). Regulations like these strip the people of their basic economic necessities and further limit the population's access to clean water. Furthermore, local water bills increased by an average of over fifty percent, way above what a typical Bolivian family can afford (Democracy Center). Those with an income struggled to keep up with their water bills and those living in poverty were left without a supply of water. In their defense, Bechtel's commercialization of water was imposed on the Bolivian people to their advantage. The corporation's argument is that the Bolivian government is not providing its country with sufficient water. The World Bank, for one, views the open market as “more efficient at resource management than the state because the government is 'overextended'” (Boscov-Ellen). With the support of the World Bank, Bechtel's privatization projects receive the proper funding. Moreover, their perspective on “commodifying” water is founded on a simple rationale: if it has a value, people will use sparingly. Quite the opposite, the introduction of an open market has led to higher prices with lower quality water.

In the end, the accomplishments of the Bolivian public showed that a powerful corporate giant like Bechtel can be overthrown with a bottom-up structure made up of grassroots efforts. Starting from the very people whose lives are directly affected by the act of privatization, the Bolivian public allied with The Democracy Center, city water revolt leaders, and others around the world to convince Bechtel to abandon their project. The public protests involved 43 different countries making up 300 different organizations, petitioning to the World Bank, sending thousands of emails to corporate executives, and publicly protesting at Bechtel locations (Boscov-Ellen). Their publications and documentaries reached audiences everywhere and gave the corporation a reputation of greed and economic injustice. In several parts of Latin America, communities have formed organizations to educate the public in environmentalism and continued to improve economic sustainability in their areas. In a Bolivian town called Sebastian Pagador a group of citizens formed the Association of Production and Administration of Water and Sanitation (APAAS) made up of 390 families dedicated to building their own water distribution system. Because of their work, 600 households in their community are now provided with affordable drinking water (Boscov-Ellen). In year 2000, Bechtel finally left with no other choice and the managing of water returned to the hands of the people. Bechtel's defeat was noteworthy for both corporations and countries elsewhere and ultimately proves that monopolized corporations will not succeed by coercing developing countries into privatization for sake of generating maximum revenue. This is a significant victory caused by public pressure and reinforces that the economic right to the access of water belongs to the people of the country, not to profit-seeking corporate giants.

In another case, the lack of a stable food supply is creating a global crisis of malnourished populations and poor health care. 854 million in the world population are suffering from being chronically or acutely malnourished and continue to face the challenge of food insecurity (Sanchez). The reasons range from poor agricultural productivity to poverty and unemployment, but under any circumstance there is little aid and slow progression. So long as there is not a dependable source of food in the countries, world hunger and its related issues will grow alongside a rising population.

The unprotected economic right therefore exacerbates global issues in the long run, but NGO Hunger Task Force recently reported that eliminating starvation is achievable, starting with halving world hunger by the year 2015 (Sanchez). The organization's involvements include: educational workshops, research on nutritional programs, collective activities of letter-writing, and lobbying officials at the state, local and federal level (Hunger Task Force). A major part of their mission is to spread hunger education as key to ending world hunger. From leading child nutritional programs to contacting legislators regarding public policy, the Hunger Task Force is highly dependent on volunteers and members of the community. Restoring food security in a country is an undertaking that requires an immense effort from both the local and the national level. Beginning from the grassroots movement of redistributing free food to their communities, the Hunger Task Force initiated as a small group of parents and emerged as a major non-profit organization advocating for the hungry.

In a converging world of globalization, where the local meets global is where individuals, groups, communities, state actors, and non-state actors cooperate in and contribute to a shared economy, a shared world. As shown in the case studies of privatization in Latin America and the growing issue of hunger worldwide, the economic insecurity can be overcome with the integration of NGOs as a key actor. With goods, cash flows, ideas, and people freely moving across borders, the world is becoming a tighter-knit, deterritorialized international community. In that sense, sharing an open market relays to sharing its economic crises and understanding of economic rights as well. In 1997, for example, the crash of the East Asian economy demonstrated that an economic downturn in Asian countries drastically affected countries in different parts of the world. The economies of Brazil, Latin America, and Russia suffered from recessions in East Asia as companies filed bankruptcy and firms closed down (Ellwood, 23). This further shows that the interconnectedness markets share today is a major effect of economic globalization. The economic interdependence states share allows for a greater opportunity for cooperation by uniting different global actors. Therefore, when the economic rights of a people are violated non-state actors serve to intervene and defend those basic rights. The victory of the Bolivian people over their water conflicts forewarned corporations all around the world. Since Bechtel's defeat the World Bank's trade courts received more than 200 cases regarding the same issue, showing that global citizens share the same consequences of privatization (Democracy Center). Also, the involvement of organization Hunger Task Force with alleviating hunger worldwide demonstrates the ability of non-state actors to aid outside states. Overall, the economy that we share as global citizens has gotten rid of territories and allowed, in particular, non-state actors to intervene and restore economic security when the rights of the people are violated.