Consistency and Congruency
The United Nations Global Compact addresses problems international business’ encounter around the world in large part because of their global reach. Through their voluntary association with the United Nations Global Compact many of these issues can be examined . Important issues addressed in the Global Compact regard labour, the environment, anti-corruption and human rights. Yet the United Nations Global Compact in regards to human rights, especially in relation to labor and human rights is too parochial. In the Global Compact Principle 4 defines compulsory labor where it states the following: It is the work or service of prisoners if they are hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations involuntarily and without supervision of public authorities.
Slavery in the Global Compact’s sense has been made narrow and thought of in the classical sense. Slavery is often thought of as a locally accepted practice like black slavery was in America where the masters were the pillars of society and no shame was associated with slave possession. In this case slavery was based on race although slavery does not necessarily depend on racial distinctions and can be based on class, gender and national status. Nowadays rather than slavery only being based on ownership of the slave in the US, it has become in the US as being the exploitation of someone who has been branded in some way as being “illegal”.
Slavery and Immigration
Slavery is found to be in more niches than is commonly realized. The UN Global Compact seems to miss much of the stigma that persists in slavery. One aspect that that is often overlooked is the exploitation of “illegal” Mexican immigrants. While some citizens in the US are trying hard to buck the trend like Idaho’s “welcome the stranger” ad campaign, the general trend seems to be otherwise (Russel, 2007). These destitute people are so desperate to come to this country that even the Mexican government publishes comic books to warn of the dangers (Hawley, 2008). Undocumented Mexicans are subject to arrest at any time. Latinos here illegally are subject to deportation and now find authorities are targeting entire apartment complexes to arrest those here illegally (Huber, 2008) In the workplace if “illegals” complain about treatment on the job they are subject to dismissal and ever being turned over to the immigration authorities for deportation. Oftentimes the legal status of these employees is well known.
The global compact does not address this human rights issue. For example illegals working may not be considered by the compact compulsory labor but when one considers that jobs are disappearing in Mexico, largely because of US and Mexican trade policy, that the migrants are compelled to come here for work. Its’ a survival issue. Once here since they are here illegally they have no rights and are at the mercy of their employers. This is a form of compulsion and therefore a form of slavery.
Slavery in a larger context
When talking about human and labor rights one must consider the quality of life as well as the conditions of their servitude. A more all embracing idea of slavery needs to be adopted. Whether people are considered illegal like immigrants or “illegal” criminals like the incarcerated it must be remembered that regardless of their status they are human beings and according to the US constitution all people have god given inalienable rights by the virtue of being human. In spite of their legal status they deserve and are even required to not have their human rights violated whether it be with torture where cruel and unusual punishment is used or in labor because none shall be treated as slaves. With the privatization of the prison system in the US is ongoing, exploitation due to racism and genderism and more important classism is rampant in the US and this model is being exported around the world (Erikson, 2006).
It is necessary to look at the Global Compact from and even larger perspective. When talking about the human rights of prisoners, the issue seems to be that those incarcerated should not be put in the service of other private individual and companies according to the compact. But in the US the prisons have been largely privatized. Rather than prisoners being exploited by individuals they are exploited by the whole prison industrial system. It was never thought that the prison system would become a system for profit.
It’s no accident in the US that those that are the least powerful comprise the majority of the prison population. While Blacks and Hispanics have been the most likely victims of the war on crime which is ostensibly the war on drugs the number of women and especially black women is expanding astronomically. Black women imprisoned rose 828 percent between 1986 and 1991 (Rolison, 2002). It’s no accident that those that are among the most powerless in US society and for that matter around the world (e.g., black women) are the population whose rate is growing the fastest. Since the advent of the war on crime prisons have become little more than repositories of the powerless and the poor and the mentally ill now subject to the whims of big business. As time goes on the nature of prisons have become standardized sometimes run by the same company in multiple countries (Davis, 2001).
Recommendation to the UN Secretary General
Since slavery is often performed at the behest of their private masters and at the very least slaves are driven to work to avoid punishment, it is rather unremarkable to note that slavery and the for profit institutions are inexorably linked. Industry must understand that in addition to providing a healthy environment for one to work, adequate pay for one to subsist and the workers right to avoid discrimination, these private organizations must also be cognizant of the fact that some practices involve workers rights and therefore human rights and must be looked at more closely.
In examining this way of looking at companies and profit one must consider all instances where labor is forced not only among those who are “deserving”, but also for those that are looked at as being illegal in their very being and therefore denied basic human rights. With the privatization of industry and the profit motive, the problem of this denial of human rights can become even more pronounced when these masters are only considering the bottom line while creating a new slave caste.
References:
Davis, Angela Dent, Gina (2001). Conversations: Prison as a border: A conversation on gender, globalization, and punishment. Signs, 26(4), 1235-1241. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 76016986). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=76016986&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Eriksson, Anna (2006). Review of Global Lockdown: Race, Gender, and the Prison-Industrial Complex. Review of medium_being_reviewed title_of_work_reviewed_in_italics. Social Justice, 33(4), 194-198. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1282212441). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1282212441&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Hawley, Chris Solache, Sergio. (2008). Mexico draws dire picture for migrants :Comic books show risks in graphic detail. USA TODAY,p. A.9. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from ProQuest National Newspapers Premier database. (Document ID: 1466154971). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1466154971&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Huber, Diane (2008). Fundraiser helps immigrants: Cafe raises awareness of plight of Hispanic communities. McClatchy – Tribune Business News, Retrieved April 23, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Dateline database. (Document ID: 1442969121). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1442969121&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Rolison, Garry L et al., (2002). Prisoners of war: Black female incarceration at the end of the 1980s. Social Justice, 29(1/2), 131-143. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 208056251). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=208056251&sid=3&Fmt=4&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Russell, Betsy Z.(2007 November). Welcoming campaign: Groups try to buck fear, intolerance. McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Dateline database. (Document ID: 1382531751). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1382531751&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/Principle4.html