This month, as Human Rights are celebrated, I wonder: where do universal rights begin? Eleanor Roosevelt responds to my question with wisdom:
“In small places, close to home; so close and so small that they cannot be seen on world maps. However, these close, small places are the world of a person; the neighborhood where he lives; the school or university where he goes to school; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seek equal justice, equal opportunities, equal dignity, without discrimination. Unless these rights mean something there, they have little meaning anywhere else. Without coordinated citizen action to enforce them close to home, we would seek progress in the larger world in vain”.
The wise words of the First Lady of the United States, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Chair of the United Nations Commission that wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, make me ponder that human rights are common sense. There would be no need to read human rights declarations and treaties, if we understood their simplicity. They are natural rights that all people have, regardless of race, nationality, sex, beliefs, etc. They are the right to be respected as a person and before the law.
Therefore, human rights are not negotiable and must be respected in all settings: schools, homes, work…
I am convinced that respect is the best way to minimize risks that may affect the operations of a company, generate genuine loyalty on the part of stakeholders, reduce costs, enable access and serve international markets transparently.
At AgroAmerica we have a Code of Ethics, a Human Rights Policy and we have acceded the United Nations Global Compact, whereby we aim for companies to respect the internationally-recognized fundamental human rights in their area of influence. Last year we provided training to 5,603 workers on human rights.
Human Rights’ Governing Principles approved by the United Nations in 2011 provide the roadmap for companies: “Knowing the position of companies in terms of human rights and identifying the risks of non-compliance and business opportunities in such a way that a strategy can be developed to carry out concrete and measurable actions”.
This year, the attention of Human Rights’ Day is on the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to rebuild to improve, ensuring that human rights are the foundation in recovery efforts.