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Human Rights Ethics

World War II’s Holocaust led to the creation of the United Nations. World leaders formally established human rights after such a tragic event. The UN General Assembly later adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (Soken-Huberty, 2022).

Therefore, according to the UN General Assembly, there are five ethical principles guiding human rights, including universality, equality, participation, interdependence, and rule of law (Soken-Huberty,2022).

In terms of youth and child labor in the DR Congo this post will first discuss universality as a guiding principle of human rights.

There are some Chinese companies who have taken over almost all the mines in the Southern East of the country. As a consequence, they have displaced the local population. As a result, youth and children have been forced to dig in subhuman conditions for as inexpensive as a dollar a day. Children and youths have made significant contributions to the cobalt supply chain which feeds all phones, tablets, and electric vehicles that we use today.

Universality : Why Human Rights Are Universal?

As a matter of fact, countries that claim to be loudest about human rights often exhibit the most hypocrisy, which ultimately diminishes their universality and effectiveness (Soken-Huberty, 2021).

For instance, on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Siddhart Kara, the author and expert on modern slavery, human trafficking and child labor, mentioned seeing artisanal miners working in the industrial cobalt mines. Moreover, he claimed that artisanal mining is not supposed to exist. These stories about the struggles of artisanal miners are overlooked at the top of the supply chain of companies such as Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla.

Additionally, Siddhart Kara described seeing approximately 15 000 people digging by hand with shouts and sounds that could be heard on the ground.

In my opinion, this is a very inhumane and unethical act that is being carried out and it violates both human and ethical standards.

There is a general consensus among people that the concept of human rights must be respected. However, the way they are established causes much controversy and many divisions within humanity (Soken-Huberty, 2021).

Can human rights be universalized? What is the solution?

Works Cited

Soken-Huberty, E. (2021, May 8). Why Human Rights Are Universal. Human Rights Careers. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/why-human-rights-are-universal/

Soken-Huberty, E. (2022, April 6). Human Rights Ethics. Human Rights Careers. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/human-rights-ethics/