Task 1. Read the text “Human Rights and Non-State Actors” and translate it.

Task 2. Say whether the following statements are true or false. If a statement is false, correct it using information from the text:

1. Human rights law was originally aimed at protecting the citizens from the state. 2. In many countries, criminal enterprises are arbitrarily detaining, torturing, and executing citizens. 3. The police always confront the armed criminal groups responsible for violating human rights. 4. Multinational corporations never abuse human rights, because they are powerful and have a lot of money. 5. Many NGOs provide people with the necessities instead of their governments.

Human Rights and Non-State Actors

Human rights law was originally conceived of as a means of protecting people from abuses perpetrated or permitted by nation-states. In other words, the assumption was that the biggest threat to the enjoyment of human rights was generally the nation­-state itself or citizens within the state. As such, treaties and laws required states not only to refrain from violating the human rights of their citizens but also to protect citizens from the abuses of other citizens. However, increasingly, non-state actors, such as NGOs, multinational corporations(MNCs), and criminal enterprises have been responsible for both violating human rights as well as taking on some of the roles originally assumed to be the purview of nation-states, including providing education, food, and health care. When states are no longer able or willing to fulfill these traditional functions, it becomes increasingly unlikely that they will be able or willing to protect their citizens’ human rights as well. Indeed, in many countries, criminal enterprises are wreaking havoc on local populations, arbitrarily detaining, torturing, and executing citizens. In some cases these enterprises are working in coordination with states, while in others, the state is simply helpless to stop them. In some areas of Mexico, for example, drug wars are responsible for high levels of violence, but the police and even the military are often hesitant to confront the powerful and heavily armed criminal groups responsible. MNCs with their money, power, and ability to easily move from country to country, have also been accused of serious human rights abuses, including forced labor, dangerous working conditions, child labor, and even murder. In countries where governments are unable or unwilling to provide services and/or to stop the human rights violations perpetrated by criminal organizations, MNCs, and others, NGOs sometimes step in to provide services. Many faith-based NGOs are provid­ing basic essentials to people when their governments fail to do so, including health care, education, food, and water, but they also often make assistance contingent upon listening to their religious messages or participating in a religious program. Given the increased role these various types of actors are playing in both violating human rights and providing aid in the void left by weak governments, human rights advocates and policy-makers may need to broaden their focus from the ways governments interact with their citizens to the various roles that other types of organizations play in both protecting and abusing human rights.

UNIT 5