Fair Trade Celebrates Human Rights Day on December 10th, 2011!!!

As a global movement we all agree Fair Trade aims to Empower disadvantaged producers and their communities. Our shared principles reflect business practices which are free from exploitation and based on respect for universal human rights, women's rights, child rights, minority and migrant rights, rights of the disabled, and labour rights. When we examine Fair Trade closely it becomes evident the underpinnings of our global movement are the United Nations Conventions on Human Rights and the internationally recognized conventions of the International Labour Organization (Read A Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade: Human Rights Framework). Succinctly stated, without these international conventions, there would be no solid foundation for Fair Trade.

Over the past several posts I have been emphasizing the importance of integrating a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade as a means of empowerment. When an organization utilizes a Rights-Based Approach they recognize poverty as injustice and includes marginalization, discrimination, and exploitation as central causes of poverty. To integrate a Rights-Based Approach is to strengthen our trade partners not only in trade relations, but in their quality of life; to enjoy the freedoms internationally recognized as inherent to all human beings.  

Longwe's Women's Empowerment Framework
Read: Women's Empowerment and Fair Trade

The crucial step towards empowerment is raising awareness of these rights, to include women's rights. Unfortunately, the fact remains that for many of our producers their rights are not well known; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains an abstract idea, an international convention far from their immediate reality. Admittedly, the same is true for many Fair Trade supporters, retailers, importers, buyers and consumers. It is time for change. 

On Saturday, December 10, 2011 the world celebrates Human Rights Day. Considering the strong ties to our global movement, Fair Trade should be leading the way in recognizing the importance of this day! Regardless if you are a Fair Trade producer group, an importer, a coffee roaster, or a retailer, let's celebrate this day of international recognition of our human rights! 

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/
Day2011/Pages/HRD2011.aspx

Here are a few suggestions to celebrate Human Rights day locally. These suggestions are for all Fair Traders regardless of where you reside! 

Decorate! Click here to download UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights visual designs for Human Rights day in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish! 

Display! Click here for videos on human rights from the UN!!! 

Provide a copy of Universal Declaration of Human Rights! Click here for over 300 translations of this pivotal document!!!!! 

Share stories of Human Rights! Click here for a list of stories to share from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights!

http://www.amnesty.org/

Join with Amnesty International in your country!!! Click here to unite with Amnesty International's efforts in your country. And click here to view Amnesty International's information related to Human Rights issues in every country or by topic! As Fair Trade organizations, retailers, supporters, activists and consumers we need to unite with their voice to ensure everyone's human rights are respected and upheld regardless of where they reside!!

Fair Trade Retailers, everyone in the Fair Trade supply chain truly understands and deeply appreciates that you are busy with the Christmas rush and the last thing you want is to have one more thing to add to the already busy day for retail, ...but the least we can do is make an effort to recognize the global importance of Human Rights Day. Here are some ideas to make this as interesting yet as painless as possible while dealing with the masses of ethically minded consumers making Fair Trade purchases for the holidays. Keep in mind this is a one day event, so make it simple yet prominent - let the conscientious consumers see that Fair Trade is more than simply purchasing products, but about putting people before profits. 

For Fair Trader producers, supporters and activists not preoccupied with the Christmas holiday, set up a special family event for Saturday, December 10th. Keep in mind, children are the future of Fair Trade so let them know how valued they are in our movement. Put up a large poster of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF has this document translated into 58 languages at their child-friendly page: http://www.unicef.org/magic/briefing/uncorc.html. For your convenience, here is a downloadable pdf file of UNICEF's child-friendly English version:
Convention on the Rights of the Child Easy Language Poster

Children of all ages like to take on fun challenges - provide them with poster paper, crayons, color pencils and markers and ask them to draw a poster for their favorite Article in the CRC! The purpose is to have children do more than read their rights, that is boring. Make the CRC come alive and reflect on how it is relevant in their lives! Then vote for the best poster from your young artists... 

Send photos of your winning posters on Child Rights to be published on the Journey for Fair Trade!!!! 

When you have some really great entries select the best, take a photo of the winners and send it to me: journer (at) gmail.com and I will feature your young Fair Trade artists on my blog! Make sure you send me information about the featured artists as well!! Try to limit the number to one to three winners in your event. Entries from anywhere in the world are welcome.  

Retailers, show solidarity with your trade partners! You can do the same here by having a corner dedicated to children so the adults can do some shopping. The adults will appreciate the temporary relief and the kids would love a corner committed to them. I am certain you can find high school and college students interested in volunteering to help with a child-centered activity! Add steaming cups of Fair Trade hot chocolate, face painting as well as other creative activities and have fun! The more you provide for the kids, the longer the adults can shop - Retailers, you can't lose here!!!  And don't forget to provide each child with their own color copy of the CRC to post up in their home... Make Child Rights a reality to our Fair Trade consumers! 

For young adults, host a ten minute game show - make it a competition between groups of men and  women and see which team can list the most articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! My bet is the women are able to list more!!! Fortunately the United Nations has translated the UDHR into 131 languages so this activity can be done anywhere: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/SearchByLang.aspx. To help, my lovely partner Chou has used her creative talents to provide an English copy of the UDHR here:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Follow this competition with an introduction to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Begin with inquiring why they think this convention is necessary when the UDHR already exists - it is a great opportunity to dispel a lot of misunderstandings. For help in discussing this convention read A Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade: Understanding CEDAW.  

"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible" 

             - UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

This Human Rights Day, let's make a stand as a global movement! Recognize the importance of this day by raising awareness of our shared human rights locally. Fair Trade is founded upon these rights, and it is time Fair Trade unites with the global recognition of Human Rights Day.

Join Chou, Little Journey, and I in making the future a better place for all of us; join in the global celebration of Human Rights Day on Saturday, December 10th!

Mitch Teberg, MA 

International Consultant

Sustainable Development / Fair Trade

Researcher / Trainer / Consultant 

Feel free to add your comments, suggestions, and ideas below; or commit to holding a special event on December 10th. 

For those who prefer reading black on white, here is the downloadable version of this post on pdf:

Fair Trade Celebrates Human Rights Day on December 10th, 2011

A Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade: Human Rights Framework

Before we can talk about integrating a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade, we need to be familiar with Human Rights. To begin:

"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible" 

- UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Here is my challenge to you: Can you list your basic human rights? We assume we know  our rights, but how many can you list in the next ten minutes? Honestly, one reason that rights are violated every day is because too few have actually taken a moment to read this landmark document. As Dr. Mike Thair commented on the last post, "if you stick you head up and shout too loudly against a lot of these entrenched practices, you will soon be dealt with and knocked back into line... NGOs and the well meaning importers may have a lot of warm fuzzies running training programs, but does anything actually change for producers/artisans?"

So my challenge is simple: List your as many of your rights as you can, then grade yourself. To help, my partner Chou has used her creative talents to provide a copy of the UDHR here and I encourage you to post it in your workplace, in the community center, or in a public space! For those of you who are trading with producers whose first language is not English, the United Nations has translated this document into 131 languages: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/SearchByLang.aspx.  It would be great if you could provide your trade partners with a copy!

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Note: The posters in this document can be found on: http://www.reallygoodfriend.com/index.php?category=18

For many Fair Traders, whether they are a producer, an advocate, a member of an organization supporting Fair Trade producers, or a sales person in a small Fair Trade retail shop, being familiar with these internationally recognized rights provides you with the very foundation of Fair Trade. Personally, I would like to see the UN Human Rights conventions fully integrated into the Fair Trade Principles. At this time, only one UN Human Rights Convention is mentioned: the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In fact, it is mentioned in the first sentence of Principle 5: Ensuring No Child Labour or Forced Labour

"The organization adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and national / local law on the employment of children."

Again, how many Fair Traders have actually read the CRC? More importantly, how many of your children have read this UN Declaration? Teaching children about their rights is important if we want children to grow up to be respectful of the rights of others. To facilitate, here is a downloadable poster of the convention in easy to understand English. Try this exercise with a child or a group of children and make it fun: List as many rights for children as you can and then compare your list to the convention! 

Convention on the Rights of the Child Easy Language Poster

The point of these exercises is to prove that rights are not some abstract idea in a distant UN document far from reality. Quite the contrary! These documents are tangible; these conventions form the foundation of the rights we enjoy on a day-to-day basis! The CRC has been translated into 58 languages and are available from UNICEF at their child-friendly page: http://www.unicef.org/magic/briefing/uncorc.html, so if you have trade partners whose first language is not English, download a copy and take the extra step to print it out on a poster size paper, laminate it, and mail it to them! What a terrific way to let them know you support and care for their children! 

What about Cultural Rights and Fair Trade? 
The Global Fair Trade movement respects and celebrates cultural diversity! As a matter of fact, it should be noted in the latest revision of the Fair Trade Principles (for a pdf copy go to: "Our Values, Our Shared Principles") the WFTO added to Principle 3: Trading Practices

"Fair Trade recognizes, promotes and protects the cultural identity and traditional skills of small producers as reflected in their craft designs, food products and other related services."

Not surprisingly, the foundation of this statement can be found in another UN Convention protecting social and cultural rights. In addition to the UDHR, the United Nations has established nine core international human rights treaties, eight of which are directly related to Fair Trade: 

• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD),1965 
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966 
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966 
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979 
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment(CAT), 1984 
• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989   
• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW), 1990 

 

What about Labour Rights? 
When it comes to labour rights, there is the International Labour Organization (ILO) which is "the only tripartite U.N. agency with government, employer, and worker representatives. This tripartite structure makes the ILO a unique forum in which the governments and the social partners of the economy of its 183 Member States can freely and openly debate and elaborate labour standards and policies." (http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/who-we-are/lang--en/index.htm)

Created on the heels of World War I, it was founded on the belief that "universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice... The driving forces for ILO's creation arose from security, humanitarian, political and economic considerations."  

The ILO has passed multiple Conventions and Recommendations which establish the international labour standards relevant to Fair Trade today. Conventions, are legally binding international treaties that may be ratified by member states. Recommendations serve as non-binding guidelines. In many cases, a convention lays down the basic principles to be implemented by ratifying countries, while a related recommendation supplements the convention by providing more detailed guidelines on how it could be applied. 

As it stands, one of the ten Fair Trade Principles mentions the ILO, Principle 8: Ensuring Good Working Conditions:

"The organization provides a safe and healthy working environment for employees and / or  members. It complies, at a minimum, with national and local laws and ILO conventions on health and safety."

However, ILO conventions can be applied to many of the Fair Trade Principles. By overlapping the UN Declarations with the ILO Conventions and Recommendations we have established the framework for a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade. 

It is time for the Global Fair Trade Movement to thoroughly integrate internationally established Human and Labour Rights into our shared principles; 

It is time to Integrate a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade!!!

Sadly, the most glaring absence of reference to a UN Human Rights document is in Principle 6: Commitment to Non-Discrimination, Gender Equity, and Freedom of Association. Nowhere in this principle is there a reference to the most obvious Human Rights document, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979. Not only that, CEDAW is the only UN Convention to define Discrimination:

"‘Discrimination against women’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” – United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Article 1

There is so much to say about this UN Convention and how the system works, I am saving it for the next blog post! My point here is that by integrating human rights into our shared principles, we will strengthen our ability to tackle poverty through trade. As I mentioned before, a Rights-Based Approach recognizes poverty as injustice and includes marginalization, discrimination, and exploitation as the central causes of poverty. 

This brings us back to Dr. Mike Thair's point - that the powers that be, whether they are political, social, or corporate oppressors, will beat you down and put you in line if you don't comply with the status quo. If a picture speaks a thousand words, here is my articulated response: 

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869 - 1948

Dorothy Day, 1897 - 1980

Martin Luther King, Jr, 1929 - 1968

Dalai Lama, 1935 - present

All are Rights Activists of one form or another, and all have greatly impacted our lives today through their commitment to a cause they believe in! Even more so, they each made great impacts on history while adhering to the principle on Non-Violence.

My point here is that six of the ten principles are directly related to human and labour rights. In order for Fair Trade to be sustainable into the future, do as Mother Jones succinctly stated: "Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts." To this end, I have created a framework to reference for Fair Trade activists, advocates, producers, researchers and supporters to integrate a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade:

Integrating a Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade

It is not necessary to memorize all these conventions, that is not the point; just become familiar with your rights in order that you can make change happen! Make it a fun activity, you may surprise yourself with what you already know or don't know about your rights in the UDHR and the CRC.

The first step in utilizing a Rights-Based Approach is knowing your rights.

Mitch Teberg, MA 

International Consultant

Sustainable Development / Fair Trade

Researcher / Trainer / Consultant   

For those who prefer reading black on white, here is the downloadable version of this post on pdf: 

A Rights-Based Approach to Fair Trade - Human Rights Framework