Written by Diana Elisa Crucitti
In our current economic system, companies focus on maximizing profit. However, this approach often leads to decision-making that disregards ethical and moral considerations. While people, brands, and governments claim to fight for human rights and secure them for every human being, those rights are often ignored when it comes to enhancing our economic comfort. This has led to prioritizing profit over human rights. Such disregard occurs not only when production is at the expense of underpaid and precarious workers, but is also perpetuated when we decide to trade with countries that do not view the exploitation of natural resources or individuals as unethical. In his book "What Money Can't Buy," Michael Sandel states that "markets crowd out morals." This means that markets hold no moral consideration, and since they are not attached to values, these can be malleable or destroyed by the exchange of goods. If everything can be bought, commodities will be sold as long as someone is willing to pay, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. It is our responsibility to limit market power, impose laws, and preserve moral and ethical reasoning to ensure that markets do not override human rights and ethical considerations.
An example of when profit was prioritized over human rights protection is the case of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The event has been mired in controversy since it was awarded to the country in 2010. One of the most pressing concerns is the nature of our economic system, which lets markets take over our values and give space for immoral decision-making regarding migrant workers. This system enabled, in the name of economic rent, human rights violations, labor exploitation, and environmental damage to occur in the pursuit of profit. Human rights abuses against migrant workers, who constitute the majority of the country's workforce, have hindered preparations for the World Cup. Workers from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh have frequently been subject to delayed or unpaid wages, denied rest days, unsafe working conditions, and barriers to changing jobs due to the kafala system that ties them to their employers. They have also had limited access to legal aid and were subject to unfair trials, which led to thousands of workers' deaths remaining uninvestigated. For instance, around 40.0000 Nepali are employed in Qatar and have played a great role in the projects of the Fifa World Cup 2022. Usually, Nepali workers have to pay an illegal recruitment fee of 1000 USD to preserve their job. It was also estimated by a peer review that from 2009 to 2017 at least 200 deaths of Nepali construction workers could have been prevented.
Despite these issues, the Qatari government has continued to prioritize the completion of infrastructure projects for the World Cup over addressing these human rights abuses. This illustrates how our economic system values profit over human life and hazardous labor, and is designed to cater to the demands of the wealthy and influential individuals at the expense of society's most vulnerable members. Is it right to engage in an economic relationship with a country that does not share our values when it comes to human rights? If we believe in securing these rights for all human beings, we should carefully consider who we trade with. Perhaps this issue is just the tip of the iceberg and illustrates how our economic system is unfit to address ethical concerns.
According to Amnesty International's 2022/23 annual report, the international system is now inadequate to deal with global crises, in part due to its inability to address economic inequality. Research shows that the current economic model prioritizes growth over well-being, resulting in massive wealth inequality, environmental degradation, and erosion of social protections. This economic disparity exacerbates the situation by preventing access to essential human rights like healthcare and education. "The State of the World's Human Rights" report by Amnesty International in 2022/23 states that double standards and inadequate responses to human rights abuses around the world fuel impunity and instability. The Ukraine war exemplifies what can happen when a country, in this case, Russia, believes in the possibility of violating human rights with no consequences. The West's embrace of double standards has given countries like China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia the opportunity to deflect criticism of their human rights records. The report states, "Despite massive human rights violations, amounting to crimes against humanity against Uyghur and other Muslim minorities, Beijing escaped international condemnation by the UN General Assembly, Security Council, and Human Rights Council." This is because countries apply human rights law on a case-by-case basis, showing blatant hypocrisy and double standards. States cannot criticize human rights violations in one country and then condone similar abuses in another just because their interests are at stake. This is unconscionable and undermines the entire fabric of universal human rights, according to Agnès Callamard. Our current system lacks international human rights standards when investigating and prosecuting human rights abuses, which undermines the equal application of justice and respect for the rights of victims.
“We need less hypocrisy, less cynicism, and more consistent, principled, and ambitious action by all states to promote and protect all rights,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. Perhaps when this issue is addressed, all countries will live under the same rule of law, and all actors will be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their political or economic power.