Humanity, Inc.
In the expansion of human rights, destinations worldwide are becoming more viable for meetings business.
By Trey Garrison
Year after year, government organizations and human rights advocacy groups compile lists of the world’s worst human rights offenders to shame and cajole, and to warn against giving offenders any aid or comfort.
Such nations imprison political dissidents, make a mockery of democratic processes, harbor terrorists and pirates (commercial and literal), have brutal justice systems, mistreat minority groups and women and violate international standards of human decency in one fashion or another. Look no further than places such as Iran, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe for grisly reminders that the worst practices of the darkest moments of the 20th century are still popular with 21st century oligarchs and tyrants.
But there’s something missing from this picture.
The history of the latter half of the 20th century and the start of this one has also included progress, improvement and enlightenment. Democracy has, in fact, spread in the hinterlands. It is growing inexorably and, hopefully for some, irrevocably. International standards of decency have made their way into the unlikeliest of places. Yet search as one might, there is no single list of nations working hard to improve their human rights records. There is no “most improved” category among groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch or Transparency International. In fairness, however, their collective works in rooting out abuses are so overwhelming and unending one can hardly blame them.
“We’re focused on the places with problems,” said Conor Fortune, a Human Rights Watch spokesman. “We haven’t tracked those countries adopting international standards. We don’t have any ‘most improved’ metrics.”
But if the stick works for those nations that are the most unrepentant offenders, shouldn’t socially conscious and progressive businesses use the carrot to reward those countries that have made great strides in opening up their societies?
The nations listed here are growing commercial viability and, critically, have solid track records of improving their performances in human rights, transparency and justice. Some of these contenders may surprise; all are worthy of consideration.
It is critical when evaluating reports from any government or non-governmental organizations (NGO) acting as observers that one remember to keep a relative perspective; these are not necessarily Westernized, first-world nations. Rather, they are often less-developed countries striving to better the way they operate and respect their citizens in spite of their grim histories. These are the countries that are working at it. Don’t let the fact that there are conditions that have needed—and still need—improvement negatively color perceptions and reactions in the face of the fact that they are doing better.
THE MIDDLE EAST
“There are many myths surrounding parts of the Middle East and many are untrue,” said Michael Tovee, vice president of business development for World Marketing Group.
Tovee has been associated with Dubai since the early 1980s and contends there’s never been any problem with women’s rights: local women can pursue higher education, and Western women have always been respected in a business role. And given the number of foreign nationals living peacefully in Dubai, he says race has never really been an issue.
Alba Hotchkiss, director of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing North America, further espouses such virtues.
“As a woman business owner myself, it has been personally rewarding to find so many women in responsible positions within the Dubai government and throughout the private sector,” she said.
The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is a federation of seven semi-autonomous states with a population of 4.2 million—only 850,000 are citizens, according to the U.S. State Department. And Dubai, specifically, is composed of 144 nationalities, representing a broad range of religious and ethnic groups, according to Peggy Bendel, senior vice president of travel marketing for Development Counsellors International.
There are no democratically elected legislative institutions, political parties or general elections. Citizens express their concerns directly to their leaders through traditional, consultative mechanisms such as the open majlis (council), the State Department reports.
Bendel says it seems clear that there has been an increase in enforcement of workers’ rights as the government has hired more inspectors to visit worksites and handle violations. Tovee adds that workers’ rights are continually improving and that Dubai has always matched global standards in respect to these rights. However, individual companies have broken the law, Tovee says, an infraction that can result in the closure of the company.
Much of the U.A.E. is a traditionalist, closed Islamic state, but Dubai stands out as among the most Westernized and tolerant destinations in the region.
Dubai has chosen deliberately to position itself as a Western-friendly, business-friendly capital, and in relation to its neighbors, it certainly is.
There are few political freedoms, but the traditional Islamic rule known as Shari’a law is very relaxed. For instance, foreign journalists and news organizations operating out of the Dubai Media City Free Zone report only occasional restrictions on print content and broadcast material produced for use outside the country.
Westerners doing business in Dubai hope that, by example, they can help liberalize more and more of Dubai, resulting in a domino effect in the U.A.E. and the rest of the region.
“The level of personal freedom is very high. It’s a more tolerant place than other parts of that region,” said Arch Puddington, director of research for Freedom House, an NGO that supports the expansion of democracy and freedom. “It’s very welcoming to tourists and has many business facilities.”
LATIN AMERICA
Prized for its stunning scenery and cultural history, much of Latin America has conversely been known for extensive official corruption and violence. Guided by enhanced regional economies and political stability, Latin America—from Tijuana, Mexico, in the north to the shared Argentinian-Chilean island of Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America—is cleaning up its act and growing its meeting and events industry infrastructure.
On the southwest coast of South America, visitors are finding in Chile a quickly growing economy, according to Eli Gorin, CMP, president of gMeetings Inc.
“The cost of doing business, particularly in capital city Santiago, is on the rise,” Gorin said. “[Yet] the city is rapidly growing and offers a lot of opportunities for groups and meetings.”
Chile is a multiparty democracy composed of 16 million citizens, and has a good track record of transparent elections and a fair, free electoral process, according to U.S. State Department reports, and the government generally respects the rights of its citizens.
The educational system is highly regarded, and there are appropriate regulations of business and the judicial system.
“In Chile we have seen a real expansion of civil liberties,” Puddington said.
Crime still plagues Chile, as it does much of Latin America, Puddington says, but the country has done a great job in curbing crime while instituting liberalized, Western police reforms in its criminal justice systems.
Chile has also made strident efforts in prosecuting government officials responsible for crimes against the Chilean people. As a result, Chile has a lower crime rate than most of Latin America, Puddington says.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Guatemala is growing beyond its violent past.
“They had many problems with guerillas, but that seems to have died down quite a bit,” Gorin said. “[Guatemala City] is safe. There are also plenty of top-notch hotels and restaurants to handle groups and a lot of activities, including cultural tours. Just outside of Guatemala City (the modern capital) is the city of Antigua, which is the old capital and is a remarkable colonial town.”
Guatemala is a democratic, multiparty republic with a solid history of steadily improving human rights conditions. The most recent national elections were among the most trouble-free in Central America.
The State Department is working with Guatemala on a problem that plagues even the United States: voter participation. U.S. advisors are helping Guatemalan leaders strengthen the country’s democratic institutions while encouraging transparency, accountability and respect for human rights and the rule of law. This includes training Guatemalan police—the National Civilian Police—in U.S. standards of law enforcement that place emphasis on protecting the public and respecting the rights of suspects. Other U.S. programs working in Guatemala are geared toward strengthening local government associations and promoting a national policy of reforms that favor decentralization.
As a commercial player, Guatemala is the gateway to South America from Mexico. As a destination, its beaches and natural beauty rival other Central American destinations. It is the most populous Central American nation, and since the end of the country’s long-running civil war in 1996, investment capital has been flocking to the small nation. Further, a large U.S. expatriate population is bringing increasing pressure for U.S.-style reforms and business sensibilities.
ASIA
While Latin America and Asia both encompass massive areas, Asia is the world’s most populous continent—with more than 4 billion people. Driven by many capitalist ideals, nations such as China and India have helped advance the region. Official corruption, slave-like labor and press freedoms have long hindered human rights. By opening up to and being influenced more by foreign economies and cultures, much of Asia is now bringing human rights reform into the fold.
A growing commercial hub in Southeast Asia, and home to the world’s largest Muslim population, Indonesia is the world’s third-most-populous democracy, with more than 237.5 million citizens.
The country has made great strides in consolidating a pluralistic and representative democracy, even after four decades of repressive and authoritarian rule, according to the U.S. State Department. And in 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in December 2006.
The government has strengthened basic human rights, including a more liberal recognition of the freedom of religion, the liberalization of news media regulations and more open election processes. The country faces many challenges ahead—in areas ranging from women’s rights to criminal justice reforms—but there is little doubt that given its openness to commercial trade, Indonesia is well poised to meet social demands as it reaches out for commercial opportunities.
According to the CIA World Factbook, this nation has likewise undergone significant economic reforms. Its stock market was one of the best three performers in the world in 2006 and 2007, and its foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high of more than US$50 billion.
“Indonesia has held several elections that neutral observers described as free and competitive,” Puddington said. “Though they have a vocal Islamic extremist minority movement, Indonesia has maintained a moderate and tolerant religious and cultural environment.”
In Asia’s Pacific Rim, the de facto independent nation of Taiwan—still claimed by some to exist under the aegis and at the sufferance of the People’s Republic of China—is one of the shining examples of human rights improvements. The tiny island nation’s 23 million people live at a nearly Western standard of living, and there is a vigorous and competitive political climate. Like nearby South Korea, the military operates at the behest and under the control of civilian authority.
The State Department cites general human rights respect for citizens from the government. However, problems continue with “corruption by officials, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons and abuses of foreign workers.”
Women have made great strides in gaining political office in Taiwan, something too rare in this part of Asia. Forty-six members of the 217-member legislature are women; the vice president and vice premier of Taiwan are also women. Three of 13 grand justices are women.
The Taiwan press is as active and vigorous as political parties, though some critics say that it is dependent upon advertising revenue from government-controlled banks and is thus somewhat biased. Many of the same accusations are made against the press elsewhere in the world, including in the U.S. Much like the press, political parties operate with little outside interference.
“For a long time, Taiwan had a semi-dictatorship, but now it has a very competitive electoral system and a very democratic political culture,” Puddington said. “And it has a free and free-wheeling press.”
Far and away, India leads South Asia in human rights improvements. But this nation once known for its infamous (and still socially active) caste system is also an international human rights leader.
As mentioned earlier, there is no worldwide ranking for improved human rights records, but there is an Asia-based and focused human rights organization that ranks that continent. For the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), there’s no question: India is the leader. The South Asia Human Rights Index 2008 found Sri Lanka to be the worst in terms of human rights and India the strongest.
“India is the best human rights performer in the South Asian region because of the existence of institutional mechanisms,” ACHR Director Suhas Chakma told the Times of India.
According to the ACHR report, India still doesn’t ensure political freedom and inclusion to vulnerable minority groups.
Still, Puddington’s praise for India is magnanimous.
“It has a competitive political system and a wide range of civil liberties,” he said. “There are many religions, and they’re practiced freely in a part of the world where that’s not always the case.”
He adds another important element to India’s growth in human rights.
“They have an independent judiciary, so they have a strong sense of the rule of law,” Puddington said.
This is all good news for one of the world’s premier emerging nations and helps correlate human rights advances with healthy, growing economies. Over the past five years, India has experienced double-digit growth in foreign visitors, according to India Digest 2008, a market outlook report, and the nation’s economic strength has led to a surge in business travel. One+
TREY GARRISON is a North Texas-based freelance writer.
SIDEBAR # 1
Republic of Ghana
Ghana is a leader in improving human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana’s 21 million people live, according to the U.S. State Department, “In a constitutional democracy with a strong presidency and a unicameral, 230-seat parliament.”
By African standards, Ghana is a liberalized nation and a relatively industrialized one. The government in Ghana generally respects human rights and has made significant improvements recently, the State Department says. This comes in a country still transitioning from a one-party state to one with several active opposition parties that operate with little discrimination.
The nation also boasts both academic and cultural freedoms and a free press.
“It has the highest freedom ranking we give any country in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Arch Puddington, director of research for Freedom House. “They have free elections, civil liberties, a free press and marked religious freedom. Further, they have the infrastructure level to handle meetings and conventions. Ghana is one of the sleepers; it’s not on many people’s radar, but it’s really an impressive place.”
SIDEBAR # 2
Republic of Slovenia and Republic of Croatia
When Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s, conflict erupted in many regions. But Slovenia and Croatia came through as leaders in the former Eastern Bloc as measured by human rights.
Slovenia is a constitutional republic ruled by a parliamentary system that represents its 2 million citizens. It is a transparent system, overseen by power sharing between the elected president and the prime minister. The U.S. State Department said of the small nation: “The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. There were reports of trial delays, indirect government influence on the media and cursory procedures for review of asylum applications.”
Despite these speed bumps, the country boasts a vigorous level of cultural and academic freedom and a stable government bound by the rule of law. The government has an established record of respecting the right of peaceful assembly and association and of religion. Official corruption is strongly discouraged in government offices.
Education levels, too, are high, with compulsory education through age 9 and voluntary, state-funded education through the age of 18. Almost all children attend school through the completion of secondary school, and literacy levels are high.
Similarly, the Republic of Croatia’s 4.4 million citizens are bound by a constitutional democracy with a parliamentary system highly regarded for its transparency and its dedicated opposition to official corruption, though in this last commitment, there have been failings. According to the World Bank’s worldwide governance report, corruption remains a problem in Croatia despite efforts by reformers.
Still, both fledgling nations are on the proper track, says Arch Puddington, director of research for Freedom House.
“They have a very high freedom rating. They came out of the break up of Yugoslavia well,” he said. “Croatia in particular has emerged as an impressive place. They have replaced a nationalist-oriented government with one that has been welcomed into Europe.”