The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), constructed after the end of the Second World War, explicitly lists that each citizen has certain rights. If some people are able to enjoy the facilities being introduced as a result of technological improvisations, and it reaches to a chosen few, with no chance in sight of reaching out to large number of needy people, then it has the connotation of human rights violations.
The car industry is one fine example of such violations. Four-wheeler becomes a necessity for a small family of three or four persons on a day out, but a large number of people, particularly in the developing world, do not have access to a car, because they cannot afford such high prices. Taking a cue from such difficulties, Tata Motors, a leading car producer in India, has come out with Nano1, a $2500 car. This step is certainly a great step towards respecting the right of even a lesser privileged person to own a car. It can certainly be argued that Tata had the inkling about the availability of huge market base in India, while announcing this decision. But to attribute the reason behind this decision solely on ‘marketing tactics’ will mean denial of the saner thoughts that have gone into this dream project of Tata’s. Otherwise we might be having numerous other car manufacturers lined up to take advantage of the huge market potential. In fact, the likes of Ford, Hyundai, GM etc. are still on the lookout for an appropriate response!
Access to adequate health care facilities is one of the key human rights of an individual. It is being observed that while the rich and affluent is able to take the help of best available doctors from all around the world, the middle class and the poor folks had to remain contented with the available facilities within their cities, towns. Having offspring is certainly a cherished dream of all parents, but sometimes owing to a range of factors, couples fail to have children under normal circumstances. Technology like artificial methods of procreation or in vitro fertilization2 can help a person having enough paying capacity to enjoy the company of his/her own children, but the poor one’s are left to rue all their life, unless the couple is helped by an NGO or willing philanthropists. This technology gap also results in conferring unequal human rights of citizens.
A simple and a pure market approach will not lead to an automatic solution for people with basic-needs problems especially those with scarce resources. There is need to have a Global Technological Facility that addresses vital human rights. Jamie F. Metzl also points out that3, “Advances in information technology benefits human rights movements by enabling rapid transmission of information to monitor and respond to human rights violations.” Transformations of the scientific and technological contexts have seen advances in production but delays in liberty. Further redevelopment and common international agreements steered by UN commissions on human rights should therefore incorporate these technologies as human rights. A dual strategy is thus required to deal with extreme poverty and modern competitiveness. Thus it can be ruled out that enabling access of the poor and semi-literate to ‘modern’ technology is a positive act towards enhancing their human rights.
References
Reuters (2008). Tata Motors rolls out the $2,500 ‘Nano’ in India. Web.
Weeramantry, C.G. (1993). The impact of technology on human rights: global case-studies. Web.
C.G. Weeramantry,“The Impact of Technology on Human Rights,” Web.