Putting Tourism to Rights
Call for a Human Rights Approach in Tourism
By Christina Kamp
All actors in tourism have to honour their obligations under the international human rights framework. They have to contribute their part to fully respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of people in tourist destinations, says EED Tourism Watch in a new study. The publication shows that in many parts of the world fundamental human rights are violated in the context of tourism.
The German study, entitled "Alles was Recht ist - Menschenrechte und Tourismus", is based on the English report "Putting Tourism to Rights" by Tourism Concern, UK. Tourism Concern's findings and recommendations have been revised and adapted to the German context.
| Tourism Concern Report on Human Rights and Tourism
In the report "Putting Tourism to Rights", the British campaigning organisation Tourism Concern demands action to end human rights violations in tourism. The report exposes the violations of human rights that occur as a direct result of tourism. The report highlights steps for the industry to take, that can help to maximise positive benefits to local communities, limit environmental damage and assure good working conditions for employees. Too often, governments are more concerned with the right to economic development over the rights of the individual, especially if the individual in question is poor and powerless. Now, more than 60 years since the formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, governments must recognise that human rights should be placed at the centre of any truly sustainable approach to tourism development, says Tourism Concern. In cases where the industry continues to fail to regulate itself sufficiently and to perpetuate human rights abuses, governments must be prepared to regulate. Putting Tourism to Rights. A challenge to human rights abuses in the tourism industry. By Tricia Barnett Jenny Eriksson, Rachel Noble and Polly Pattullo, Tourism Concern, London, 2009. ISBN 0952856727. 52 pages. The report is available at Tourism Concern's online shop http://shop1.actinicexpress.co.uk/shops/tourismconcern Further information: www.tourism-watch.de/en/node/1393, www.tourismconcern.org.uk, rachel@tourismconcern.org.uk (December 2009, TW 57) |
The study shows that in tourism both civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights are not always respected. Human rights are violated in a direct manner, for example when resorts displace fisher folk from the beach and make them lose their source of livelihood. People's dignity and privacy is disrespected when indigenous groups such as Burmese Karen refugees in Thailand are made "exhibits" for tourists.
People working in the tourism sector may also be affected. Their pay and working conditions may be so inadequate that they violate the right to decent work spelt out in article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The work of the porters carrying the tourists' luggage in the Himalayas, in the Andes and on Mount Kilimanjaro is in many cases a threat to their health. Child labour is also common in poor countries. Globally, 13 to 19 million children are estimated to be working in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Tourism violates human rights, not only directly, but also indirectly. Climate change, to which aviation contributes significantly, endangers the food security, health and survival of millions of people. "False solutions" for mitigation - such as agro fuels which are also promoted by the aviation industry and which directly compete with food crops - also contribute to the problem, severely affecting the right to food for marginalised communities. EED Tourism Watch therefore calls on all political and business players to contribute to averting these threats by implementing appropriate climate mitigation and adaptation measures. The German government is being asked to take adequate measures to make the tourism industry reduce their CO2 emissions.
Obligations of the State: Respect - Protect - Fulfil
The relevance of the human rights framework in tourism is evident from important articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other United Nations conventions and declarations. States have the primary responsibility of refraining from violating human rights (obligation to respect), of protecting human rights against violations by third parties - including the tourism industry - (obligation to protect) and of ensuring the implementation of human rights (obligation to fulfil). Governments have to pass the respective laws, rules and regulations and ensure that they are being enforced and implemented.
"Due Diligence" in the Tourism Industry
While tourism enterprises do not have the same obligations as states to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, they are still required to fully respect them in any case. For example, they must neither exploit their workforce, nor grab water that is required to meet the basic needs of local communities, nor pollute this vital resource. In order to live up to their responsibilities, companies have to exercise "due diligence". According to John Ruggie, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, this means that companies not only have to ensure that they respect national laws, but they also need risk management mechanisms to effectively avoid human rights violations. This "due diligence" applies to the whole service chain.
Business managers will not always be able to anticipate problematic practices. However, tour operators can and should make sure, for example, that their partner hotels in the destinations pay adequate wages, provide written work contracts, offer training opportunities, allow trade unions, and actively protect children from commercial sexual exploitation. Business partners can hardly be controlled in a comprehensive manner, but tour operators must take appropriate steps to ensure that they themselves won't unintentionally be complicit in violations of human rights in the destinations. Hotel and tourism associations are called upon to create incentives and sanctions for their members to fulfil and further develop human rights standards.
Human rights violations often happen even before tourism has actually started. Before investing, investors should have independent social, environmental and human rights-related impact assessments conducted in order to avoid possible negative impacts of their projects.
Challenges for the German Government
The German government, too, has to ensure that it does not support any tourism development that undermines human rights. It must clarify who is responsible for human rights issues in tourism and bring about coherence. Tourism must be integrated into the government's debate on human rights. The government must point out human rights-related obligations to German companies doing business abroad, and should support them in their implementation. It must also be in a position to sanction possible violations. In the European Union, there is a regulation gap regarding human rights and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The EU is faced with the challenge of closing this gap by introducing the respective accountability and reporting obligations for the tourism sector.
A clear human rights approach provides a basis to reduce the negative impacts of tourism. The people affected by tourism are respected and empowered as rights holders. The human rights conventions and declarations represent international standards for dignity, integrity and mutual respect - which are indispensable components of any really sustainable development approach, also in tourism.
"Alles was Recht ist - Menschenrechte und Tourismus". Published by the German Church Development Service (EED) Tourism Watch, Bonn, 2011. Download: www.tourism-watch.de/files/Alles_was_Recht_ist.pdf
Summary of demands and recommendations: www.tourism-watch.de/de/node/1582
(1.169 words, 105 lines, March 2011, TW 62)