Civil Rights Violation: Ignored Laws and Regulations by Nestle Company

Since MNCs create employment, innovations, and technological advancement and increase the lives and interests of the people, they definitely have influenced on the people in a good way from around the world. In some instances, MNCs neglected the properly formulated laws and regulations in the national and international levels, that happen to demolish impact on the society and people.

For one instance to be mentioned, Nestle is one of the MNCs that ignored laws and regulations and has been alleged and sentenced for its human rights violations. Nestle is one of the biggest MNCs in the world and has been expanded to approximately 80 countries. The first instance that happen to human rights violations was in the 1970s, where they launched their first infant formula for developing countries. Nestle promoted their products in poor countries as an additional food to be taken for infants along with breast milk. Then, they advertised their products in a fascinating way, that cause the mothers of the poor countries to trust that, they have to provide the infant formula for their infants. But, the formula required to be mixed with clean water, that was the largest absence in the poor countries like Africa, where Nestle concentrated as their major markets. Because of the lack of clean water and the illiteracy of the mothers in poor countries, infant formula was mixed with polluted water and the babies who took the formula had to suffer serious health issues, which sometimes happened even death. It was reported that Nestle already knew the illiteracy and the absence of clean water in African countries, but Nestle did not alarm it, since it can lessen their market and they might lose profits.

United Nations identified that the right to sanitation and clean water is one of the basic human rights currently in the world. Nestle gets the recognition of being the largest producer of bottled water by draining water from the fountain and natural springs from around the world and selling it to people with nicely shaped bottles. They make their pockets full by draining water from natural springs and fountains and it has opinionated the environment and the general human right for water. Ethiopia, Uganda, and some Caribbean countries are some of the instances of countries where clean and sanitary water is rare.

All the people in this world, despite of being rich or poor, have a right to life as well as a right to a healthy life. Nestle could have warned and alerted particular societies to properly use the infant formula. On the other hand, Nestle drains water from fountains and the natural springs that breaks the right to the pure water of the people who live in the countries and places where the springs and fountains are located. Nestle caused drought due to water drainage for their bottled water industry in Colorado and California. Also in Pakistan, people from the village where nestle utilized drain water from their nearby spring had to use dirty water. Because of the condition of their countries and governments, the people from these countries are not in a position to use their right to life. MNCs such as nestle offer bottled clean water to these countries which have reduced those people to enjoy clean water. Nestle has to help to sustain the right to clean water for some people by delivering them clean water. It has a positive influence on MNCs to take necessary steps to support people who suffer from the absence of clean water for utilization. The purpose of the MNCs is not to get a profit while creating the world a better place but to boost their profits in any other way. In order to maximize their profits, they pitilessly took out water from some regions and sold it around the world, that eventually increased the ‘absence of clean water’ problem in the world.

Child slavery is the next most infamous human rights violation that was dedicated by Nestle. It was alleged that Nestle has traded children to Ivory Coast where the cocoa plantations were situated, mandatory them to work without wages, and abused them physically and mentally. That can be considered as the severest human rights violation that has been ever dedicated by nestle. Children are the next generation, that takes over the globe from the current generation. Their right to education is identified by the United Nations. Also, they have banned child labor. Children must study which prepares them for the future development of the world and, if they spent the time which they are supposed to study to engage in employment, the international laws consider it as illegal.

‘Slavery’ can be considered as an illegal thing that is highly criticized among the civilized people in the current world. In that context, a well-established MNCs such as nestle encouraging slavery is not an acceptable deed under any circumstance. It has clearly violated or encouraged to violate the freedom from the slavery of the children who were forced to work without wages in the cocoa farms. Freedom from torture is also violated when these children were physically and mentally abused.

First, they violated the right to education of the children by transferring them for jobs in the Ivory Coast. It is a serious violation of international child labor policies as well. After that, they violated their freedom from slavery by forcing them to work without wages. Finally, they violated freedom from torture by beating and verbally abusing children.

Seeing the above-stated instances, it can be noticed that, nestle has violated fundamental human rights of the world in a larger scale.

Next, we must give our attention to the international and national laws, regulations, and rules which have been implemented to monitor the illicit behavior and the human rights violations by the MNCs and how to Nestle could have stuck to these laws and guidelines which might support them to make the world a better place where human rights are secure everywhere around the world despite any social status.

In the above-mentioned nestle instance where nestle was prosecuted by the International Labor Rights Fund on behalf of three Malian children. If the culprit company was a USA company, the accusers would have been able to claim remedies against the nestle.