Question:How to address the boundary crossing problem?

Briefly discuss about the criteria for

identifying international human rights.

Solution:
Boundary Crossing Problems:
The problems encountered when one crosses national and cultural borders is known as boundary
crossing problem. The country where the engineers originally lived is called home country and
the country where they enter is known as host country. Boundary crossing problem can be
addressed into two simple solutions. They are:

1)Absolutist/Imperialist Solution:

To hold the home country values and ways of doing things, no matter how different they may be
some host country values this solution is called absolutist or imperialist solution.

This solution requires importing values from the home country into a different society.
Sometimes home country standards may post serious, if not insurmountable problems if applied
in the host countries. For example, customs like grease payment can be so pervasive and deeply
entrenched in a host country that it becomes impossible to do business without it. In this way,
host country values and standards might he just as defensible as home country values and
standards.

2)Relativist Solution:

This solution follows by home citizens always follow host country laws, customs and values
even if they are contrary to home country standards. The rule can thus be summarized into the
proverb, “When in Rome, do as the Roman’s do.”

Relativist solution can also produce severe problems which might even need legal actions. As for
example, foreign corrupt practices act makes it illegal for US citizens to engage in practices such
as being some kind of bribes and making some kind of extortion payments, although these may
be common practices in the host country.

Again, certain practices in the host country might be so repugnant that the home country
engineer would have trouble following them. For example, the health and safety standards might
be so low that they are clearly endangering the health and safety of workers and engineers too.

How the standards should be applied in another related issue. They are of two extreme types:

a)Moral Laxism:

In some situations moral principles appear so far removed from the moral issue at hand that they
cannot be applied with any precision , so that almost any action is permissible. This is called
“Moral laxism.” Thus it allows solutions to moral problems that may involve serious violations
of moral standards, standards in either the home or host country. Suppose, when a government
official in a country X Who has the ability to give government business wants to invite in a
birthday party where it is expected to bring large gifts, one buys a large gift as home countries’
standard are irrelevant here.

B)Moral rigorism:

Moral principles whether they are those of whom country or host country, must be strictly
applied in every situation . This extreme is known as moral rigorism. Moral rigorism is unwilling
to accept the fact that, although a given course of action is not ideal, it may be the most
reasonable thing to do in the situation.

These are the ways in which boundary crossing problems can be solved.

Criteria for identifying international human rights:

In the United Nations international bill of human rights, there are both positive rights and rights
which are simply not negative in non-interference from others. James Nickel has proposed three
criteria for determining it’s all right will be considered as an international rate. International rates
are the rates which every country should if the resources and conditions permit should grant its
citizens.
An international rate falls between the very abstract rights which are derived from respect for
persons theory and also more specific rights that are guaranteed by laws. According to the book,
“Engineering Ethics: Concept and Cases” Nickel’s three criteria are depicted below:

1) The right will protect something of very general importance

2) The right must be subject to substantial and recurrent threats
3) The obligations or burdens imposed by the right will be affordable in relation to the
resources of the country, the other mandatories the country must fulfill and the fairness in
the distribution of burdens among its citizens.

According to this criteria‘s, some are all the rights in the united nations this may not qualify as
genuine international rights. As for example, some countries which are poor may not have the
ability as such economic resources to support the right to minimum education. But this right is
desirable, as far as a country is able to provide them.
Though some rights in the united nations as decidedly western orientation they are being
increasingly excepted throughout the world. Moreover, it might be difficult for a western
engineer to participate in the fundamental violation of any right which are determined to be
genuinely international by James Nickel’s standard.

This is a brief discussion on the criteria for identifying International Human Rights.