By Maeve Breathnach
As the death toll continues to rise, the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly marks one of the most troubling health crises in world history. The disastrous consequences, however, also extend into the realm of human rights. Since the beginnings of the global outbreak, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has made clear that human rights need to be considered in states’ virus responses. Reaffirming the need for specific human rights protection in a video address last week, he highlighted that existing inequalities undercut the delivery of public services and that certain human rights pushback is setting a repressive precedent that may endure after the pandemic.
In times of emergency, however, it is not uncommon for states to suspend specific rights and privileges. With the need for lockdowns and social restrictions, a certain level of human rights suspension is necessary to slow the spread of the virus. Surveys in the U.S. show that the majority of Americans are in favor of the restrictions on social interaction despite the infringement on mobility. At face-value, this human rights concern can seem overly idealistic and ignorant of these considerations. But the U.N. is justified in showing concern. Many governments and groups are using this time of mass confusion and deferral to authority to tighten control and advance their agendas at the expense of other rights.
For one, many governments across the globe have been misusing emergency powers in the name of protecting the public from the virus. The Bolivian government is a perfect example. In part of the decree extending the national quarantine, a section noting that those who misinform or cause public uncertainty shall face criminal charges for damaging public health, which has been used in more than one instance to threaten political rivals with prison time for speaking out. In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev has claimed the pandemic is a weapon with which his political opposition is attempting to destroy the nation. Calls to isolate these opponents have led to the arrest of one of the nation’s most prominent opposition activists. The governments of Moldova and Montenegro released personal health data of COVID-19 patients which includes names and home addresses. There are also multiple cases of journalists being arrested or detained in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Ethopoeia, Turkey, and Venezuela for covering and critiquing the handling of COVID-19 in those respective states. In Egypt, a reporter for The Guardian was expelled for questioning the accuracy of the government’s statistics.
Governments are not alone in threatening human rights. Discrimination from the general public has intensified greatly due racialized misinformation about COVID-19. For example, in India, the Muslim minority faces Islamaphobic attacks on the grounds they purposefully are spreading the disease. Hashtags like #CoronaJihad and false stories of Indian Muslims spitting on other Indians have been circulating online since late March. The spread of these ignorant allegations have resulted in numerous violent acts including beatings, near-lynchings, and attacks in mosques. Videos telling Muslims not to wash their hands or wear masks appear to have emerged and appear to want Muslims to catch the virus. The United States has seen a virus-related uptick in hate crimes, specifically toward Asian-Americans. From attacks ranging from racial comments to a stabbing of a family at a Texas Sam’s Club, Asian-Americans face threats from misinformed attackers blaming them for the emergence of COVID-19. The American government has played a role in inspiring these attacks, with President Trump repeatedly referring to the disease as the “China virus.” The lack of a similar response like the ones federal agencies issued after SARS and 9/11 related hate crimes has also allowed these attacks to foster. Many Asian-Americans have resorted to wearing body cameras because of the violence and mistreatment.
With the myriad of human rights concerns and the overwhelming strain on resources caused by the virus, states may have a hard time determining the best course of action. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has requested that states take people-centered measures that consider the specific needs of women, members of the LGBT+ community, those fleeing war or persecution, and those who rely on the assistance of others to operate. Marginalized communities require different attention since their protection is already threatened in normal circumstances. The consequences of the virus are much graver than those of the general public. Regarding more direct suggestions, a few examples include consulting with indigenous communities about COVID-19 health measures, barring emergency powers from silencing journalists or human rights defenders, and providing medical professionals a platform to speak with the public.
As the Secretary-General’s message says, human rights do need to be a top priority. The consequences of ignoring concerns now will make them harder to recover in the post-pandemic world. Organizations like Amnesty International are continuing to monitor and document the protection of human rights across the world. Individuals can take action too. Besides washing hands and continuing to social distance, people can call attention to abuses of power and prevent the spread of disinformation.