What Is the Effect Of COVID-19 On Human Rights?
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was adopted by the United Nations General assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976 when it was approved by the United Kingdom. The rights contained in the Covenant apply to every person regardless of religion, race or nationality and cannot be taken away, they can however be violated. Although the rights are absolute, they can be restricted by law, if necessary. Some of the human rights that we have are being ignored especially during this pandemic, for example our freedom of movement and our freedom of association. But what does this mean for us and is this being recognised?
Freedom of movement is a Human rights concept and can be seen in Article 12 of the ICCPR. Article 12 of the ICCPR says that everyone that is lawfully in a country has a right of liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence, as well as freedom to leave a country, including his own. In the current crisis this is of course being restricted because citizens have been asked to stay at home and many countries have banned commercial travel to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.
Similarly, freedom of association (Article 22) is the right to form clubs and societies with other people and is the right to meet other individuals without the government interfering. This is restricted due to the virus because meeting people from different households has been limited. This means that many people have been cut off from their family and friends which has been a great hardship for some, especially the elderly and those who live alone.
Countries around the world have had no choice but to adopt extra ordinary measures like lockdowns, which try to slow the spread of the virus which has meant infringing the basic rights of the people. This pandemic is a crisis of many sorts and it has impacted people differently, the poorest in society have felt the impact more than the better off, who have access to better facilities even when they are confined to their homes. This underlines the economic and social inequalities that are apparent at the moment, as well as the lack of social protection for the vulnerable and, therefore shows the areas which need improving in our society, in order to help everyone. This maybe one of the few positives to come out of the crisis and a light will hopefully be shone on the problems of poverty and social inequality in our society. As the United Nations has stated that: ‘We have an obligation to ensure that everyone is protected and included in the response to this crisis.’
During a crisis, Human rights should not be forgotten. Responses that respect our human rights result in greater outcomes because they respect human dignity by putting the people first. Human rights help guide countries to use their powers effectively to protect the people. Of course, decisions now are being made with great speed in order to combat the disease and to protect the people; whatever good intentions states have made could inadvertently have consequences. But human rights can help to amend policies and measures to their full potential by minimising any negative consequences. The ICCPR recognises that during times of emergency there may need to be restrictions on certain rights, so limits can be justified to protect public health.
To protect lives and livelihoods limits must be placed on certain human rights to ensure that the disease does not continue to spread. The ICCPR is realistic and recognises that these situations require special measures for the greater good, even when they infringe Human rights. Despite the hardships of the restrictions, most people accept the need for limits on their rights.
Even though this is a violation we must remember that during these times we must be guided by the evidence available, by sticking to these restrictions following government instructions and complying with our governments, hopefully restrictions will be lifted sooner rather than later.