On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that the coronavirus pandemic could give certain countries an excuse to take oppressive action for reasons unrelated to the pandemic, as he cautioned that the virus risks transforming into a crisis of human rights.
Guterres released a United Nations Report emphasizing how human rights can guide the global response and recovery to global health, social and economic crises. While the virus does not discriminate, he said, its impacts do.
Guterres said in a statement:
We see the disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response,
Against the background of rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a pushback against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic,
This is unacceptable.
The U.N. Study claimed that migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people are particularly vulnerable. It said that more than 131 countries had closed their doors, with just 30 granting asylum-seeker exemptions.
Guterres called for countries to be open, sensitive, and responsible and stressed that civic space and freedom of the press were “important.”
Guterres also said:
“The best response is one that responds proportionately to immediate threats while protecting human rights and the rule of law.”
The report also mentioned that the pandemic was producing increased suffering that would “if not mitigated, will raise tension and could provoke civil unrest,” adding that this could, therefore, provoke a heavy-handed security response.
The Panthera Post 