The rights of dead persons and the right to water in India on the occasion of COVID-19
by Nabil Iqbal and Mohd Altmash
Source: Gettyimages
Amid the spike of COVID-19 cases in India during the second wave of the pandemic, various Indian media (see f.e. The Hindu and Indian Express) reported the visuals of uncounted human dead bodies floating in the river in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These reports received worldwide coverage and the India’s government was criticized for failing to dispose of bodies respectfully. On 14 May 2021 the National Human Right Commission of India issued a notice to Central and State Governments advocating for the rights of the deceased and directed them to prepare a standard operating procedure for the proper burial of COVID-related deceased in order to maintain their dignity. More...
Stranded Australians take to the Human Rights Committee: Winning before losing?
By Kris van der Pas
Source: Pexels, photo by Catarina Sousa
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions have become a normality rather than exceptional. Due to these travel restrictions, many people have been unable to return home. A strict travel regime has been adhered to by Australia, as ‘flight caps’ have been introduced. Since the start of the pandemic, 500.000 Australians abroad have returned home. Nevertheless, over 34.000 people are still outside the country and unable to return. Several blogs have already addressed the problematic aspects when it comes to COVID-19 measures and human rights in general (see for example here and here), but a few Australians have now actually lodged a complaint about these Australian flight caps with the UN Human Rights Committee (hereafter: HRC). More...
The right to protest in the COVID-19 era: The case of Greece
By Evangelia Romanou
The outbreak of the pandemic has certainly turned our daily lives upside down and we have witnessed a great number of our freedoms and fundamental rights being limited or even banned. Among the rights that have had serious and, in some cases, unjustifiable restrictions, is the right to protest, which consists of the right to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression. This article aims to examine the proportionality of the measures adopted by the Greek Government for the protection of public health, associated to the right to protest. More...
'On the brink of a catastrophic moral failure' - not the time to abandon international law
by David Patterson
source: by focusonmore.com via ccsearch
In January 2021 the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, delivered a blunt message at the opening of the 148th session of the WHO Executive Board: ‘The world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure – and the price of this failure will be paid with the lives and livelihoods of the world’s poorest countries.’ Dr Tedros was referring to the rich countries’ decision to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine access for their own younger, healthier adults over health workers and older people in poorer countries. He further stated, ‘Vaccine equity is not just a moral imperative, it is a strategic and economic imperative.’ These points are well-taken – a world divided between the COVID-19 vaccine ‘haves and have-nots’ will likely be less safe and less economically secure and productive. More...
Interview with Nils Muižnieks
for
International Human Rights Day 2020
Part I
By Silan Celebi and Felisa Tibbitts
The current Regional Director for Europe of Amnesty International, Nils Muižnieks, joins Human Rights Here in an insightful interview for Human Rights Day. He has a message for human rights academics and workers everywhere: “keep learning, get out of your comfort zone, take care of your health – human rights is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Nils Muižnieks is a Latvian-American political scientist and human rights expert. He lives an inspired life with numerous milestones to share, from being elected as the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, to becoming the Regional Director of Amnesty International. Muižnieks has over twenty-five years of experience in various intergovernmental organizations, government and academia. For Nils, working for human rights is the most meaningful thing you can do in your professional life, “I always like myself best when I am doing human rights work, it is the best me.”
More...