Covid-19: UN human rights commissioner says human rights should not be violated under guise of emergency measures
The United Nations' Human Rights Office has issued new policy guidance on emergency measures to ensure that they are as unintrusive as possible.
As governments face the formidable challenge of protecting people from Covid-19, United Nations high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet has called on them to ensure human rights are not violated under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures.
In a statement released on 27 April, Bachelet said, “Emergency powers should not be a weapon governments can wield to quash dissent, control the population, and even perpetuate their time in power…They should be used to cope effectively with the pandemic, nothing more, nothing less.
“There have been numerous reports from different regions that police and other security forces have been using excessive, and at times lethal, force to make people abide by lockdowns and curfews. Such violations have often been committed against people belonging to the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population.”
There have been numerous reports in South Africa of residents who have been met with force for apparently violating lockdown regulations. A statement released by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said, “The continuing reports of alleged abuse of power and heavy-handedness by law enforcement officers is a concern of the committee.”
Bachelet added, “Shooting, detaining, or abusing someone for breaking a curfew because they are desperately searching for food is clearly an unacceptable and unlawful response. So is making it difficult or dangerous for a woman to get to the hospital to give birth. In some cases, people are dying because of the inappropriate application of measures that have been supposedly put in place to save them.”
She added that in some countries thousands have been detained for curfew violations, a practice which is unnecessary and unsafe as jails and prisons are high-risk environments.
To help states in their response to Covid-19, the UN Human Rights Office on Monday issued new policy guidance on emergency and exceptional measures. The guidance sets out clearly that the measures should not only be necessary to achieve a legitimate public health objective but that they should also be the ‘least intrusive’ approach required to achieve that result.
To read the document visit https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Events/EmergencyMeasures_COVID19.pdf
Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
