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Recover better – stand up for human rights

December 10^th, 2020

Adelina, 47, lives in a remote and poor village in Albania. She and her family struggles to meet their basic needs, including accessing social and healthcare services.

“The last time I went for a medical check-up, I spent half the day travelling to the health centre,” she says.

Adelina suffers from a thyroid condition and high blood pressure, issues which she is sure has been made worse by lack of easily accessible health care. She worries that there are other undiagnosed health problems that will make her situation even worse.

“Imagine if one has a health emergency,” she says. “Living with this fear makes our daily lives even more difficult.”

Like Adelina, there are many others who are not able to fulfill their essential needs and enjoy fundamental human rights. For UNDP, it is important to ensure that no conquerable obstacle – and particularly the physical location of vulnerable communities – becomes a cause that deprives citizens of their fundamental rights.

Recover better – stand up for human rights

Hard lessons

One of the hardest lessons we have learned from the coronavirus pandemic is that COVID-19 is not an equal opportunity disease—quite the reverse. It has had a disproportionate impact on the the poorest and most marginalized, affecting almost every aspect of their lives. From education to healthcare to employment and, in the case of women and girls, physical safety, the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities. According to recent data from UNDP and UN Women, the pandemic will push 47 million more women and girls below the poverty line, reversing decades of progress to eradicate extreme poverty.

This year’s Human Rights Day is an important opportunity to recognize the struggles of families such as Adelina’s, and to ensure that in our efforts to tackle the virus we also strive to make a better world, built on more inclusive economies and societies, based on principles of human rights.

Laws protect lives

Emergencies such as COVID-19 may cause human rights to be neglected and create ideal conditions for the rule of law to break down. To avoid this, states must ensure that all emergency and urgent actions respond proportionately to immediate threats whilst protecting human rights under the rule of law. Strong oversight and accountability is vital for an inclusive and just recovery. This must involve not just the courts, police and government, the private sector should also be involved to foster human rights, accountability and inclusion.

In Bangladesh, courts are able to continue working thanks to UNDP technical support which enabled them to establish virtual courts and train staff in digitizing administration and case management. Moreover, as part of its commitment to supporting populations left behind, UNDP has also partnered with the National Human Rights Commission to ensure that the most neglected communities receive help during the COVID crisis. This important work is also being replicated around the world, with UNDP currently partnering with National Human Rights Institutions in over 40 countries.

Strong community governance in fragile and conflict settings

The impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities that manifest in cities and communities across the world, especially in fragile and conflict settings. Many, challenged by limited public services and fiscal restraints even before the pandemic, are further hampered because of quarantine restriction and economic downturn.

Rights-based approaches prevent and address state-society grievances that may increase fragility and the chance of conflict in countries, especially during COVID-19. For this reason, the rights-based approach to governance in COVID-19 response and recovery must permeate all levels of governance. This holds significant untapped potential to preventively address state-society grievances before they escalate and is at the very core of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus.

UNDP recognizes the vital role of local governments in promoting human rights and is committed to supporting their enormous potential to reduce inequalities and increase resilience. Folke Bernadotte Academy of Sweden and UNDP are stepping up efforts and forging a resilient transition out of the immediate aftermath of crisis fund.

Fighting misinformation

An informed society is critical to ensure both an effective response to the pandemic and a more equal and inclusive society. Many population groups do not receive of relevant information about the pandemic and remain unaware of risks, prevention measures and available state services for COVID-19.

This can promote the spread of misinformation and disinformation within population groups. At times, inflammatory and discriminatory narratives make it challenging to find trustworthy sources of reliable guidance, while dehumanizing language is increasing the risk of exclusion and violence towards marginalized and vulnerable groups.

UNDP is working to support the dissemination of accurate information, and reduce ‘information pollution’ to help recover from the pandemic, and foster public debate, accountability, and trust in governance. The Media Alternative Project in Cambodia rapidly mobilized media start-ups and youth influences to spread accurate information and promote messages of solidarity.

The importance of a legal identity

To be undocumented means not to able to access essential state services and as a result, to be denied many human rights. This situation becomes particularly problematic during times of crisis.

People need to be able to prove who they are to get health care, humanitarian assistance, financial aid and other social services. Being unidentified also causes the government cannot collect accurate data and support people that are in need.

To tackle this issue, in Malawi, UNDP together with other UN partners is building upon existing legal identity work to continue civil registration functions as essential services, develop and refine data protection and privacy laws, and expand civil registration and national identity coverage to create stronger linkages with health systems and health data in order to better track infection and mortality patterns.

Build a better world AND tackle the virus

The coronavirus is an opportunity to shape the world we wish to live in. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on human rights, remain the framework for global progress. The private sector also need to participate. How businesses respond to the crisis—especially those firms who receive state support—will shape public attitudes towards the private sector for years.

To help private sector support rights-based COVID-19 approaches, UNDP has designed Human Rights Due Diligence and COVID-19: RapidS elf-Assessment for Business tool. The tool allows businesses to easily consider and manage the human rights impacts of their operations simply.

The social and economic impacts of the virus will likely be deeply felt and to recover better from this pandemic, UNDP encourages everyone – especially the private sector – to support rights-based COVID-19 responses.