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OHCHR / COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES
STORY: OHCHR / COVID-19 EMERGENCY MEASURES
TRT: 03:35
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 27 APRIL 2020 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE
1. Aerial shot, exterior of Palais Wilson
27 APRIL 2020 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: SOUNDBITE (English): Michelle Bachelet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Governments are facing formidable challenges to protect people from COVID-19. I'm a physician and I've been minister of health, President of the Republic, I know that this kind of measures are needed. But the emergency powers some Governments have adopted should not be used as a weapon to quash dissent, control the population, and even perpetuate their time in power. Exceptional measures should be used to cope effectively with the pandemic. Nothing more, nothing less. Under human rights law, states are able to restrict some rights to protect public health. They also have broad powers if a state of emergency is declared. But the restrictions need to be necessary, proportionate to the need, non-discriminatory and time limited. Certain rights - including the right to life, the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, and the right not to be arbitrarily detained – can never be set aside under any circumstances. Police and security forces in some countries have used excessive -- and sometimes lethal -- force to make people abide the lockdowns and curfews. Shooting someone for breaking a curfew because they are desperately searching for food is clearly unacceptable and unlawful. So is making it difficult or dangerous for a woman to get to hospital to give birth. In some cases, people are dying because of the way the measures -- supposedly put in place to save them -- are being applied. So, to help States in their response to COVID-19, the UN Human Rights Office has issued new guidance on exceptional and emergency measures. Our guidance stresses that law enforcement officials should only use force when strictly necessary. Some countries have introduced measures and laws that refer to vaguely defined offences. Some are detaining people for breaching lockdowns, thereby adding to congestion in prisons. This risk making the pandemic worse. So, I am concerned that such measures and laws may also be used to muzzle the media and detain critics and opponents. It Is important to counter misinformation about COVID-19 as this poses a huge risk to people. But so, do bad policy decisions. Shutting down the free exchange of ideas and information undermines trust and may damage the effort to contain COVID-19 and its harmful socio-economic effects. We have seen many States adopt justifiable, reasonable and time-limited measures. We have seen many states adopt justifiable, reasonable and time limited measures. But there have been worrying cases where Governments appear to be using COVID-19 as a cover for human rights violations -- restricting fundamental freedoms and civic space and undermining the rule of law. Exceptional measures and states of emergency should be independently reviewed, and subject to proper and regular parliamentary, judicial and public oversight. It is clear States need additional powers to cope with this crisis. But the abiding principle must be that exceptional measures are enforced humanely. If the rule of law is not upheld, then the public health emergency risks becoming a human rights disaster. And the negative effects will long outlast the pandemic itself.”
FILE
3. Aerial shot, exterior of Palais Wilson
As Governments face the formidable challenge of protecting people from COVID-19, UN 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.
Certain rights, including the right to life, the prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment, and the right not to be arbitrarily detained continue to apply in all circumstances.
“The emergency powers some Governments have adopted should not be used as a weapon to quash dissent, control the population, and even perpetuate their time in power,” said Bachelet. “Exceptional measures should be used to cope effectively with the pandemic. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Under human rights law, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “states are able to restrict some rights to protect public health. They also have broad powers if a state of emergency is declared. But the restrictions need to be necessary, proportionate to the need, non-discriminatory and time limited.”
To help States in their response to coronavirus pandemic, the UN Human Rights Office has issued new guidance on exceptional and emergency measures stressing that, as in normal times, law enforcement officials should adhere to the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and precaution.
Bachelet said “some countries have introduced measures and laws that refer to vaguely defined offences. Some are detaining people for breaching lockdowns, thereby adding to congestion in prisons. This risk making the pandemic worse.”
She is also “concerned that such measures and laws may also be used to muzzle the media and detain critics and opponents.”
Measures and laws introduced in some countries contain references to vaguely defined offences, coupled at times with harsh sentences, fueling concerns they may be utilized to muzzle the media and detain critics and opponents. Although measures to restrict movement and assembly are legitimate in such circumstances, public confidence and scrutiny are essential for them to be effective.
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.
“It is clear States need additional powers to cope with this crisis, said Bachelet. But the abiding principle must be that exceptional measures are enforced humanely. If the rule of law is not upheld, then the public health emergency risks becoming a human rights disaster. And the negative effects will long outlast the pandemic itself.”
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