The Critical Role of Human Rights in the Path of Recovery from COVID-19 | truCSR

Written by: Samreen Saify

Compiled and Edited by: Rebecca Shibu

2020 brought with it a crisis of a degree that the world hasn’t been through in a long time. It brought with it the breaking down of the health infrastructure followed by several underlying difficulties. Coping mechanisms introduced and still underway, we delve into the aspect of human rights and how it has been affected given the COVID-19 Pandemic. Its alignment with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and reimagination of a post-COVID world that is built on the foundation of acceptance, regard and space for all people. As we transition to the recovery phase along, economic, social, cultural and ecological realignments in the approach would become a positive nudge in the direction of social change. Human rights along with the objectives under SDGs when coherently implemented keep the capacity for a stronger path to recovery.

Evolution of Human Rights and its Governance

After the atrocities and destruction caused by world war II, several measures were undertaken to ensure that such events do not occur ever again. One such measure was the establishment of the United Nations. Founded in 1945, the United Nations sought to prevent future atrocities by affirming in its foundational charter, faith in fundamental Human Rights. In the years that followed, member states strived to develop Human rights provisions in a charter. Then finally, on 10th December 1948, the General assembly of the United Nations adopted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all over the world, it proclaims that fundamental human rights should be universally protected. The document lays out a broad range of fundamental rights- civil, political, economic, social and cultural- and freedoms to which all of us are entitled. The declaration has generated actions for Human Rights protections in myriad ways. The declaration has inspired almost all national and regional Human Rights Protection Systems, including legislation and institutions.  Moreover, every year on 10th December, Human Rights Day is observed to commemorate the day on which the UNGC adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Source: UDHR

The theme for 2020 is “Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights”. This year’s theme sheds light on the COVID-19 pandemic and furthers the need to build back better by establishing that Human Rights are and should be central to recovery efforts. There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has both exposed and exacerbated the loopholes in various structures, institutions and mechanisms. The theme stresses the importance of adopting human rights standards to tackle deeply entrenched, systematic, and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.

Source: United Nations

Significance of Human Rights over the years

Human rights are universal and interdependent. They are also indivisible; in the sense that no state can pick and choose which rights it will uphold as it undermines the entire structure of it. Though the UDHR is not binding, every nation-state has an obligation to protect, safeguard, and promote human rights. It doesn't only contribute to individuals and communities' well-being but also lays the groundwork for economic and social progress. There is a growing conviction, among both national and international entities, that the implementation of human rights principles will strengthen social harmony and cohesion, advance the process of development and promote the accountability and legitimacy of governments.

With this view in mind, the government of India too adopted specific measures to strengthen the rule of law and to ensure socio-political, economic justice.  India, being a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has guaranteed a number of civil and political rights to its citizens in Part III of the Indian Constitution. Similarly, in part IV of the Indian Constitution, certain economic, social, and cultural rights have been incorporated. The majority of these rights are similar and relate significantly to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 1993, a statutory public body known as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was also instituted for the promotion and protection of human rights. The organization works on rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of an individual, guaranteed by the Constitution and enforceable by courts in India. It also has specific legislation in place such as the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006, to expand the range of human rights protection for individuals.

Source: Jagran Josh

Human Rights from the Lens of COVID-19

The scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic clearly rise to the level of a public health threat that could easily encroach upon certain rights. It indeed is a test for societies, governments, communities, and individuals. The virus does not discriminate, but its impacts surely do — exposing profound weaknesses in the delivery of public services and structural inequalities that impede access to them. It disproportionately affects communities and pushes certain social groups on the brink of marginalization. Therefore, respect for human rights across the spectrum, including economic, social, cultural, and civil and political rights, is fundamental to the success of the public health response and recovery from the pandemic. To help ensure this, WHO released COVID-19 guidelines to help countries mitigate the effects of measures designed to thwart the spread of the virus. 

Furthermore, this year’s theme on Human Rights Day reinforces the importance of putting human rights at the center of recovery efforts. There is no doubt that the crisis has further been inflamed by deepening poverty, rising inequalities, structural and entrenched discrimination, and other gaps in human rights protection. Therefore, adequate measures to close these gaps and advance human rights should be adopted to help build back a better, more resilient, just, and sustainable world. To recover from the crisis:

• We need to address the inequalities. For that, we need to promote and protect economic, social, and cultural rights;
• Encourage participation and solidarity, from individuals to governments, from civil society and grass-roots communities to the private sector. Everyone has a role in building a post-COVID world that is better for present and future generations. We need to ensure the voices of the most affected and vulnerable inform the recovery efforts, and
• We need to promote sustainable development as human Rights are driven by progress on all SDGs, and the SDGs are driven by advancements in human rights. 

By incorporating human rights frameworks in the recovery processes and adopting policies that reflect and encourage the post-pandemic need, we can ensure a smooth transition from COVID to the post-COVID world.  Only coordinated actions- combined with global, multi-stakeholder cooperation – at exceptional scale and speed can potentially mitigate the risk and impact of this unprecedented crisis.

The main objective behind observing international days is to educate the public on issues of concern and mobilize political will and resources to address global problems. The observance of Human Rights Day is a much-needed nudge that steers us to analyze and gauge the journey that our nation has undertaken so far on the path laid out by the Constitution. There is a growing acknowledgment of the need to encourage and guard human rights. To realize the ideals of a just and equitable society, empowerment and participation of the marginalized and most vulnerable groups in all spheres of lives are of paramount importance. The essence of human rights has to be maintained through continuous adherence.

- Team truCSR

truCSR is a social engagement platform run by a group of professionals with a passion for social development with a cumulative experience of more than 100 years in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (#CSR), finance, taxation, corporate and allied laws, corporate governance and strategic management. The platform seamlessly connects Implementers and Contributors to amplify the #CSRimpact and accelerate the process of social change with digital solutions. This platform is owned and developed by a company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

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