The Global health crisis that humanity has been facing due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic can also be referred to as an event of global social instability and even as a human rights crisis. The world has faced countless tragedies throughout history, such as wars, terrorism, natural disasters, highly dangerous diseases, and numerous others. Humans are now in a constant fight against the first Pandemic of the century, which is currently its most powerful enemy. Combating the COVID-19 virus has become the main agenda of domestic and international governing bodies and its consequences can be seen worldwide. From the wealthiest to the poorest of nations. Throughout this article, I will discuss the effects of the pandemic in different sects of society and why it can be defined as a human rights crisis.
Human Rights and The Healthcare Crisis
The idea of human dignity is one of the most important concepts to be understood while analyzing the world’s current situation. Human rights are defined as the basic rights that every human being is entitled to, due to their human dignity. The United Nations agreed on this in a declaration in 1948 which highlighted the basic rights that should be respected, promoted, and protected by every authority in the world. Since then, international organizations have been fighting to guarantee the effectiveness of human rights policies at a global, as well as on a national level. Although debates on the importance of human rights have been increasing, especially in the last year, there is still a problematic number of human rights violations all over the world, and not all of them have the chance to become public. Rights can be violated when one’s human dignity is put at risk. All human rights are considered essential, therefore the absence of any of them in someone’s life can lead to chaotic consequences. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to highlight the right to health care. Article 25 of the Human Rights Declaration states that:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations.)
Therefore, states are obligated to guarantee that all citizens are able to live in proper conditions and have access to a medical care system, which means that a country should have the structure for everyone living inside its borders to enjoy proper health protection. In the circumstances of a global health crisis, countries have struggled to deliver the expected conditions to their citizens. Since the demand for equipment such as ventilators, oxygens, diagnostic tests, and others was much greater than normal, even healthy countries faced a difficult reality where their medical care systems were pressured and in danger of collapse. Since the focus on the pandemic is urgent, some other treatments for other diseases would be taken out of priority, which affects the ones living with chronic health problems, resulting in a more problematic situation. When this happens, the population is being deprived of enjoying one of its basic rights, and it is consequently putting them into a position of constant fear and chaos.
Different Political Approaches to The Global Crisis and Their Consequences
COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, André Coelho, 2020.
Since political and economic models can vary between countries, it is important to keep a sharp eye on the structures that existed before the coronavirus outbreak and how they were affected. Taking three countries into account: Cuba, The United States of America, and Brazil, for a further understanding of this, it is already possible to see moments where political systems diverge in their medical care applications. Cuba claims to have its health system focused on guaranteeing the protection of human dignity while providing to all its citizens the right to quality free medical assistance throughout all their lives. The island has been able to hospitalize all the patients with confirmation of COVID-19 within its borders, reduced the number of deaths, and still was offering international solidarity for places where the virus outbreak left strong damage, as in Italy at the beginning of the pandemic. It was reported by its government that in Cuba there were only 11 deaths from COVID-19 out of every million inhabitants. However, the lockdowns and international travel ban led to a new economic crisis in the country, which has its economy mostly based on tourism. The USA, for instance, had in 2020 the deadliest year in its history. Although it is the wealthiest nation on earth, the government’s management of the crisis was not as great, and the country suffered from an extremely high number of death cases. In Brazil, the situation was even more tense. The country had a relatively fast increase of cases since the first case appeared, and currently, it has around 500,000 contaminations that have resulted in death. Throughout the health crisis, the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, has dangerously downplayed and even promoted conspiracies against the public calamity, stimulating his supporters to disrespect social distancing policies, and oppose the public lockdowns. The President has also been insisting on the usage of hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure to protect from the virus. In reality, hydroxychloroquine has been advised not to be used under these circumstances and can actually increase the chances of negative effects on someone if used to combat or prevent COVID-19. The public calamity has called the world’s attention to the country. Understanding the differences between these three countries, it is clear that in the end, the COVID-19 crisis can leave significant damage in any state, regardless of its wealth, however, the management of the crisis is a decisive factor for the fate of human lives.
Social Inequality and Poverty: Understanding the Situation of The Most Socially Vulnerable
As in any other political or economic crisis, social minorities tend to be on the frontline of the damages. It is no different in a global health crisis. The pandemic has shown how limited several governments’ actions are regarding the protection of their people. Poverty, hunger, and extreme social inequality are still problems that determine the lives of millions around the globe, and the people living under such conditions are constantly endangered. Once there is a pandemic, that leads to political instability, which leads to an economic crisis, which deprives people of working, consuming basic goods, and other several essential aspects of daily life that people in situations of social vulnerability are at an even higher risk of being exposed to. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his public speech about the pandemic that:
“People and their rights must be front and center of response and recovery. We need universal, rights-based frameworks like health coverage for all, to beat this pandemic and to protect us for the future”
Once a group of people is living under inhuman conditions due to the consequences of structural social problems escalated by the pandemic, it can be comprehended that the Pandemic is not only a health crisis but also a human rights crisis. Regarding the individual fight against the pandemic, minorities are also disadvantaged and sometimes even openly endangered. In some industrial developing countries, several communities suffer from not having access to basic sanitation services. In Brazil, for instance, in some favelas, urban marginalized communities usually characterized by poverty and violence issues, most of the people barely have access to clean water every day, making basic measures, like washing hands, very challenging. At the beginning of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak a study led by USP, one of the country’s leading academic organizations, showed that racial disparities also influence the pandemic, when black and mixed people were more likely to die, while white people were more likely to survive, usually due to better financial conditions. Moreover, it is also important to reflect on the carceral conditions. The World Health Organization has shown prisons as a likely spot for a faster spread of the virus, and in several countries, the prisoners’ conditions are usually not good enough to protect them from the spread of the virus between themselves. Despite the crimes committed, prisoners are still human beings and should have their right to life protected. By not implementing special policies to deal with the carceral systems’ cases, we disregard the human dignity of all the people involved in these prisons.
The Impact of The Pandemic on The Right to Education
The right to education is also considered an essential right. Once schools were closed due to social distancing measures, several students did not have the chance to continue their studies. The reality of pursuing technological equipment for online education is far away from the reality of students coming from poor communities all around the world. Once these students had their academic experiences interrupted by the pandemic, they were deprived of their basic right to education. The situations get even worse when comprehending that for some students in public schools, the food provided by the institutions are most of the meals that they have throughout the week, and these young people are usually coming from households where their parents cannot afford to feed them at least three meals a day every day. In light of this issue, some Brazilian states decided to provide food for students in public schools, even though classes were not being held. This situation provides evidence of the interconnectedness between all the social problems previously mentioned throughout this essay as a result of the pandemic.
The Economic Impact of The Pandemic on Society
Because of the several limitations that society faces during the pandemic, it is extremely hard to keep the economy stable. With the enforcement of the social distancing measures, small businesses tend to break down, and bigger businesses that require people’s direct participation, like airline companies, restaurants, hotels, and others tend to lose profit, and consequently enter an indefinite crisis. As businesses get into the financial crisis, the unemployment rate tends to grow, which slows down economic growth and leads countries to a state of recession. An economic recession can put a nation in a difficult situation, and due to economic liberal models, human rights are most likely to be affected, which means that in the economic perspective, a human rights crisis can also be associated with pandemic consequences. For the president of the European committee of social rights, Giuseppe Palmisano, the chaos amidst the pandemic can remind us to respect human rights, even in such difficult circumstances: “The COVID-19 crisis is a brutal reminder of the importance of ensuring lasting progress with respect to social rights enjoyment, particularly through the development of universal public health services”, he said.
Final Considerations
All things considered, it is reasonable to state that the COVID-19 pandemic can be referred to as a human rights crisis, beyond a global health crisis, because of the evident interconnectedness of the health crisis with violations of human rights throughout the world. Understanding how all the general aspects and problems analyzed through this article can result in a human rights crisis, it is necessary to highlight the importance of combating the virus together with its negative effects on human rights worldwide. Every human should be aware of their human dignity, to promote the fight for a better world, even during a pandemic.
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