International Federation
for Human Rights

Governments across the world have taken exceptional measures in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Human rights organisations have expressed concerns over the nature, scope and duration of the adopted measures and their effects on human rights and democracy. While government action was justified in order to protect the right to health for all, concerns have also risen from the possible adoption of long-term measures likely to extend and deepen limitations of human rights.

Decreased attention over situations unrelated to covid-19 has also been a cause for worry, as it has allowed governments to illegally increase their prerogatives, retain power, control their population and attack fundamental rights and individual freedoms. The crisis has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable populations and exacerbated the government’s failure to protect them.

It is more important than ever to support human rights organisations to address these issues and feed a robust chain of defence of human rights against authoritarianism.