Covid-19 pandemic has fed a frightening rise in inequalities

Potter and his work. Yann. Creative Commons.

Geneva, 14 Dec (Kanaga Raja) –  The Covid-19 pandemic has fed “a frightening rise in inequalities, leading to disproportionate transmission and death rates in the most marginalized communities, as well as contributing to soaring poverty levels, increased hunger, and plummeting living standards.”

This is one of the main messages highlighted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Michelle Bachelet, in a statement marking Human Rights Day on 10 December.

In her statement, the High Commissioner pointed out that the past two years have demonstrated, all too painfully, the intolerable cost of soaring inequalities.

“Inequalities that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly 73 years ago on 10 December 1948, sought to eradicate in its effort to pave a path to a better world,” she said.

The High Commissioner noted that the decades since then saw some very significant progress – gradual, uneven progress, with frequent set-backs, but definite progress nonetheless.

“The world as a whole grew richer, and people lived longer. More children went to school, and more women were able to gain a greater measure of autonomy. More people in more countries had more opportunities to break the shackles of poverty, class, caste and gender,” she said.

However, over the past twenty years, since 2001, a succession of global shocks have undermined that progress, and “the onset of this devastating pandemic in 2020 has laid bare many of our failures to consolidate the advances we had made.”

“Inequalities have fuelled the pandemic, and continue to do so. In turn, the pandemic has fed a frightening rise in inequalities, leading to disproportionate transmission and death rates in the most marginalized communities, as well as contributing to soaring poverty levels, increased hunger, and plummeting living standards,” said Ms Bachelet.

“These, in turn, risk fuelling grievances, social unrest and even full-blown conflict,” she added.

The rights chief said that women, low-income and informal workers, younger and older people, and those with disabilities, as well as members of ethnic, racial and religious minorities and indigenous peoples are among those hit hardest, creating even greater age, gender and racial inequalities.

Inequalities have widened both within and between countries, with most developed economies forecast to grow in 2022, while the lowest-income countries are projected to endure continued recession, pushing their people even further behind, Ms Bachelet underlined.

“This divergence has been aggravated by shockingly unequal vaccine coverage – by 1 December, barely 8% of adults had received one dose of vaccine in low-income families, compared to 65% in high-income countries – and by shortfalls in social protections, which in the developed world kept many people afloat during the worst months of the crisis.”

The rights chief pointed out that in Europe, for example, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at least 54 million jobs were supported between March and October 2020, keeping people and companies from going under, and that such assistance was less available in other regions.

The High Commissioner also said the environmental crisis is further exacerbating discrimination, marginalization, and inequity.

She noted that a total of 389 climate-related disasters were recorded in 2020 – resulting in the deaths of more than 15,000 people, affecting 98 million others, and inflicting $171 billion in economic damage.

Ms Bachelet pointed out that climate-related migration is also on the rise.

She said that actions to address these crises are not sufficient to avert these devastating human rights consequences, with affected communities often shut out of environmental decision-making processes where their input is essential.

The High Commissioner also drew attention to the growing debt crisis, which she said is weighing heavily on many countries.

“Globally, over half of least-developed and low-income countries are now in, or at high risk of, debt distress,” she said.

In East and Southern Africa, debt-servicing costs grew, on average, from 60 percent of GDP in 2018 to nearly 70 percent of GDP in 2021, due in part to sharply shrinking economic activity and falling commodities prices.

The High Commissioner said the need to repay loans has already led to fiscal austerity measures that will limit the fiscal space for key investments in rights and sustainable recovery.

“Austerity budgets often target health, education, infrastructure investment, and poverty reduction efforts. They disproportionally impact people in vulnerable situations – increasing inequalities that were already stark”.

Ms Bachelet said that this is a critical period in world affairs. “Humanity is reeling from the setbacks sparked by COVID-19, and struggling to make the radical changes necessary to prevent further environmental disaster.”

“Yet the measures needed to prevent catastrophic climate change are well-known. And, even in resource-poor environments, we have the knowledge and means to establish universal social protection measures and take the necessary actions to end discrimination, advance the rule of law and uphold human rights,” she added.

The High Commissioner recalled the Common Agenda set out by the UN Secretary-General in September 2021 that calls for renewed solidarity between peoples and future generations; a new social contract anchored in human rights; better management of critical issues involving peace, development, health and our planet; and a revitalised multilateralism that can meet the challenges of our times.

“This is an agenda of action – and an agenda of rights,” said Ms Bachelet.

“It means moving from the temporary pandemic measures to shore up health care and income protection to long- term investments in universal social protections – including universal health coverage – as well as decent housing, decent work, and access to quality education. It also means investment to bridge the digital divide,” she added.

“It means decisive action to uphold climate justice and the universal human right to a healthy environment. It means empowering people everywhere to speak up freely, and protecting civic space so that individuals can meaningfully participate in decisions that may have a dramatic impact on their lives,” the High Commissioner further said.

“Equality is at the heart of human rights, and at the heart of the solutions required to carry us through this period of global crisis. That doesn’t mean we must all look the same, think the same or act the same. Quite the opposite,” she said.

“It means that we embrace our diversity and demand that we are all treated without any kind of discrimination.”

The High Commissioner pointed out that “equality is about empathy and solidarity and about understanding that, as a common humanity, our only way forward is to work together for the common good.”

She noted that this was well understood during the years of rebuilding after World War II – the years that saw the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent elaboration of the all-embracing system of international human rights law.

“However, our failure to build back better after the financial crisis a decade ago, coupled with the social and economic turmoil caused by COVID-19 and the rapidly accelerating impacts of climate change, suggests we have forgotten the clear and proven remedies rooted in human rights and the importance of tackling inequalities,” said the rights chief.

“Remedies we must bring back to the forefront if we want to maintain progress – not just for those who suffer from the gross inequalities that blight our planet, but for the sake of all of us.” On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the High Commissioner invited everyone to join efforts to enhance equality for everyone everywhere, “so that we can recover better, fairer and greener from this crisis, and rebuild societies that are more resilient and sustainable.”

CALL FOR INCLUSION AND EQUALITY

Meanwhile, in a separate statement also marking Human Rights Day, Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups that comprise the “Special Procedures”of the United Nations Human Rights Council, underscored the continued centrality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the international human rights protection system.

In their statement, the UN experts said the Universal Declaration was adopted in 1948 among the rubble created by conflict and atrocity as a way to signal consensus on a series of fundamental principles to face existential threats for humankind.

“Today, we reaffirm its call to be a foundation for a system that continues to signal pathways for building a present and a future of enjoyment of rights, built on the rubble and ruin created by the COVID-19 pandemic; by poverty, exclusion, inequality and violence; the continuation and resurgence of conflict; the depletion of the planet’s natural resources; and the reality of climate change.”

They said that the Universal Declaration is a concrete testimony of a conviction to the value of upholding human dignity everywhere, every time and for all, multilateralism and solidarity.

The UN experts said that the Covid-19 pandemic has provided a renewed example of the interconnectedness of problems that manifest themselves on a global scale and impact every human being on earth.

“Collectively, we issued advice that also was formulated within the understanding that the pandemic exacerbated exclusion and inequality – pushing most human beings further back and multiplying the risks that they will effectively be left behind.”

“The pandemic has called for the questioning of the meaning of fairness in the international order,” said the UN experts.

“It also questioned the consequences of the growing wealth gap within and between countries, the access to health (including the urgent theme of asymmetries in the access to vaccines) and the overarching concerns of poverty.”

“The challenges to equality, in our view, are directly connected to the erosion of democratic spaces, extremism, the active shrinking of civil society spaces, disinformation and impunity,” said the UN experts.

According to their statement, “universal human rights principles must prevail over the spread of fake news and misinformation, prejudice, discrimination, inequality and violence.”

“Governments often fail to address human rights concerns that lie at the base of conflict and war, and that hinder sustainable development,” said the statement.

The UN experts said, collectively “we have provided evidence that, to be effective, responses to global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic or climate change require that people’s participation and trust, the contributions of human rights defenders and civil society, and the emerging technologies must all be put at the service of the task of mitigating, adapting and transforming the devastating effects of these challenges.”

They noted that governments often respond to crises by restricting fundamental freedoms, limiting transparency in decision making and actively shrinking civil society spaces – measures that only compound the crisis.

The UN experts said recent crises have underlined the urgent need to focus on the principles of non-discrimination, participation, empowerment and accountability, and particular attention should be paid to people in vulnerable situations.

Pointing out that 2021 has been a year of continued challenge, the UN experts said they are committed “to continue putting human rights at the center of our responses to challenges and pursue our efforts to make human rights a reality for all, wherever they live.”

Paying tribute to all those fighting for and defending their rights and freedoms around the globe, the UN experts said, as “we commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we renew our belief in multilateralism, cooperation, and solidarity.”

The UN experts renewed their call to governments, communities, businesses, individuals and all stakeholders to uphold the universal, indivisible and interdependent human rights of all.

In a video message marking Human Rights Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the world is at a crossroads, with “the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the expansion of digital technology into all areas of our lives” creating new threats to human rights.

“Exclusion and discrimination are rampant. Public space is shrinking. Poverty and hunger are rising for the first time in decades. Millions of children are missing out on their right to education. Inequality is deepening. But we can choose a different path,” he said.

Pointing out that seventy-three years ago today, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN chief said the principles set out in this simple Declaration remain the key to realizing all human rights – civil, economic, cultural, social, and political – for all people, everywhere.

“Recovery from the pandemic must be an opportunity to expand human rights and freedoms, and to rebuild trust.”

“Trust in the justice and impartiality of laws and institutions. Confidence that a life of dignity is within reach. Faith that people can get a fair hearing and resolve their grievances peacefully,” he said.

“The United Nations stands for the rights of every member of our human family,” said Mr Guterres, adding that today and every day, “we will continue to work for justice, equality, dignity and human rights for all.”

- Third World Network