Edited News , Statements | UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
Coronavirus: UN rights chief warns against stigmatization of ethnic groups
Discrimination against those affected by coronavirus/COVID-19 must be tackled head on by Governments everywhere, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday, in an appeal for “transparency and information” to help combat the epidemic.
Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ms. Bachelet explained that the epidemic “has set off a disturbing wave of prejudice against people of Chinese and East Asian ethnicity”.
Amid reports of xenophobic abuse aimed at Asian people in Europe and elsewhere, she added: “I call on Member States to do their utmost to combat this and other forms of discrimination.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 81,000 cases of infection have now been registered, for the most part in China, where the illness emerged late last year.
Ahead of the High Commissioner’s speech, Swiss health authorities earlier confirmed that the first case of coronavirus infection had been detected in Geneva – just the latest city to be affected by the outbreak’s rapid spread across the globe.
On Wednesday, Brazilian authorities also confirmed Latin America’s first case of COVID-19, as data indicated that for the first time, the number of new cases outside China has surpassed those identified inside it.
The UN agency’s latest data from Wednesday 26 February showed that more than 2,700 people had died from the virus in China, with 44 deaths in another 37 countries.
In common with other epidemics, health workers are deemed to be particularly vulnerable to infection from COVID-19, whose symptoms include breathing difficulties and fever, the High Commissioner intimated.
“I extend my deepest respect to the medical teams around the world who are tackling the coronavirus, COVID-19, which constitutes a serious threat to the rights to life and to health of people everywhere,” she said.
Likening the outbreak to “a test of our societies’ resilience”, Ms. Bachelet insisted that human rights norms provided “crucial guideposts” that could improve the effectiveness of the response.
“To effectively combat the virus, all public health measures should be carried out without discrimination of any kind, with an emphasis on transparency and information to empower people to participate in protecting health,” she said.
“Quarantines, which restrict the right to freedom of movement, should be proportionate to the risk, time-bound, and safe. The rights of those under quarantine must be protected, including rights to food and clean water, the right to be treated humanely, access to healthcare, the right to be informed, and freedom of expression. Our field presences will support all stakeholders to uphold the rights of all affected people.”
According to the WHO, the disease is most dangerous for elderly people and those suffering from existing chronic conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.
“People living in collective institutions, including many older people and people deprived of their liberty, are likely to be more vulnerable to this infection,” Ms. Bachelet said.
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Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
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Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
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Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017.
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Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR
Afghanistan: Humanitarians scramble to reach survivors of deadly quake; response at ‘breaking point’
In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are racing to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, repeated his urgent call for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, amid increased military Israeli activity in the enclave’s largest city.
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Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Amid reports of increased Israeli military operations across Gaza City on Friday, UN aid agencies repeated urgent warnings of ongoing famine and a likely rise in preventable disease, linked to the dire living conditions in the war-shattered enclave.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN calls for Iran to halt executions and move towards ending the death penalty.
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Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following comment on the killing of journalists in Gaza at the bi-weekly press briefing.
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Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called on Egyptian authorities to end the practice known as “rotation”, which allows Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on deadly attacks by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan
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Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNITED NATIONS , WFP , WHO
Gaza: Famine “irrefutably” confirmed, UN humanitarians unite in plea for aid access
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza Governorate by the world’s top authority on food security and will spread further within the Strip unless fighting stops and much more aid is allowed in, UN humanitarians said on Friday.