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.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
1
1
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
Interactive dialogue on oral presentation of the High Commissioner on Ukraine and interim report of the Secretary-General on human rights on Crimea
1
1
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
Interactive dialogue with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
1
Statements , Conferences | HRC
Presentation of the oral update of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
2
1
2
Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza