The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
COVID-19: countries, businesses must protect people as virus spreads, urges UN rights chief
As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread globally, the UN’s top human rights official appealed on Friday to countries and businesses to put rights “front and centre” to protect their most vulnerable citizens.
Meanwhile, as record temperatures continued in the northern hemisphere, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicated that it was still too early to say whether the global epidemic might lead to a drop in greenhouse gas emissions.
“The High Commissioner (for Human Rights) says, ‘People who are already barely surviving economically may all too easily be pushed over the edge by measures being adopted to contain the virus,” said Liz Throssell, spokesperson from the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR).
According to World Health Organization data on Thursday, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 neared 100,000 worldwide, with some 3,300 deaths and more than 80 countries now affected.
Since the virus emerged in central China in December, WHO has urged countries repeatedly to adopt infection containment measures without delay, as these will give health services more time to prepare for a worst-case scenario. “This is not a drill…This is a time for pulling out all the stops,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said on Thursday.
Echoing the need for swift action from all countries facing the global threat - based on her past experience as a medical doctor and as President of Chile - Ms. Bachelet also cautioned that Governments needed to be ready “to respond in a range of ways to unintended consequences of their actions aimed at the coronavirus. Businesses will also need to play a role, including responding with flexibility to the impact on their employees.”
The High Commissioner’s statement added: “We’ve got lockdowns, quarantines and other such measures to contain and combat the spread of COVID-19. They should always be carried out in strict accordance with human rights standards and in a way that is necessary and proportionate to the evaluated risk.”
The High Commissioner’s comments follow an earlier appeal at the Human Rights Council, now meeting in Geneva.
Then, as on Friday, she urged Member States to protect society’s most vulnerable citizens from the health threat posed by COVID-19, and also from any stigma faced by those who had contracted the respiratory disease.
The most vulnerable are those on low incomes, isolated rural populations, people with underlying health conditions, people with disabilities and older people living alone or in institutions, the High Commissioner explained.
“The High Commissioner is not speaking out about specific countries,” Ms. Throssell said. “What she’s doing is making a universal call to Governments to really consider the impact on economic and social rights by the steps they take – that’s why she’s saying it’s so important for human rights to be at the front and centre.”
Ms. Throssell added: “There are plans in different countries to tackle crises, but I think we all would agree it is somewhat unchartered. And that’s why she’s encouraging States to share information on good practices; steps that they have taken to mitigate, to alleviate the impacts, the effects of the steps they take; steps that are in many cases extremely necessary to combat, to contain COVID-19.”
In a related development, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that although COVID-19 would likely have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming because of the expected global economic slowdown, it was too soon to say how great that impact might be.
What is clear is that “2020 has started out where 2019 left off, with record temperatures. It was the warmest January on record (in Europe),” said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis, citing data released on Thursday by the Copernicus European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service. “Obviously, the impact on carbon dioxide emissions will depend on you know, the global economic slowdown as a result of the coronavirus,” Ms. Nullis added, noting that it was still “early days. A lot depends on…the repercussions on international transport.”
Any future assessment of the virus’s impact would have to drill down into data on global energy consumption, the WMO spokesperson explained.
“Any sort of depression in economic activity…reduction in electricity production from coal-powered plants, a reduction in transport, will make a difference,” Ms. Nullis said. “But we also need to look at efficiency gains; you know, if these plants are running at half-capacity, or if you’ve got planes flying which are a quarter full, you know, that’s not really going to make a big impact.”
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Wide shot: medium shot, Press room III, journalists, podium speakers, UN logo.
- Close-up: journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Liz Throssell, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner says, ‘People who are already barely surviving economically may all too easily be pushed over the edge by measures being adopted to contain the virus. Governments need to be ready to respond in a range of ways to unintended consequences of their actions aimed at the coronavirus. Businesses will also need to play a role, including responding with flexibility to the impact on their employees.’”
- Close-up: journalists writing notes, listening to press conference.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Liz Throssell, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We’ve got lockdowns, quarantines and other such measures to contain and combat the spread of COVID-19. They should always be carried out in strict accordance with human rights standards and in a way that is necessary and proportionate to the evaluated risk.”
- Close-up: several pairs of hands typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Liz Throssell, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner is not speaking out about specific countries, what she’s doing is making a universal call to Governments to really consider the impact on economic and social rights by the steps they take – that’s why she’s saying it’s so important for human rights to be at the front and centre.”
- Medium shot: bank of TV camera crews, man passing underneath, bending down.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Liz Throssell, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “There are plans in different countries to tackle crises, but I think we all would agree it is somewhat unchartered. And that’s why she’s encouraging States to share information on good practices; steps that they have taken to mitigate, to alleviate the impacts, the effects of the steps they take; steps that are in many cases extremely necessary to combat, to contain COVID-19.”
- Medium shot: journalists working on laptops, podium speakers with UN logo to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “2020 has started out where 2019 left off, with record temperatures; January - it was the warmest January on record and a new report by the Copernicus European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service released yesterday said that Europe had the warmest winter on record.’”
- Medium shot: journalist looking down at laptop in centre of shot, other journalists behind.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Obviously, the impact on carbon dioxide emissions will depend on you know, the global economic slowdown as a result of the coronavirus. But it’s still, you know, it is still early days. A lot depends on, you know, the repercussions on international transport.”
- Medium shot: journalist writing on laptop, between two other journalists in front of shot, blurred.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Any sort of depression in economic activity, you know, reduction in electricity production from coal-powered plants, a reduction in transport, will make a difference, but we also need to look at efficiency gains; you know, if these plants are running at half-capacity, or if you’ve got planes flying which are a quarter full, you know, that’s not really going to make a big impact.”
- Close-up: fingers and pen, handwriting on notepad.
- Medium shot: podium speakers in focus, top of drinks flask at bottom of shot, blurred.
- Medium shot: journalist hunched over laptop, typing.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNWOMEN , WHO
Lifesaving supplies in Gaza continue to run dangerously low, nearly four weeks into the total aid blockade and deadly bombardment of the enclave by Israel, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
As Yemen’s conflict reaches 10-year mark, over half a million children severely malnourished
In Yemen, a decade of conflict has been catastrophic for the country’s children living under the threat of airstrikes and staggeringly high malnutrition rates, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Amid continuing uncertainty about the impact of deep US funding cuts to humanitarian work worldwide, the head of the UN agency coordinating the fight against HIV-AIDS warned that an addition 6.3 million people will die in the next four years, unless the support is reinstated.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office today published a report detailing how death, injury and lasting family separation are among the traumatic events that have upended the lives of Ukraine’s children in the three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , IFRC
Israel’s renewed bombing campaign and intensifying ground operation in Gaza are reversing gains achieved during the brief ceasefire, UN humanitarians said on Friday from inside the devastated enclave.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard gruesome testimony of torture, rape and execution of Ukrainian detainees and soldiers by Russian forces, as a high-level independent probe delivered its latest mandated report in Geneva.
2
23
1
1
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures and also underscored the positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
1
62
1
2
Edited News , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Fresh talks over the future of Cyprus continued on Tuesday as representatives of the divided Mediterranean island gathered at the UN in Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of UN chief António Guterres.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG , WFP
The Government of Israel has ramped up settlement of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Following last night’s Israeli strikes in Gaza, Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following comment at the bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva: “Weare horrified by last night’s Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy.”
1
9
1
1
Edited News | WMO
Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on Friday, the first World Day for Glaciers.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
The Iranian Government has continued to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of civilians including young children as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, investigators mandated by the Human Rights Council insisted on Friday.