Human Rights in the Age of Pandemics

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.210506.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Covid-19, Human Rights, Pandemic, International Law, State Practice

Abstract

Covid-19, which has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), is having very important impacts at the global level. By definition a pandemic concerns all states and therefore a close co-operation between states is essential to combat it in an adequate manner. States, sometimes unilaterally and sometimes collectively, are taking measures against the spread of the pandemic. Both international law and national laws also set out important rules for states to combat pandemics. The measures taken by states range from announcing simple cautions to total restrictions on the movement of people and even forced lock down, both for individuals and communities. States surely may take the necessary measures to maintain public health and the lives of individuals. Furthermore, it can be said that they are obliged to do so. On the other hand, due to the principle of rule of law, states are required to act in accordance with legal requirements including due process and human rights obligations. However, the effects of various legal measures taken by states in the struggle against Covid-19 pandemic raise some concerns on the basis of international regulations and domestic rules. These legal measures are closely related with certain rights protected under international human rights conventions, of which many states are parties. Consequently, they have already become a matter of dispute in many countries and there are clear signs that this dispute would evolve into a judicial question before international and national judicial authorities. This paper aims to examine the legality of the Covid-19 measures. To this end, first various international legal instruments will be analysed to find out the limits within which states can take and implement their measures in case of public emergencies. These will include global conventions such as the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and regional ones such as the European Convention on Human Rights and American Convention on Human Rights. Then, the World Health Organization’s legal instruments that were drafted for the prevention of pandemics will be assessed in terms of human rights law. Finally, a discussion on the Covid-19 measures and human rights will be made.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ibrahim Kaya
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/08
TI  - Human Rights in the Age of Pandemics
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Law and Human Rights 2020 (ICLHR 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1
EP  - 4
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210506.001
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210506.001
ID  - Kaya2021
ER  -