[WSMDiscuss] COVID-19 Pandemic- What about Human Rights?

[Umakant]

DearFriends

Greetings!The COVID-19 outbreak/pandemic has brought unimaginable consequences for manypeople in different parts of the world. In this hour of global crisis there isan urgent need to promote and protect all human rights for all, be it civil,political, economic, social and cultural rights and other constitutionally/legallymandated rights. 

 

Butthe question always remains unanswered- ‘Why do bigotry and hidden prejudicesshow their true colors more openly and in a much more disgusting way in timesof pandemics/disasters?  

 

Dopass it on to others in your circle/network. 

 

The other virus: Hate crimes against India’s Muslims arespreading with Covid-19 

ArunabhSaikia, Scroll.in, April 08, 2020 

https://scroll.in/article/958543/the-other-virus-hate-crimes-against-indias-muslims-are-spreading-with-covid-19

 

On April 7, rumours about Muslims intentionally spitting to spread thevirus reportedly led to a riot-like situation in Jharkhand, leaving one persondead.

 

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400 million Indians at risk of sinking into poverty: UN report

Press Trust of India (PTI) and Indian Express, April 08, 2020

https://indianexpress.com/article/coronavirus/400-million-informal-workers-at-risk-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic-un-report-6352988/

 

Areport published by the UN labour organisation, detailing how COVID-19 willaffect the world of work, revealed that the crisis is already impacting tens ofmillions of informal sector workers and will further put around 2 billionpeople at particular risk.

 

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Charted:Lockdown is only the beginning of misery for India’s migrant labourers

Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, April 07, 2020 

https://qz.com/india/1833814/coronavirus-lockdown-hits-india-migrant-workers-pay-food-supply/

 

India’scoronavirus outbreak, and the ongoing 21-day lockdown to contain it, has shonea spotlight on the hard life of its seasonal migrants. As many as 92.5% oflabourers have already lost one to three weeks of work, according to a rapidassessment survey by Jan Sahas, a civil society organisation that focuses onhuman rights of socially excluded communities.

 

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Mumbai:Biker Spits on Manipuri Woman

PTI, April 07, 2020 

https://thewire.in/rights/mumbai-biker-spits-on-manipuri-woman

 

Police arescrutinising footage of nearby CCTV cameras to trace the accused.

 

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Punjab:Muslim Gujjar Families 'Beaten and Boycotted' in Hoshiarpur Villages

Prabhjit Singh, TheWire, April 07, 2020 

https://thewire.in/rights/punjab-muslims-gujjar-families-beaten-and-boycotted-in-hoshiarpur-villages

 

Locals said that thedairy farmers were violating the lockdown. While the police said the Gujjarsare free to sell their milk, no case has been registered yet. 

 

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Whatmakes injustice to migrant workers more acute is the fact that many of them areDalits

Suraj Yengde, Indian Express, April 05, 2020 

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dalitality-the-caste-factor-in-social-distancing-coronavirus-6347623/

 

Unlike China and South Korea, India had the advantage of time and lessonsfrom other countries to prepare. But, even as the pandemic was building up, itwas caught up in the machinations in Madhya Pradesh.

 

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Vulnerable workers in supply chains need urgentprotection to survive impact of Covid-19

International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), April 03, 2020

https://idsn.org/vulnerable-workers-in-supply-chains-need-urgent-protection-to-survive-impact-of-covid-19/

 

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COVID-19 and its human rightsdimensions

Office of the High Commissionerfor Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/COVID-19.aspx

 

COVID19 is a test of societies, of governments, of communities and of individuals.Now is the time for solidarity and cooperation to tackle the virus, and tomitigate the effects, often unintended, of measures designed to halt the spreadof the virus. 

 

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COVID-19 and the world of work

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/lang--en/index.htm

 

Theworld of work is being profoundly affected by the global virus pandemic. Inaddition to the threat to public health, the economic and social disruptionthreatens the long-term livelihoods and wellbeing of millions. The ILO and itsconstituents – Governments, workers and employers – will play a crucial role incombating the outbreak, ensuring the safety of individuals and thesustainability of businesses and jobs.

 

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Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to theSocio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19

UnitedNations, March 2020 

https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Covid19.pdf

 

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WithRegards 

Umakant,Ph. D 

NewDelhi 

 
















My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality. 
B.R.Ambedkar
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