Coronavirus: Disease Control

(asked on 5th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken, if any, to coordinate an international response to any misuse of government power in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 18th May 2020

We are concerned by reports that some governments are using the current crisis to fail to comply with their human rights obligations, including in relation to the use of surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9 April, the UK participated in the UN Human Rights Council's first ever virtual conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Discussion focused on the human rights implications of the COVID-19 crisis; both the immediate impact of the response on human rights around the world, and the social and economic consequences, including the prospect of greater inequality. In his statement to the Council, our Ambassador to the UN in Geneva stressed the importance of ensuring that parliaments, media and civil society all play their role to scrutinise the actions of governments and international agencies, and that we make use of the international human rights frameworks. We support the call made by the UN Secretary-General in his message of 22 April that human rights must be at the front and centre of the COVID-19 response and recovery. The UK Government remains committed to standing up for human rights and supports all efforts by the UN to minimise long-term damage to global economies, societies, politics and freedoms.

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