Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The absence of a legally binding instrument on IDPs protection, considering their unique vulnerabilities and needs, leaves a growing number of individuals in limbo. It is high time to create an innovative, holistic European convention on IDPs, adopting new lenses on human rights and related challenges.

COVID-19 provided a context to advocate for change in crisis response and recovery efforts. To ensure just and inclusive responses to future emergencies, it is crucial to retain this momentum by adopting a feminist human rights-based approach to preparedness, rather than feminised approaches followed in states such as Ireland and Germany.

In South Africa, the shifting from physical to virtual education due to COVID-19 has created inequalities among learners from urban areas who could continue with online schooling and learners from rural areas and also learners with disabilities who were deprived of their right to education.

It is time to step out of the yoke of the official narrative of Kosovo’s patriotic identity, to ignore it and offer in response other narratives, unofficial stories by ordinary people, narrations from the margins of the community affected by the war. Ultimately, non-monumental stories that belong to everyday life.

COVID-19 affected the right to education. The lack of strategic planning often made states’ response ineffective, harming the education process. It is necessary to develop a roadmap to ensure the state positive obligations to safeguard the right to education during crises.

The right to education in Argentina has been a constitutional paramount since 1853 in all its territories. However, many children and adolescents find themselves forgotten by the national education system. The UNSAM Technical High School is an inspiring educational place that follows from the premise of not leaving any child and adolescent behind.

15,000 small schools in Thailand are at risk of being dissolved by the government to reduce public expenditure. Millions of children would face a violation of their right to education. Thailand must terminate this policy for the best interests of all children.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a large-scale human disaster on all fronts. It is worth identifying four structural defects in the governance response, ten lessons that need to be imbibed and a five point agenda for change.

COVID-19 exacerbated prevailing structural power inequalities and worsened fundamental human rights of vulnerable groups. Three sets of priorities are identified for the future. They concern ‘old normal’ prevention, lessons sharing, and mobilisation promotion, in order to advance rights-based changes.

Is the post-pandemic era the momentum for mainstreaming a cultural rights-based approach, given the undeniable recovery qualities of culture creation and enjoyment, along with an increased attention to cultural rights defenders as human rights defenders?