GC Human Rights Preparedness

Mikel Mancisidor, a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, introduces the Committee’s guidance on science and economic, social and cultural rights.

Attention is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, yet there are other ongoing crises including in the responses to people ‘on the move’ or migration.

Emergencies pose particular challenges to ethical research – yet research is essential for effective emergency response. Complementing human rights approaches, an ‘ethical compass’ of core values provides a basis to allocate responsibilities to a wide range of non-state duty-bearers.

Welcome to our first Curated series, which looks at the relationship between science and human rights, with particular reference to COVID-19.

The Inter-American Commission (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court) are responding to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on human rights.

What would constitute a first step in a human-rights based approach to the global allocation of pandemic vaccines? One possibility would be to encourage states parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to acknowledge their indirect obligations of participation and diligence.

The African Commission has emerged as a key voice promoting a continent-wide human rights response to COVID-19, while urging a shift in focus to tackle the massive underlying structural inequalities starkly exposed by the pandemic.