Challenges Posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Protection of Human Rights

The COVID-19 pandemic has had consequences in several dimensions within contemporary society. One of them is the protection of human rights and the functioning of human rights protection systems. There is a broad understanding that fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic should not interfere with the protection of human rights. In order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, governments throughout the world introduced emergency measures which constrain individual freedoms as well as social and economic rights, but demonstrate some global solidarity on the other hand. In doing so, civil obligations are rarely addressed, regardless of how significantly they are impacted by the response to the pandemic. The norms and principles of human rights should guide governments’ responses to COVID-19. The author of this article analyses the issue in the context of standards offered by international organisations. He particularly highlights the recommendations offered by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Resolution 2339 (2020), namely “Upholding human rights in times of crisis and pandemics: Gender, equality and nondiscrimination.”