Human rights issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic

The government of China enforced early censorship to suppress information about COVID-19 and the dangers it poses to public health.[3][4] There were criticisms that the epidemic was allowed to spread for weeks before efforts were undertaken to contain the virus.[5] Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who alerted his colleagues about coronavirus was censored and then detained for "spreading false rumors."[6] He succumbed to the infection and later died.[7] Amnesty International criticized that China's aggressive lobbying of the World Health Organization involved minimizing of the severity of the outbreak.[1]

"Plague Inc.", a mobile game that focuses on the simulation of global pandemics was banned by the Cyberspace Administration of China on the grounds that it had "illegal content" and was promptly removed from all Chinese digital stores. Ndemic Creations, the game developer, said that it is unclear whether this was in connection to the COVID-19 outbreak but that they plan to work hard to get their game back into Chinese players' hands.[8]

An experienced midwife working during the pandemic in a Polish hospital was fired after she published a report on Facebook on 18 March about the conditions of medical personnel and the hospital in relation to the pandemic. Reports came out afterwards that doctors were being forbidden from providing information to the media. On 25 March 2020, the Polish Ombudsman Adam Bodnar informed the Minister of Health that medical staff's freedom of speech and the public's right to know are guaranteed under Articles 2, 54 and 61 of the Polish Constitution and that firing or punishing doctors for informing the public during the pandemic could be a violation of the "obligatory standards".[9]

On 26 March, Poland's secretary of state of the Ministry of Health, Józefa Szczurek-Żelazko, published a written statement forbidding voivodeship medical consultants from making statements related to the coronavirus unless they first consulted with the Ministry of Health or Główny Inspektorat Sanitarny (GIS, the national health agency).[10] A doctors' group, Porozumieniu Chirurgów SKALPEL, described the order as blackmail and said that it risked catastrophe.[10]

Law enforcement agencies detained 19 social media users whose posts were "unfounded and provocative", causing panic and fear according to the officials.[11] Some newspapers considered these actions to be censorship.[12] As of 6 April, at least seven journalists, who were each reporting for local media, were detained for how they covered the pandemic, and the state media watchdog had fined at least three channels for their coverage of the outbreak, including the mainstream channel Habertürk, which was penalized after its medical expert stated that the low level of testing and the high rate of transmission of the virus meant there were many undiagnosed cases, greatly exceeding the government's confirmed case figures.[13]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish parliament accepted a bill which could enable the release of up to 100,000 prisoners, including people responsible for deaths. However, the law excludes Turkey's around 50,000 political prisoners,[14] including journalists and human rights defenders, who are said to remain jailed despite overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions already posing severe health threat.[15][16]

The government of Turkmenistan outlawed the word "Coronavirus" on media.[17]

Various social networks applied anti-spam measures for content posted about SARS-CoV-2 and the pandemic. Facebook allegedly censored informative content about the virus.[18] According to users, posts about the coronavirus from reliable sources of media were blocked and hidden from other users. Facebook claimed a bug was responsible for this, but conspiracies are circulating that this was done deliberately to suppress information.

YouTube demonetized several videos in which the term "corona" was used. The demonetization was cited under the rules of sensitive content.[19]

In China, many patients had to be turned away from hospitals after hours of queuing due to the high number of ill people.[1] Shortage of testing and treating material were reported.[20] Due to the high volume of patient inflow in Italy, doctors were forced to decide on whether or not to treat the elderly, or leave them to die.[21] A photo of a nurse who collapsed due to huge workload in an Italian hospital was widely circulated as a symbol of the overwhelmed system.[21]

In Libya, the medical situation was worsening amidst the ongoing war, where hospitals were constantly being attacked. In April 2020, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya, Yacoub El Hillo confirmed that 27 health facilities have been damaged and 14 close in five weeks. On April 6, UAE-backed forces of Khalifa Haftar launched a Grad rocket attack against the Al-Khadra General Hospital and damaged the 400-bed facility, where 300 patients, including two COVID-19 patients, were being treated. The attack was condemned as a violation of international humanitarian law by Yacoub El Hillo.[22][23]

There have been increased reports of racism against Asian people, particularly against Chinese people in Europe and the Americas.[24][25][26] The World Health Organization's Emergency Committee issued a statement advising all countries to be mindful of the "principles of Article 3 of the IHR (the International Health Regulations)," which the WHO says is a caution against "actions that promote stigma or discrimination," when conducting national response measures to the outbreak.[27]

A Washington Post staff photographer captured a snapshot of US President Donald Trump's speech notes in which he had crossed out the word "coronavirus" and replaced it with the words "Chinese virus."[28][29] Trump referred to coronavirus as "Chinese virus" in his speeches amidst growing protests of racism from different quarters. However, he stated that he does not believe his statements were racist because the virus originated there, and he also stated that he was intending to counter Chinese propaganda which claimed that American soldiers originally brought the virus to China.[29][30]

India has seen many cases of people from its north-east parts being called 'coronavirus' because of their racial similarities to the people of China, the country where the pandemic originated.[31] This is in the backdrop of existing problems of racism that people from these regions continue to face.[32] Indian government's Minister for State for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju made a statement against the increasing instances of racist comments against the people of North-east India.[33]

On 1 May 2020, the Malaysian authorities mustered and detained nearly 586 undocumented migrants in a raid conducted in Kuala Lumpur. The detained migrants included young children as well as ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, amidst the rise in xenophobia. The move was condemned by the United Nations, which urged Malaysia to avoid such detentions and release the children, warning that the overcrowded detention centres will be highly vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.[34]

In June 2020, a report in the United Kingdom highlighted that ethnic minorities are at a higher risk of losing their lives due to COVID-19. On 5 June, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced to launch a statutory inquiry into racial inequalities, which have been exposed amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the UK. The human rights watchdog's investigation was to provide evidence-based information, compelled from government departments and organizations.[35]

People have reported experiencing social stigma after recovering from the illness.[36] Some healthcare workers caring for individuals with COVID-19 have also reported experiencing mental health difficulties due to the fear of being stigmatized by their family and community.[37]

On 17 April 2020, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities issued a document called "Streamlining diversity: COVID-19 measures that support social cohesion".[38] The document included recommendations to the OSCE participating States were included on how the governmental responses to COVID-19 could ensure inclusiveness and be sensitive to social diversity. Key principles included: upholding human rights, being inclusive and sensitive to language needs, and also maintaining zero tolerance for discrimination and xenophobia.[39]

Amnesty International reports that the Chinese government has censored numerous articles related to coronavirus pandemic in China. Nicholas Bequelin, Regional Director at Amnesty International has criticized that "the Chinese authorities risk withholding information that could help the medical community tackle the coronavirus and help people protect themselves from being exposed to it".[1]

Border service of Turkmenistan received an online training on "management of border crossing points (BCP) in the context of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic".[43] The event was organized by OSCE Centre in Ashgabat together with WHO Country Office in Turkmenistan, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the Ministry of Healthcare, and the Medical Industry of Turkmenistan.[43]

The Australian government sent hundreds of Australians to an immigration detention centre on Christmas island, where the conditions were previously described as "inhumane" by the Australian Medical Association.[44][1]