Human rights and the COVID-19 pandemic

All businesses have an independent responsibility to respect human rights, as set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, even in times of economic hardship and public health crisis, and regardless of whether and how governments are meeting their own obligations.
State interventions to alleviate the economic impact of COVID- 19 in the form of economic aid, stimulus packages or other targeted interventions for business enterprises should stipulate that beneficiary companies should follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. At the core of States’ measures to support companies in the crisis should be protection of workers, particularly those in the most precarious situations.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Ensuring that business respects human rights during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond: The relevance of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
“Every worker is essential and must be protected from COVID-19, no matter what” – UN rights experts
COVID-19 and its impact on businesses and workers International Organisation of Employers Digital Dialogue Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
COVID-19: State and business respect for human rights critical to resilience and recovery, say UN experts

Useful links:
Business and Human Rights
Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises

While children seem to have fewer symptoms and lower mortality rates from COVID-19, substantial child protection risks have emerged daily as a result of the measures taken to prevent and contain the virus. States should pay increased attention to child protection needs and children's rights when devising and implementing their pandemic response and recovery plans. The best interests of children should be a primary consideration and central to the response.
The right to education has been disrupted for more than 1.5 billion children around the world, as 188 countries have imposed countrywide school closures. Girls are likely to be hit the hardest, as they will in many cases be expected to balance caregiving responsibilities with education, have unequal access to remote learning opportunities, and are at particular risk of leaving schools entirely, which has had particular long-term impacts on their education, health and economic opportunities.
Stay-at-home orders and lockdowns are also damaging children’s physical and mental health. Being confined at home can expose children to increased risk of violence, including maltreatment and sexual violence. Support services and shelters for children at risk need to be continued as a priority.
Millions of children face poverty as family members become ill or are unable to work. Children in vulnerable situations, including children living in the street, migrant and refugee children, child victims of trafficking or smuggling, children living in conflict zones, and children with disabilities are at particular risk.
Concise measures need to be taken to reduce the disproportionate impact of the crisis on women and girls. Women and girls are more likely to face increased household chores, which can lead to increased stress and an increased contamination risk.
Sexual and reproductive health services must be viewed as vital services and an integral part of the response. This should include access to contraception, protection of motherhood and childhood, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, access to safe abortion, and referral services. Actions should be taken to ensure that the resources available to sexual and reproductive health services are not diverted to different areas, as this may affect particularly the rights and lives of women and girls.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
NEW Leadership Dialogue Series of the Brookings Center for Universal Education and the World Bank Education during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19: Urgent need for child protection services to mitigate the risk of child sexual abuse and exploitation worldwide
The Committee on the Rights of the Child warns of the grave physical, emotional and psychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and calls on States to protect the rights of children
UN experts call for urgent action to mitigate heightened risks of violence against children

States must combat domestic violence in the context of COVID-19 lockdowns – UN rights expert
UN Experts reports:
NEW Right to education: impact of the coronavirus disease crisis on the right to education – concerns, challenges and opportunities

Useful links:
Children and COVID-19 – Agenda for Action
Technical Note: COVID-19 and Children Deprived of their Liberty
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children

As people are being called upon to stay at home, it is vital that Governments take urgent measures to help people without adequate housing, as staying at home and practising physical distancing is extremely hard for people living in overcrowded conditions, homeless people, and those lacking access to water and sanitation.
Good practices for protecting people living in inadequate housing and the homeless include providing emergency accessible housing (including using vacant and abandoned housing units, available short-term rentals) with services for those who are affected by the virus and must isolate.
Authorities should take targeted steps to prevent additional people from becoming homeless – for example as people face eviction when loss of income makes it impossible to pay mortgages and rents. Good practices such as moratoriums on evictions, and deferrals of mortgage payments should be broadly replicated.
When and where containment measures are enforced, no one should be punished because they are homeless or live in inadequate housing.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
“Housing, the front line defence against the COVID-19 outbreak,” says UN expert

UN Experts reports:
NEW COVID-19 and the right to adequate housing: impacts and – the way forward Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Balakrishnan Rajagopal
Useful links:
UN Habitat and the COVID-19 response
Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Protecting the right to housing in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak

Women and girls are likely to face increase care-giving roles in the home, putting them under additional stress and potentially increasing their risk of infection. Across the globe, women comprise 70% of health workers, including midwives, nurses, pharmacists and community health workers on the frontlines, increasing their risk of exposure and infection. Targeted measures to address the disproportionate impact of the crisis on women and girls are needed.
In many countries, women face disproportionate risks in the job sector, where many work in the informal sector (e.g. domestic workers, nannies, agriculture or supporting family businesses) and may be the first to lose their jobs or suffer from the consequences of the crisis given that they do not have social security, health insurance, or paid leave. Many women are also dependent on accessibility and affordability of childcare, which is now decreasing, further restricting their ability to work and earn an income.
Older women are more likely to live in poverty or with low or no pensions which may exacerbate the impact of the virus, and limit their access to goods, food, water, information and health services.
Restrictive public health measures, including stay-at-home orders or lockdowns, are increasing exposure to gender-based violence, particularly intimate-partner violence and domestic violence. Support services and safe shelters for victims of gender-based violence need to be continued as a priority, including effective referrals, and ensuring the availability and accessibility of avenues to safety for victims. Information on hotlines and online services should be included in COVID-19 messaging.
Sexual and reproductive health services should be seen as a life-saving priority and integral to the response, including access to contraception, maternal and newborn care; treatment of STIs; safe abortion care; and effective referral pathways, including for victims of gender-based violence. Resources should not be diverted away from essential sexual and reproductive health services, which would impact the rights and lives of women and girls in particular.
Incorporating the perspectives, voices and knowledge of women in outbreak preparedness and response is essential, including ensuring their representation, participation and leadership roles in global, regional and national COVID-19 spaces including in the political and health sectors.
LGBTI people also face heightened risks during this pandemic, and specific measures should be incorporated into response plans to address these impacts. Available data suggests LGBTI people are more likely to work in the informal sector, and also have higher rates of unemployment and poverty, Health services particularly relevant for LGBTI people should continue during this crisis, including, HIV treatment and testing.
Given stay-at-home restrictions, some LGBTI youth are confined in hostile environments with unsupportive family members or co-habitants, increasing their exposure to violence, as well as their anxiety and depression. States should ensure that support services and shelters remain available to them during this period.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
“States must include LGBT community in COVID-19 response”: The how and why from a UN expert
Raising women’s voices and leadership in COVID-19 policies
Responses to the Covid-19 could exacerbate pre-existing and deeply entrenched discrimination against women and girls, say UN experts
COVID-19: Targeted actions needed to protect LGBTI people amid pandemic – Bachelet
The UN Secretary General calls to protect women from the epidemics of violence accompanying spread of the COVID-19
States must combat domestic violence in the context of COVID-19 lockdowns – UN rights expert
COVID-19 will not be stopped without providing safe water to people living in vulnerability – UN experts

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Šimonović Intersection between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the pandemic of gender-based violence against women, with a focus on domestic violence and the “peace in the home” initiative
NEW Report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
UN Guidance
COVID-19 and Women’s Human Rights: Guidance
COVID-19 and The Human Rights of LGBTI People

Health strategies should address not only the medical dimensions of the pandemic but also the immediate, medium and long-term human rights and gender-specific consequences of measures taken as part of the health response.
Treatment should be available to everyone without discrimination, including the most vulnerable and marginalized. This means addressing pre-existing barriers to access and ensuring that no one is denied timely and appropriate treatment because they lack the means to pay for it, on a discriminatory basis, including age, disability, gender, or sexual orientation, or because stigma prevents them from getting treatment.
Incorporating the perspectives, voices and knowledge of women in outbreak preparedness and response is essential, including ensuring their representation, participation and leadership roles in global, regional and national COVID-19 spaces including in the political and health sectors.
States must take steps to include migrants and refugees in national COVID-19 prevention and treatment programs. Such measures should include ensuring equal access to information, disease testing and health care for all migrants and refugees, regardless of their status, as well as protection systems that will allow migrants and refugees to have access to health care and other essential services, regardless of policy regulations of migration.
The occupational health and safety of those working during this crisis, particularly health workers should be assessed and addressed. No one should feel forced to work in conditions that unnecessarily endanger their health because they fear losing a job or a paycheck.
Sexual and reproductive health services should be seen as a life-saving priority and integral to the response, including access to contraception, maternal and newborn care; treatment of STIs; safe abortion care; and effective referral pathways, including for victims of gender-based violence. Resources should not be diverted away from essential sexual and reproductive health services, which would impact the rights and lives of women and girls in particular.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19 has exacerbated the historical neglect of dignified mental health care, especially for those in institutions: UN expert
COVID-19 measures must be grounded first and foremost on the right to health
No exceptions with COVID-19: “Everyone has the right to life-saving interventions” – UN experts say
COVID-19: Health care heroes need protection – UN expert
The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected in COVID-19 response: A joint statement by UNHCR, IOM, OHCHR and WHO

UN Experts reports:
NEW Final report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Dainius Pūras

Useful links:
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
WHO: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

Relevant information on the COVID-19 pandemic and response should reach all people, without exception. This requires making information available in readily understandable formats and languages, including indigenous languages and those of national, ethnic and religious minorities, and adapting information for people with specific needs, including the visually- and hearing-impaired, and reaching those with limited or no ability to read or with no internet access.
Internet access is essential to ensuring that information reaches those affected by the virus. Governments should end any existing internet disruptions or shutdowns and keep the internet on. States should also work to ensure the broadest possible access to internet service by taking steps to bridge digital divides, including the gender digital divide
Medical professionals and relevant experts, must be able to speak freely and share information with each other and the public. Journalists and the media should be able to report on the pandemic, including coverage that is critical of government responses, without fear or censorship. Concerted efforts should be made at the international and national levels to counter false or misleading information that fuels fear and prejudice.
People have a right to participate in decision-making that affects their lives. Being open and transparent, and involving those affected in decision-making is key to ensuring people participate in measures designed to protect their own health and that of the wider population, and that those measures also reflect their specific situations and needs.
Incorporating the perspectives, voices and knowledge of women in outbreak preparedness and response is essential, including ensuring their representation, participation and leadership roles in global, regional and national COVID-19 spaces including in the political and health sectors.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
NEW Nordic Ministers’ meeting on perspectives of democracy, human rights and the rule of law on the COVID-19 pandemic
Video message by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in connection with the Deutsche Welle 2020 Freedom of Speech award
Bachelet alarmed by media clampdowns, says public has right to know about COVID-19
World Press Freedom Day – Sunday 3 May 2020 Criminalisation of journalism around the world must end now, says UN expert
“States responses to Covid 19 threat should not halt freedoms of assembly and association” – UN expert on the rights to freedoms of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Clément Voule
COVID-19: Governments must promote and protect access to and free flow of information during pandemic – International experts

UN Experts reports:
NEW Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

Useful links:
Civic Space and Covid-19: Guidance
Human Rights Committee
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression

States should take into account Indigenous peoples’ distinctive concepts of health, including their traditional medicine, consult and consider the free prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples in the development of preventive measures on COVID-19.
States should put in place measures for control over the entry of any person in indigenous territories, in consultation and cooperation with the indigenous peoples concerned, in particular through their representative institutions.
For those indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation or initial contact, States and other parties should consider them to be particularly vulnerable groups. Cordons that prevent outsiders from entering the territories of these peoples should be strictly implemented to avoid any contact.
Relevant information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken should be available to all people, without exception. This requires provision of information in understandable formats and in understandable languages, including indigenous languages and languages of national, ethnic and religious minorities, and be adapted for people with special needs, such as people with visual and hearing impairments or people with poor reading capabilities or unable to read or those without Internet access.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
“COVID-19 is devastating indigenous communities worldwide, and it’s not only about health” – UN expert warns
COVID-19 yet another challenge for indigenous peoples
Statement by the Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on COVID-19
No exceptions with COVID-19: “Everyone has the right to life-saving interventions” – UN experts say
COVID-19 fears should not be exploited to attack and exclude minorities – UN expert

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay

Useful links:
Covid-19 and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
COVID-19 fears should not be exploited to attack and exclude minorities – UN expert

People deprived of their liberty, including in prisons, pre-trial detention, immigration detention, institutions, compulsory drug rehabilitation centres, and other places of detention are at heightened risk of infection in the case of an outbreak. There is a high risk of contamination and physical distancing is difficult to achieve. Their situation should be specifically addressed in crisis planning and response.
States should adopt special measures to ensure access to information and equality in preventive and other health care for all persons deprived of their liberty.
States should urgently explore options for release and alternatives to detention to mitigate the risk of harm within places of detention, including for persons who have committed minor, petty and non-violent offenses, those with imminent release dates, those in immigration detention and those detained because of their migration status, people with underlying health conditions, and those in pre-trial or administrative detention. People detained without legal basis should be released, as should people in compulsory drug detention centres or treatment programmes.
There should be a moratorium on children entering detention, and states should release all children from detention who can be safely released.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19 exacerbates the risk of ill-treatment and torture worldwide – UN experts
UNODC, WHO, UNAIDS AND OHCHR Joint Statement On COVID-19 in Prisons and Other Closed Settings
COVID-19 not an excuse for unlawful deprivation of liberty – UN expert group on arbitrary detention
COVID-19: “No excuse for impunity for those convicted of crimes against humanity” – UN expert on transitional justice
Urgent action needed to prevent COVID-19 “rampaging through places of detention” – Bachelet
COVID-19: Measures needed to protect people deprived of liberty, UN torture prevention body says

Guidance
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: Advice of the Subcommittee to States parties and national preventive mechanisms relating to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
OHCHR and WHO Interim Guidance COVID-19: Focus on Persons Deprived of Their Liberty
Technical Note: COVID-19 and Children Deprived of their Liberty

Useful links:
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
Committee Against Torture
Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
OHCHR and WHO Interim Guidance COVID-19: Focus on Persons Deprived of Their Liberty
Technical Note: COVID-19 and Children Deprived of their Liberty

Persons with disabilities are at a much higher risk from COVID-19, and State responses need to include targeted measures to address them. Crisis response measures, health and social protection interventions must be accessible for all and should not discriminate against persons with disabilities.
Physical distancing, self-isolation, and other emergency measures, need to take account the needs of persons with disabilities who rely on support networks essential for their survival and some of whom may experience significant stress with confinement.
States should put in place additional measures to guarantee the continuity of support networks for persons with disabilities throughout the crisis. When restrictions on movement impede existing family and social support networks, they should be replaced by other services.
Ensure that decisions on the allocation of scarce resources (e.g. ventilators) are not based on pre-existing impairments, high support needs, quality of life assessments, or medical bias against persons with disabilities.
States must ensure that persons with disabilities in institutions, nursing homes, psychiatric and other facilities are not left without attention, and take measures to ensure the protection of those who are in such facilities.
Access to additional financial aid and social protection is crucial for persons with disabilities and their families as many depend on services that have been suspended, and may lack the resources to cover their basic needs.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19 has exacerbated the historical neglect of dignified mental health care, especially for those in institutions: UN expert
Statement on COVID-19 and the human rights of persons with disabilities
COVID-19: Bachelet urges States to take extra steps to include people with disabilities
COVID-19: Who is protecting the people with disabilities? – UN rights expert
Joint Statement: Persons with Disabilities and COVID-19 by the Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on behalf of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility

Useful links:
COVID-19 And the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Guidance
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Committee on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

In every country there are marginalized people, who find it difficult to access public information and services for various reasons. Some of these reasons reflect entrenched discrimination and political divisions. In the context of dissemination of information concerning COVID-19 and taking measures to curb the spread of infection, it is necessary to carefully identify groups of people who are at risk of being neglected and isolated, for example, national, ethnic and religious minorities, indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities and LGBTI people.
State should put in place additional measures to address the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 health crisis that minorities may suffer, due to the remote areas or regions in which they live, often with limited access to basic goods and services. Minorities often live in over-crowded housing conditions, making physical distancing and self-isolation more challenging. Limited digital access and parental education gaps may also make home-schooling more difficult.
Persons belonging to minorities may be more likely to be excluded from health care because they lack resources or official documentation, or because of stigma or discrimination. States should ensure access for minorities to health care, including for those without health insurance or identification papers.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic minorities needs to be urgently addressed – Bachelet
Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities in the COVID-19 Crisis

Useful links:
COVID-19 and Minority Rights: Overview and Promising Practices
Special Rapporteur on minority issues
Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
Forum on Minorities Issues

Migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees face particular risks, as they may be confined to camps and settlements, or living in urban areas with overcrowding, poor sanitation, and overstretched or inaccessible health services. Those confined in immigration detention centres and other places where migrants and refugees are deprived of their liberty are particularly at risk.
Migrants and refugees often face obstacles in accessing health care, including language and cultural barriers, costs, lack of access to information, discrimination and xenophobia. Migrants in an irregular situation can be unable or unwilling to access health care or provide information on their health status because they fear or risk detention, deportation or penalties as a result of their immigration status.
States should take specific actions to include migrants, IDPs and refugees in national COVID-19 prevention and response. This should include ensuring equal access to information, testing, and health care for all migrants, IDPs and refugees, regardless of their status, as well as firewalls to separate immigration enforcement activities from the ability of migrants and refugees to access health, food distribution, and other essential services.
International support is urgently needed to help host countries step up services – for migrants, IDPs, refugees and for local communities – and to include them, in national prevention and response arrangements. Failure to do so will endanger the health of all – and risk heightening hostility and stigma. Specific steps should also be taken to counter hostility and xenophobia directed at migrants, IDPs or refugees.
It is also vital that any tightening of border controls, travel restrictions or limitations on freedom of movement do not prevent people who may be fleeing from war or persecution, or who may otherwise be entitled to protection under human rights law, from accessing safety and protection. States should consider releasing migrants from immigration detention and temporarily suspending forced returns as a way to protect migrants, migration staff, and society as a whole.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19: Governments must protect the rights of migrants during the pandemic and beyond, UN experts urge
Statement by the United Nations Network on Migration: Forced returns of migrants must be suspended in times of COVID-19
UN experts call on Governments to adopt urgent measures to protect migrants and trafficked persons in their response to COVID-19
Joint press release from OHCHR, IOM, UNHCR and WHO: The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected in COVID-19 response
COVID-19: Do not forget internally displaced persons, UN expert urges Governments worldwide
COVID-19 will not be stopped without providing safe water to people living in vulnerability – UN experts
No exceptions with COVID-19: “Everyone has the right to life-saving interventions” – UN experts say

Useful links:
IOM Responds to Covid-19
UNHCR
Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
Migration and Human Rights
COVID-19 and the Human Rights of Migrants: Guidance

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, around one in five of the world’s youth were not in employment, education or training, and youth unemployment rates were about three times higher than the rest of the working population. The global financial crisis of 2007 disproportionately affected youth, and especially young women, who are more likely to be employed in the informal economy and often have low-paid, less secure and less protected jobs. States should ensure that efforts to mitigate and address the impacts of the pandemic include provisions that are responsive to young people’s specific situations and uphold their rights, including through decent jobs and social protection.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
NEW Leadership Dialogue Series of the Brookings Center for Universal Education and the World Bank Education during the COVID-19 pandemic
Statement on COVID-19 and Youth

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education: Right to education: impact of the coronavirus disease crisis on the right to education – concerns, challenges and opportunities

Useful links:
NEW Survey Report 2020: Youth and COVID-19: Impact on Jobs, Education, Rights and Mental Well-Being
OHCHR and Youth

Health monitoring includes a range of tools that track and monitor the behaviour and movements of individuals. Such surveillance and monitoring should be specifically related to and used exclusively for public health-specific aims and should be limited in both duration and scope as required in the particular situation. Robust safeguards should be implemented to ensure any such measures are not misused by Governments or companies to collect confidential private information for purposes not related to the public health crisis.
As soon as it becomes possible, it is important that governments ensure return to the usual life and do not exercise extraordinary powers to control the everyday life; the response must be tailored to the needs of the various stages of the crisis.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19: Governments must promote and protect access to and free flow of information during pandemic – International experts
COVID-19: States should not abuse emergency measures to suppress human rights – UN experts

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph A. Cannataci

Useful links:
Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy

All societies include people who are marginalised and face difficulties accessing public information and services for a variety of reasons, some of them reflecting entrenched discrimination, exclusion, inequality, or political divides. COVID-19 information and response efforts will need to take particular care to identify people who may be at risk of being missed or excluded, such as national, ethnic or religious minorities, indigenous peoples, migrants, displaced persons, and refugees, older persons, persons with disabilities, women, LGBTI people, children, or people affected by extreme poverty.
National Human Rights Institutions, civil society and local communities can assist in identifying people who may otherwise be missed or excluded, supporting the flow of accessible information to these groups, and providing feed-back to authorities on the impact of measures on communities.

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Statement by the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities: Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities in the COVID-19 Crisis
“Responses to COVID-19 are failing people in poverty worldwide” – UN human rights expert
Responses to COVID-19 crisis: UN expert urges more government spending targeting inequality, not big business
“Leave no one behind” – Don’t forget your commitments in your response to the COVID-19 crises, UN expert urges States

Useful links:
Development is a Human Right
Special Rapporteur on the right to development
Sustainable Development Goals

Older persons have the same rights as any other age group, and they should be protected equally during the pandemic. Special attention should be paid to the particular risks faced by older persons, including isolation and neglect resulting from physical distancing and age-based discrimination in access to medical treatment and other support. Admission protocols should be based on scientific evidence and medical necessity. Older women often live in poverty, receive little or no pension. This can exacerbate their exposure to contamination and limit their access to goods, food, water, information and health services.
The situation of people with disabilities and older people living in institutions is particularly dire. Restricting contact with family members can be justified as a health emergency, but can also exacerbate neglect and abuse of people with disabilities and older people.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Verbal and online abuse violating human rights of older persons must be stamped out – UN expert
COVID-19 has exacerbated the historical neglect of dignified mental health care, especially for those in institutions: UN expert
Virtual debate “Human Rights of older persons in the age of COVID-19 and beyond” with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the new Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons
“Unacceptable” – UN expert urges better protection of older persons facing the highest risk of the COVID-19 pandemic
No exceptions with COVID-19: “Everyone has the right to life-saving interventions” – UN experts say

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Claudia Mahler

Useful links
The Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

Washing hands with soap and clean water is the first line of defence against COVID-19, but 2.2 billion persons lack access to safe water services and hygiene. Addressing the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of populations in vulnerable situations, including those with unequal and inadequate access to water, particularly women and girls, is essential to ensuring success in the global struggle against COVID-19.
Immediate measures that can help include prohibiting water cuts to those who cannot pay water bills, providing water, soap and sanitizer free of cost (such as through mobile dispensers in communities without access to adequate sanitation) for the duration of the crisis to people in poverty and those affected by the upcoming economic hardship.
It is necessary to ensure that during a crisis the poor and those in difficult economic circumstances receive free water. When governments urge people to stay at home, it is imperative that they take urgent action to help those people who lack adequate housing. Obviously, the recommendations to stay at home and practice physical distancing as measures to combat COVID-19 are extremely difficult to implement for some groups of people, for example, people living in overcrowded conditions and those without access to water and sanitation.
Older women often live in poverty, receive little or no pension. This can exacerbate their exposure to contamination and limit their access to goods, food, water, information and health services.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19 will not be stopped without providing safe water to people living in vulnerability – UN experts
COVID-19: Health care heroes need protection – UN expert

Useful links
Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
Washing hands
COVID19 and the human rights to water and sanitation
COVID-19, water and gender equality

The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating food insecurity, as limitations on freedom of movement and scarcity of protective gear affect agricultural workers, many of whom are migrants in some contexts. Measures to ensure the mobility and safe working conditions of agriculture workers should be put in place urgently to secure food production, as should targeted approaches such as financial support and access to credit, markets, and agricultural inputs such as seeds, for small-scale farmers, especially women.
Urgent steps are needed to address food insecurity for the poorest and most marginalized segments of the population. Measures aimed at providing immediate support to satisfy people’s dietary needs should be put in place, including through provision of food and nutrition assistance.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Special Rapporteur on the right to food

Useful links:
COVID-19: Economic sanctions should be lifted to prevent hunger crises – UN expert
UN FAO: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The COVID-19 pandemic is generating a wave of stigma, discrimination, racism and xenophobia against certain national and ethnic groups. We need to work together to push back against this trend, including by referring to this disease as COVID-19, rather than using a geographic reference.
Political leaders and other influential figures should speak out forcefully against the stigma and racism this crisis has generated and must at all costs avoid fuelling the fire of such discrimination. States should act quickly to counter rhetoric that stokes fear, and ensure their responses to COVID-19 do not make certain populations more vulnerable to violence and discrimination.
The dissemination of accurate, clear and evidence-based information and awareness-raising campaigns are the most effective tools against discrimination and xenophobia, which feed on misinformation and fear. Additional efforts are needed to monitor incidents of discrimination and xenophobia, and responses to any incidents should be swift and well-publicised.
Migrants often face not only difficulties in accessing health care, but language and cultural barriers, high prices, inadequate access to information, discrimination and xenophobia as well as. Irregular migrants may be unable or unwilling to receive medical services and provide information about their health status, as they fear being detained, deported or fined due to their migration status.
Host countries require urgent international support to expand services to both migrants and local communities and ensure their participation in national monitoring, warning and response measures. Lack of such integration will jeopardize the health of everyone and increase the risk of rising hostility and stigma. Concrete steps must be taken to counter the hostility and xenophobia towards migrants.
Medical treatment should be available to everyone, without exception. This means that no one can be denied treatment because of inability to pay or stigma, that prevents them from getting the treatment they require.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic minorities needs to be urgently addressed – Bachelet
Secretary-General on virus of hate and COVID-19
Statement by the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities: Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities in the COVID-19 Crisis
UN expert warns against religious hatred and intolerance during COVID-19 outbreak
States should take action against COVID-19-related expressions of xenophobia, says UN expert
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Racial equity and equality must guide state action in COVID-19 response, say UN experts

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent: COVID-19, systemic racism and global protests

Useful links:
Racial Discrimination in the Context of the Covid-19 Crisis
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The international community should advocate for the lifting, or at least suspension, of all sanctions that hamper the ability to effectively fight the COVID-19 pandemic and deprive those in need of vital medical care.
Governments applying sanctions are urged to immediately review and withdraw measures that may impede countries’ efforts to response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including those which prevent the purchase or shipment of medicine, medical equipment, or other essential goods, impede financing for the purchase of medicine, medical equipment, or other essential goods, or obstruct delivery of humanitarian aid.

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
Bachelet calls for easing of sanctions to enable medical systems to fight COVID-19 and limit global contagion
UN rights expert urges Governments to save lives by lifting all economic sanctions amid COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19: Economic sanctions should be lifted to prevent hunger crises – UN expert

UN Experts reports:
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan: Negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights in the coronavirus disease pandemic

Useful links:
Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights

When states of emergency are declared, states that are parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights should meet their legal obligation to provide formal notification through the UN Secretary-General. Regional human rights treaties include similar obligations.
Governments should inform the affected population of what the emergency measures are, where they apply and for how long they are intended to remain in effect, and should update this information regularly and make it widely available.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
COVID-19: Exceptional measures should not be cover for human rights abuses and violations – Bachelet
Statement on derogations from the Covenant in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19: States should not abuse emergency measures to suppress human rights – UN experts

Useful links:
Emergency Measures and COVID-19: Guidance

The right to education needs to be protected in the case of school closures; for example, and where possible, through online accessible learning. Girls may be disproportionately affected, as many already face significant obstacles to go to school, and may now be expected to take on increased care work at home. Girls and boys may also lose access to nutritious food and other services schools often provide, such as mental health and sexual and reproductive health education.
Social protection schemes should pay particular attention to children due to the heightened vulnerabilities they face based on their early stage of physical, intellectual and emotional development. Best practices include cash transfers directed at families with children, which have been effective in the protection of children’s rights.
Good practices by governments, the public and private sector, international and national organisations to alleviate both the negative socio-economic effects of this crisis should be shared.
The occupational health and safety of those working during this crisis, particularly health workers should be assessed and addressed. No one should feel forced to work in conditions that unnecessarily endanger their health because they fear losing a job or a paycheck.
Fiscal stimulus and social protection packages aimed directly at those least able to cope with the crisis are essential to mitigating the devastating consequences of the pandemic. Economic relief measures such as guaranteed paid sick leave, extended unemployment benefits, food distribution, child care, and universal basic income can help safeguard against the acute effects of the crisis.
It is imperative to ensure that people with disabilities and their families have access to additional financial assistance, since many of them depend on discontinued services and may be lacking funds to stockpile food and medicine or pay for home delivery.
It is necessary to ensure that the poor and those in difficult economic circumstances receive free water during the crisis.

Read the full UN OHCHR Guide on combating COVID-19

Press-releases and statements of the UN experts
NEW Leadership Dialogue Series of the Brookings Center for Universal Education and the World Bank Education during the COVID-19 pandemic
Debt standstill for distressed countries must go beyond 2020, urges UN expert
COVID-19 crisis highlights urgent need to transform global economy, says new UN poverty expert
Statement by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and economic, social and cultural rights
COVID-19: State and business respect for human rights critical to resilience and recovery, say UN experts
Responses to COVID-19 crisis: UN expert urges more government spending targeting inequality, not big business
“An immediate human rights response to counter the COVID-19 and the global recession ahead is an urgent priority,” says UN expert
COVID-19: Health care heroes need protection – UN expert

UN Experts reports:
NEW Note by the Secretary-General: Effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights
NEW Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education: Right to education: impact of the coronavirus disease crisis on the right to education – concerns, challenges and opportunities

Useful links:
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes
Independent Expert on foreign debt