A lengthy but important thread from today's urgent "Call for human rights oversight of government responses to the #COVID19 pandemic", endorsed by 300 diverse, concerned & united organizations & experts across Canada. @AmnestyNow 1/24

Regard for human rights is essential in times of crisis. Human rights principles provide a valuable framework for government action and establish crucial safeguards against abuses.Yet respect for human rights is particularly vulnerable – tenuous at best – in times of crisis. 2/24

It is, therefore, a vital time to ensure robust human rights oversight: to encourage strong human rights measures are adopted by governments, and to guard against intentional or unintended human rights violations. 3/24

Human rights obligations enshrined in int'l law, Charter, treaties, legislation & other instruments make it clear what action govts must take to protect human rights – such as the rights to life, health, adequate housing & livelihoods – at risk due to the COVID-19 crisis. 4/24

They establish requirements re: gender equality, non-discrimination & language rights; necessity of deliberate action to protect rights of marginalized individuals & communities; and permissible limits on restricting other rights, to the extent necessary to address crisis. 5/24

The fact that the human rights obligations are clear, however, is not an assurance they will be upheld; particularly with many key human rights obligations at stake in COVID-19 pandemic, including health, housing, food, safe water and other basic needs. 6/24

Governments across Canada have long asserted that those and other economic, social and cultural rights are not amenable to the same enforcement as other rights, leaving their protection to the more uncertain and arbitrary political realm. 7/24

But international human rights standards require ESC rights be equally subject to effective oversight and enforcement as other human rights. This is particularly important during the current crisis. 8/24

Too often, in times of crisis human rights are dismissed by govts as irrelevant & unnecessary at best, or unhelpful barriers to effective response at worst. That is certainly so with current COVID crisis. Govts face enormous challenges and need to make decisions rapidly. 9/24

Public health risk is dramatic & economic fall-out spiraling exponentially. Understandably fearful & facing information overload, people are less likely to second-guess govt action & are inclined to give greater latitude to measures that significantly restrict their rights. 10/24

Often overlooked is greater or differential impact on First Nations, Métis & Inuit communities, Black & other racialized communities (esp individuals of Asian origin), the elderly, people living with disabilities, women & children at risk of violence in the home, ... 11/24

... refugees & migrants, people marginalized due to gender identity or sexual orientation, minority official language communities, prisoners, sex workers, homeless or inadequately housed people, people who use drugs, precariously-employed, & other at-risk communities. 12/24

Governments have, importantly, taken action to respond to the needs of many of these communities, but more is needed, and oversight is a vital safeguard. 13/24

Institutions that traditionally protect rights – including courts, human rights commissions & tribunals – face constraints. Some urgent matters being heard by video & telephone conferencing, many proceedings indefinitely adjourned & most new cases not being scheduled. 14/24

Due to nature of pandemic & shutdown of democratic processes & civic space, public forums, such as parliamentary committee hearings and public community meetings, that serve as human rights accountability and transparency mechanisms of a sort, are now also unavailable. 15/24

We are therefore calling on governments at all levels – federal, provincial, territorial and municipal – to take urgent steps to enhance and strengthen human rights oversight of their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including by: 16/24

1) Ensuring Indigenous knowledge-keepers, reps of federal, provincial & territorial rights commissions, reps of municipal rights offices & language commissioners have official advisory role to special committees established by govts to coordinate response to COVID-19. 17/24

2) Establishing independent human rights oversight cttees of First Nations, Métis & Inuit reps from rural & remote Indigenous communities & urban centres, impacted communities, frontline service providers, rights advocates, labour reps, academics & experts, mandated to: 18/24

2 (a) Identify measures to strengthen human rights protection in COVID response strategies;
2 (b) Track human rights violations associated with COVID response measures, including through police enforcement; 19/24

2 (c) Highlight statistics, disaggregated by sex, gender, Indigenous identity, race, disability and other identities, that are needed to improve human rights protection; 20/24

2 (d) Ensure govts apply intersectional gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) to COVID19 responses using anti-racist, anti-ableist and anti-oppression frameworks;
2 (e) Encourage & draw upon community-based rights monitoring & reporting of COVID-linked rights violations; 21/24

2 (f) Make regular recommendations to governments; and
2 (g) Report publicly on a regular basis, through mechanisms to be determined by the Committee. 22/24

Simple as that. Human rights oversight would help ensure we get COVID19 responses right, leave no one behind and set a crucial global example while other govts unleash COVID repression & power grabs. 23/24

Full statement and impressive list of 301 concerned organizations & experts here: http://tinyurl.com/y72dl2xg  24/24