Public document

OHCHR, Human Rights Treaties Branch
28 April 2020

Compilation of statements byhuman rights treaty bodies in
the context of COVID-19

Geneva, April 2020

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Contents
Guidance notes ....................................................................................................................................... 3
CEDAW - Guidance Note on CEDAW and COVID-19 (22 April 2020) ................................................... 3
Advice ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
SPT - Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to the National Preventive Mechanismof the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding compulsory quarantine forCoronavirus, adopted at its 40th session (10 to 14 February 2020).................................................... 7
SPT - Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to States parties and national
preventive mechanisms relating to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, CAT/OP/10 (7April 2020) ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Statements ............................................................................................................................................ 15
CRPD - 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 (1 April 2020) .......................................................................................... 15
CESCR - Statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and economic, social andcultural rights by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2020/1 (6 April2020) ................................................................................................................................................. 17
CRC - The Committee on the Rights of the Child warns of the grave physical, emotional andpsychological effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and calls on States to protect the rightsof children (8 April 2020)................................................................................................................... 23
CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Call for joint action in
the times of the COVID-19 pandemic (21 April 2020) ....................................................................... 26
CCPR - Human Rights Committee - Statement on derogations from the Covenant in connection with
the COVID-19 pandemic, CCPR/C/128/2 (24 April 2020) .................................................................. 30
Press releases ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Chairs of treaty bodies - UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies call for human rights approach in fighting
COVID-19 (24 March 2020) ............................................................................................................... 33
CESCR - COVID-19: UN Experts call for international solidarity to alleviate financial burdens ofdeveloping countries and the most vulnerable - Statement of the Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (7 April 2020)...................................................................................................... 35
CEDAW - Raising women’s voices and leadership in COVID-19 policies (22 April 2020) ................... 372

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Guidance notes
CEDAW - Guidance Note on CEDAW and COVID-19 (22 April 2020)
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (theCommittee) expresses deep concern about exacerbated inequalities andheightened risks of gender-based violence and discrimination faced by
women due to the current COVID-19 crisis and calls on States to uphold therights of women and girls.
While many States consider restrictions on freedom of movement andphysical distancing necessary to prevent contagion, such measures may
disproportionately limit women’s access to health care, safe shelters,
education, employment and economic life. The effects are aggravated for
disadvantaged groups of women and women in conflict or otherhumanitarian situations.
States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (the Convention) have an obligation to ensurethat measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic do not directly or
indirectly discriminate against women and girls. States parties also have an
obligation to protect women from, and ensure accountability for, genderbased violence, enable women’s socio-economic empowerment andguarantee their participation in policy and decision making in all crisis
responses and recovery efforts.
Recalling the joint declaration of the ten United Nations human rights treaty
bodies and the Committee’s call for joint action in the times of the COVID-19
pandemic, and taking note of the OHCHR Guidance Note on COVID-19 and
Women’s Human Rights, the Committee further urges States parties touphold women’s rights in their responses to the public health threat posedby the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Committee calls on States
parties to:
1. Address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women’s health.
Gender bias in the allocation of resources and diversion of funds during
pandemics worsen existing gender inequalities, often to the detriment of
women’s health needs. Women’s disproportionate burden of caring forchildren at home and for sick or older family members as well as their highrepresentation in the health workforce expose women to an increased risk ofcontracting COVID-19. States parties must address women’s increased healthrisk through preventive measures and by ensuring access to early detection
and treatment of COVID-19. States parties should also protect women healthworkers and other frontline workers from contagion through measures suchas the dissemination of necessary precautionary information and adequate
provision of personal protective equipment as well as psychosocial support.
2. Provide sexual and reproductive health as essential services. States
parties must continue to provide gender-responsive sexual and reproductive
health services, including maternity care, as part of their COVID-19 response.
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Confidential access to sexual and reproductive health information andservices such as modern forms of contraception, safe abortion and postabortion services and full consent must be ensured to women and girls at all
times, through toll-free hotlines and easy-to-access procedures such as
online prescriptions, if necessary free of charge. States parties should raiseawareness about the particular risks of COVID-19 for pregnant women andwomen with pre-existing health conditions. They should provide manuals forhealth workers guiding strict adherence to prevention of infection, including
for maternal health, during pregnancy, at-birth and the post-delivery period.
3. Protect women and girls from gender-based violence. Duringconfinement, women and girls are at increased risk of domestic, sexual,
economic, psychological and other forms of gender-based violence byabusive partners, family members, and care persons, and in ruralcommunities. States parties have a due diligence obligation to prevent andprotect women from, and hold perpetrators accountable for, gender-based
violence against women. They should ensure that women and girls who are
victims or at risk of gender-based violence, including those living ininstitutions, have effective access to justice, particularly to protection orders,
medical and psycho-social assistance, shelters and rehabilitation
programmes. National response plans to COVID-19 should prioritize
availability of safe shelters, hotlines and remote psychological counselling
services and inclusive and accessible specialised and effective security
systems, including in rural communities, and address women’s mental healthissues, which stem from violence, social isolation and related depression.
States parties should develop protocols for the care of women not admitted
to such services due to their exposure to COVID-19, which includes safe
quarantine and access to testing.
4. Ensure equal participation of women in decision-making. Governments,
multilateral institutions, the private sector and other actors should ensure
women’s equal representation, including through women’s rights
organisations, meaningful participation and leadership in the formulation of
COVID-19 response and recovery strategies, including social and economic
recovery plans, at all levels and recognize women as significant agents forsocietal change in the present and post COVID-19 period.
5. Ensure continuous education. Due to the shutdown of educational
institutions and children staying at home, many women and girls arerelegated to stereotyped roles in domestic work. While online schooling canhelp ensure continuous education, this is not an option for many girls andwomen who carry the burden of domestic work and/or lack the necessary
resources and devices to access the internet. States parties have an obligation
to provide inclusive alternative educational tools free of charge, including inrural or remote areas where internet access is limited. Suspension in thedelivery of subsidized school meals and provision of sanitary commodities forgirls and young women through educational institutions may result in lack offood and unhygienic menstrual practices. States parties should therefore
redeploy such subsidies and commodities to domestic households during
times of school shutdown.
6. Provide socio-economic support to women. The COVID-19 crisis
adversely affects women in low-paid jobs and in informal, temporary or otherprecarious forms of employment, especially in the absence of social
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protection. COVID-19 response and economic recovery plans should address
gender inequalities in employment, promote transition of women from theinformal economy to the formal economy and provide relevant social
protection systems for them. They should also formulate post-pandemic
programmes and targets for women’s economic empowerment. Economic
resuscitation, diversification and market expansion plans should target
women and provide economic stimulus packages, low-interest loans and/or
credit guarantee schemes to women-owned businesses and ensure women’s
access to market, trade and procurement opportunities, with particularattention given to women living in rural areas.
7. Adopt targeted measures for disadvantaged groups of women. States
parties should uphold the SDG principle of ‘Leave no one behind’ promoting
inclusive approaches in their legislative, policy and other measures. During
the COVID-19 pandemic, they should reinforce measures to support
disadvantaged or marginalized groups of women. In particular, States parties
should:• Mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the health, including mental health,of older women and those with pre-existing health conditions by ensuring
access to health care through medical home visits, safe transport to healthcare facilities and psycho-social counselling.
• Ensure that basic services including health care, shelters for victims ofviolence, and inclusive education remain accessible for women and girls withdisabilities during times of confinement and reduced service delivery,
including in rural areas and for those in institutions.
• Ensure access to adequate food, water and sanitation for women andgirls in poverty, including by providing food stocks and upgrading relatednecessary infrastructures. Ensure that migrant women and girls, including
those in an irregular situation and those without health insurance, haveadequate access to health care and that health care providers are not undera duty to report them to immigration authorities.
• Take special measures for the protection of refugee and internallydisplaced women and girls, such as systematic screening for COVID-19 in andaround refugee and IDP camps, and address their increased risk of trafficking
and survival sex during the pandemic.
• Ensure that indigenous women and girls have access to culturally
acceptable healthcare, aiming at an integrated approach between modern
medicine and indigenous traditional medicine, including access toequipment, testing and urgent emergency treatment for COVID-19. All
services should be provided in collaboration with local indigenous authorities
and ensure respect for their right to self-determination and territorial
protection against virus propagation. States parties should ensure thatindigenous women and girls and those belonging to minorities have access tocontinuous education and COVID-19 related information, including in native
languages.
• Address discrimination against lesbian, bisexual and transgender womenin access to health care and ensure that they have access to safe shelters andsupport services whenever exposed to gender-based violence during homeconfinement.
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Consider alternatives to detention for women deprived of liberty, suchas judicial supervision or suspended sentences with probation, in particular
for women detained on grounds of administrative or other non-severe
offences, low-risk offenders and those who can safely be reintegrated into
society, women nearing the end of their sentences, pregnant or sick women,
older women and women with disabilities. Women political prisoners,
including women human rights defenders detained without sufficient legal
basis should be released.
8. Protect women and girls in humanitarian settings and continue
implementing the women, peace and security agenda. States parties must
adopt a rights-based approach and undertake a gender-conflict analysis toprotect women and girls in humanitarian settings and conflict situations. They
must take remedial measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and counter
disruptions of services to prevent avoidable maternal and child morbidity andmortality in humanitarian settings.
9. Strengthen institutional response, dissemination of information and datacollection: States parties should strengthen and coordinate national
machineries to respond effectively to COVID-19. They should widely
disseminate updated, scientifically accurate and transparent information on
the gendered risks of COVID-19 and measures for available health andsupport services for women and girls. Such information should be available inplain and multiple languages and accessible formats, through all appropriate
channels, including internet, social media, radio and text messages. In viewof the post COVID-19 recovery path, States parties should collect accurate
and comprehensive age- and sex-disaggregated data on the gendered impactof the health pandemic to facilitate informed and evidence-based policy
making regarding women and girls.

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AdviceSPT - Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to the National
Preventive Mechanism of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland regarding compulsory quarantine for Coronavirus, adopted at its 40th
session (10 to 14 February 2020)
The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) of the United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland has asked for advice from the Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture (SPT) concerning the exercise of its mandate in places
where persons are held in compulsory quarantine for reasons of public healthprotection.
1. The SPT notes that Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention
against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (OPCAT) provides that:
1. Each State Party shall allow visits, in accordance with the present
Protocol, by the mechanisms referred to in articles 2 and 3 to any place
under its jurisdiction and control where persons are or may be deprived of
their liberty, either by virtue of an order given by a public authority or at its
instigation or with its consent or acquiescence (hereinafter referred to asplaces of detention). […]2. For the purposes of the present Protocol, deprivation of liberty means
any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a person in a
public or private custodial setting which that person is not permitted toleave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority.
2. It follows from this definition, read in conjunction with Article 19(a) of the
OPCAT concerning the visiting powers of the NPM, that any place where aperson is held in quarantine and from which they are not free to leave is aplace of deprivation of liberty for the purposes of the OPCAT and so falls
within the visiting mandate of an NPM.
3. Although not expressly stated, it is implicit from the structure of the OPCAT
that NPM visits may, like those of the SPT be temporarily restricted inaccordance with Article 14 (2) of the OPCAT which provides that:‘Objection to a visit to a particular place of detention may be made only onurgent and compelling grounds of national defence, public safety, natural
disaster or serious disorder in the place to be visited that temporarily
prevent the carrying out of such a visit. The existence of a declared stateof emergency as such shall not be invoked by a State Party as a reason toobject to a visit.’
4. This suggests that whilst a visit may be objected to on grounds of public
safety, which might include a medical emergency necessitating quarantine,
this could only be a temporary restriction and could not prevent visits to theplace of quarantine completely. In other words, there would need to be a7

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particular reason why such a visit ought not to take place at a particular point
in time, rather than that such visits ought not to take place at all.
5. This confirms the view that places of quarantine fall within the visiting
mandate of an NPM, although access may be restricted temporarily forstrictly limited reasons and not on the basis that the place in question is aplace of quarantine.
6. The SPT notes that Article 20 of the OPCAT provides that the NPM shall
have:(c) Access to all places of detention and their installations and facilities;(d) The opportunity to have private interviews with the persons deprived of
their liberty without witnesses […].
7. The SPT recognises that whilst quarantine is imposed for the public benefit
it must not result in the ill-treatment of those detained. The role of the NPM
is to ensure that all fundamental safeguards are respected, including the rightto be informed about the reason for being placed in quarantine, to have athird party notified, to have access to independent legal advice and to be seen
by a doctor of one’s own choice.
8. In addition, sufficient and appropriate measures should be put in place inorder to prevent violations of the prohibition of ill-treatment. Such violations
can include (or flow from) discriminatory practices and actions which havethe effect of stigmatising or marginalising particular groups of persons. This
may include those individuals and groups who are considered to be at risk of,or being potential carriers of, viruses.
9. Whilst the visiting mandate of an NPM includes places of compulsory
quarantine, NPMs must be mindful of the ‘do no harm’ principle when
exercising that mandate. This may require adaptations to normal working
practises, in the interests of those in quarantine, those undertaking the visit,
and the general interest in halting the spread of the illness. For example, theopportunity to interview in private may reasonably be conducted by methods
which prevent the transmission of infection, and members of the NPM
accessing places of quarantine might legitimately be subject to medical
checks and other forms of inspection and restriction to ensure the integrityof the quarantine, as would be the case for others servicing the needs ofthose being detained.
10. Reports arising out of such visits must be careful to respect theconfidentiality of those detained and not contribute to the potential
stigmatisation and/or risk of discrimination against those who have been
subject to compulsory quarantine. Further helpful guidance can be found in
the relevant documents published by CDC1 and WHO2.

1 https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/isolation/prevention.html
2 https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance8

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SPT - Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to States parties andnational preventive mechanisms relating to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic, CAT/OP/10 (7 April 2020)3

I. Introduction
1. Within the space of a few short weeks, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has
had a profound impact on daily life, with many impositions of severe
restrictions upon personal movement and personal freedoms, aimed atenabling the authorities to better combat the pandemic through publichealth emergency measures.
2. Persons deprived of their liberty comprise a particularly vulnerable group,
owing to the nature of the restrictions that are already placed upon them andtheir limited capacity to take precautionary measures. Within prisons andother detention settings, many of which are severely overcrowded andinsanitary, there are also increasingly acute problems.
3. In several countries measures taken to combat the pandemic in places ofdeprivation of liberty have already led to disturbances both inside and outsideof detention facilities and to the loss of life. Against this background, it isessential that State authorities take full account of all the rights of persons
deprived of liberty and their families, as well as of all staff and personnel
working in detention facilities, including health-care staff, when taking
measures to combat the pandemic.
4. Measures taken to help address the risk to detainees and to staff in placesof detention should reflect the approaches set out in the present advice, andin particular the principles of “do no harm” and “equivalence of care”. It isalso important that there be transparent communication to all persons
deprived of liberty, their families and the media concerning the measures
being taken and the reasons for them.
5. The prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment cannot be derogated from, even during exceptional
circumstances and emergencies that threaten the life of the nation.4 The
Subcommittee has already issued guidance confirming that formal places ofquarantine fall within the mandate of the Optional Protocol to theConvention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT/OP/9). It inexorably follows that all otherplaces from which persons are prevented from leaving for similar purposes
fall within the scope of the mandate of the Optional Protocol and thus within
the sphere of oversight of both the Subcommittee and of the national
preventive mechanisms established within the framework of the Optional
Protocol.

3 Adopted by the Subcommittee on 25 March 2020, pursuant to article 11 (b) of the Optional Protocol to theConvention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
4 See article 2 (2) of the Convention against Torture and articles 4 and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.

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6. Numerous national preventive mechanisms have asked the Subcommittee
for further advice regarding their response to this situation. Naturally, as
autonomous bodies, national preventive mechanisms are free to determine
how best to respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic within theirrespective jurisdictions. The Subcommittee remains available to respond to
any specific request for guidance that it may be asked to give. The
Subcommittee is aware that a number of valuable statements have alreadybeen issued by various global and regional organizations, which it commends
to the consideration of States parties and national preventive mechanisms.5
The purpose of the present advice is also to offer general guidance within theframework of the Optional Protocol for all those responsible for, andundertaking preventive visits to, places of deprivation of liberty.
7. The Subcommittee would emphasize that while the manner in which
preventive visiting is conducted will almost certainly be affected by necessary
measures taken in the interests of public health, this does not mean thatpreventive visiting should cease. On the contrary, the potential exposure to
the risk of ill-treatment faced by those in places of detention may beheightened as a consequence of such public health measures taken. The
Subcommittee considers that national preventive mechanisms should
continue to undertake visits of a preventive nature, respecting necessary
limitations on the manner in which their visits are undertaken. It is particularly
important at this time that national preventive mechanisms ensure that
effective measures are taken to reduce the possibility of detainees sufferingforms of inhuman and degrading treatment as a result of the very realpressures that detention systems and those responsible for them now face.

II. Measures to be taken by authorities concerning all places ofdeprivation of liberty, including detention facilities, immigration
detention centres, closed refugee camps, psychiatric hospitals andother medical settings
8. It is axiomatic that the State is responsible for the health care of thosewhom it holds in custody, and that it has a duty of care to its staff andpersonnel working in detention facilities, including health-care staff. As set
out in rule 24 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for theTreatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), prisoners should enjoy
the same standards of health care that are available in the community, andshould have access to necessary health-care services free of charge without
discrimination on the grounds of their legal status.
9. Given the heightened risk of contagion among those in custodial and otherdetention settings, the Subcommittee urges all States to:

5 See, for example, World Health Organization, “Preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in prisonsand other places of detention: interim guidance”, 15 March 2020; and European Committee for the Preventionof Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, “Statement of principles relating to thetreatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic”,
CPT/Inf(2020)13, 20 March 2020. Available at https://rm.coe.int/16809cfa4b.

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Public document(a) Conduct urgent assessments to identify those individuals most at risk
within the detained populations, taking account of all particular vulnerable
groups;(b) Reduce prison populations and other detention populations, wherever
possible, by implementing schemes of early, provisional or temporary release
for those detainees for whom it is safe to do so, taking full account of the
non-custodial measures indicated, as provided for in the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules);(c) Place particular emphasis on places of detention where occupancy
exceeds the official capacity, and where the official capacity is based on a
calculation of square metreage per person that does not permit social
distancing in accordance with the standard guidance given to the general
population as a whole;(d) Review all cases of pretrial detention in order to determine whether it isstrictly necessary in the light of the prevailing public health emergency andto extend the use of bail for all but the most serious of cases;(e) Review the use of immigration detention centres and closed refugee
camps with a view to reducing their populations to the lowest possible level;(f) Consider that release from detention should be subject to screening inorder to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place for those who areeither positive for COVID-19 virus or are particularly vulnerable to infection;(g) Ensure that any restrictions on existing regimes are minimized,
proportionate to the nature of the health emergency, and in accordance withlaw;(h) Ensure that the existing complaints mechanisms remain functioning andeffective;(i) Respect the minimum requirements for daily outdoor exercise, while also
taking account of the measures necessary to tackle the current pandemic;(j) Ensure that sufficient facilities and supplies are provided free of charge toall who remain in detention, in order to allow detainees the same level of
personal hygiene as is to be followed by the population as a whole;(k) Provide sufficient compensatory alternative methods, where visiting
regimes are restricted for health-related reasons, for detainees to maintaincontact with families and the outside world, including telephone, Internet
and email, video communication and other appropriate electronic means.
Such methods of contact should be both facilitated and encouraged, as well
as frequent and provided free of charge;(l) Enable family members or relatives to continue to provide food and othersupplies for the detainees, in accordance with local practices and with due
respect for necessary protective measures;(m) Accommodate those who are a greatest risk within the remaining
detained populations in ways that reflect that enhanced risk, while fully
respecting their rights within the detention setting;(n) Prevent the use of medical isolation taking the form of disciplinary solitaryconfinement; medical isolation must be on the basis of an independent

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medical evaluation, proportionate, limited in time and subject to procedural
safeguards;(o) Provide medical care to detainees who are in need of it, outside of thedetention facility, whenever possible;(p) Ensure that fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment, including theright of access to independent medical advice, the right to legal assistanceand the right to ensure that third parties are notified of detention, remain
available and operable, restrictions on access notwithstanding;(q) Ensure that all detainees and staff receive reliable, accurate and up-todate information concerning all measures being taken, their duration and thereasons for them;(r) Ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect the health of staff
and personnel working in detention facilities, including health-care staff, andthat they are properly equipped and supported while undertaking theirduties;(s) Make available appropriate psychological support to all detainees and staff
who are affected by these measures;(t) Ensure that, if applicable, all the above considerations are taken into
account with regard to patients who are involuntarily admitted to psychiatrichospitals.

III. Measures to be taken by authorities in respect of those in official
places of quarantine
10. The Subcommittee has already issued advice on the situation of those
held in quarantine (CAT/OP/9). To that advice, the Subcommittee would
further add that:(a) Those individuals who are being temporarily held in quarantine are to betreated at all times as free agents, except for the limitations necessarily
placed upon them in accordance with the law and on the basis of scientificevidence for quarantine purposes;(b) Those being temporarily held in quarantine are not to be viewed ortreated as if they were detainees;(c) Quarantine facilities should be of a sufficient size and have sufficientfacilities to permit internal freedom of movement and a range of purposive
activities;(d) Communication with families and friends through appropriate means
should be encouraged and facilitated;(e) Since quarantine facilities are a de facto form of deprivation of liberty, allthose so held should be able to benefit from the fundamental safeguards
against ill-treatment, including information of the reasons for their being
quarantined, the right of access to independent medical advice, the right tolegal assistance and the right to ensure that third parties are notified of their
being in quarantine, in a manner consonant with their status and situation;

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Public document(f) All appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that those who are, or
have been, in quarantine do not suffer from any form of marginalization or
discrimination, including once they have returned to the community;(g) Appropriate psychological support should be available for those who needit, both during and after their period of quarantine.

IV. Measures to be taken by national preventive mechanisms
11. National preventive mechanisms should continue exercising their visiting
mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the manner in which they
do so must take into account the legitimate restrictions currently imposed onsocial contact. National preventive mechanisms cannot be completely denied
access to official places of detention, including places of quarantine, even if
temporary restrictions are permissible in accordance with article 14 (2) of the
Optional Protocol.
12. The objective of the Optional Protocol, as set out in article 1, is to establish
a system of regular visits, whereas the purpose, as set out in the preamble, isthe protection of persons deprived of their liberty against torture and otherinhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, this being a non-derogableobligation under international law. In the current context, this suggests that
it is incumbent on national preventive mechanisms to devise methods forfulfilling their preventive mandate in relation to places of detention thatminimize the need for social contact but that nevertheless offer effective
opportunities for preventive engagement.
13. Such measures might include:(a) Discussing the implementation and operation of the measures outlined in
sections II and III above with relevant national authorities;(b) Increasing the collection and scrutiny of individual and collective data
relating to places of detention;(c) Using electronic forms of communication with those in places ofdetention;(d) Establishing national prevention mechanism hotlines within places ofdetention, and providing secure email access and postal facilities;(e) Tracking the setting up of new and temporary places of detention;(f) Enhancing the distribution of information concerning the work of thenational preventive mechanism within places of detention, and ensuring
there are channels allowing prompt and confidential communication;(g) Seeking to contact third parties (e.g., families and lawyers) who may beable to provide additional information concerning the situation within placesof detention;(h) Enhancing cooperation with non-governmental organizations and relief
organizations working with those deprived of their liberty.

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V. Conclusion
14. It is not possible to accurately predict how long the current pandemic will
last, or what its full effects will be. What is clear is that it is already having a
profound effect on all members of society and will continue to do so for aconsiderable time to come. The Subcommittee and national preventive
mechanisms must be conscious of the “do no harm” principle as they
undertake their work. This may mean that national preventive mechanisms
should adapt their working methods to meet the situation caused by the
pandemic in order to safeguard the public; staff and personnel working indetention facilities, including health-care staff; detainees; and themselves.
The overriding criterion must be that of effectiveness in securing theprevention of ill-treatment of those subject to detaining measures. The
parameters of prevention have been widened by the extraordinary measuresthat States have had to take. It is the responsibility of the Subcommittee andof national preventive mechanisms to respond in imaginative and creative
ways to the novel challenges they face in the exercise of their mandates
related to the Optional Protocol.

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Statements
CRPD - Joint Statement: Persons with Disabilities and COVID-19 by the Chair of theUnited Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on behalf of theCommittee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Envoy of the United
Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility (1 April 2020)
1. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) is an international human rights treaty, the framework of which,developed by the Committee, provides States with a legally binding structure
for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and their related
targets. This is not only the case for those targets that explicitly refer topersons with disabilities, but for all goals and targets. It also includes
measures to ensure that the lives and rights of persons with disabilities areappropriately protected in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Article 11 of the CRPD establishes that States parties shall take all possible
measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in
the national response to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies.
This comprises measures in all areas of life of persons with disabilities,
including the protection of their access to the highest attainable standard ofhealth without discrimination, general wellbeing and prevention of infectious
diseases, and measures to ensure protection against negative attitudes,
isolation, and stigmatization that may arise in the midst of the crisis.
3. The 2030 Agenda sets targets aimed at responding to epidemics,
particularly through achieving universal health coverage, ensuring access to
medicine and vaccines, promoting mental health and well-being, andreinforcing the capacity of all countries in early warning, risk reduction andrisk management for national and global health.
4. By implementing their obligations under the CRPD and fulfilling thecommitments in the Sustainable Development Agenda, States will be able tosafeguard the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. In doing so,States should consider the diversity among persons with disabilities, with aparticular focus on gender and age, and the situation of persons withdisabilities facing deprivation and hardship.
5. States should ensure the safety and integrity of persons with disabilities
and accelerate measures of deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities
from all types of institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has already affectednursing homes, psychiatric hospitals and other detention centers, where
there are heightened risks for persons with disabilities still in institutions.
6. The Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities and the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on
Disability and Accessibility call upon all relevant authorities to adopt
measures to appropriately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring
inclusion and the effective participation of persons with disabilities.
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7. States should take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons
with disabilities to health services and provide persons with disabilities withthe same range, quality and standard of health care as provided to otherpersons, including mental health services. States should also continue
providing to persons with disabilities the health services required by persons
with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities. During the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, State should prevent discriminatory denial of healthcare or life-saving services, food or fluids on the basis of disability.
8. States must ensure that persons with disabilities, through theirrepresentative organizations, are closely consulted with and actively involvedin the planning, implementation and monitoring of COVID-19 prevention andcontainment measures.
9. States should safeguard the provision of food, medicine, and other supplies
for persons with disabilities during situations of isolation and quarantine. The
range of support in the community, including home-care and personal
assistance support, and rehabilitation services, when necessary, must be
ensured and not discontinued as they are essential for the exercise of therights of persons with disabilities. All services related to COVID-19 crisis,
including remote/telephone medical advice, quarantine facilities, public
information, including information on essential supplies and services shouldbe accessible for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others andprovided on accessible platforms in various alternative formats, modes andmethods of communication.
10. We call upon States to ensure that priority be given to address situationsof poverty, and deprivation of persons with disabilities in their crisis
management plans. States should ensure that economic hardship during thecrisis is addressed also with respect to persons with disabilities who may face
the loss of jobs and additional barriers to meet basic essential needs.
Danlami Basharu, Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
andMaría Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the UNSG on Disability andAccessibility

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CESCR - Statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and economic,
social and cultural rights by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
E/C.12/2020/1 (6 April 2020)
I. Introduction
1. The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to overwhelm public health caresystems, and is having devastating impacts across the world on all spheres oflife – the economy, social security, education and food production. Tens of
thousands of lives have already been lost, including those of doctors andnurses providing front-line medical treatment. Jobs have been lost andlivelihoods imperilled due to restrictions imposed to curb the transmission of
the virus, such as “lockdowns”. Schools are closed in many affected countries,
and people cannot gather for significant cultural and community events suchas religious services, weddings or funerals. At the commencement of thisstatement, the Committee extends its sympathy to all victims of thepandemic and their families, as well as the broader communities of which
they are part.
2. The pandemic has deep negative impacts on the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights, especially the right to health of the mostvulnerable groups. As elaborated below, States are under an obligation totake measures to prevent, or at least to mitigate, these impacts. However, if
States do not act with within a human rights framework, a clear risk existsthat the measures taken might violate economic, social and cultural rights
and increase the suffering of the most marginalized groups. No one shouldbe left behind in taking the measures necessary to combat this pandemic.
These circumstances have led the Committee to issue this statement tohighlight the most important impacts of this pandemic on economic, socialand cultural rights and to make some recommendations to States to combat
the COVID-19 pandemic in a manner consistent with their obligations under
the Covenant.

II. Impacts of the pandemic on economic, social and cultural rights
3. The COVID-19 pandemic vividly illustrates the importance of theindivisibility and interdependence of all human rights. This pandemic isessentially a global health threat. However, it has multiple implications forthe enjoyment of civil and political rights because some of the measurestaken by States to combat it impose severe restrictions on the freedom of
movement and other rights. Thus, it is essential that the measures adoptedby States to combat this pandemic are reasonable and proportionate toensure protection of all human rights.
4. Health-care systems and social programmes have been weakened bydecades of underinvestment in public health services and other social
programmes, accelerated by the global financial crisis of 2007–2008.
Consequently, they are ill equipped to respond effectively and expeditiously
to cope with the intensity of the current pandemic.

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5. Disadvantaged and marginalized groups are severely affected by thecurrent crisis. Older persons, those with pre-existing health conditions andcompromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to serious healthconsequences if infected by COVID-19. Other groups are at greater risk ofcontagion such as those in residential care facilities or communal living
arrangements; prisoners and persons in detention facilities; and residents of
informal settlements or other areas lacking adequate access to water, soap
or sanitizer. Certain categories of workers such as delivery workers, garbage
collection workers, manual labourers and farmworkers are exposed toheightened risks of being infected, as the nature of their work does not allow
them to take advantage of dispensations to work from home using digitaltechnology. Many health-care workers, who are performing heroic work in
the front lines of responding to the pandemic, are being infected due toinadequacies or shortages of personal protective equipment and clothing. A
number of groups are severely disadvantaged by the economic consequencesof measures adopted in a number of countries to contain the spread of
COVID-19. These include precarious workers in the ‘gig-economy’ or informal
sector along with other groups of workers who face retrenchments or loss ofwages and social benefits, including domestic workers in many countries.
Informal traders and a number of small businesses can no longer ply theirtrade or conduct business, resulting in profound economic insecurity forthemselves and their dependants.
6. Inadequate public goods and social programmes also deepen global
income and wealth inequalities. Those living in poverty cannot afford topurchase the aforementioned goods and services in the private market, andthey bear the disproportionate burden of the economic consequences ofquarantines, lockdowns and the adverse national and international economic
situation.
7. In countries where schools, technical colleges and higher educational
institutions are closed, efforts are being made to continue teaching andlearning online. These are important measures to mitigate the impact ofthese closures on the right to education. However, they also carry the risk ofdeepening educational inequalities between rich and poor learners due tounequal access to affordable Internet services and equipment such as
computers, smart phones and tablets.
8. The COVID-19 pandemic also threatens to deepen gender inequalities as
the burden of caring for children at home and sick or older family members
falls disproportionately on women, given the still deeply embedded genderstereotypes and roles in many societies. In circumstances where families arein lockdown or quarantine, women may be additionally vulnerable todomestic violence, and have limited recourse in these circumstances.
9. Indigenous peoples, refugees and asylum seekers, and those living inconflict-affected countries or regions are particularly vulnerable during thispandemic. Many lack adequate access to water, soap or sanitizer, COVID-19
testing facilities, health-care services and information. These populations
frequently suffer higher rates of chronic illnesses and underlying healthconditions that place them at greater risk of developing severe healthcomplications from COVID-19.

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III. Recommendations
10. To ensure that Covenant rights and obligations are protected andfulfilled during this crisis, States should take a range of urgent measures. In
particular, responses to the pandemic should be based on the best available
scientific evidence to protect public health.
11. Where the measures adopted limit Covenant rights, they should comply
with the conditions set out in article 4 of the Covenant. In essence, suchmeasures must be necessary to combat the public health crisis posed by
COVID-19, and be reasonable and proportionate. Emergency measures andpowers adopted by States parties to deal with the pandemic should not beabused, and should be lifted as soon as they are no longer necessary forprotecting public health.
12. In responding to the pandemic, the inherent dignity of all people must
be respected and protected, and minimum core obligations imposed by theCovenant should be prioritized. In this difficult context, access to justice andto effective legal remedies is not a luxury, but an essential element to protect
economic, social and cultural rights, especially those of the most vulnerable
and marginalized groups. Thus, for example, it is essential that law
enforcement officials respond to cases of domestic violence, that domestic
violence hotlines are operational, and that effective access to justice and legal
remedies is accessible to women and children who are subject to domestic
violence.
13. It is essential that States adopt appropriate regulatory measures toensure that health-care resources in both the public and the private sectors
are mobilized and shared among the whole population to ensure acomprehensive, coordinated health-care response to the crisis. As the frontline responders to this crisis, all health-care workers must be provided proper
protective clothing and equipment against contagion. It is also essential thatthey are consulted by decision-makers, and that due regard is paid to theiradvice. Health-care workers play a critical role in providing early warning
signals of the spread of diseases such as COVID-19, and in recommending
effective measures of prevention and treatment.
14. State parties are under an obligation to devote their maximum available
resources for the full realization of all economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to health. As this pandemic and the measures taken tocombat it have had a disproportionate negative impact on the mostmarginalized groups, States must make all efforts to mobilize the necessary
resources to combat COVID-19 in the most equitable manner, in order toavoid imposing a further economic burden on these marginalized groups.
Allocation of resources should prioritize the special needs of these groups.
15. All States parties should, as a matter of urgency, adopt special, targetedmeasures, including through international cooperation, to protect andmitigate the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable groups such as older
persons, persons with disabilities, refugees and conflict-affected populations,as well as communities and groups subject to structural discrimination anddisadvantage. Such measures include, among others, the provision of water,
soap and sanitizer to communities who lack them; targeted programmes toprotect the jobs, wages and benefits of all workers, including undocumented
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migrant workers; imposing a moratorium on evictions or mortgage bondforeclosures against people’s homes during the pandemic; providing social
relief and income-support programmes to ensure food and income security
to all those in need; taking specially tailored measures to protect the healthand livelihoods of vulnerable minority groups, such as the Roma, as well as
those of indigenous peoples; and ensuring affordable and equitable access toInternet services by all for educational purposes.
16. All workers should be protected from the risks of contagion at work, andStates should adopt appropriate regulatory measures to ensure that
employers minimize the risks of contagion according to best practice publichealth standards. Until such measures are adopted, workers cannot be
obliged to work and should be protected from disciplinary or other penalties
for refusing to work without adequate protection. In addition, States shouldtake immediate measures to protect the jobs, pensions and other social
benefits of workers during the pandemic, and to mitigate its economic
impacts through, for example, subsidizing wages, providing tax relief andestablishing supplementary social security and income protection
programmes.
17. Regulatory measures should also be adopted to prevent profiteering on
foodstuffs, hygiene products and essential medicines and supplies.
Recommended measures include lifting all value added tax on such supplies
during the pandemic, and subsidizing the costs of essential foodstuffs andhygiene products to ensure that they are affordable to the poor.
18. Accurate and accessible information about the pandemic is essential
both to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus, and to protect the
population against dangerous disinformation. Such information is also crucial
in reducing the risk of stigmatizing, harmful conduct against vulnerable
groups, including those infected by COVID-19. Such information should be
provided on a regular basis, in an accessible format and in all local andindigenous languages. Measures should also be taken to expedite access toaffordable Internet services and vital technical equipment by all students,
particularly those in poorer communities and regions, so that they can benefit
equally from online learning programs while schools and higher education
institutions are closed due to the pandemic.
19. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis, which highlights the crucial
importance of international assistance and cooperation, a core principle
enshrined in the Covenant. Such international assistance and cooperation
include the sharing of research, medical equipment and supplies, and bestpractices in combating the virus; coordinated action to reduce the economic
and social impacts of the crisis; and joint endeavours by all States to ensure
an effective, equitable economic recovery. The needs of vulnerable anddisadvantaged groups as well as fragile countries, including least developed
countries, countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, should be at thecentre of such international endeavours.
20. States parties have extraterritorial obligations related to global efforts tocombat COVID-19. In particular, developed States should avoid taking
decisions, such as imposing limits on the export of medical equipment, that
result in obstructing access to vital equipment for the world’s poorest victimsof the pandemic. Moreover, States parties should make sure that unilateral
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border measures do not hinder the flow of necessary and essential goods,
particular staple foods and health equipment. Any restriction based on thegoal of securing national supply must be proportionate and take into
consideration the urgent needs of other countries.
21. States should also use their voting powers in international financial
institutions to alleviate the financial burden of developing countries incombating the pandemic, with measures such as granting these countries
different mechanisms of debt relief. States parties should also promote
flexibilities or other adjustments in applicable intellectual property regimes
to allow universal access to the benefits of scientific advancements relating
to COVID-19 such as diagnostics, medicines and vaccines.
22. Unilateral sanctions of an economic and financial nature weaken healthcare systems and could undermine efforts to combat COVID-19, especially inthe context of the procurement of medical equipment and supplies. Such
sanctions should be lifted to enable affected countries to have access to theresources they need to effectively combat the COVID-19 health pandemic.
23. Pandemics are a crucial example of the need for scientific international
cooperation to face transnational threats. Virus and other pathogens do notrespect borders. If adequate measures are not taken, a local epidemic canvery quickly become a pandemic with devastating consequences. The role ofthe World Health Organization (WHO) in this field is fundamental and should
be supported. Combating pandemics effectively requires stronger
commitments from States to international cooperation as national solutions
are insufficient. Enhanced international cooperation should increase thepreparedness of States and of international organizations, especially WHO, torespond to pandemics, for instance through sharing of scientific information
on potential pathogens. It should also improve early warning mechanisms,
based on timely and transparent information provided by States on emerging
epidemics that have the potential to become pandemics. This would allow
early interventions, based on the best scientific evidence, aimed atcontrolling these epidemics and preventing them from becoming a pandemic.
If a pandemic develops, sharing the best scientific knowledge and its
applications, especially in the medical field, becomes crucial to mitigate theimpact of the disease, and to expedite the discovery of effective treatments
and vaccines. Furthermore, after the pandemic, scientific research should bepromoted to learn lessons and increase preparedness for possible pandemics
in the future.
24. COVID-19 has highlighted the critical role of adequate investments inpublic health systems, comprehensive social protection programmes, decent
work, housing, food, water and sanitations systems, and institutions toadvance gender equality. Such investments are crucial in responding
effectively to global health pandemics, and in counteracting multiple,
intersecting forms of inequality, including deep inequalities of income andwealth both within and between countries.
25. Lastly, the Committee calls upon all States parties to ensure that theextraordinary mobilization of resources to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic
provides the impetus for long-term resource mobilization towards the fulland equal enjoyment of the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in
the Covenant. In so doing, they will lay the foundation for achieving the ideal
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enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of achieving a worldof free human beings enjoying “freedom from fear and want”. Mechanisms
to facilitate national and international cooperation and solidarity, as well as
substantial investments in the institutions and programmes necessary for therealization of economic, social and cultural rights, will ensure that the worldis better prepared for future pandemics and disasters. The Committee
intends to continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
economic, social and cultural rights through the fulfilment of its various
mandates under the Covenant.

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CRC - 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 toprotect the rights of children (8 April 2020)
The Committee on the Rights of the Child expresses concern about thesituation of children globally, particularly those in situations of vulnerability,
due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many children are gravely
affected physically, emotionally and psychologically, especially in countries
that have declared states of emergencies and mandatory lockdowns. In
addition to the declaration of ten human rights treaty bodies, the Committee
further urges States to respect the rights of the child in taking measures totackle the public health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In
particular, the Committee calls on States to:
1. Consider the health, social, educational, economic and recreational
impacts of the pandemic on the rights of the child. Although initially declared
for short terms, it becomes clear that declarations of States of emergencies
and/or disaster may be maintained for longer periods, leading to longer
periods of restrictions on the enjoyment of human rights. The Committee
recognizes that in crisis situations, international human rights law
exceptionally permits measures that may restrict the enjoyment of certain
human rights in order to protect public health. However, such restrictions
must be imposed only when necessary, be proportionate and kept to an
absolute minimum. Additionally, while acknowledging that the COVID19
pandemic may have a significant and adverse impact on the availability offinancial resources, these difficulties should not be regarded as an
impediment to the implementation of the Convention. Nevertheless, Statesshould ensure that responses to the pandemic, including restrictions anddecisions on allocation of resources, reflect the principle of the best interestsof the child.
2. Explore alternative and creative solutions for children to enjoy their rights
to rest, leisure, recreation and cultural and artistic activities. Such solutions
should include supervised outdoor activities at least once a day which respect
physical distance protocols and other hygiene standards, and child-friendly
cultural and artistic activities on TV, radio and online.
3. Ensure that online learning does not exacerbate existing inequalities orreplace student-teacher interaction. Online learning is a creative alternative
to classroom learning but poses challenges for children who have limited orno access to technology or the Internet or do not have adequate parental
support. Alternative solutions should be available for such children to benefit
from the guidance and support provided by teachers.
4. Activate immediate measures to ensure that children are fed nutritious
food during the period of emergency, disaster or lockdown, as many children
receive their only nutritious meal through school feeding schemes.
5. Maintain the provision of basic services for children including healthcare,water, sanitation and birth registration. Despite the increasing pressure on
health systems and the scarcity of resources, children should not be denied
access to health care, including to testing and a potential future vaccine, to
COVID-19 – related and COVID-19 – unrelated medical treatment, mental
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health services and treatment for pre-existing conditions. Children should
also have access to clean water and sanitation facilities during the period of
emergency, disaster or lockdown. Birth registration services should not besuspended.
6. Define core child protection services as essential and ensure that theyremain functioning and available, including home visits when necessary, andprovide professional mental health services for children living in lockdown.
Confinement may expose children to increased physical and psychologicalviolence at home, or force children to stay in homes that are overcrowded
and lack the minimum conditions of habitability. Children with disabilities andbehavioural problems, as well as their families, may face additional difficulties
behind closed doors. States should strengthen phone and online reporting
and referral systems as well as sensitization and awareness activities throughTV, radio and online channels. Strategies to mitigate the economic and social
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic should also include specific measures toprotect children, particularly those living in poverty and lacking access toadequate housing.
7. Protect children whose vulnerability is further increased by the exceptional
circumstances caused by the pandemic. These include children withdisabilities; children living in poverty; children in street situations; migrant,
asylumseeking, refugee and internally displaced children; minority andindigenous children; children with underlying health conditions including
HIV/AIDS; children deprived of their liberty or confined in police lock-up
facilities, prisons, secure care centres, migrant detention centres or camps;
and children living in institutions. States should respect the right of every childto non-discrimination in its measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic aswell as take targeted measures to protect children in vulnerable situations.
8. Release children in all forms of detention, whenever possible, and provide
children who cannot be released with the means to maintain regular contact
with their families. Many States have adopted measures to restrict visits andcontact opportunities for children living in institutions or deprived of theirliberty, including children confined in police institutions, prisons, secure
centres, migration detention centres or camps. While these restrictive
measures can be seen as necessary in the short term, over long periods they
will have a marked negative effect on children. Children should at all times beallowed to maintain regular contact with their families, and if not in person,
through electronic communication or telephone. If the period of emergency,
disaster or State-ordered confinement is extended, consideration should begiven to reassessing the measures that prohibit such visits. Children inmigration situations should not be detained nor separated from their parents
if accompanied.
9. Prevent the arrest or detention of children for violating State guidance anddirectives relating to COVID-19, and ensure that any child who was arrested
or detained is immediately returned to his or her family.
10. Disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 and how to prevent
infection in languages and formats that are child-friendly and accessible to all
children including children with disabilities, migrant children and children
with limited access to the Internet.

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11. Provide opportunities for children’s views to be heard and taken into
account in decision-making processes on the pandemic. Children should
understand what is happening and feel that they are taking part in thedecisions that are being made in response to the pandemic.

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CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Call for joint
action in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic (21 April 2020)
The devastating impact and rapid spread of the coronavirus and therespiratory disease it causes (COVID-19) have made public health responses
the absolute priority of governments around the world. Affected countries
are struggling to tackle the health risks while mitigating the socio-economic
repercussions of confinement, production slowdown and job losses.
However, the consequences related to COVID-19 are only starting to unfold
and require a global approach, new vision and joint action.
Merely expressing human rights concerns in such an unprecedented situation
is not enough. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW Committee) therefore issues this Call for Joint
Action. If COVID-19 teaches us only one lesson, this should be that solidarity
is neither optional nor is it an act of charity. COVID-19 has shown that noneof us is safe unless we are all safe. Solidarity is the strongest means to resist
a virus that recognizes no border or status.
The CEDAW Committee would like to seize the opportunity and calls for joint
action against the Covid-19 pandemic from a women’s rights perspective, andsolicits participation from all key stakeholders, and in particular States parties
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW Convention). It is thus issuing a guidance note on CEDAW
and COVID-19 with practical guidelines for States to mitigate the devastating
impact that the pandemic is having more specifically on women and girls.
COVID-19 has affected victims regardless of gender, geography, ethnicity,religion, wealth or any other status. However, with our societies being
unequal in the first place, the consequences of the current crisis has impacted
women in a disproportionate and more severe manner. Women haveexperienced multiple and compounded forms of discrimination while on thefront lines of responses, at home, in the health workforce and in various
sectors of production.
While important events and meetings regarding the 25-year review of theimplementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25
review) such as the 64th session of Commission on the Status of Women and
the Generation Equality Forum have been postponed by the pandemic, theCommittee calls for concrete actions based on the commitments
acknowledged therein as they remain even more valid than ever before, witha sharper focus on the explicit implementation of the articles of the CEDAWConvention.
The world health crisis is a test for governance, leadership and democratic
institutions everywhere, for keeping national and international
commitments, and adhering to the principles of gender equality, nondiscrimination, solidarity, both nationally and internationally. The Committee
is fully conscious that no State institution and no leader can do it alone. Thisis the time for joint action.
In addition, the Committee calls for the conceptualization of support models
for stimulating local action in a bottom-up mode based on the strategic

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premise that in such a global crisis, every local group and individual action
counts.
Because of pre-existing gender inequalities, deep-rooted discrimination andfeminized poverty, the multifaceted consequences of the current crisis have
impacted women more than men, while at the same time placing increased
responsibilities on women’s shoulders. This disparity requires thatgovernments and international organizations embrace the need for stronger
national machineries for the advancement of women with standardized
infrastructure for efficiency and effectiveness in the pursuit of global genderpolicy frameworks and targets. In addition, there is a need to increase support
to civil society actors in order to reach all segments of the population andaddress aspects of the daily lives of women and girls to ensure they receive
adequate support.
The actions needed for women’s empowerment are numerous. The
Committee is engaged in the elaboration of the “CEDAW Knowledge Hub”
initiative to make its expertise on women’s rights available in creative ways,
adapted to the current restrictions on movement and slow-down of theeconomic and social lives. As the duration, reach and impact of therestrictions occasioned by the pandemic cannot be predicted, the first areaof joint action CEDAW calls for is the use of modern technology in, more
efficient, accessible, inclusive, gender-sensitive and widespread ways.
To this end, the Committee is finalizing a prototype of peer-to-peer learning
webinars, in collaboration with Religions for Peace and other partners to
explore how various faith communities can scale up collaboration around thediverse challenges posed by COVID-19 with a human rights-based approachwith respect to women and girls. These webinars will use the #Faith4Rights
toolkit6 as a resource. The key areas of these online webinars include genderbased violence against women, individual behaviours related to COVID-19,
home schooling, working from home, creative modes of local solidarity andresponding to discrimination against women in various aspects of public
policies. There will be specific focus on young women working in the fields ofeducation, media, technology and women faith actors.
To achieve this, the Committee will also rely on its jurisprudence, which
recognizes that education for gender equality and empowerment of womenand girls is the most sustainable way to ultimately achieve the objectives of
non-discrimination and equality of women and men.7
The Committee supports the appeal of UN Secretary-General António
Guterres for a global ceasefire as well as his special appeal to religious leadersof all faiths to focus on the common battle to defeat COVID-19.8 The
Committee also appreciates the statement of 19 March 2020 by Religions for
Peace on the Coronavirus Crisis,9 stressing the responsibility of faith actors to6

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Press/faith4rights-toolkit.pdf
General recommendation No. 36 (2017) on the right of girls and women to education

78

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2020-03-23/transcript-of-the-secretary-generalsvirtual-press-encounter-the-appeal-for-global-ceasefire andhttps://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2020-04-11/the-secretary-generals-special-appeal-religiousleaders
9
https://rfp.org/statement-by-religions-for-peace-on-coronavirus-crisis/27

Public documenttranslate ethical values into concrete actions and offering substantive ideas
for learning, teaching, preaching and designing community development
projects.
Media reports have shown that incidents of discrimination against womenand girls and domestic and gender-based violence have risen due to domestic
tensions resulting from confinement, often in poor housing conditions,pressure of accompanying children during home schooling and job losses by
women and men. The Committee also fears that restrictions imposed due tothe health threats could fuel nationalism, populism, xenophobia as well ascompounded and multiple discrimination against women belonging tominority groups of all kinds in particular women at the bottom of theeconomic ladder. Self-confinement can ultimately lead to nationalistic
tendencies and opposition to multilateralism. These tendencies pose serious
obstacles to the implementation of international human rights standards,
including the CEDAW Convention, and may seriously undermine genderequality. Governments have the primary responsibility for steering theircountries out of the crisis. Along with civil society and women’s rights
organizations, they must be very vigilant and push back any such threat.
At the intergovernmental level, the Committee is concerned that healthchallenges, economic and budgetary restrictions, border closures andlimitations of movement may hamper international solidarity, international
cooperation and development aid at a time when they are needed the most,particularly by women and girls. Such trends may deepen poverty andinequalities, notably in countries without robust supporting systems. Statesshould be aware of these risks and honour their duty of international
assistance and co-operation.
States should also regularly assess and monitor the gendered consequences
and impact of the pandemic, collect and analyze data, and plan to sustain andfurther promote gender equality also for the period after the health crisis.
This is part of their obligations under the CEDAW Convention and requires afit-for purpose national apparatus and robust gender infrastructure.
The efficient functioning of national machineries for the advancement of
women and related gender equality mechanisms and national human rights
institutions, are often fragile, under-skilled, under-funded, lacking
appropriate architecture, authority or regulatory powers for effective
oversight, surveillance or impact monitoring. They are further hampered intheir mandates during crises. States have to engage and sustain thesemechanisms and develop them further during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
States should neither undermine, sideline nor reduce financial resources forgender equality but, conversely, use the opportunity to overhaul theiroperations, plan and effect further investments in this area. These steps willbe essential for ensuring gender equality and empowerment of women andwomen’s leadership and integral participation in decision-making in the
period of “convalescence” of societies.
The Committee holds the strong opinion that these unprecedented times arealso an opportunity for change guided by the principle of “Leave no one
behind” of the Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing that women andnational machineries for the advancement of women are central to response
and recovery strategies. National human rights institutions, the UN System,
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the UN human rights treaty bodies and special procedures may join forces inorder to show a way forward for both States and civil society actors. The
CEDAW Knowledge Hub initiative, with its imminent webinars about womenrights, will be the signature contribution of CEDAW to a new thinking and joint
action. The Committee invites all relevant stakeholders, including the private
sector, to join in this initiative and hopes that it will lay the foundations, incollaboration with other relevant stakeholders, for a positive and enabling
post COVID-19 environment that actualizes the principal lessons of the virus:
no one is safe unless all are safe.
The Committee calls on States to strive for grasping this moment in humanhistory as an opportunity to adopt transformative strategies based on
women’s empowerment and leadership, especially in the area of digitaltechnologies and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, States should emerge fromthe COVID-19 crisis with increased solidarity, by adhering to human rights
norms, promoting inclusive governance, social justice and peace.

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CCPR - Human Rights Committee - Statement on derogations from the Covenant inconnection with the COVID-19 pandemic, CCPR/C/128/2 (24 April 2020)
1. A number of States parties to the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights have notified in recent weeks the Secretary General of the UN
pursuant to article 4 of the Covenant about emergency measures they havetaken or are planning to take with a view to curb the spread of theCoronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), in derogation from their Covenant
obligations. It has been brought, however, to the attention of the Committeethat several other States parties have resorted to emergency measures in
response to COVID-19 in a manner seriously affecting the implementation of
their obligations under the Covenant, without formally submitting a
notification of derogation from the Covenant. The Committee calls on all
State parties which have taken emergency measures in connection with the
COVID-19 pandemic that derogate from Covenant obligations, to comply
without delay with their duty to provide immediate notification to theSecretary General of the UN, if they have not done so yet.
2. The Committee is of the view that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,
States parties must take effective measures to protect the right to life andhealth of all individuals within their territory and all those subject to theirjurisdiction, and it recognizes that such measures may result in certain
circumstances in restrictions on the enjoyment of individual rights
guaranteed by the Covenant. Furthermore, the Committee acknowledges
that States parties confronting the threat of widespread contagion may
resort, on a temporary basis, to exceptional emergency powers and invoke
their right of derogation from the Covenant under article 4, provided this isrequired to protect the life of the nation. Still, the Committee wishes toremind States parties of the requirements and conditions laid down in article
4 of the Covenant and explained in the Committee’s General Comments,
most notably in General Comment 29 on States of Emergency (2001), which
provides guidance on the following aspects of derogations: (1) official
proclamation of a state of emergency; (2) formal notification to the Secretary
General of the UN; (3) strict necessity and proportionality of any derogating
measure taken; (4) conformity of measures taken with other international
obligations; (5) non-discrimination; and (6) the prohibition on derogatingfrom certain non-derogable rights. In particular, States parties must observe
the following requirements and conditions when exercising emergency
powers in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic:(a) Where measures derogating from the obligations of States parties under
the Covenant are taken, the provisions derogated from and the reasons forthe derogation must be communicated immediately to the other States
parties through the Secretary-General of the UN. Notifications by States
parties need to include full information about the derogating measures taken
and a clear explanation of the reasons for taking them, with complete
documentation of any laws adopted. Additional notifications are required if
the State party subsequently takes further measures under article 4, forinstance by extending the duration of a state of emergency. The requirementof immediate notification applies equally to the termination of the
derogation. The Committee considers the implementation of the obligation30

Public documentof immediate notification essential for the discharge of its functions, as wellfor the monitoring of the situation by other States parties and otherstakeholders.
(b) Derogating measures can deviate from the obligations set out by theCovenant only to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the publichealth situation. Their predominant objective must be the restoration of astate of normalcy, where full respect for the Covenant can again be secured.
Derogations must be limited, as much as possible, in respect of their duration,
geographical coverage and material scope, and all measures taken, including
sanctions imposed in connection with them, must be proportional in nature.
Where possible, and with a view of the need to protect the life and health ofothers, States parties should replace COVID-19-related measures thatprohibit activities relevant to the enjoyment of rights under the Covenantwith less restrictive measures that allow such activities to take place, while
subjecting them to necessary public health requirements such as physicaldistancing.
(c) States parties should not derogate from Covenant rights or rely on aderogation made when they can attain their public health or other public
policy objectives through invoking the possibility to restrict certain rights,
such as article 12 (freedom of movement), article 19 (freedom of expression)or article 21(the right to peaceful assembly), in conformity with the provisions
for such restrictions set out in the Covenant, or through invoking thepossibility of introducing reasonable limitations on certain rights, such as
article 9 (right to personal liberty) and article 17 (right to privacy), in
accordance with their provisions.
(d) States parties cannot resort to emergency powers or implement
derogating measures in a manner that is discriminatory, or which violates
other obligations they have undertaken under international law, including
under other international human rights treaties from which no derogation isallowed. Nor can States parties deviate from the non-derogable provisions of
the Covenant - i.e., article 6 (right to life), article 7 (prohibition of torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, or of medical or scientificexperimentation without consent), article 8, paragraphs 1 and 2 (prohibitionof slavery, slave-trade and servitude), article 11 (prohibition of imprisonment
because of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation), article 15 (the principleof legality in the field of criminal law), article 16 (the recognition of everyone
as a person before the law), and article 18 (freedom of thought, conscienceand religion) - or from other rights which are essential for upholding the nonderogable rights found in the aforementioned provisions and for ensuringrespect for the rule of law and the principle of legality even in times of public
emergency, including the right of access to court, due process guarantees andthe right of victims to obtain an effective remedy.
(e) In addition, States parties cannot derogate from their duty to treat all
persons, including persons deprived of their liberty, with humanity andrespect for their human dignity, and they must pay special attention to theadequacy of health conditions and health services in places of incarceration,
as well as to the rights of individuals in situations of confinement, and to theaggravated threat of domestic violence arising in such situations. Nor canStates parties tolerate, even in situations of emergency, the advocacy ofnational, racial or religious hatred that would constitute incitement to31

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discrimination, hostility or violence, and they must take steps to ensure thatpublic discourse in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic does notconstitute advocacy and incitement against specific marginalized orvulnerable groups, including minorities and foreign nationals.
(f) Freedom of expression, access to information and a civic space where apublic debate can be held constitute important safeguards for ensuring that
States parties resorting to emergency powers in connection with the COVID19 pandemic comply with their obligations under the Covenant.

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Press releases
Chairs of treaty bodies - UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies call for human rights
approach in fighting COVID-19 (24 March 2020)
GENEVA (24 March 2020) – The Chairpersons of the 10 UN Treaty Bodies* on
Tuesday urged global leaders to ensure that human rights are respected ingovernment measures to tackle the public health threat posed by the COVID19 pandemic.
“Only by including all people in COVID-19 strategies can the pandemic be
combatted,” said Hilary Gbedemah, Chair of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and current head of the groupthat brings together the respective committee chairs.
The 10 experts called on States to adopt measures to protect the rights to lifeand health, and to ensure access to health care to all who need it, without
discrimination. They urged governments to take extra care of thoseparticularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, including older people,
people with disabilities, minorities, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum
seekers and migrants, people deprived of their liberty, homeless people, andthose living in poverty. They also stressed that women are at adisproportionately high risk because in many societies they are the main
caregivers for sick family members.
“No one should be denied health care because of stigma, or because they
belong to a group that might be marginalized,” said Gbedemah. “States needto provide targeted support – including financial, social and fiscal - to thoseparticularly affected, such as those without health insurance or social
security.”
Targeted support should also extend to other rights. In countries practising
comprehensive restrictions on movement, governments should use all means
available, including distance learning, to continue access to education,
particularly for children and adolescents. Students with disabilities should
also have equal access to the same education opportunities. States should
also ensure provision of essential goods and services to the most vulnerable
so that no one is left behind.
The Chairs warned that fear and uncertainty from this pandemic could leadto scapegoating and prejudice. “States must take active steps to ensure asense of solidarity prevails, including through protection against racism andxenophobia or the growth of unbridled nationalism,” said Gbedemah.
A growing number of States have imposed strict controls that affect humanrights, such as limitations on freedom of movement and restrictions on
peaceful assemblies and privacy.
“These controls must be undertaken pursuant to a valid legal framework. In
countries that declare a state of emergency, such a declaration must be

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exceptional and temporary, strictly necessary and justified due to a threat tothe life of the nation,” Gbedemah said.
“A state of emergency, or any other security measures, should be guided byhuman rights principles and should not, in any circumstances, be an excuse
to quash dissent,” she added.
ENDS*The ten United Nations human rights treaties are legally binding treaties,
adopted by the UN General Assembly and ratified by States. The ten treaty
bodies, or Committees, are the UN Human Rights Committee, the Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, the Committee on the Rights of the Child,the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women,the Committee Against
Torture and its Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the Committee on
Enforced Disappearances and the Committee on Migrant Workers.
Each Committee has been established though a treaty and is made up ofelected independent experts who seek to ensure that States parties fulfil theirlegal obligations under that legal document. This system of independent
scrutiny of the conduct of States by independent experts is a key element of
the United Nations human rights system, supported by secretariats in the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
For media requests, please contact Vivian Kwok in Geneva at +41 22 917 9362
/ vkwok@ohchr.org
Learn more with our animations on the Treaty Body system!
Follow the UN human rights office on social media! We are on
Twitter @UNHumanRights,
Facebook @unitednationshumanrights andInstagram @unitednationshumanrights

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CESCR - COVID-19: UN Experts call for international solidarity to alleviate financial
burdens of developing countries and the most vulnerable - Statement of theCommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (7 April 2020)
GENEVA (7 April 2020) – In a statement released today, the UN Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has called on global leaders to workin solidarity to relieve financial burden of developing countries throughinternational financial institutions, and to safeguard jobs and wages, as well
as secure food and medical supplies for the most vulnerable.
‘Now is a time when international solidarity is crucial to decisively combat the
COVID-19 pandemic’ said Mr. Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão, Chair of theCommittee. ‘Particularly as the virus spreads to developing countries andcountries with weaker health systems, countries should cooperate regionallyand internationally to confront this global problem together’.
‘States should seriously consider lifting economic sanctions to avoid
weakening health care systems and obstructing much needed medical
equipment and supplies’ said Mr. Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão. ‘States should
also use their voting powers in international financial institutions to alleviate
the financial burden of developing countries to combat the pandemic,
including through provision of debt relief. International cooperation can also
take the form of financial and technical assistance to promote economic,
social and cultural rights, particularly of the most vulnerable’States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights have to cooperate with other States to complement national
programmes to promote economic, social and cultural rights. International
cooperation can occur bilaterally or multilaterally, through the UN andthrough international financial institutions, to mitigate the impact of thepandemic on most at-risk persons, including older persons, persons withdisabilities, migrant workers, refugees and conflict-affected populations,minorities and indigenous peoples.
In its statement, the Committee identified targeted measures needed toprotect economic, social and cultural rights, including provision of water,
soap and sanitizer to communities lacking such access; targeted protection ofjobs, wages and benefits to workers; protection of workers from the risk ofcontagion; mitigation of the economic impact of COVID-19, including throughwage subsidization and tax relief; a moratorium on evictions or mortgage
bond foreclosures; prohibit profiteering on essential products; andpromotion of income support and other relief to ensure food and income
security.
While many of these measures have to take place at the national level,international cooperation, in the form of financial and technical assistance,
can do much to support and guide such measures, particularly for poorer andless-prepared countries.
‘The Committee will monitor the actions of States over the coming months
and years, including measures taken nationally and internationally inresponse to the COVID-19 pandemic’, said Mr. Zerbini Rebiero Leão in closing.

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Read
the
Committee’s
fullstatement(https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cescr/pages/cescrindex.aspx).

at:* Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a body of 18
independent experts established by ECOSOC to monitor the implementationof the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
** Mr. Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão is the Chair of the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights since 2019, and is a Committee Member since 2011.
Mr. Zerbini Ribeiro Leão is the holder of a PhD in International Law andInternational Relations from the Universida Autónoma de Madrid, haspublished extensively on matters relating to economic, social and culturalrights and is currently Professor at the University Center of Brasilia.
For more information please contact Ms Maja Andrijasevic-Boko (+41 (0) 22
917-9216 / mandrijasevic-boko@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries, please contact Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 /vkwok@ohchr.org
Learn more with our videos on the Treaty Body system and on the Human
Rights Committee.
Follow the UN human rights office on social media! We are on
Twitter @UNHumanRights,
Facebook @unitednationshumanrights andInstagram @unitednationshumanrights

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CEDAW - Raising women’s voices and leadership in COVID-19 policies (22 April
2020)
GENEVA (22 April 2020) – The UN Women’s rights committee calls on
governments and multilateral institutions to ensure women’s equal
representation in formulating responses to COVID-19 and strategies torecover from the crisis.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) has issued detailed guidance on a range of measures thatgovernments should take to uphold women’s rights as they respond to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The guidance emphasizes that COVID-19 response and post-crisis recovery
plans should promote women’s economic empowerment and address
gender inequalities in employment and social protection systems. Moreover,
governments must ensure women’s equal and meaningful participation in
the formulation of such plans and in decision-making.
“We welcome the leadership shown by many women leaders in the present
crisis in ensuring effective measures to protect their populations,” said
Committee Chair Hilary Gbedemah. “The Committee would like to hear more
women’s voices in rebuilding the economy and society after the pandemic,”Gbedemah added.
Other measures in the guidance include addressing women’s increased
health risks as primary caregivers for children and sick family members by
ensuring early detection and treatment of COVID-19; providing confidential
access to sexual and reproductive health services through easy-to-accessprocedures such as online prescriptions for contraceptives; ensuringcontinuous education through accessible educational tools; and facilitating
access to protection orders and safe shelters for women and girls who are
victims or at risk of gender-based violence.
“Because of pre-existing gender inequalities and deep-rooted discrimination,
the consequences of the current crisis have affected women in a
disproportionate manner, while at the same time placing increased
responsibilities on women’s shoulders at home, in the health workforce andin other sectors,” said Gbedemah. “Media reports have shown that incidents
of gender-based violence against women and girls have risen due to domestic
tensions resulting from confinement, pressure of home schooling and job
losses.”“The Committee also fears that the restrictive measures can lead tocompounded and multiple discrimination against women belonging to
disadvantaged and marginalized groups,” said Gbedemah.
The Committee further recommends targeted strategies for governments tomitigate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older women,
women and girls with disabilities, migrant, refugee and internally displaced
women, indigenous women and girls and those belonging to minorities,
women in detention, as well as lesbian, bisexual and transgender women.

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Public document“In their response to the crisis, States parties to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women must be guided byits principles of non-discrimination and gender equality, as well as by theprinciple of ‘Leave no one behind’ of the Sustainable Development Goals,”
Gbedemah said.
The Committee’s full guidance is available online.
The Committee has also issued a statement calling for joint action in times of
COVID-19. Read the statement here.
ENDS
For media inquiries, please contact Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362
/ vkwok@ohchr.org or the UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0)
22
928
9855
/ media@ohchr.org
Background:
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors
States parties’ adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women, which to date has 189 States parties. The
Committee is made up of 23 members who are independent human rights
experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity
and
not
as
representativesofStatesparties.
Learn more with our videos on the Treaty Body system and on the Human
RightsCommittee.
Follow the UN human rights office on social media! We are on
Twitter @UNHumanRights,
Facebook @unitednationshumanrights andInstagram @unitednationshumanrights
Concerned
about
the
world
we
live
Then
STAND
UP
for
someone’srights#Standup4humanrights
and visit the web page at http://www.standup4humanrights.org

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in?
today.