Human Rights Council Holds Panel Discussion on the Importance of Robust Policies and Services for the Protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Contributing to the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery

The Human Rights Council this morning held a panel discussion on the importance of robust policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Nada Al Nashif, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that there could not be a better time to discuss the crucial role that public policies and services could play to advance the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. The report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/49/28) underscored how human rights norms and principles offered guidance for the design and delivery of inclusive public policies and services and for the move away from temporary and ad-hoc measures towards longer-term public policies and adequately resourced services for health, social protection, education, food, water and sanitation, and housing.

Augusto Santos Silva, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, said that national health systems across the world had been stretched beyond their capacity. Many schools had shut down. There has been further impacts on the right to work, the right to social security, the right to food, and the right to water and sanitation. The scenario became even worse when speaking about persons in vulnerable situations, those who were victims of discrimination or stigma, or lived in poverty. The only way to respond effectively was by adopting a human rights approach, by building robust and efficient public policies, and by ensuring that public services were adequately resourced and fully functioning.

Catalina Devandas Aguilar, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Costa Rica’s robust social protection system allowed to achieve high levels of human development, strengthening the rule of law. Yet the country was not exempt from challenges, such as access to education during the pandemic. Ms. Devandas Aguilar said she had chaired last year the session of the International Labour Conference where the creation of an international funding mechanism to support national resource mobilisation efforts to achieve universal social protection was considered. Pushing for the formalisation of this mechanism was of paramount importance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Virgínia Brás Gomes, former member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said the pandemic had made it very clear that the effective protection of human rights required the recognition that they were indivisible, inter-related and interdependent, on one hand, and the implementation of coherent and integrated medium- and long-term programmes and initiatives, on the other. The existence of rights-based social safety nets to cushion the unwanted or unexpected effects of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, should be considered a national and international political priority in the context of sustainable development policies.

Alice Bumazi, Representative of Plan International Rwanda, said that the pandemic threatened to shrink girls’ and young women’s already limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. Resources were redirected away in favour of other COVID-related responses. Lockdown measures meant even fewer young people were now receiving vital comprehensive sexuality education. Developing or strengthening public policies and services for inclusive well-funded health should be of the utmost priority for all States. Policies should include sexual and reproductive health and rights, which should be gender-responsive, rights-based, and adolescent- and youth-friendly.

Bima Arya, Mayor of Bogor City, Indonesia, said collaboration in diversity was the foundation to fight COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty had increased, unemployment had increased and economic growth had fallen in Bogor. However, despite these harsh conditions, a survey had shown that 72 per cent of Bogor citizens still cared about the health and economic conditions of their neighbours. To support economic rebound, Bogor had several initiatives, including the promotion of COVID-19 safe tourism in the open space. Last but not least, to form herd immunity to fight COVID-19, the Bogor city government had facilitated mass vaccination involving medical personnel, the army, and the police.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers emphasised that no one should be left behind and that efforts needed to be intensified to ensure that more people accessed social protection. The pandemic had exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and put in the spotlight gender-based inequalities as women and girls had taken the burden of caretakers. Violence against women had also escalated. The pandemic had continued to put great weight on health systems, reversing decades of hard earned gains. The goal was not to build back better but to build back fairer. Many speakers referred to the specificity of their countries' situation on public policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Speaking in the panel discussion were Viet Nam (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Sweden (on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States), Jamaica (on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Timor-Leste (on behalf of the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries), European Union, Mauritania, Food and Agriculture Organization, Luxembourg, Montenegro, United Nations Population Fund, Chile, UN Women, Cuba, Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Israel, Sierra Leone, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Senegal, Argentina and Bolivia.

Also speaking were the National Human Rights Council of Morocco, the Advocates for Human Rights, Plan International on behalf of Child Rights Connect, Save the Children and RFQ, International Planned Parenthood Federation of Thailand, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s forty-ninth regular session can be found here.

The Council will reconvene at noon to continue the general debate on agenda item four on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.

Panel Discussion on the Importance of Robust Public Policies and Services for the Protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Contributing to the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery

Keynote Statements

NADA AL-NASHIF, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the COVID-19 pandemic had made the achievement of economic, social and cultural rights even more urgent. Due to the pandemic, more than 350 million jobs had been lost. The number of extremely poor had increased by between 119 million and 124 million in 2020 only. World hunger was on the rise with approximately 820 million people suffering from hunger and 2 billion being food insecure. The most affected were the poorest and most marginalised segments of the population. There could not be a better time to discuss the crucial role that public policies and services could play to advance the protection of economic,

social and cultural rights in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

The report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/49/28) on the question of the realisation in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights underscored how human rights norms and principles offered guidance for the design and delivery of inclusive public policies and services and for the move away from temporary and ad-hoc measures towards longer-term public policies and adequately resourced services for health, social protection, education, food, water and sanitation, and housing. The Office of the High Commissioner was actively supporting countries in ensuring that all people, including the most marginalised, received the support they needed throughout and beyond the COVID-19 crisis. It was essential that States supported each other in building better and stronger public services, such as universal social protection and health care. Investing in those essential services would pay off in the short term – by mitigating impact – and in the long term, by nurturing human development, economic productivity and resilience, fostering institutions so that they would be able to withstand future shocks and respond effectively to crises.

AUGUSTO SANTOS SILVA, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, said the report of the Secretary-General was a very relevant contribution to this debate. The pandemic’s effects on the enjoyment of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, had been huge and disproportionate. National health systems across the world had been stretched beyond their capacity. Many schools had had to shut down. There had been further impacts on the right to work, the right to social security, the right to food, and the right to water and sanitation. The pandemic had adversely affected the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. The scenario became even worse when speaking about persons in vulnerable situations, those who were victims of discrimination or stigma, or lived in poverty.

The only way to respond effectively to the negative impacts of the pandemic was by adopting a human rights approach, by building robust and efficient public policies, and by ensuring that public services were adequately resourced and fully functioning. Such public policies and services would be even more necessary now when the world would need to face the socio-economic consequences of the war happening in Ukraine. The world coming out of this crisis could not be a world where inequality between persons had grown beyond any control. The United Nations and its system for the promotion and protection of human rights had been playing a crucial role to help States cope with the pandemic. The policy guidance issued by the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had been of great help. Now it was time to act and to deliver. All States should build back fairer and keep on sharing best practices and building public policies, allowing all persons to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights.

Statements by Panellists

CATALINA DEVANDAS AGUILAR, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that the pandemic had put global responses in check with the resurgence of nationalism and protectionism, generating at times important questions about cooperation, solidarity and the validity of the multilateral system and the health architecture. It had confronted all with the high cost of austerity policies, and the consequent weakness of health systems and the dismantling of social protection systems. Ms. Devandas Aguilar said that social protection played an important role in poverty reduction and alleviation; contributed to social cohesion, more egalitarian and resilient societies and economic prosperity; and addressed critical drivers of conflict and displacement. Emergency social protection measures taken during the pandemic had contributed to reducing inequalities and poverty.

There was no doubt, Ms. Devandas Aguilar said, about the relevance of sustained and sufficient social investment in universal and inclusive social protection systems. Costa Rica prioritised social investment, health, education, sanitation, housing, and income security, among others. Its robust social protection system allowed it to achieve high levels of human development, strengthening the rule of law. Yet the country was not exempt from challenges. Education was one of them during the pandemic. To be transformative, change must have a human rights approach and education systems needed to be re-imagined. In conclusion, Ms. Devandas Aguilar explained that last year she had had the opportunity to chair sessions of the International Labour Conference where a decision was taken to consider the creation of a "Global Social Protection Floor”, an international funding mechanism to support national resource mobilisation efforts to achieve universal social protection. The global funds that went to finance social protection systems needed to be increased. Pushing for the formalisation of this mechanism was of paramount importance to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Such sustained investment would also help, as had been said, to mitigate and prevent the effects not only of the pandemic, but also of the environmental crisis.

VIRGÍNIA BRÁS GOMES, former member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said all crises brought risks but they also carried opportunities. The pandemic crisis was no exception. Its impact was devastating but if it had one positive consequence, it was to make Governments and societies in general aware of the relevance of the enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, during and post adverse situations that arrived unexpectedly, changed living and working patterns without warning, and exacerbated previously existing structural inequalities. Governments were faced with a number of interconnected challenges in order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, trying to relaunch the economy and to maintain support measures and programmes for vulnerable individuals and families. The pandemic had made it very clear that the effective protection of human rights required the recognition that all were indivisible, inter-related and interdependent, on one hand, and the implementation of coherent and integrated medium- and long-term programmes and initiatives, on the other.

Cross-cutting non-discrimination and substantive equality provisions were essential to deal with inequality in all its forms. All over the world, cutting social expenditure without carrying out the necessary reflection on the adverse impacts of such cuts on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights had led to increased inequalities. The existence of rights-based social safety nets to cushion the unwanted or unexpected effects of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, should be considered a national and international political priority in the context of sustainable development policies. If such policies were to be increasingly robust, they must be underpinned by the rights-based approach and integrate in-built evaluation and accountability mechanisms as the Secretary-General’s report had well exemplified. The world was facing new threats and would continue to face them over the coming years. To deal with them effectively, there was a need for national contexts and public policies that were more responsive to the rights of individuals, families and groups and renewed modalities of international cooperation based on solidarity, shared responsibility, mutual respect and complementarity.

ALICE BUMAZI, Representative of Plan International Rwanda, said that universal social protection systems encompassed access to health care. However, it was often neglected that the right to health included the right to control one’s health and body, including sexual and reproductive freedom. All adolescents and young people had the right to make their own free and informed choices and to have control over their sexual and reproductive health and lives, free from coercion, violence, discrimination and abuse. Girls and young women in particular were denied the ability to exercise these rights. The COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated this reality as it threatened to shrink girls’ and young women’s already limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. Resources were redirected away from vital sexual and reproductive health and rights services in favour of other COVID-related responses. Difficulty accessing contraceptives and other essential services such as safe abortion denied millions of girls and women the right to control their bodies and lives. Lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 had closed schools around the world, which meant even fewer young people were now receiving vital comprehensive sexuality education. With disruption to schools, health services and community centres, new ways of providing information and support to adolescents and young people needed to be established. This could include social media and remote learning, but comprehensive sexuality education should also be included in distance learning packages and considerations made for those who did not have access to digital resources.

In conclusion, Ms. Bumazi said that developing or strengthening public policies and services for inclusive, well-funded health should be of the utmost priority for all States. These health services should include sexual and reproductive health and rights, which should be gender-responsive, rights-based, adolescent- and youth-friendly, and available to all adolescents and young people, including during conflicts and disasters. It was crucial to challenge gender inequality and social norms which hindered the fulfilment of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of children, adolescents and young people, and in particular of girls and young women. Traditional, cultural or religious grounds should not be used to justify these norms. Upholding sexual and reproductive rights in accordance with human rights standards and international agreements was a priority. Comprehensive sexuality education should be accessible for all children, adolescents and young people, in both formal and non-formal educational settings.

BIMA ARYA, Mayor of Bogor City, Indonesia, said Bogor city was all about family, collaboration, and togetherness. Many extraordinary experiences happened in the city of Bogor, with collaboration in diversity becoming a value to be admired by its citizens. Collaboration in diversity were the foundation to fight COVID-19. Collaboration not only lay between the city government and the community, but the army and the police were also part of the fight against COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, slightly over 58,000 Bogor citizens were infected, and 538 died. Poverty had increased by 0.91 per cent. Unemployment had increased by 7.38 per cent. Economic growth had fallen by 7.52 per cent, with 42 per cent of total Bogor employees or workers experiencing layoffs, while 77 per cent of those who kept their jobs had their income cut. Nineteen per cent of residents had resorted to sell their assets to meet daily needs. However, despite these harsh conditions, a survey still showed that 72 per cent of Bogor citizens still cared about the health and economic conditions of their surrounding neighbours and 67 per cent of Bogor citizens were willing to help others who got infected.

This survey had led the city government to collaborate with 797 resident watches in the prevention and handling of COVID-19 in their respective regions. Bogor then initiated COVID-19 detectives that consisted of a tracking team and a monitoring team, responsible to track the close contacts of positive patients. To improve the economy, Bogor provided tax relief in the form of local tax relaxation, and tax incentives, by forgiving fines for all local taxes. To support economic rebound, Bogor had several initiatives, including the promotion of COVID-19 safe tourism in the open space. Last but not least, to form herd immunity to fight COVID-19, the Bogor city government had facilitated mass vaccination involving medical personnel, the army, and the police.

Discussion

In the ensuing discussion, speakers welcomed the findings of the Secretary-General’s report and agreed with the analysis it set out, which shed light on the structural inequalities linked with the underfunding of social services. They emphasised that no one should be left behind and that efforts needed to be intensified to ensure that more people accessed social protection, including amongst workers in the informal economy. Speakers highlighted the role of social protection systems to protect the health of everyone. The pandemic had exacerbated existing inequalities, widening the gap between rich and poor and showing shortcomings in social safety nets worldwide. The gender gap in accessing social services was higher during the pandemic. The pandemic had exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and put in the spotlight gender-based inequalities. Women and girls were increasingly affected in their access to education and mental health services. The pandemic had shown the fragility of the progress in gender equality as women and girls had taken the burden of caretakers. Violence against women had also escalated. Investments in the care economy were critical to support women re-entering the economy.

The pandemic continued to put great weight on health systems, reversing decades of hard-earned gains. The pandemic had also strongly stressed the need for all people to have access to vaccines and treatments. To better recover from the pandemic, shortcomings needed to be addressed; it was essential for the protection and promotion of human rights. The goal was not to build back better but to build back fairer. The global recovery effort had varied between countries and regions, but all countries were pushing forward with their recovery efforts. Investments in affordable quality services would pave the way for resilience and inclusive development. The COVID-19 pandemic was another example of the vulnerability of climate change responses and it was essential that the COVID-19 recovery policies took into account how they interacted with climate change. One speaker said that within the current unfair international order, it would not be possible to overcome global challenges. Many speakers referred to the specificity of their countries' situation on public policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in contributing to the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Concluding Remarks

CATALINA DEVANDAS AGUILAR, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations Office at Geneva, agreed that the State played a key role in social protection to address crisis situations. This role was relevant but needed to be transformative. The health care system needed to be rethought, to promote participation to generate new solutions to social dynamics and social trends. Cohesive systems needed to be formed. One of the lessons learnt from the pandemic was that support and services needed to be provided through community-based responses. The responses needed to foster participation which stemmed from the community and generated participation. Social agents and communities needed to be part of the response and the results of interventions needed to be tracked, while always adhering to a human rights focus

VIRGÍNIA BRÁS GOMES, former member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said if lessons had been learned, all that could be hoped for was that this was a future trend which would inform policy making. It showed that the private and public sector were not on the opposite side of the fence when it came to human rights. All actors had obligations and responsibilities. The State needed to strengthen its regulatory law and to guarantee access to justice for those whose rights had been violated. The private sector also had different responsibilities. If the corporate sector was interested in creating better opportunities for decent work and combatting situations of unjust work, the sector needed to be supported and recognised as a driver of human rights. Going forward, it was relevant to recognise the relevant role that those social agents played in the pandemic. The crisis should be viewed as an opportunity to carry forward articulation between the two sectors.

ALICE BUMAZI, Representative of Plan International Rwanda, said that it was important to repeat that as recognised under international human rights law, the right to sexual and reproductive health was an integral part of the right to health. She also emphasised that States had the key roles and obligations to establish adequate protection systems. The right to control one’s own health and body, including sexual and reproductive freedom, was often ignored. The lack of access to essential health services could cause more deaths than the epidemic itself. Therefore, sexual and reproductive health should be among the top priorities because they were lifesaving services. States should actively involve adolescents in the design and dissemination of sexual and reproduction health knowledge through a variety of channels. Governments should rebuild more just and equitable health systems. Fully funded primary healthcare was essential, including girls’ and women’s sexual rights, which put gender equality and human rights at their core, Ms. Bumazi concluded.