18 May 2020
Nigeria’s Emergency (Legal) Response to COVID-19: A Worthy Sacrifice for Public Health?
Like many other countries across the world, Nigeria has called upon emergency powers to deal with COVID-19 without, however, having declared a state of emergency. The use of emergency powers in Nigeria in the fight against COVID-19 is not only peculiar but problematic for a number of reasons. Continue reading >>
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12 May 2020
Human Rights – The Essential Frame of Reference in the Global Response to COVID-19
It is mistaken to conceive of COVID-19 principally as a threat whose eradication necessarily requires rights to be sacrificed. Rather, human rights standards and principles offer a means of transparently balancing competing interests and priorities in the cauldron of COVID-19 decision-making – and rights-respecting measures which secure public confidence are likely to be more effective and sustainable over time than arbitrary or repressive ones. Continue reading >>
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10 May 2020
Viet Nam: When Non-Emergency Measures Equal Emergency Measures
In Viet Nam, Wthe ‘state of emergency’ clauses are virtually a repetition of measures the government may take when there is no emergency. This means that were the government to declare a state of emergency there would be no reserving policy space for the government to fall back to. Viet Nam should thus seize the opportunity to revise its legislation and clearly distinguish between emergency and non-emergency measure, both in terms of degree and scope. Continue reading >>
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05 May 2020
Dissecting Covid-19 Derogations
Does the pandemic require derogation from human rights treaties? This [...] Continue reading >>25 April 2020
COVID-19 and the Need for a Holistic and Integral Approach to Human Rights Protection
While the pandemic is global, the challenges the individual regions are currently facing in their combat against COVID-19 are different and specific. In Latin America, the combat is embedded in a context of deep social and economic inequality, systematic violence and poverty. As the crisis is likely to exacerbate these structural inequalities it is clear that its implications must be examined in the light of human rights and in the light of intersectionality. Continue reading >>06 April 2020
Hong Kong’s Basic Law at 30: A Constitutional Experiment under Stress
On April 4, 2020, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HK Basic Law) turned 30. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been and continues to be confronted with many challenges, including those concerned with the implementation of the HK Basic Law. Ultimately, it will depend on the Chinese Central Authorities and the Hong Kong institutions if the HK Basic Law is to remain the centrepiece in the governance of Hong Kong. Continue reading >>
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01 April 2020
Before it Spreads “Like Wildfire”: Prisoners’ Rights in the Time of COVID-19
There are more than 10.7 million people imprisoned throughout the world. Prisons are notorious incubators and amplifiers of infections, and the fear among inmates due to COVID-19 is deepening all across the world (France, UK, US and Australia among many others). During the current pandemic, protecting prisons from the ‘tidal wave of COVID-19’ proves to be a challenging issue for States. After all, they have obligations and duties under international law to safeguard the human rights of prisoners, particularly their right to life, health and human treatment. Continue reading >>31 March 2020
More than just ,Protecting Veterans’
On 18 March the UK Minister for Defence Ben Wallace introduced into the UK Parliament its promised package of new legislation designed to ‘protect veterans’. the proposed laws would amend the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) in a number of ways that impact on its human rights obligations under international law, particularly treaty commitments under the ECHR. Continue reading >>
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25 March 2020
First Order, then Humanity
While most news platforms are providing up-to-date information on Covid-19, one can easily forget the people trying to enter Greece to seek asylum, waiting at the Turkish side of the border or that are being detained and punished on Greek territory on the grounds of illegal entry. Europe’s response to the situation at the Greek external border does not follow its own rules. It abandons European values and foundational principles. The decision to launch a Frontex activity seems to follow a current trend to perceive human rights as subordinate to the unfettered sovereign rights of States. Continue reading >>
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20 March 2020