Volume 5 No 2

Permanent URI for this collection

https://repository.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/2451

Contents

Editorial
Mike Hayes and Ravi Prakash Vyas

Human rights and democratisation during the COVID Pandemic

Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation during 2020: A focus on the European Union
Fabio Calzati, Nicolas Jude Larnerd and Federica Lombardi

Selected developments in human rights and democratisation in Africa during 2020
Trésor Muhindo Makunya, Olum Lornah Afoyomungu, Ruddy Fualefeh Morfaw Azanu and Davina Murden

Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2020
Marija Ivanović, Edoardo Castiglioni, Desara Dushi, Imane Bellaadem and Ajla Henić

The Covid-19 impact: Key Issues in the Asia Pacific region
Coeli Barry, Geeta Pathak Sangroula, Prapoosa KC and Amparita Sta. Maria

Human Rights in Afghanistan

The dire human rights situation in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban
Hussain Rezai

Diversity, human rights and federalism: The case of Afghanistan
Ali Ahmadi

Browse

Browsing Volume 5 No 2 by Subject "COVID-19 pandemic"
  • Item
    Regional developments in human rights and democratisation during 2020: A focus on the European Union
    (Global Campus Human Rights, 2021) Calzati, Fabio ; Larnerd, Nicolas Jude ; Lombardi, Federica
    This article aims to highlight the key developments, strategies and responses which had impacts on civil society within the European region in 2020. A sociological focus is used to capture the breadth of issues and their full impact on the struggles faced by EU citizens, with an emphasis on vulnerable communities. In fact, amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU and its member states experienced a detrimental rollback in human rights and governance leading to devastating consequences for civilians across the entire region. The EU had to confront the climate crisis, racism and gender-based violence at the same time that it addressed the global health challenge, which presented provocative yet necessary discourse on the adequate safeguarding of human rights. Fortunately, the EU elaborated several action plans and commitments to address this myriad of challenges in 2020, but still lacks results and outcomes at the time of writing.
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    Regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2020
    (Global Campus Human Rights, 2021) Ivanović, Marija ; Castiglioni, Edoardo ; Dushi, Desara ; Bellaadem, Imane ; Henić, Ajla
    In South-East Europe (SEE), as in other countries across the world, the year 2020 was marked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts by governments to respond to it. The implementation of measures to protect citizens’ health implied the introduction of states of emergency and strict lockdowns that, in many cases, resulted in the curtailing of human rights and further weakening of the rule of law. This article provides insights from four SEE countries — namely, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo — and analyses to what extent the introduced measures met the threshold of legality, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality. The main finding of this paper is that incumbents across SEE used the state of emergency to concentrate power in their own hands, while at the same time sidelining parliaments and the judiciary and depriving vulnerable groups of their basic human rights. In summary, regional governments fared rather poorly when it came to respecting citizens’ rights and freedoms, especially in two important aspects: the proportionality and necessity of imposed measures.
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    Selected developments in human rights and democratisation in Africa during 2020
    (Global Campus Human Rights, 2021) Makunya, Trésor Muhindo ; Afoyomungu, Olum Lornah ; Azanu, Ruddy Fualefeh Morfaw ; Murden, Davina
    The unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on democracy, constitutionalism and human rights in Africa. Many executive and legislative officials used the pandemic as a powerful excuse to postpone elections without making significant efforts to seek consensus among affected stakeholders as required by human rights instruments. This descent towards tokenistic constitutionalism has gone hand in hand with two types of unconstitutional changes of government, namely the coup d’état in Mali and third-termism in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, which together show how the commitment to constitutionalism remains elusive in many countries. Meanwhile, the African Union human rights bodies swiftly devised alternative means to hold their sessions online as it became clear that physical meetings were not possible. The African Commission and the African Court made significant progress in fulfilling their mandates in 2020, for example by revising their rules of procedure to include cutting-edge issues and adopting soft law instruments. These instruments provided significant guidance to state parties in order for their COVID-19 related measures and actions to comply with the African Charter. This article highlights developments in human rights and democratisation in Africa during 2020. The article begins with a discussion of two forms of unconstitutional change of government sanctioned by the African Democracy Charter, before turning to trends in the postponement of elections in many African countries and their implications on constitutionalism. The article then discusses developments within the African Commission and the African Court. The article concludes by arguing that, while the African Commission and the African Court made significant efforts to find innovative ways to fulfil their human rights mandates amid the pandemic, a number of African countries descended into symbolic democracy and constitutionalism.
  • Item
    The Covid-19 impact: Key issues in the Asia Pacific region
    (Global Campus Human Rights, 2021) Barry, Coeli ; Sangroula, Geeta Pathak ; KC, Prapoosa ; Sta. Maria, Amparita
    The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated many existing human rights issues in the Asia Pacific region. Civil and political rights were often curtailed as public space was either fully closed to civil society voices or severely restricted and harshly policed. In countries in which democratic principles were already subject to being delegitimized or weakened, governments were able to further limit dissent and freedom expression. Disparities in education and governments’ difficulties in delivering reasonable quality education also became more pronounced. Vulnerable and marginalized groups were hit hard and were rendered least able to access support and services. Gender-based inequalities, already a pressing issue in many cross-cutting spheres, was likewise aggravated. Inter-governmental organizations were not generally focused on rights-based responses governance. For all the challenges the region faced, human rights defenders continue to advocate for justice and civil society organizations mobilize to address the impact of the pandemic.