Page 51 - Mansfield 2019/20

Human rights in the time of Covid
The Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) has been based at Mansfield since opening in 2017. From the start of the pandemic, the BIHR has been working with a wide range of experts to monitor the implications of the crisis for human rights in the UK and around the world.
UK disability rights
In the UK, the BIHR worked with the Oxford University Disability Law & Policy Project to show how disabled people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Papers presented at a round-table discussion in June formed the basis of a submission to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, published as Bonavero Report 4/2020.
Dr Marie Tidball’s analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from June reveals that 60% of reported coronavirus deaths in the UK were of people with disabilities. Drs Sara Ryan and Brian Sloan demonstrated that the pandemic has weakened existing social care infrastructure. For example, local authorities are no longer required to comply with the legal duty to assess whether an adult or their carer needs support. These so-called ‘easements’ could last until August 2022. This research points to the crucial importance of including disabled people in policy-making that affects their lives, and of closely monitoring pandemic responses to ensure that they do not put individuals in need at greater risk.
Implications for discrimination law
Award-winning research by Bonavero Fellow Dr Shreya Atrey shows that courts in the UK and elsewhere are ill-equipped
to respond to intersectional discrimination – for instance, the particular challenges faced by disabled women as compared to able-bodied women or disabled men.
Blunt legal tests demand a single ground of discrimination and clarity about whether discrimination is direct or indirect, where the situation is often much more complex. Shreya proposes
an alternative legal test assessing the criteria, grounds and differentiated impact of discrimination, and allowing for structural remedies as well as individual damages.
Key concerns and good practice globally
The Bonavero Institute also assessed the human rights compliance of pandemic responses in 27 countries across the world. Bonavero Report 7/2020 (<https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/bonavero_ report_7_2020.pdf>) suggests that the pandemic response is eroding human rights protections and democratic oversight in many countries. From residents of Brazilian favelas, to inmates in Italy’s overfull
prisons, to asylum seekers in Australia’s crowded detention centres
– marginalised populations are at increased risk of infection and from disproportionate enforcement of containment measures.
The report also found pockets of good practice. Australia has put in place packages to support those experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. Taiwan has introduced compensation for those in isolation and quarantine. South Africa has refrained from declaring a constitutional State of Emergency, preferring the more moderate and rights-respecting State of Disaster.
In many countries the ordinary functioning of legislatures and courts has been interrupted during the pandemic, limiting opportunities for scrutiny. But there are notable exceptions. In Spain, every 15-day extension of the State of Alarm requires
the approval of the majority of Congress. Courts in Colombia, Brazil, Russia and France are reviewing the legality of executive and legislative orders. In New Zealand, an Epidemic Response committee was established to scrutinise the Government’s action.
In July, Professor Martin Scheinin joined the Bonavero Institute as British Academy Global Fellow. In a recent Bonavero Discussion Group public webinar, he proposed a human-rights checklist for both emergency and long-term responses to the virus. There is no doubt that the pandemic will remain a focus of research at the BIHR in the year ahead.
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