Amnesty International published on April 7, the International Report 2020/21 which documents the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2020 and provides global and regional analyzes. It also raises Amnesty International’s concerns and calls for action by governments and beyond. During 2020, the world was shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the pandemic and the measures taken to combat it have had a global impact and have exacerbated existing inequalities and patterns of abuse.
Moreover, Amnesty International claims that political leaders have used the COVID-19 crisis to oppress and launch new human rights attacks. International cooperation has been undermined and the national interest has been prioritized.
Government responses to COVID-19 threatened a wide range of rights in Europe and Central Asia and exposed the human cost of social exclusion, inequality and state overreach. Under-resourcing of health systems and failure to provide adequate PPE exacerbated the death rates, workers faced barriers in accessing adequate social security, and public health measures disproportionately affected marginalized individuals and groups. Many governments also used the pandemic as a smokescreen for power grabs, clampdowns on freedoms and a pretext to ignore human rights obligations.
The Report can be accessed here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/3202/2021/en/
