Human Rights
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How National Academies are
Working to Shed Light on Rights Challenges Related to the Pandemic 
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The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing and exacerbating inequalities throughout the world, and it has significant implications for a range of internationally protected human rights. National academies, and the broader scientific community, are poised to help address these concerns, which pose a threat to human dignity and to the global public health response.
Through their research and other activities, many national academies are examining the connections between science, engineering, health and human rights and working to promote rights-based approaches to the pandemic.
To highlight this important work, the IHRN has created the repository below with selected activities produced independently by academies worldwide. The repository, which will be continually expanded, includes reports, statements, webinars, interviews, and other existing resources on a variety of topics, as well as information relating to ongoing academy projects. The IHRN invites academies to contact it with information concerning relevant initiatives.
Through their research and other activities, many national academies are examining the connections between science, engineering, health and human rights and working to promote rights-based approaches to the pandemic.
To highlight this important work, the IHRN has created the repository below with selected activities produced independently by academies worldwide. The repository, which will be continually expanded, includes reports, statements, webinars, interviews, and other existing resources on a variety of topics, as well as information relating to ongoing academy projects. The IHRN invites academies to contact it with information concerning relevant initiatives.
PUBLICATIONS
Ensuring a Rights-based Approach to COVID-19
Several publications of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) examine human rights challenges surrounding the pandemic, including in relation to protection of civil liberties.
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PUBLICATIONS
Securing the Right to Political Participation During a PandemicThe British Academy has produced a briefing on How to Hold Elections Safely and Democratically during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In a related blog, Professor Sarah Birch, a British Academy Fellow, and other authors of the briefing elaborate on the connections between elections, human rights, and COVID-19.
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VIDEO CONFERENCE
COVID-19 and Inequities in the AmericasThe Inter-American Network of Academies of Science held a video conference to share information on activities of IANAS academies in response to COVID-19. Among the activities discussed were academy efforts to address inequities deepened by the pandemic.
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INTERVIEW
Tackling the Digital Education DivideDr. Anindita Bhadra of the Global Young Academy discussed with the IHRN how the move to online teaching during the pandemic impacts the right to education.
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INTERVIEW
COVID-19 and Children's RightsThe Uganda National Academy of Sciences has drawn attention to the impact of COVID-19 on children and adolescents in Uganda. Ugandan pediatrician
Dr. Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka discussed the challenges that children are facing. |
INTERVIEW
Disease, Stigma and DiscriminationDr. Indira Nath, IHRN Executive Committee member, spoke with IHRN Executive Director Rebecca Everly about the historic stigma surrounding leprosy, drawing parallels with discrimination against individuals during COVID-19.
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PODCAST
Gender Equality and the PandemicAn episode of the Seriously Social podcast from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has addressed gender and the pandemic, including the implications of COVID-19 for women in the public and private spheres.
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WEBINAR
COVID-19 & Human Rights:
The Academy of Science of South Africa held a discussion to explore the impact of COVID-19 on socio-economic human rights and violence faced by citizens.
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STATEMENT
Migration and HealthThe Federation of European Academies of Medicine and the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities have called upon European and national authorities to take critical actions to support migrant health, emphasizing the urgent health risks faced by migrants as a result of the pandemic.
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VIRTUAL PANEL
Mental Health Consequences of the PandemicRisk factors for mental health disorders, including poverty, social inequalities, and experience of violence, have risen greatly since the onset of the pandemic. The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academy of Science of South Africa held a panel to discuss concerns regarding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and on access to treatment.
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VIRTUAL PANEL
Digital Contact Tracing: Privacy and Other ChallengesMany countries have made use of contact tracing apps as a means to help prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. But these apps raise questions, including in relation to effectiveness, privacy, and data security. The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina held a virtual panel to discuss the experience of different countries in designing and using such apps.
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WEBINAR
Health Inequities, Human Rights & COVID-19
The Committee on Human Rights of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a panel that examined long-standing health inequities in the United States that have placed certain populations at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. The panel members also discussed the U.S. National Academies' Framework for Equitable Allocation of a COVID-19 Vaccine.
Statements, recommendations, and opinions contained in the above academy initiatives do not necessarily reflect the views of the IHRN.
