On March 11, 2020, Covid-19 was officially characterised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This pandemic has not only brought challenges to public health but also raised deep concerns about its legal and social impact, particularly concerning the infringement on basic human rights. As part of the University of Edinburgh Pro Bono Society, it is pivotal for us to keep up with emerging legal issues derived from Covid-19 and to understand its unprecedented impact that our clients are currently facing. Here are some critical updates shared by the keynote speaker Philip Alston, a law professor from New York University, in JUSTICE Human Rights Conference 2020.

Expansion of executive power

Facing the emergency of the Covid-19 pandemic, several governments have invoked and expanded their executive power to react upon this health crisis. However, a few governments, such as Hungary, appear to have abused such powers to erode democracy. It has been observed that the Hungary government has used the Covid-19 Emergency Bill as an opportunity to harass and hamper independent journalists, NGOs, and other dissidents without strict public scrutiny. Moreover, in the absence of a clear provision for ending the state of emergency, it has enabled the Hungarian Prime Minister to reign by decree for an indefinite period.

Certain areas of human rights

Under this pandemic, the governments face difficulties to respond appropriately to different forms of protest which is guaranteed as a basic human right derived from the freedom of speech/expression. Public authorities are also confronted with exceptional legal challenges pertinent to prisoner’s rights, particularly related to the treatment of prisoners who are vulnerable to the virus.

Biased usage of technology

Using cutting-edge technologies to boost citizens’ social welfare benefits is a false image or at least, misleading based on reality, particularly during the pandemic. The technologies should have been innovatively utilised by the government to provide better welfare services to citizens and allocate financial aid to people who are in need during the pandemic. Instead, they have been primarily deployed on chasing after the welfare cheats.

Questionable transformation of society

As much as a public health catastrophe, Covid-19 also unveiled the underlying racial and economic issues that have existed long before this health crisis. Statistics have shown that minorities and the poor have disproportionately suffered more than the other groups in this pandemic. Professor Alston made an excellent comparison of the similarities between Covid-19 and climate change in terms of its impact on disadvantaged groups. In either case, the privileged racial or economic groups have much higher mobility and much more abundant resources to mitigate the loss that the disadvantaged groups cannot afford. For example, wealthier groups are more likely to stay or work from home without taking risks of working outside to make ends meet. Generally, the wealthy members of society are more likely to have private insurance that can cover economic loss due to the unexpected upheaval, whereas the poor, without adequate aid from the government, can expect severe disruption. This results from a more troubling fact that many countries have gradually shifted from large welfare states to neoliberal societies over the past decades.

Consequently, taxes have lowered, and government-backed social welfare programs have often been privatised or abolished. The financial help that the poor desperately need is nowhere to be found from their governments who have a duty to protect them against such exceptional circumstances. It is time to reassess what type of society people are building and whether it is working well for the people. As Professor Alston concluded, Covid-19 is not the cause but the exacerbation of problems that have existed for too long.

President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” The problems that are reflected through this pandemic must be the impetus for us to introspect and reform. As lawyers, there is a lot we can do within the legal framework to ensure governments live up to their commitments and provide the sufficient safety nets not just for the privileged, but for all.