Newsletter April 2020

EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology Newsletter

Year 4 Edition 4 – April 2020

The 4th edition of the 2020 Newsletter of the EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology, is also mainly dedicated to Human rights in a time of Covid-19.

Human rights in a time of Corona

In this time of Corona, fundamental rights are under pressure. In the 3d edition of this Newsletter, Dr. Sveaass explains in Basic human rights in situations of emergency, the threat to human rights and the conditions under which some rights may temporarily be set aside. She also warns to take care of the rights of vulnerable people.

The Covid-19 disaster affects all of us, but in different ways. For instance, vulnerable people experience more adverse effects. Just one example: we do not know the influence of a long-lasting lack of physical affection specifically on elderly people. The need to be touched, a hunger for tactile stimulation, has been well described in the research on children in foster homes, little is known how elderly people in institutional care cope with their isolation.

The pandemic places special demands on the profession of psychology. Next to hygienic prescriptions on consultations with clients and the privacy issue of online therapy, the current crisis stimulates to reflect on the impact on (mental) health and wellbeing, now and in the future; even so on more systemic issues in policies and politics. Is the choice between economy and health care, as some politicians want us to believe, a real choice or is it possible to organise society in such a way that we never ever have to choose between the two? According to Amartya Sen, it is not the GNP of a nation that determines its wealth, but whether health care and education are available to ALL. As we add to these two, concern about climate, how can psychology –after COVID-19- contribute to quality of life and enhance dignity, inclusion, and equity?

Michael Sandel and Ross Douhat provide some interesting thoughts:

Michael Sandel: Are We All in This Together? What’s Become of the Common Good?
Thomas L. Friedman (NY Times): Finding the ‘Common Good’ in a Pandemic. The Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel offers his take.
Ross Douthat, NY Times: The Coronavirus and the conservative mind. The pandemic has put psychological theories of politics to a very interesting test.

APA launches on Wednesday April 29, a campaign #EquityFlattensTheCurve at 1.00 PM EST. The goals are:

Connecting the voices of health equity advocates and professionals to educate policymakers and leaders regarding equity-enhancing practices and policies;
Promoting social cohesion, inclusion, and equity as necessary to help mitigate the virus’ spread; and,
Promoting policies and practices that reduce inequity and address public health needs of diverse populations over short- and long-term.

Covid-19 international

António Guterres said heightened solidarity is needed if the world is to defeat the crisis, which he called the "gravest test since the founding of this Organization", with Governments already struggling to address rising unemployment and economic downturn.

"But the pandemic also poses a significant threat to the maintenance of international peace and security -- potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to fight the disease", he warned, later stating that the Council’s engagement will be critical to mitigate these implications.

Raoul Wallenberg Institute: COVID-19 and human rights. Consult the site of MSF / Doctors without borders and attend their webinars: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/
Raoul Wallenberg Institute: COVID-19: Illiberal restrictions may become too liberal.
Covid-19: how are African countries coping?https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2020/apr/08/covid-19-how-are-african-countries-coping-podcasts?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Mark Gevisser: How can you social distance when you share a toilet with your neighbor? In places like South Africa, the severity of the epidemic will be linked to poverty, gender inequality and violent conflict. The first victims of the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa, like Professor Ramjee, are from the more privileged and globally mobile strata of society. And Covid-19 is even being spoken of in black communities as a “white man’s disease.” Professor Ramjee was among the first wave of scientists to study the impact of AIDS on society’s most vulnerable.
Amnesty International: COVID-19: How human rights can help protect us. The right to health - Access to information - Rights to and at work - Disproportionate impact on certain groups - Rights to housing, water and sanitation - Stigma and discrimination.
Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here. For daily news updates from UN News, click here.

Covid-19 and climate

Lisa Friedman (NY Times): A troubling story for communities of color. Climate in the age of the coronavirus
Raoul Wallenberg Institute: COVID-19: The right to a healthy environment.

Freedom

Everything that makes the current corona crisis so tricky in terms of health and constitutional policy seems to come together in the topic of freedom of assembly. If everyone has to stay at home, if the concentrated physical presence of bodies in the public space is exactly what must not happen – what remains of that fundamental right? Well, nothing, is the answer of not a small part of the security apparatus in most countries: in the crisis we all have to stand together by not standing together. Not even in protest. Not even to protest against the ban on standing together. (Verfassungsblog, 21-04-2020)

SAR: Educating for Academic Freedom in Turbulent Times https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/
Kamila Hyat (The News): Covid-19 and conspiracy. At our present moment in history, more lies are possibly being told than at any other time outside a period of major war.

Protect human rights and public health in fighting COVID-19. The FRA report Coronavirus pandemic in the EU: fundamental rights implications looks at the measures EU Member States use to address the pandemic to highlight rights-respectful approaches that other Member States can learn from. It focuses on four issues: Daily life - Vulnerable groups - Racism – Disinformation and Data Protection.

IASC, WHO: COVID-19: Focus on persons deprived of their liberty, March 2020
IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee): My hero is you. How kids can fight Covid-19
OHCHR: Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to States Parties and National Preventive Mechanisms relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic (adopted on 25thMarch 2020)
Hong Kong Free Press: If we learn anything from the virus outbreak, it should be the importance of free speech
Advice of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to States Parties and National Preventive Mechanisms relating to the Coronavirus Pandemic (adopted on 25th March 2020).
What is clear is that it is already having a profound effect on all members of society and will continue to do so for a considerable time to come. The SPT and NPMs must be conscious of the ‘do no harm’ principle as they undertake their work. This may mean that NPMs should adapt their working methods to meet the situation caused by the pandemic in order to safeguard the public, detention staff, detainees and themselves. The overriding criterion must be that of effectiveness in securing the prevention of ill-treatment of those subject to detaining measures.
Benjamin Novak and Patrick Kingsley, NY Times: Hungary’s Leader Grabbed Powers to Fight the Virus. Some Fear Other Motives. Veil of Silence. Many doctors are now reluctant to speak out publicly about specific problems, individual hospitals have been barred from releasing information, and journalists are warier of publishing it.
Dispatch live: Apartheid jail time has helped me cope with lockdown, says Saths Cooper
Corona Virus Monitor: The poor have a more resilient psychological make-up to deal with Covid-19. Saths Cooper. “The gaps between the haves and have-nots will continue. But the have-nots have greater psychological strength because the deprivation of things taken for granted will impact the haves more than ever before in society.”

Vulnerable groups

Children

Children could face more mental health problems amid lengthy school closures. Childline sees ‘huge spike’ in number of counselling sessions linked to pandemic. “For younger children, the opportunity to play face-to-face, to be tactile and to be close has disappeared overnight, and that is a huge loss to them – and suddenly they have been thrown into an online world. She has noticed that the “lockdown” wording has triggered trauma among children in care who have experienced abuse. They are afraid that adults who support them will not be able to any more.
The Lancet, volume 4 (5), May 2020: View the full list of online first articles.
The Lancet: Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19;
The Lancet: The implications of COVID-19 for the care of children living in residential institutions
Editorial The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4 (5): Pandemic school closures: risks and opportunities
WHO: Helping children cope with stress during the COVID-19 crisis (doc 1)
Michael Ungar in Psychology Today: What Teens Need During a Pandemic
IASC: My hero is you. A storybook for children on COVID-19.
Elizabeth Jenner, Kate Wilson & Nia Roberts, Illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Gruffalo): Coronavirus A book for children. Free download.

Domestic violence

Le Parisien: Confinement : un dispositif d’alerte dans les pharmacies pour les femmes violentées (Lockdown: a pharmacy warning system for abused women) Le Parisien
The Economist: Domestic violence has increased during coronavirus lockdowns
The Guardian: Alcohol sales banned in Greenland capital during lockdown. Government says move is to reduce violence against children during coronavirus confinement period
UN chief calls for domestic violence ‘ceasefire’ amid ‘horrifying global surge. The combination of economic and social stresses brought on by the pandemic, as well as restrictions on movement, have dramatically increased the numbers of women and girls facing abuse, in almost all countries. However, even before the global spread of the new coronavirus, statistics showed that a third of women around the world experienced some form of violence in their lives.

Disability rights

Propublica: People with intellectual disabilities may be denied lifesaving care under these plans as coronavirus spreads
UN News: Preventing discrimination against people with disabilities in COVID-19 response
International disability alliance: http://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/content/covid-19-and-disability-movement

Refugees

Suddeutsche.de: Etwa 600 Flüchtlinge in Ankerzentrum unter Quarantäne (about 600 refugees placed in quarantine)

Covid10 and wealth disparities

Rich Europeans Flee Virus for 2nd Homes, Spreading Fear and Fury. Unlike the second-home-owning class, many Europeans face the likelihood of spending weeks in quarantine in cramped spaces. Some have been laid off while others must continue to work, sometimes with limited protection, in low-paying jobs like supermarket cashier or delivery that require contact with people. ‘The ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.”

Actions and initiatives:

Share your suggestions, thoughts, articles and good initiatives!

EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology

Meeting of the EFPA BHR&Psy: 15 May online.
Human rights education for psychologists. Editors: Polli Hagenaars, Marlena Plavsic, Nora Sveaass, Uli Wagner, Tony Wainwright. See and order

75 years of liberation of Auschwitz

Two extraordinary women — one 101, the other 95 — lived through the worst of the 20th century. They have some advice for you. They Survived the Spanish Flu, the Depression and the Holocaust
Educational resources for digital teaching and learning about the Holocaust

In this uncertain time, one of the many challenges facing teachers around the world is the question of how to continue teaching their classes remotely. This collection of educational resources, spanning the range from audio-visual testimony, searchable encyclopedias, and themed lessons, may help.

Five additional resources focusing specifically on this topic can be found here: Five resources for teaching and learning about the Roma Genocide.
The Holocaust Explained is a website created by The Wiener Library which aims to answer common questions in an accessible, reliable and engaging way. The content has been designed for learners from the age of 13 to 18, and is organized across nine clearly defined topic areas.
EHRI Online Course on Holocaust Studies This online course in Holocaust Studies, created by the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure, is open to anyone who would like to learn more about the Holocaust. The course specifically aims to provide teachers, lecturers and students with source material and background information in order to give them an overview of recent trends in the historiography
What Were the Origins of the Holocaust?
1880-1945 by Gotz Aly, translated by Jefferson Chase, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt & Company.
The Lost Diaries of War, by Nina Siegal and Josephine Sedgwick. Volunteers are helping forgotten Dutch diarists of WWII to speak at last. Their voices, filled with anxiety, isolation and uncertainty, resonate powerfully today.

FRA/ FRP

weeklies 30 March - 4 May (doc 2)

UN News / WHO

See Covid19
UN News: Credible, accurate reporting is a lifeline for all of us

Scholars at Risk (SAR) / NCH

Academic media review March 27 - April 02 (doc 3)
AMR April 10-17 (doc 4)
SAR: Educating for Academic Freedom in Turbulent Times ttps://www.scholarsatrisk.org/

Rights of Indigenous peoples

Indigenous leader from threatened tribe killed in Brazil. A leader of a protected tribe in the Amazon has been found dead, authorities said, marking the fifth violent death in six months in a region rife with conflict between illegal loggers and indigenous people.
Some 20.000 illegal miners in the indigenous areas. Video: (doc 5)
Mining.com: Illegal miners may spread covid-19 among Indigenous communities in Venezuela, Brazil
UHRP: The persecution of the intellectuals in the Uyghur region: disappeared forever? The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has identified 231Uyghur intellectuals known to have disappeared, to have been taken into internment camps, or to have died in custody in China, from April 2017 through September 2018

Climate and migration

Pushed out of their village by a drought and lack of food, a group of Nepalis are fighting to amplify the voices of those forced to relocate by the planet’s warming. (climate change, migration, voiceless) As Himalayas Warm, Nepal’s Climate Migrants Struggle to Survive

Press, articles, books

Google told to show acquittal first in Spain right to be forgotten appeal

A Spanish court on Friday partially accepted Google's appeal against a ruling ordering it to erase news articles about a psychologist accused of sexual abuse, but said the search engine must show stories about his acquittal first.

Conferences, Education, Grants, and Events

WEBINAR - Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe; Thursday 7 May (11.00 - 12.00 CET) Register your place for a free webinar organised by the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) in collaboration with the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights
Academic freedom is a fundamental value in modern higher education and research (MOOC). On this course, you’ll find out how we can use academic freedom to ask critical questions and contribute to a democratic society. You’ll explore the importance of free and open research, and how it relates to core higher education and societal values. Dangerous Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters
Call for Applications: Eight AiE (Academy in Exile) Fellowships at Freie Universität Berlin. Find the complete call here.
32nd International Congress of Psychology (ICP2020), Prague, Czech Republic. Postponed to 2021. https://www.icp2020.com/
IACCP2020. Postponed to 2021. 25th International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. Olomouc/ Czech Republic. https://www.iaccp2020.com/
CRCP2020, November 16-20 2020, Caribbean Resilience: Psychology’s Response to Historical and Contemporary Disasters, saint Croix, US Virgin Islands. https://www.crcp2020.org/2-uncategorised/17-come-to-crcp2020.html
CCAP 13-17 December 2020 Cancun https://www.ccapcancun2020.com/
International Council of Psychologists 78th annual conference. Human rights, dignity and justice: Intersectionality and Diversity. ICP2020 will be held online through an interactive virtual conference platform. December 10, Evening – Welcome Event; December 11- 12 – Scientific Program, Breakout Chat Rooms, Poster Sessions, Discussions
EUPHA 16th World Congress on Public Health, 12 – 17 October 2020, Rome, https://ephconference.eu/16th-world-congress-on-%20public-health-Rome-2020-106