Newsletter May 2020
EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology Newsletter
Year 4 Edition 5 – May 2020
The 5th edition of the 2020 Newsletter of the EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology, is mainly dedicated to Human rights in a time of Covid-19.
Human rights in a time of Corona
COVID 19
- COVID-19: How human rights can help protect us. The way governments decide to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic has impact on the human rights of millions of people. Amnesty International is closely monitoring government responses to the crisis. (Amnesty International)
- Human Rights – The Essential Frame of Reference in the Global Response to COVID-19 12 Mai 2020
It is mistaken to conceive of COVID-19 principally as a threat whose eradication necessarily requires rights to be sacrificed. Rather, human rights standards and principles offer a means of transparently balancing competing interests and priorities in the cauldron of COVID-19 decision-making – and rights-respecting measures which secure public confidence are likely to be more effective and sustainable over time than arbitrary or repressive ones. Donald, Alice; Leach, Philip: Human Rights – The Essential Frame of Reference in the Global Response to COVID-19, Verfassungs Blog, 2020/5/12.
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The IFHV and Verfassungsblog are bringing together internationally recognized experts in a three-part online discussion series to reflect on the unprecedented constitutional challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses to states world-wide, and ways to address them. |
Read: http://www.ifhv.de/documents/other/IFHV_Verfassungsblog_COVID19_Online_Discussions_lang.pdf See: http://www.ifhv.de/
- ENS: Even before the pandemic, statelessness has been invisible - Involving stateless people in Europe’s COVID-19 response. Published: May 2020
Nobody understands the impact COVID-19 has on the lives of stateless people better than stateless people themselves. We believe responses to the pandemic must be developed with and informed by communities affected by statelessness. In May 2020, activists and community representatives from across Europe came together through the support of the European Network on Statelessness', in a series of online meetings to discuss the consequences of COVID-19 and response measures on stateless people in Europe. The group also explored what needs to be done to support and protect stateless people both during and after the pandemic.
The discussions, which took place over four days, have been set down in a position paper, which aims to provide a first step in prioritising and reflecting the views and experiences of people affected by statelessnessin decision-making during COVID-19 and beyond.
- ENS: What happens to people with no nationality in a public health crisis? (doc 1)
The dark side of social movements: social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories. Current Opinion in Psychology. Sternisko, A., Cichocka, A. & Van Bavel, J. J. (in press).
- EFPA Coronavirus position statement: How to strengthen communities in times of crisis: http://www.efpa.eu/news/how-to-strengthen-communities-in-times-of-crisis_efpa-position-statement
- FRA: Coronavirus pandemic in the EU - Fundamental Rights Implications - Bulletin 2
Data protection, privacy and new technologies, Asylum, migration and borders, Equality, non-discrimination and racism, Justice, victims’ rights and judicial cooperation
The Coronavirus pandemic continues to interrupt everyday life in the EU in unprecedented ways. But the way it affects our societies is shifting. As governments gradually lift some of the measures put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, new fundamental rights concerns arise: how to ensure that the rights to life and health are upheld as daily life transitions to a ‘new normal’. This Bulletin looks at declarations of states of emergency, or equivalent, and how they came under scrutiny. It considers the impact on fundamental rights in important areas of daily life, and includes a thematic focus on the processing of users’ data to help contain COVID-19, particularly by contact-tracing apps. It covers the period 21 March – 30 April 2020.
Vulnerable groups
Disability rights
- Coronavirus: Disabled and vulnerable patients must be involved in treatment decisions including resuscitation, says NHS England. In a joint statement with disabled rights campaigner and member of the House of Lords, Baroness Jane Campbell, NHS England said the Covid-19 virus and its impact on the NHS did not change the position for vulnerable patients that decisions must be made on an individualised basis. (The Independent)
- Out of sight, out of mind. For people with dementia, the coronavirus pandemic is a nightmare. (The Economist)
- UNHRHC, COVID-19: Bachelet urges States to take extra steps to include people with disabilities. Targeted measures are needed to address the disproportionate risks faced by persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the UN Human Rights Office to publish a guidance note for States and other stakeholders on COVID-19 and the human rights of persons with disabilities. “People with disabilities not only face greater risks from COVID-19, they also are disproportionately affected by response measures, including lockdowns. To address this double risk, we need to be engaging persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 response, and adapting plans to address their needs,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said.
Forced displacement/ Refugees/ Indigenous people
- This page summarizes US and global COVID-19 migration-related developments. It includes policy developments, CMS policy analysis, research, and dispatches about coronavirus. As the pandemic develops, this page will be updated: https://cmsny.org/cms-initiatives/migration-covid/ and Search Our Research, Publications and Other Resources
- 10 Years Old, Tearful and Confused After a Sudden Deportation (NY Times) . Since the coronavirus broke out, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of migrant children alone — in some cases, without notifying their families.
- A nightmare arrives. The coronavirus reaches the Rohingya refugee camps. Aid agencies fear a disaster even after careful preparations to limit the spread of covid-19. (The economist)
- First coronavirus case found in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps (AlJazeera)
Rohingya refugees stand in line to collect food aid at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh [Shafiqur Rahman/AP]
- Coronavirus shutdown threatens Chicago's Rohingya cultural centre 3 days ago
- Malaysia urged to end violent threats against Rohingya refugees 4 days ago
- Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya rescued from sea 6 days ago
- Rohingya refugees sent to 'flood-prone' island off Bangladesh last week
- Why the Navajo Nation has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in America. The coronavirus death rate in the Navajo Nation is the fifth highest in the country, despite having a fraction of both the population and density of the other states. (The Independent)
- The Navajo Nation has surpassed New York and New Jersey for the highest per-capita coronavirus infection rate in the US -- another sign of Covid-19's disproportionate impact on minority communities. (CNN)
- Spokane spoken here. How the pandemic threatens Native Americans—and their languages. (The Economist)
- Doctors Without Borders dispatched to New Mexico to help the Navajo Nation.
- FROM THE FIELD: Venezuelan refugee counsellor David Marín Cabrera hears ‘pain, anger and frustration’. A Venezuelan psychologist who moved to Peru as a refugee, has been telling the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, about the “pain, anger and frustration” that has been expressed by fellow displaced and local people he has counselled. UNHCR reports government figures which suggest that worldwide, there are some 4.5 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants; around 15 per cent of the South American country’s total population.
- Millions of migrants across Russia, Central Asia, ‘teetering on the brink’, as UN launches urgent appeal. In one of the world’s most mobile regions, where millions migrate for work between Central Asia and the Russian Federation, more than 80 per cent of migrants surveyed by IOM and its partners, report either a reduction or total loss in their incomes. The advance of the new coronavirus is dramatically transforming the social and economic face of a region, that accounts for one-sixth of the world’s surface, and recovery will take years.
- UN agencies join forces to protect forcibly displaced during pandemic. To strengthen and advance public health services for millions of forcibly displaced people globally, the United Nations signed an agreement on Thursday to better protect some 70 million from COVID-19. The new pact, signed by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN refugee agency (UNHCR), updates and expands a 1997 agreement between the two and covers around 26 million people - 80 per cent of whom are refugees sheltering in low and middle-income countries with weak health systems.
- UN News. Building a cinematic bond with refugees, in a time of crisis. Karim Aïnouz is the director of "Central Airport THF", a documentary which describes the situation of asylum seekers sheltered in the former Tempelhof Airport, in Berlin; it is now available on streaming platforms.
Covid-19 and discrimination
- Washington Post: Asian American doctors and nurses are fighting racism and the coronavirus
- Three Asian-American medical providers on the front lines of the pandemic spoke with The Post about the racial discrimination they faced as the virus spread on. (Allie Caren/The Washington Post)
- The coronavirus and the long history of using diseases to justify xenophobia. Dirty looks, deserted restaurants, bullied children — this is the reality for many Asian Americans after the outbreak of the coronavirus six weeks ago. (Washington Post)
Covid-19 and wealth disparities
- Coronavirus in South Africa: Outbreak closes Mponeng gold mine. Operations at the world's deepest gold mine, in South Africa, have been halted after 164 cases of coronavirus were detected there. Most of those who tested positive were not showing any symptoms.
- Long-standing racial and income disparities seen creeping into COVID-19 care. The new coronavirus doesn’t discriminate, but physicians in public health and on the front lines said they already can see the emergence of familiar patterns of racial and economic bias in the response to the pandemic. (Kaiser Health News)
- Why the pandemic could eventually lower inequality. For America’s poor, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a swift and brutal reversal of fortune. (The Economist)
Actions and initiatives:
- Study to evaluate antidepressant as potential COVID-19 treatment. (Washington University School of Medicine)
EFPA Board Human Rights and Psychology
- Human rights education for psychologists. Editors: Polli Hagenaars, Marlena Plavsic, Nora Sveaass, Uli Wagner, Tony Wainwright.
FRA/ FRP
- weekly 11 May-1 June (doc 2)
- Relocating unaccompanied children: applying good practices to future schemes. May 2020. In recent years, thousands of girls and boys have reached Europe without their parents, and sought international protection. Many of them experienced violence, abuse and neglect in their home countries, and while in transit. They have the right to be protected in line with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on Human Rights, and European Union law. This report explores the challenges and good practices gathered in the implementation of such relocation programmes. Based on information FRA collected in 10 EU Member States, it aims to help national authorities to support the relocation of unaccompanied children by taking measures that are fully compliant with their rights and able to be implemented.
European institutions, EIUC, CoE, CPT, IOM, ENS, ECCHR, EUPHA, RAFTO
- ECCHR: 2019 Annual Report. Enforcing human rights through legal means.
In these volatile times, it is difficult to describe one’s own work over the past year. So much is happening. Yesterday’s analyses already seem outdated today. In an age of sometimes false, and often too much information, it is difficult for human rights organizations to decide how much time to devote to which of our world’s manifold problems. It is even more challenging to determine which topics the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights can and should tackle through legal means.
- ECCHR: Wind park in Mexico: French firm disregards indigenous rights. ‘…big energy companies disrespect human rights and environmental protection time and again – as in the case of Électricité de France in Oaxaca, Mexico.’
- ECCHR: Newsletter 65, May 2020 (doc 3)
- ECRE: Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe: identifying good practices and remaining barriers. https://www.ecre.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/refugee-children-nationality-LEAP-leaflet.pdf
- The Rafto Foundations Annual Report 2019, highlighting efforts to support human rights defenders across the world. The report is available on our website. LInk
- ENS: What happens to people with no nationality in a public health crisis? Stateless people – who lack any nationality - are excluded from many of the rights and protections afforded by States to their nationals. They are undoubtedly among those most impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic and will surely be among those most affected by its fallout unless their specific circumstances and views are considered by policymakers and government authorities and acted upon now.
UN News / WHO
- UN Weekly 17 April 2020 (doc 4)
- UN Weekly 1 May 2020 (doc 5)
- Welcome to the website of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Olivier De Schutter. Navigate the menu above to learn more about the work of the Special Rapporteur as he investigates and advises on human rights and poverty around the world. Sign up to receive the mandate newsletter here.
https://srpoverty.org/thematic-reports/
- 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.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) / NCH
- AMR April 24-30 (doc 6)
- AMR May 15-21 (doc 7)
LGBTQI
- FRA: A long way to go for LGBTI equality.
This report presents select findings from FRA’s 2019 survey on LGBTI people in the EU and North Macedonia and Serbia. With almost 140,000 participants, it is the largest survey of its kind. It follows the agency’s first survey on LGBT people in the EU, conducted in 2012. The new survey results show little progress over the past seven years.
https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2020-lgbti-equality_en.pdf
Does hope or fear prevail among Europe’s LGBTI people? Read and listen to FRA’s director Michael O’Flaherty (doc 8)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for people everywhere to support the right to live free and equal, in line with his message for the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on Sunday. "Already facing bias, attacks and murder simply for who they are or whom they love, many LGBTI people are experiencing heightened stigma as a result of the virus, as well as new obstacles when seeking health care," said. Mr. Guterres.
Child rights
- E.P.A. Won’t Ban Chlorpyrifos, Pesticide Tied to Children’s Health Problems
- FRA’s report “Relocation of unaccompanied children: applying good practices to future schemes” highlights the challenges and good practices gathered in the implementation of different mandatory and voluntary relocation programmes since 2015. Since 2015, thousands of boys and girls arrived to the EU without their parents.
Women’s rights
- In a Victory for Women in Sudan, Female Genital Mutilation Is Outlawed. Sudan’s new government has outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, a move hailed as a major victory by women’s rights campaigners in a country where the often dangerous practice is widespread.
Conferences, Education, Grants, and Events
- 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
- 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. Will be held online. Information follows.
- 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
- InSPIREurope 2020 Virtual Stakeholder Forum
Monday 8 June 2020, 9.30 – 17.30 CET. Registration is free and open to all.
Ten European partner organizations have launched an ambitious new initiative to support researchers at risk. The initiative—Inspireurope—is funded under the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and coordinated by Scholars at Risk Europe at Maynooth University, Ireland. Inspireurope forges a coordinated, cross-sectoral, Europe-wide alliance for researchers at risk.
Inspireurope begins from the view that excellence in research depends upon open scientific debate, and is driven by a multiplicity of ideas, people and perspectives. When researchers are at risk, and excluded from participating in the global research circuit, whether due to discrimination, persecution, suffering or violence, not only are individual lives and careers at risk; the quality, the very future of research is also at stake.
The Forum will be opened by Frédérique Vidal, French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and aims to facilitate exchange between key actors in research and innovation in Europe, including individual researchers, higher education networks, research funding agencies, EU and other policy makers in Europe.
Speakers and participants will together explore today's challenges and opportunities in Europe for researchers at risk, including the implications of the global health pandemic on the lives and work of researchers at risk.
Sessions will be recorded and made available on the InSPIREurope website.