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The Covid-19 pandemic showed the planet that “the current economic system does not work because it produces great inequalities”So the world that comes out of the current health crisis must have other bases, stated the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.
“When building recovery we must think of a new economy that is inclusive and sustainable”, he pointed out in a virtual conference organized by the Association of Accredited Correspondents to the United Nations in Geneva (ACANU) this Thursday.
The former President did not dare to predict if the world after the pandemic will be less free than the previous one, although she did predict a “different reality, in which we will have to adapt our behaviors”.
In the current situation, societies “have accepted that some freedoms are restricted, such as those of movement or assembly, but these measures must be clear, proportionate, and limited in time,” he stressed.
“More should be invested in health”
The high commissioner added that the “new normal” could last for years, depending on the evolution of the coronavirus and whether or not a vaccine against it is found, and in that sense she stressed that, if a form of immunization were found, it must be ensured that their doses reach all populations of the world.
“We are not going back to the day this started,” insisted Bachelet, who stressed that in post-Covid societies “more should be invested in healthWell, for a long time that game has been scarce and even the richest countries showed that they were not prepared. “
Another issue in the field of human rights to be monitored is the use of digital technologies for monitoring infections, “something important to prevent the virus from spreading but that can be used in the wrong ways”.
In this regard, systems should be adopted “for voluntary use, which protect privacy and ensure that the data collected is used only for health purposes,” he said, fearing that some governments would use these monitoring mechanisms against critical or dissident voices.
“The enemy is the virus, not the people”
Bachelet also highlighted how during the pandemic hate speech against certain groups has increased, and stated that “if (political) leaders do not condemn stigmatization or xenophobia, there are often terrible reactions, such as attacks on health workers” or critical journalists.
“On the one hand these workers are applauded and on the other stigmatized, and it is important for leaders to see that the enemy is the virus, not the people“he indicated.
Bachelet also reflected on the need for this virus to have a greater environmental awareness, like the one that re-emerged in recent years towards climate change.
“Most of the emerging diseases of recent years, not only Covid-19 but also SARS, MERS or Ebola, are transmitted from wild animals to humans, so Climate action must be taken seriously in response to the pandemic, the maintenance of biodiversity and respect for nature, “he concluded.
