Recently there was a second public discussion on the gradual recovery of daily life in the Corona era. All the presenters and debaters were health and medical experts, he was added to the panel to convey the position of human rights groups. The discussion time was short and there were so many things he wanted to say.
Consider the deaths related to COVID-19. We didn't even have the opportunity for condolences and memorial services nationwide. We can talk about overcoming the crisis because we all desperately want it. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should start from proper memorial and mourning in public space and time.
COVID-19 crisis requires proper respect for human rights. The public health system made it difficult to respond quickly to infectious disease, economic inequality became more serious in a disaster situation, labor sites were vulnerable to infection, the social safety net was lacking for the socially disadvantaged: disabled, elderly, migrant workers, and the homeless. The quarantine system centered on distancing, which hurt the small business owners and the self-employed.
It is necessary to restore rights that have been suspended by COVID-19. Infringement of basic rights, such as invasion of individual privacy, excessive information collection, the introduction of electronic bracelets without legal basis, and prohibition of excessive assembly and demonstrations that even conservative courts found illegal, took place without any social discussion.
Vaccination policies should not promote discrimination and inequality. Some are in stressed situations whose livelihood is threatened: unregistered migrant workers, and those who cannot easily access the vaccine due to status and institutional problems. Some people are concerned about safety that has not yet been sufficiently verified. Exclusion, stigma, hatred, and discrimination against them can never be the direction of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should not be just for those who have been vaccinated.
Currently, most people in poor countries have to wait two years for the COVID-19 vaccine. The government should take an active role in overcoming international vaccine inequality through the temporary exemption of intellectual property rights under the World Trade Organization's trade-related intellectual property rights agreement. Our safety should not be at the cost of someone else's life. If everyone is not safe, no one is safe.
Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should be a process of restoring human dignity. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should be centered on human rights. It is absolutely necessary to listen to the voices of the socially disadvantaged, minority, and vulnerable in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and restoring our human dignity. Restoration of daily life without human rights is fiction and can be a disaster.
A few days ago, a high-ranking official of the quarantine authorities appeared in the lawyer's dream and shouted loudly that all he said above was seeing one side of the argument and it was not helpful at all. This may have been the case in reality for the government officials who had to listen to what he was saying in one meeting or another. He is sure that the gap can be narrowed to some extent by collecting specific details one by one along with seeing the whole picture. He hopes this crisis, surrounded by others, will be an opportunity as we move on to a better world.
