Report No. 3/2020, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.
May 6, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has struck at a precarious time of democratic backsliding and growing illiberalism. The clear risk is that illiberal populist attacks on human rights, the rule of law, and constitutional democratic values may intensify. What the lessons of the post 9/11 era demonstrate, is that these threats are evident both in legal and constitutional frameworks and in political and constitutional culture. Compounded by a global rise in autocratic populism, in which the foundations of human rights and liberal democracy are increasingly questioned, the COVID-19 emergency measures risk becoming a foundation for greater consolidation of executive power. Indeed, the Hungarian example, and recent US constitutional arguments, suggest that COVID19 is a site in which executive overreach may be justified for objectives well beyond the protection of public health.
This report includes analyses of a cross section of jurisdictions from the global South and North. A crucial material divide between these jurisdictions lies in medical care capacity, the material impact of containment measures, and the capacity of States to mitigate the economic impact of containment measures on citizens. Each section of the report provides detailed examination of the lockdown measures and evaluates their constitutional and human rights implications.
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