User blogs

It is widely assumed that human rights and electoral democracy are mutually supportive and inextricably linked. There can be little doubt that the regular holding of free and fair democratic elections is essential for citizens’ enjoyment of human rights. Nevertheless, the recent emergence of a range of different issues, including the misuse of digital technologies in voting, brings new challenges to the democratic process within both long-established and transitional electorally democratic countries.

Studies show that people tend to gravitate more towards negative news than positive ones. While this may be a worrying trend, hope exists for a more positive type of content, according to research led by Prof. Stuart Soroka from the University of Michigan.

On 26 August 2020, the Digital Finance Task Force (DFTF) launched its report entitled ‘People’s Money: Harnessing Digitalization to Finance a Sustainable Future’.  The 100-plus-page document develops on the work of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and the recently published UN Secretary-General’s Report on Digital Cooperation by tackling the interplay between dig

In view of the ongoing global health crisis, for the first time ever since its establishment in 2013, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) was held virtually.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related national ‘lockdowns’ have placed a huge strain on many businesses as well as national economies. Some businesses have reacted by doing all they can to protect jobs, health insurance, and livelihoods, while others have sought to cut costs with little thought for the impacts on human rights. Realising the importance and timeliness of the topic, the Right On initiative held a web chat titled ‘Business, the economy and livelihoods in a COVID-19 world’.

In times when public authorities make decisions that affect public health, civil liberties, and people’s prosperity, respecting the public’s right to access information on these decisions is vital.

Under international human rights laws, governments have the obligation to protect the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive, and impart information. Ensuring that reliable information is accessible in various formats and that all citizens have access to the Internet, is crucial if governments are to protect public interest.

Older persons rank high amongst groups that are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only do they face higher threats to their rights to life and health, but preventative and response-related measures further deepen their social isolation, and the chance to exercise their rights and autonomy. This will all continue until their voices are heard, and their views are seriously taken into account.

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the problems of persons living in situations of armed conflicts, and in particular those trying to escape from persecution, misery, and/or armed conflict, whether within or across national borders. Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are particularly vulnerable to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus because they can hardly comply with measures of confinement and social distancing, and have limited access to healthcare facilities.

As the international community begins preparing post-pandemic recovery programmes, increasing emphasis is placed on the urgent need to ‘build back better’ and to draw lessons from the COVID-19 crisis for building a more just, equitable, green, and peaceful world.

As the Coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold, it is becoming clear that the pandemic and the concurrent economic crisis are impacting women differently than men. Considering that women account for 70% of global health and social care workers, and that they represent a higher percentage of persons in precarious, informal, or poorly paid work, they have come under even more pressure with the spread of the virus.