Human Rights aspect of COVID-19 in India

Introduction
The corona virus or COVID-19 is one of the most devastating virus till date that
effecting the human kind more than any other diseases. It is also one of the most
spread disease worldwide. The corona virus disease (or COVID-19) pandemic has
created an unprecedented situation across the world with States struggling to treat
infected persons and contain the spread of the virus, which has no known cure as
yet. The impact of this virus is predicted to be even more devastating for the
developing economies such as in South Asia with most Asian
governments spending little on health per capita and the cases of covid-19
increasing in the region and more steeply in India than its Asian peers. And as is
the case with every crisis, the already marginalised, excluded, discriminated and
vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities will suffer greater hardships –
both in terms of their risk and their inability to cope with preventive measures such
as lockdowns.

COVID-19 and India

In a developing country like India ,where there is less developed medical
conditions and lack of awareness , virus like COVID-19 can be spread very
quickly. Due to this On 24 March 2020, India went into a nationwide lockdown,
which is stated to be the largest and most stringent lockdown in the world. In
contrast, financial experts estimate India’s fiscal relief package to be “smallest in
proportion to its GDP” and inadequate or insufficient to sustain its massive labour
workforce and its poor and vulnerable population. The pandemic has fuelled racial
and religious prejudices in many parts of the country and exacerbated the already
dire circumstances in remote regions.

Effect on human rights due to COVID-19

Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which
most countries have adopted, everyone has the right to “the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health.” Governments are obligated to take
effective steps for the “prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic,
occupational and other diseases.”

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which
monitors state compliance with the covenant, has stated that:-

The right to health is closely related to and dependent upon the realization of other
human rights, as contained in the International Bill of Rights, including the rights
to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life, non-discrimination,
equality, the prohibition against torture, privacy, access to information, and the
freedoms of association, assembly and movement. These and other rights and
freedoms address integral components of the right to health.

Rights Based Approach towards Healthcare and Access to

Information
At the outset, the core principles applicable to the human rights framework
are equality and non-discrimination. (Also see International Covenant of
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Art. 2(2) and International Covenant of Civil
and Political Rights Art. 2. The right to healthcare which is a basic human right
under Article 12 of the ICESCR and has been recognised as a fundamental
right under Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution includes equality of
opportunity for people to enjoy the highest attainable level of health. Social
stigmas and prejudices on racial and religious grounds often become reasons
for evading treatment and its removal is necessary for ensuring equal access to
medical treatments and healthcare services and ultimately combating this outbreak
as reminded by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.
The Indian Government’s advisory strictly prohibits labelling any community or
area for spread of covid-19 to reduce discrimination, however, its actual adherence
remains questionable.

Further, the right to health can be fulfilled by providing sufficient number of

hospitals and other health-related facilities with due regard to “equitable
distribution” throughout the country. (Committee on Economic Social Cultural
Rights). Another measure towards facilitation of proper health is provision of
correct and accurate information on health-related issues and available health
services. The right to seek, receive and impart proper information has special
importance in relation to health and is also guaranteed under Article 19 of the
ICCPR. The information needs to be disseminated in a way accessible to everyone
and in a language and manner they understand.

Marko Milanovic highlights that States should refrain from censoring or

withholding health-related information and in order to treat and control epidemics,
must “provide education and access to information concerning the main health
problems in the community”. Today, information is accessed through the internet
as much as other offline sources and access to internet has been recognised as a
human right by the UN Human Rights Council in a 2016 resolution which calls on
all States to refrain from “intentionally preventing or disrupting access to or
dissemination of information online”. It is in this light that people in Jammu and
Kashmir should be given access to high-speed internet for them to obtain important
health-related information during the lockdown.

Moreover, the Indian Supreme Court has recognised the right to internet as a

fundamental right “enjoying constitutional protection” and stated that an indefinite
restriction on internet would be impermissible. The essential nature of internet
services during a lockdown has also been accepted in the Home Ministry
guidelines published at the start of the lockdown.
Unimpeded access to high-speed internet is a necessary tool of human health and
development during the ongoing pandemic. Any limitation placed on issues of
public health (which includes restriction on access to information) must be
“proportional” and “primarily intended to protect the rights of individuals rather
than to permit the imposition of limitations by States”. (CESCR, ). As such the
minimum core obligations pertaining to ICESCR right to highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health are “non-derogable.” The Siracusa
Principles on limitations and derogations of the ICCPR make it clear that any
limitations placed on right to information should be only to the extent “necessary”
and in response to a “pressing public or social need”.

Conclusion
The lockdown represents a massive logistical and implementation challenge for
India given its geographical terrain, income inequality and population density. It is
nonetheless important to ensure that measures in response to the covid-19 are
neither applied in a discriminatory manner by continuing the internet ban in the
newly formed union territory of Jammu and Kashmir nor used to exacerbate the
existing inequalities and vulnerabilities within diverse communities of India. In a
country as vast and diverse as India, emergency responses will have to be tailored
to each of the specific states, unlike a one size fits all approach. Active measures
for disseminating proper information which includes allowing access to internet
and preventing social stigmatisation should be undertaken to reduce public health
risks. To do this, it becomes necessary for the central government to work in
synergy with the local governments to identify the specific issues faced in different
regions and communities and take measures to mitigate them in line with India’s
human rights obligations and the Indian Constitution.