Principles on public health emergencies and human rights: GI-ESCR continues to contribute to the drafting

On 17-18 January 2022, GI-ESCR’s Executive Director Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona participated in the Brocher Foundation Workshop in Geneva to conclude the drafting of the Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies.

Such a meeting was the conclusive step of a 2-year process involving civil society and academics from all over the world to draft an expert statement on human rights in public health emergencies.

In fact, the process started in 2020, when, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of jurists, scholars, and practitioners in the field of human rights and public health highlighted the urgent need for the clarification of human rights principles and obligations that can be applied in the context of public health emergencies. This led to an international process to draft the expert statement, including international and regional consultation with civil society.

GI-ESCR has been involved throughout the consultative process, including both online and in-person participation in international meetings and workshops with civil society and experts.

The resulting Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies are thus an international expert statement that has been refined, reviewed and shaped collectively for 2-years. The principles clarify states’ obligations in the context of public health emergencies, including their right-to-health obligations. This will provide higher normative clarity in future epidemics beyond COVID-19.

Read more about our work on the Right to Health.