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The Future of Human Rights after COVID19

Due to the ensuing shocks implied by the Coronavirus crisis, governments, worldwide, had to reset their priorities. Human rights issues are among the priorities that are currently subject to massive re-arrangement and re-evaluation to their importance in maintaining the stability and security of human-beings, within the global system, in times of crises.
On the global level, international bodies, such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe issued several statements and guides urging governments to respect and protect human rights while dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and its consequential political, economic and social crises. They may take years to cure its damaging effects, after controlling the spread of the pandemic. Given the modest role of these international bodies in making a tangible contribution to solving the global pandemic crisis or mitigating its effects, since the outbreak of the Coronavirus in December, people around the world received their statements and guidance with indifference.
This makes us wonder about the fate of human rights after the world recovers from the Coronavirus crisis. To which extent will people continue to believe in the importance of upholding human rights values? Will governments continue to show commitment to protecting human rights? Yet, the most important question, in this situation, is about the future roles and feasibility of the international bodies, such as the United Nations, which are responsible for preserving and protecting human rights, worldwide.
The pandemic crisis came as a new reminder that these international bodies are dangerously detached and, thus, incapable of resolving the actual sufferings of the human race; except with media statements of solidarity or condemnation. Time and experience have proven the invalidity and lack of influence of their work on protecting human rights. They spent decades promoting a human rights discourse that is too idealistic and too unrealistic to apply in real life for most people and systems of governance.
To be clear, this criticism is not directed at the bare principles of human rights, but rather to the rhetoric adopted to promote the high ideals of human rights, in our world today. Human rights and the international laws associated with them played a tremendous role in preserving the coherence and continuity of the world system post world wars era. However, the current human rights discourse has been abused and taken out of its context, in many instances, to serve the immediate interests of certain countries or political groups. Even worse, we have seen reputable human rights defenders and organizations using human rights rhetoric to justify their support to terrorist groups and political Islamist organizations like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
This hazardous deviation in the human rights discourse came from the fact that the international community, in the last two decades, especially after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, gave a priority to promoting civil and political rights on the expense of prioritizing social and economic rights. The gigantic political fluctuations, all over the world, that have been happening since then, limited peoples’ understanding of human rights to civil and political rights, and made the social and economic rights more of a domestic issue that local governments should decide about without proper observation or evaluation from the international institutions responsible for protecting human rights.
However, due to the horrific shock that Coronavirus pandemic has caused in the fields of health care and economic prosperity, it seems that the human rights rhetoric prioritizing civil and political rights will be put on a years-long pause, until governments fix the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. Some governments that are more committed to the concepts of individual freedom, open society, and free market, have already started to refrain from exercising these values, while prioritizing the needs of the public society to economic security. In other words, it is expected that in the near future, the interest of the society will be given a priority to the freedom of the individual. This will definitely influence how the world system should perceive and handle the basic principles of human rights.
We have already started to see a change to the traditional human rights rhetoric to keep up with the consequences of the pandemic crisis. In her statement on the COVID-19 pandemic informal briefing to the UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, adopted a balanced, but rare, vision to how the UN and similar bodies should handle the pandemic crisis. She noted that “the pandemic is exposing the damaging impact of inequalities, in every society. In developed countries, fault-lines in access to health care; in labor rights and social protections; in living-space; and in dignity are suddenly very visible.” Then she emphasized the respect for civil and political rights during this crisis, as “difficult decisions are facing many governments. Emergency measures may well be needed to respond to this public health emergency. But an emergency situation is not a blank check to disregard human rights obligations.”
The Coronavirus crisis may not cause huge alterations in the conventional relationships between nations or amongst world powers. But it would, inevitably, affect the relationship between governments and citizens, in terms with the extent of the state’s intervention in micro-managing the lives of individuals. Each country’s respect to human rights and individual freedoms would be highly affected by this change. Therefore, we should prepare for this change by restructuring the internal systems, goals, and visions of the international bodies commissioned with the task to promote and protect human rights values and principles, on the global level, and monitoring their application, on the domestic level.
by : Dalia Zaida
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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