The Impact of COVID-19
A Global Crisis
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has created a global health emergency that now affects millions of people. It has turned the world on its head and made thousands lose their jobs, their freedom of movement, and even their lives. Many governmental measures to combat the pandemic across the globe include national lockdowns, the closing of borders to all but citizens, and strict control on internal travel.[1] Although these measures are principally put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, they have also casted a disproportionate negative effect on the most vulnerable populations.[2] Furthermore, certain responses to the global pandemic have deprived many of their basic human rights, as have been accompanied by racist discrimination.[3] In particular, refugees, migrants, asylum-seekers, and stateless persons, who are fleeing life-threatening circumstances, are the ones suffering the most in this pandemic.
As countries harden immigration processes and close borders to stop the spreading of COVID-19, there is a growing atmosphere of fear among refugees seeking asylum. Countries have taken various approaches for dealing with this issue, most of them being ineffective and unprotective of rights.[4] In normal conditions, refugee camps already lack access to decent healthcare and hygiene, and migration conditions even force some to remain trapped in areas that lack proper shelter. Now, in the midst of this global health emergency, conditions have worsened. Social distancing and even hand washing in these circumstances is impossible due to the severe overcrowding of the camps, depleted clinics and scarce soap and water, limited food and water resources, and low health care quality.[5] In fact, conditions in the camps are ideal for the spreading of the virus.
Global Responses and Impact on Refugee’s Human Rights
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that, at the moment, there are more than 70 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 30 million refugees and 40 million IDP’s.[6] International aid organizations and human rights groups are calling for action to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in refugee camps in case COVID-19 reaches them, and to stop governmental measures that are threatening the lives and human rights of many asylum seekers.[7] Several of these measures are justified by states of emergency worldwide, with little or no international supervision.
In Hungary, for instance, the entry to the country’s transit zone has been suspended, alluding to the risk of spreading COVID-19 in the country. This means that refugees fleeing conflict, primarily from Syria, cannot longer enter the transit zone to apply for asylum in Hungary, or travel to a different European country to do so.[8] These refugees, stranded in the border, are denied their right to asylum, stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (article 14)[9] The right to asylum is also being violated in the borders of Bosnia, where thousands of refugees confront detention in the newly-built refugee camps in Lipa, and South Africa, where the government is constructing 40 kilometers of “emergency border barriers” along the border with Zimbabwe to prevent that “any undocumented or infected person crosses into the country.”[10] Greece is also establishing detention sites and denying asylum, quarantining refugees in “degrading and inhumane” conditions, with insufficient health protections, tents, toilets, water, and soap.[11]
In the United States, the Trump administration seems to be using this global crisis to further harden the process to seek asylum, temporary, or permanent resettlement, which has been brought to attention by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.[12] The government is conducting planned “expulsions” of asylum seekers across the US-Mexico border, in which the majority of unauthorized migrants are been returned back to Mexico without considerations on whether they qualify for US protection under asylum law. In this group are included pregnant women and unaccompanied children.[13] However, the non-refoulement principle, basic to refugee law, refers to the States obligation to not refoul or return refugees. It states that it should not return refugees across “the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” [14] The Trump administration is clearly violating this right by conducting massive expulsions without a preliminary examination due to the global health crisis.
A Feasible Solution?
In the midst of a global pandemic, governments and citizens seek the protection of their own populations and families. We are all, as a global community, struggling to provide adequate medical attention and precautionary measures across all groups of society, as we are “staying home” as much as our capacity allows as to. Forgetting those trapped in crossfires, fleeing their homes, is easy, but can lead to catastrophic consequences. A humanitarian disaster in refugee camps could still be avoided if there is more attention focused on the ways in which this pandemic is affecting the most vulnerable, refugees, while caring national emergency situations.
Granting rights to asylum seekers in these times of crisis is for many governments hard, but not impossible. The Portuguese government portrays an exceptional example of this fact, as it granted provisional citizenship rights to all asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants with pending applications for residency. This measure was taken to allow these groups to access public healthcare services in the case of infection with COVID-19. These will be extended at least until July 1, as it was announced by the Portuguese president last week.[15] As Richard Danzinger, a regional director of UN Migration acclaimed “People should not be deprived of their rights to health and public service just because their application has not yet been processed.”[16] Is it really possible to protect refugees during a global pandemic? How can international law protect basic rights of refugees in times of global crisis?
[1]“What Are Countries Doing to Protect People?” BBC News, April 1, 2020, sec. World. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51737226.
[2] “The World’s Refugee Camps Are a Coronavirus Disaster in Waiting.” The Economist. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://www.economist.com/international/2020/04/06/the- worlds-refugee-camps-are-a-coronavirus-disaster-in-waiting.
[3] Human Rights. “Rights Experts Warn against Discrimination in COVID-19 Response | UN News.” UN News. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061122.
[4] “What Are Countries Doing to Protect People?” BBC News, April 1, 2020, sec. World. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51737226.
[5] Beech, Hannah, and Ben Hubbard. “Unprepared for the Worst: World’s Most Vulnerable Brace for Virus.” The New York Times, March 26, 2020, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/coronavirus-refugees-camps- bangladesh.html.
[6] “Asylum & the Rights of Refugees | International Justice Resource Center.” Accessed April 10, 2020. https://ijrcenter.org/refugee-law/.
[7] Human Rights. “Rights Experts Warn against Discrimination in COVID-19 Response | UN News.” UN News. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061122.
[8] Walker, Shaun. “No Entry: Hungary’s Crackdown on Helping Refugees.” The Guardian, June 4, 2018, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/04/no-entry-hungarys-crackdown-on- helping-refugees
[9] “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” October 6, 2015. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
[10] Cengiz, Sinem. “Refugees Must Not Become the Forgotten Victims of Corona Crisis | Arab News.” Arab News, Maech 2020. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1644436. [11] Human Rights Watch. “Greece: Nearly 2,000 New Arrivals Detained in Overcrowded, Mainland Camps,” March 31, 2020.https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/greece-nearly-2000-new-arrivals-detained- overcrowded-mainland-camps. And Smith, Helena. “‘Coronavirus Doesn’t Respect Barbed Wire’: Concern Mounts for Greek Camps | Global Development | The Guardian.” The Guardian, April 7, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/global- development/2020/apr/07/coronavirus-doesnt-respect-barbed-wire-concern-mounts-for- greek-camps.
[12] Martel, Charlie. “Trump Administration Using Pandemic as Excuse to Target Asylum Seekers.” Human Rights Watch, April 7, 2020.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/07/trump-administration-using-pandemic-excuse- target-asylum-seekers.
[13]Ibid.
[14] “Asylum & the Rights of Refugees | International Justice Resource Center.” Accessed April 10, 2020. https://ijrcenter.org/refugee-law/.
[15] Cotovio, Vasco. “Portugal Coronavirus: Migrants and Asylum-Seekers given Full Citizenship Rights during Outbreak – CNN.” CNN. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/europe/portugal-migrants-citizenship-rights- coronavirus-intl/index.html.
[16]Ibid.
Works Cited
“Asylum & the Rights of Refugees | International Justice Resource Center.” Accessed April 10, 2020. https://ijrcenter.org/refugee-law/.
“Lebanon: Refugees at Risk in COVID-19 Response.” Human Rights Watch, April 2, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/02/lebanon-refugees-risk-covid-19- response.
Beech, Hannah, and Ben Hubbard. “Unprepared for the Worst: World’s Most Vulnerable Brace for Virus.” The New York Times, March 26, 2020, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/coronavirus-refugees-camps- bangladesh.html.
Cengiz, Sinem. “Refugees Must Not Become the Forgotten Victims of Corona Crisis | Arab News.” Arab News, Maech 2020. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1644436.
Cotovio, Vasco. “Portugal Coronavirus: Migrants and Asylum-Seekers given Full Citizenship Rights during Outbreak – CNN.” CNN. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/europe/portugal-migrants-citizenship-rights- coronavirus-intl/index.html.
Human Rights Watch. “Greece: Nearly 2,000 New Arrivals Detained in Overcrowded, Mainland Camps,” March 31, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/greece-nearly-2000-new-arrivals- detained-overcrowded-mainland-camps.
Human Rights. “Rights Experts Warn against Discrimination in COVID-19 Response | UN News.” UN News. Accessed April 10, 2020. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061122.
Martel, Charlie. “Trump Administration Using Pandemic as Excuse to Target Asylum Seekers.” Human Rights Watch, April 7, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/07/trump-administration-using-pandemic- excuse-target-asylum-seekers.
Smith, Helena. “‘Coronavirus Doesn’t Respect Barbed Wire’: Concern Mounts for Greek Camps | Global Development | The Guardian.” The Guardian, April 7, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/apr/07/coronavirus- doesnt-respect-barbed-wire-concern-mounts-for-greek-camps.
team, Reality Check. “What Are Countries Doing to Protect People?” BBC News, April 1, 2020, sec. World. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51737226.
“The World’s Refugee Camps Are a Coronavirus Disaster in Waiting.” The Economist. Accessed April 10, 2020.
camps-are-a-coronavirus-disaster-in-waiting. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” October 6, 2015.
https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
Walker, Shaun. “No Entry: Hungary’s Crackdown on Helping Refugees.” The Guardian,
June 4, 2018, sec. World news. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/04/no-entry-hungarys- crackdown-on-helping-refugees.
Human Rights Watch. “US: COVID-19 Policies Risk Asylum Seekers’ Lives,” April 2, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/02/us-covid-19-policies-risk-asylum- seekers-lives.
