Coronavirus pandemic becoming ‘human rights crisis,’ UN chief Guterres warns

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the coronavirus pandemic is “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.”

The UN chief said in a video message on Thursday that there is discrimination in the delivery of public services to tackle Covid-19 and “structural inequalities that impede access to them.”

The pandemic has also seen “disproportionate effects” on certain communities, the rise of hate speech and the targeting of vulnerable groups, Guterres said.

The UN chief warned that, with “rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a push back against human rights in some countries, the crisis could provide the pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic,” AP said.