The Federal Government of Nigeria, “[t]o support the economic recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic . . . has launched an initiative as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) to achieve the roll out of 5 million new solar-based connections in communities that are not grid connected.” Among other elements, the initiative will “[e]xpand energy access . . . through the provision of Solar Home Systems (SHS) or connection to a mini grid” and “[i]ncentivize the creation of 250,000 new jobs in the energy sector.”
IHRC Measure
Kicker Goes Here
Statement about measures with positive impact
Law 2068 that Modifies the General Tourism Law and Issues other Provisions (Ley No. 2068 (Por el Cual se Modifica la Ley General de Turismo y se dictan Otras Disposiciones)
Law 2068 modifies the General Law of Tourism and aims “to promote sustainability” and “implement mechanisms for the conservation, protection, and use of tourist destinations and attractions.” Among other provisions, those that focus on environmental priorities include: “a sustainable tourism action plan that contains a strategy to comprehensively manage the environmental impacts of tourist activity,” “protection measures for the coastal zone and beaches” including “special measures to counteract maritime erosion,” and “the development of public-private strategies for mitigation and adaptation to climate change aimed at minimizing the carbon footprint of the tourism sector.” The Colombian Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism noted the importance of this measure given that the tourism “sector is widely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic” and the Vice Minister of Tourism emphasized that the law contains measures aimed at “conservation of the environment and natural resources.”
558.0 Trillion Won Budget Passed for 2021
The National Assembly passed the 2021 budget which “expands COVID-19 support and other supports for national priorities by 7.5 trillion won, while cutting 5.3 trillion won in other areas.” The “budget increase will be used to finance COVID-19 support and other national priorities” including “[v]irus control” (including vaccinations, disease control, and public healthcare), and to “[i]mprove essential worker welfare and promote job retention.” Subsequently, in March 2021, the National Assembly passed the “2021 supplementary budget, worth 14.9 trillion won” which “will be spent mostly on COVID-19 reliefs, including small business support, and job retention and creation programs, as well as disease control measures.” This will take the shape of, among other measures, “[s]upport for virus-hit small business,” “assistance for farmers and fishermen,” and “virus-exposed or -hit worker support.”
Call 1010 for Domestic Violence Help
According to a royal decree “all necessary measures” were ordered to “be put in place to assist any person who is experiencing or feels at risk of domestic violence and abuse during the second lockdown.” As part of this effort, “secure and comfortable shelter for those who are faced with violence at home, especially women and children” as well as counseling services, were to be secured. These measures were in part prompted by concern over “the number of domestic violence and abuse cases that were reported during Bhutan’s first lockdown.”
Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Johnson v. Iowa Dep’t of Pub. Safety, No. 4:20-cv-00306-RGE-CFB (S.D. Iowa Dec. 10, 2020)
After plaintiffs were banned “from the Iowa State Capitol and Capitol Complex grounds for periods ranging from six months to one year” following a protest, they sought “an order preliminarily enjoining Defendants from enforcing bans prohibiting [their] entry to the Capitol and Capitol Complex.” Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction was granted on the basis that the bans: “likely burden more speech than is necessary to achieve the significant state interests of preventing violence and ensuring public safety” and “provide no process by which Plaintiffs can petition to exercise their First Amendment rights at the Capitol or on the Capitol Complex grounds.” The decision specifically notes that: “an exercise of free expression is an essential part of our country’s history and traditions,” that “the exercise of free expression within a traditional public forum, like the State Capitol, is in the public interest,” and “the public interest in protecting the right to freedom of expression.” The decision also notes that “[t]he public . . . has a significant interest in peaceful assembly . . .”
Human Services Ministry Launches Childcare Subsidy for Essential Workers
Under this program, “[f]rontline workers who are providing an essential service or key public services during the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security Childcare Subsidy Programme.” The Programme: “will assist essential workers who have children of ages 7 and under.” Qualifying groups include: “members of the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Fire Service; frontline health workers; Human Services workers; domestic workers; security firm workers and supermarket employees, among others.”
Information Capsules on Coronavirus and HIV (Cápsulas Informativas Coronavirus y VIH)
The Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare has a website providing information on Coronavirus and HIV, including recommendations about COVID-19 vaccination for persons with HIV, the impact of COVID-19 on HIV-related services, information about the needs of vulnerable populations with respect to HIV during the COVID-19 crisis, and recommendations for COVID-19 prevention in communities performing rapid HIV testing.
Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES)
Relevant sections of this program include: measures “to relieve hardships on Ghanaians by reducing the cost of basic services; ensuring food security; protecting businesses and workers; and further strengthening the health system” as well as job creation, with a focus on “support to women-owned businesses and access to employment by women” and “provid[ing] access to re-training programmes for workers that lose their jobs, particularly due to COVID-19.” The plan also calls for the establishment of “a national Unemployment Insurance Scheme for workers” to “provide temporary income support to workers that are laid off and also provide them access to retraining programmes to help them take advantage of employment opportunities in new fields.” This is intended to not only provide help to those who experienced job loss as a result of COVID but also to “become an important pillar of resistance in [the] labour market going forward.”
Abu Dhabi’s AgTech Ecosystem Expands Across Land, Sea and Space
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) provided financial and non-financial incentives to three companies, totaling AED 152 million (USD 41 million). The research and technologies developed by these companies will “expand existing capabilities in Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem and promote innovation in the sector to address global food security challenges.” According to an interview with the director general of the ADIO, “Covid-19’s disruptions to travel and trade have only heightened the need to move food security investments into overdrive.”
Mechanisms to Fight Violence against Women
Noting that “[t]he period of health crisis linked to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) required specific measures to be taken to maintain access to fundamental rights in terms of equality between women and men,” this “Plan to fight violence against women during the lockdown” includes the following categories: “Reporting and listening mechanisms,” “Protection and shelter,” and “Fight against acting out and recidivism.” The “reporting and listening mechanisms” include, among others, a “free and anonymous number for victims of gender-based and sexual violence, their group and the professionals concerned” that is “also accessible to women with disabilities” and a “system for reporting domestic violence in pharmacies” which was originally “set up during the first lockdown” and “has been made permanent.” The category of “protection and shelter” includes “[l]egal instruments for the protection of persons who are victims of domestic violence, such as protection orders, high-danger telephones and anti-reconciliation bracelets” as well as “free rides . . . made available by Uber . . . to provide shelter for women who do not have independent means of transport.” And the “[f]ight against acting out and recidivism” includes an “[a]ccommodation platform to allow the eviction of the violent spouse” and “[c]reation of 16 care centers for perpetrators of violence.” Finally, measures to “[m]aintain women’s rights in terms of access to contraception and abortion” are also included.
Indian Health Service COVID-19 Pandemic Vaccine Plan
The Indian Health Service (IHS) COVID-19 Pandemic Vaccine Plan November 2020 “details how the IHS health care system will prepare for and operationalize a vaccine when it becomes available” and includes sections on: vaccine availability, prioritization, vaccine distribution and ordering, vaccine administration, communications, data management, and safety and monitoring. The plan followed the IHS’s “tribal consultation and urban confer to seek input on the IHS COVID-19 Pandemic Vaccine Draft Plan.”
Supreme Decree No. 4392
According to this decree, beneficiaries of the “Bonus against Hunger” will include, among others, certain person with visual disabilities who were already receiving a separate bonus and persons with serious or very serious disabilities already registered in an existing system. A separate notice from the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance lays out additional details regarding this plan.
Home Use of Both Pills for Early Medical Abortion up to 10 Weeks Gestation
In order to “reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and ensure continued access to abortion services,” the government “put in place a temporary approval in England, enabling women and girls to take both pills for early medical abortion . . . up to 10 weeks (9 weeks and 6 days) gestation in their own homes, following a telephone or e-consultation with a clinician, without the need to first attend a hospital or clinic.” While this measure is “time limited for 2 years, or until the pandemic is over ‒ whichever is earliest,” the government opened a consultation closing on February 26, 2021 to gather “views on whether to . . . make permanent the temporary COVID-19 measure allowing for home use of both pills for EMA [early medical abortion] up to 10 weeks’ gestation for all eligible women in England.”
National Training and Reskilling Scheme (NTRS)
As a “key component[]” of its “Economic Recovery Programme” the government launched a project to provide “training and reskilling of some 9,000 unemployed persons.” Among other areas, the project aimed to provide jobs in the “Renewable Energy & Circular economy” sector.
QC Opens Shelter for Abused Women, Children and LGBTs
The government of Quezon City “opened one of the first local government unit (LGU)-run shelters for abused women, children and LGBTs.” The shelter “will serve as a temporary shelter for victim-survivors of gender-based violence and abuse.” The Mayor noted that “abused women and children” are “economically dependent on the perpetrators” and that this “is especially true during this pandemic as children are required to stay at home, and many women lost their livelihoods or were forced to stay home to tutor kids and care for the elderly.”
2020 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery
Given that the COVID-19 pandemic “intensified” the work of the Modern Slavery Unit of the Home Office, steps were taken “to ensure that victims continue to have access to essential support.” Towards this end, efforts that were undertaken included the following: “grant funding [was] allocated by the Home Office through the Police Transformation Fund . . . with the aim of building capability in the police response to modern slavery across England and Wales;” “[t]o help ensure vulnerable children, including child victims of trafficking, received appropriate support and protection during the pandemic in Scotland the Scottish Government published the COVID-19 National Child Protection Guidance;” “significant progress” was made “to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic” including by ”ensuring that victims of modern slavery are protected and those exploiting the vulnerable are brought to justice;” and funding was provided to the “Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service, which provides an independent source of support and advice for trafficked children” so that they could change their practices to “continue to support child victims of modern slavery remotely.”
BiblioTechs: Transforming Public Libraries into Functional Ones
“‘BiblioTech: public libraries into functional ones’ is an initiative of the Municipality of Tirana and UNICEF Albania, implemented in close collaboration with Albanian Sustainable Development Organization (ASDO). The initiative aims to transform four of Tirana’s libraries into technological hubs for children, young people and the community in general. The incubators will be a vessel to enhance children’s and young people’s digital literacy, safety and contribute to also narrow the intergenerational gap between their parents and themselves.” According to UNICEF, given the challenges and lessons of COVID-19, this project enables “access to digital technology for everyone” including by “putting children and young people in its center.”
Project Agreement for COVID-19 Legal Assistance Funding
An agreement was made between “the Commonwealth of Australia” and “the States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory” to “support the delivery of efficient and effective legal assistance services (specifically, Legal Aid Commissions (LACs), Community Legal Centres (CLCs), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS)) to respond to increased demand as a result of COVID-19.” An additional component of this agreement included “support[ing] LACs and CLCs transition to virtual service delivery as a result of COVID-19.” With respect to funding, the agreement contains the following provision: “[t]he Commonwealth will provide an estimated total financial contribution to the States of $58.966 million, exclusive of GST [Goods and Services Tax].”
Government of Canada Launches New COVID-19 Related Challenges to Help Reduce Environmental Impact of PPE in Canada
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced “two challenges through the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program to make personal protective equipment (PPE) more compostable and recyclable.” The challenges seek solutions for: “the efficient and cost-effective recycling of disposable PPE waste generated in the Canadian health care system” and “the manufacturing of compostable disposable surgical masks and compostable disposable respirators to be used by health care workers.”
In May 2021, the government “announced the selection of eight companies that will receive a total of $8 million in funding” through this program. Recipients include Roswell Downhole Technologies Incorporated and Precision ADM which will “propose solutions to manufacture compostable disposable surgical masks and compostable disposable respirators for healthcare workers” and GreenMantra Technologies Limited and Terragon Environmental Technologies Incorporated which will “propose solutions for efficient and cost‑effective recycling of disposable PPE waste.”
Bill 204, Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020
Provisions of this measure enacted in Ontario include “temporary protections for certain commercial tenants,” “a residential rent freeze,” and the non-effectiveness of “[e]viction orders for rent arrears . . . during the non-enforcement period,” as defined in the legislation. The “rent freeze period” is defined as starting January 1, 2021 and ending on December 31, 2021. Subsequently, the “Ontario government . . . extended existing protections from commercial tenancy evictions” through Bill 229, “An Act to implement Budget measures and to enact, amend and repeal various statutes.”
President’s Interagency Task Force, Report on U.S. Government Efforts To Combat Trafficking in Persons
Some “key efforts” that have been taken by government agencies “in response to COVID-19” include: engagement “with local governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) nationwide to understand the impact of COVID-19 on child trafficking and exploitation,” a transition by the National Human Trafficking Hotline “to full remote operations with no disruption in services,” the monitoring of “human security and the potential for human trafficking” in those locations especially impacted by the pandemic, and the expansion of “internet safety messaging for children in response to traffickers’ increased use of the internet to reach children.”
SUBREI Ratifies Agreement to Fourth Agreement of Clean Production of the Industry of the Sustainable Processed Food Industry The IV Clean Production Agreement (APL) of the Processed Food Industry (SUBREI ratifica compromiso a IV Acuerdo de Producción Limpia de la Industria de Alimentos Procesados Sustentable)
The objectives of the Fourth Clean Production Act of the Industry of Processed Foods, an agreement between private and public bodies, signed by a range of government ministries, including the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, Energy, and Environment, include “apply[ing] clean production through specific goals and actions and serv[ing] as a management instrument to improve conditions related to production, the environment, hygiene and labor safety, energy efficiency [and] efficiency in the use of water.” SUBREI [Subsecretary of International Economic Relations] will play a role in this effort, including by providing support focused on “shared values and due diligence.”
Relatedly, SUBREI participated alongside the OECD in a “Due Diligence Awareness Workshop” for the dairy industry in which they presented a risk-based due diligence self-assessment tool.
Disaster Management Act Regulations: Alert Level 1 During Coronavirus COVID-19 Lockdown: Eviction and Demolition of Places of Residence
According to the “Disaster Management Act Regulations,” “[a] person may not be evicted from his or her land or home or have his or her place of residence demolished for the duration of the national state of disaster unless a competent court has granted an order authorising the eviction or demolition.” The regulations also note that “[a] competent court may suspend or stay an order for eviction or demolition . . . until after the lapse or termination of the national state of disaster” unless the court determines otherwise for a range of reasons listed in the regulations.
Public Emergency Decree 766/2020 (Emergencia Pública Decreto 766/2020)
Public Emergency Decree 766/2020 contains provisions on “suspension of evictions” and “freezing of rental prices.” This decree followed Emergency Decree 320/2020 issued on March 29, 2020, which similarly contained such measures and expired on September 30, 2020, and extends the provisions until January 31, 2021. The decree “considers” that: “the right to housing is protected by various norms contained in human rights treaties” that have been ratified by Argentina and that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more challenging for tenants to meet their contractual obligations, resulting in evictions.
Regulations to Facilitate Access to Short-term Work to be Extended
Government “regulations to facilitate access to short-time work allowance and to raise the allowance” will extend through the end of 2021. The allowance is paid by the Federal Employment Agency in order “to compensate in part for the loss of wages caused by a lack of work for a temporary period” which then “eases the pressure on companies and enables them to keep on their workforce” and “often makes it possible to avoid job losses.”
Amendment to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act
This amendment to existing legislation extends, among other provisions, the “maximum period of family care leave” to “90 days per year, and employees may use this leave in several instances,” including when: “a serious emergency alert level has been issued . . . due to the spread of an infectious disease” and family members are impacted, such that “an employee needs to care for a family member,” suspension or temporary closure orders have been issued for schools or businesses and “the employee in question needs to care for their child,” or “due to an infectious disease . . . the employee’s child is in need of care because they have been required to self-quarantine at home.”
Joint Statement on International Access to Information Day 2020
“Information Access Commissioners and Ombudsmen from across Australia and New Zealand . . . released a joint statement to mark International Access to Information Day” in September 2020. The statement notes: “we join with members of the United Nations, international regulators and others to acknowledge the importance of access to information laws and the community’s right to know.” The statement also emphasizes the “importance of public access to information as governments respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The National Board of Health Strengthens the Information about COVID-19 for Citizens with an Ethnic Background Other than Danish (Sundhedsstyrelsen Styrker Informationen om COVID-19 til Borgere Med Anden Etnisk Baggrund End Dansk)
With the understanding that “[i]t is important that everyone, regardless of ethnic background, has access to and can understand” information provided by the Danish Health Authority regarding coronavirus, information is made available in different languages and through videos in addition to written materials. Additionally, the National Board of Health, in collaboration with other agencies, “carried out a survey of information channels and media that provide information about COVID-19, among ethnic minority groups with non-Western backgrounds and Polish workers in Denmark.” The resulting report (“COVID-19 and Ethnic Minorities, Mapping of information channels and Media”) concludes with a set of recommendations including what types of platforms, media, channels, and instruments should be used to provide targeted information to ethnic minority groups.
SB-932 (California) Communicable Diseases: Data Collection
According to this bill, “[a]ny electronic tool used by a health officer . . . for the purpose of reporting cases of communicable disease to the State Department of Public Health, . . . shall include the capacity to collect and report data relating to sexual orientation and gender identity as reported pursuant to subdivision” and “a health care provider . . . that knows of or is in attendance on a case or suspected case of any of the diseases or conditions listed . . . shall report to the health officer for the jurisdiction in which the patient resides, the patient’s sexual orientation and gender identity, if known.” Finally the Bill notes that “[t]o ensure public health officials efficiently and timely collect and report data relating to the sexual orientation and gender identity of individuals diagnosed with certain communicable diseases and because studies show that the LGBTQ community is uniquely susceptible to the economic and health impacts of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.” The state’s Health Equity Dashboard now includes data for reported COVID cases and deaths sorted by sexual orientation and gender identity.
Subsidy for the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Health Emergency Azcapo Accompanies You (Subsidio para la Interrupción Legal del Embarazo Durante la Emergencia Sanitaria por COVID 19 Azcapo te Acompaña)
This measure, put into place in the Azcapotzalco municipality of Mexico City, provides for the allocation of resources to “subsidize the cost of legal interruptions of pregnancy” including through medication and “manual vacuum aspiration with analgesic” for procedures performed at the Marie Stopes México A.C. Foundation. This support aims to “address one of the secondary effects derived from the home confinement implemented with the purpose of controlling, mitigating and preventing the spread of SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19), such as unplanned or unwanted pregnancies” and to “contribute, with the Government of Mexico City, to offering sexual and reproductive health services as essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Electoral Amendment Regulations (No 4) 2020: Special Vote by Person in Isolation or Quarantine
In advance of the 2020 general election, a new regulation entitled “Special vote by person in isolation or quarantine” was inserted into the “Electoral Regulations 1996” to “enable persons to vote as special voters by dictation if, in accordance with the requirements of a COVID-19 order or other enactment, they are in isolation or quarantine at a managed isolation or quarantine facility or on a ship.” This regulation “applies only for the 2020 general election and is revoked on 1 December 2020.”
Samagra Shiksha – Meeting of the Project Approval Board
In a meeting “to consider the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B) 2020-21 of Samagra Shiksha for the State of Kerala” one element of the “COVlD- 19 Response: Ensuring safety and security in schools and Digital learning in view of the Covid-19 situation” includes the following: “The planning of the access should be done such that no child is left behind. State/UT [Union Territory] governments may ensure that learning content is accessible to the needs of CwSN [Children with Special Needs].”
Agreement Signed to Cover Villages And Population Centers With Telecommunications And Internet Services Via Satellite
“The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and Oman Broadband Company (OBC) signed an agreement . . . to provide telecommunications and internet services to [598] villages and population centers by satellite in various governorates.” The “initiative aims at the provision of telecommunications and internet services to villages and rural population centers in Oman. TRA requested funding from the Ministry of Finance and a sum of RO 15 million was approved to provide the infrastructure for this project.” This initiative also “intends to further the implementation of the National Broad Band Strategy . . . to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.”
Broad Guidelines for Conduct of General Elections/Bye- Elections During COVID-19
The Election Commission of India published guidelines for election conduct during COVID “with respect to key activities of the conduct of elections, considering the upcoming General Elections and bye-elections in various States/UTs during the period of COVID-19.” Measures include “general guidelines to be followed during entire election processes for all persons” and “polling station arrangements” (including procedures for “COVID-19 patients who are quarantined” to “cast their vote at the last hour of the poll day at their respective Polling Stations, under the supervision of health authorities, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures”). Additionally, the guidelines extend the “option of postal ballot facility” to, among others, electors “who are marked as Persons with Disabilities (PwD),” “above the age of 80 years,” and/or “who are COVID-19 positive/suspect and in quarantine.”
$50 Million in Grant Funding Available to Help Students Gain Internet Access
In Ohio, “[t]he lieutenant governor announced the state will set aside $50 million of funding through the federal CARES Act to provide hotspots and internet-enabled devices to students.” According to the announcement, “[t]he district must identify the eligible group of students it intends to assist with the purchase of the technology. Those groups include: Economically disadvantaged students, as defined for EMIS reporting, including students on free or reduced lunch; Vulnerable children and youth as defined by the Ohio Department of Education; Students who might have chronic conditions; and Students who do not have other access to the internet.”
A Summary of CDC’s Family Planning Recommendations for Healthcare Providers
Noting that “[d]uring COVID-19, it is critical that access to family planning services remains available while keeping healthcare providers and their patients safe,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued and collected a series of recommendations for healthcare providers for “providing quality family planning services while helping to facilitate access and minimizing in- person contact between patients and providers.” The guidelines suggest, among others, that “[p]roviders may want to consider alternative models for providing services or access to contraception for their patients,” and that “a 1-year supply of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) can be provided or prescribed.”
Outdoor Seating in Manchester to Become Smoke-Free Areas
As measures were put into place in Manchester City “following the nationwide lockdown” in order “to allow businesses to trade on pavements and roads” and to enable the reopening of the hospitality industry, the City required that “all businesses who are temporarily trading under a ‘pavement license’ . . . ensure that their seating areas are smoke free.” This measure is consistent with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that calls for States to take measures “providing for protection from exposure to tobacco smoke in . . . public places.”
Health Equity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website includes a dedicated section entitled “Health Equity-Promoting Fair Access to Health” with several sub-sections including: Health Equity Considerations and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups (e.g. containing information on “Factors that contribute to increased risk”); What We Can Do To Promote Health Equity (e.g. highlighting ways in which different stakeholders “all play a key part in promoting fair access to health”); Health Equity in Action (e.g. demonstrating the ways in which “CDC is working with state, territorial, local, and tribal partners, and community-serving organizations, to ensure all public health actions address health disparities for all populations”); COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (e.g. explaining the ways in which “some racial and ethnic minority groups [are] disproportionately affected by COVID-19”); CDC COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy (e.g. aiming “to improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected [by COVID-19]” including, among other groups, “racial and ethnic minority population”); and Health Equity News & Resources (e.g. with links to relevant articles, publications, and webinars).
Sociocultural Guide for Prevention, Containment and Management of Cases of COVID-19 among Indigenous Peoples (Guía Sociocultural para la prevención, contención y manejo de casos COVID-19)
The guide compiles actions suggested by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, through the Unit of Indigenous Peoples and Interculturality, to be applied in communities where inhabitants of the Maya, Garífuna, and Xinka communities live, as they face the COVID-19 pandemic. The guide, intended to be consulted and used by communities and organizations of indigenous persons, as well as health professionals, contains a series of proposed actions which are based on the need for the provision of comprehensive care that is culturally appropriate and relevant, in order to comply with the collective rights of indigenous peoples who, “given their diverse sociocultural contexts, require a different attention, with a focus on human rights.”
Minister of Climate Change and Environment Reinforces Importance of Green Economy as Cornerstone for Post-COVID-19 Recovery
During the “First Ministerial Meeting on COVID-19 and the Environment in West Asia” Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the Minister of Climate Change and Environment, emphasized “that expediting the transition to a green economy is of paramount importance to stage a sustainable recovery from the economic slowdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, without harming the environment or depleting the country’s natural resources.” He also stressed that during the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates “maintained the timeline of projects that increase the share of clean energy” and that the government also “prioritizes preserving the marine environment.”
Order Prohibiting Larger Assemblies and Access to and Restrictions on Premises and Locations in Connection with the Handling of Covid-19 (Bekendtgørelse om Forbud Mod Større Forsamlinger og Mod Adgang til og Restriktioner for Lokaler og Lokaliteter i Forbindelse med Håndtering af Covid19)
Under COVID-19 restrictions it was “forbidden to hold and participate in indoor and outdoor events, events, activities or the like, where there are more than 100 people present at the same place at the same time,” and police were authorized to “use the necessary force . . . to ensure that the prohibition [was] complied with.” However, the order contains an exemption for “assemblies for a political or other meaningful purpose,” which the Government explained was to preserve freedom of assembly.
Legislators Agree to Create Special Commission that Investigates, among Other Things, Harassment of Salvadoran Journalists (Legisladores Acuerdan Crear Comisión Especial que Investigue, entre Otras Cosas, Acoso a Periodistas Salvadoreños)
The legislature voted to create a “Special Commission for the investigation of harassment suffered by media journalists due to their work and editorial line and the use of public funds against opponents.” The Commission’s mandate is to investigate, among other things, “the harassment that journalists . . . are suffering due to their work and editorial line” including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as actions by government actors and others who “hinder and threaten the media and journalists” as well as to look into how “government structures” are “intervening in the exercise of free and independent journalism.” A report of the Special Commission, dated November 4, 2020, was presented to the Honorable Legislative Plenary Session. According to the Inter American Press Association, attacks against journalists have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic; further, according to Reporters Without Borders, “journalists and media outlets” have faced challenges in obtaining information related to the pandemic.
Ghana’s National Adaptation Plan Project Launched in Accra
This “National Adaptation Plan (NAP) project” was launched by the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation “to guide the process of integrating climate change into national decision-making and effective adaptation in the country.” More specifically, the NAP identifies “medium and long term adaptation needs, informed by the latest climate science” and is intended to follow a “participatory and transparent approach.” According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which is supporting this program, the government “will aim to use this NAP process to ‘build back better’, ensuring that post-COVID-19 recovery investments and stimulus packages are ‘climate-proof’ – i.e., resilient to the extreme weather events projected in the coming decades.”
The Ministry of Women Decides to Incorporate the WhatsApp [Helpline] as a Permanent Care Service (Ministerio de la Mujer Decide Incorporar el Whatsapp de Ayuda a Mujeres Como Servicio Permanente de Atención)
The Minister of Women and Gender Equity, jointly with other government institutions, announced that the WhatsApp of the Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, which “offers help through silent messages to all women who suffer violence” was to be extended beyond the pandemic and “incorporated as a permanent policy.” Given that “many women have to live with their aggressors 24 hours a day” during the pandemic, and that it “has thus become more difficult to go to a police station in order to file a complaint,” this silent WhatsApp service, which is free of cost and “functions 24 hours a day,” allows women to “request psychological and legal help,” and to be put in contact with the police “in cases of danger.”
Special Voting Arrangements to Protect Health and Safety at General Election 2020
The Elections Department “consulted with the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the voting arrangements” for “groups of voters” including “COVID-19 patients,” “those on Quarantine Order (QO) for COVID-19,” and “those under COVID-19 Stay Order, commonly known as “Stay Home Notice” (SHN) at home.” Voting arrangements were made “to protect the health and safety of everyone, including voters, candidates and election officials, while still allowing those among these voters who may want to exercise their right to vote to do so.”
Governor Ivey Allocates $100 Million for Alabama Broadband Connectivity for Students
“Alabama Broadband Connectivity (ABC) for Students, will provide vouchers for families of students currently eligible for free and reduced-price school meals, or other income criteria. The vouchers will help cover equipment and service costs for high-speed internet service from the fall through Dec. 31, 2020.” Subsequently, in December 2020 “Governor Kay Ivey . . . announced that she has extended the successful Alabama Broadband Connectivity for Students program into 2021 . . .”
Updated COVID-19 Māori Health Response Plan
The plan “builds on the progress made by the Initial COVID-19 Māori Response Action Plan and provides an updated framework to protect, prevent, and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 within whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities.”
Announcement | Our Security Estates are Respectful of Human Rights and Reject all Types of Violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia or Discrimination, Regardless of Who it Comes From (Comunicado| Nuestros Estamentos de Seguridad son respetuosos de los derechos humanos y rechaza todo tipo de violencia, xenofobia, homofobia, transfobia o discriminación, con independencia de quien provenga)
Several government ministries and the Office of the Ombudsperson issued an announcement, noting that acts of hostility, discrimination, violence and unequal treatment against trans persons have been registered in the media and elsewhere, and calling on “personnel of commercial establishments and public offices, members of public security forces and private security agencies to comply with and enforce the principles of equality and non-discrimination” including in the context of restrictions regarding COVID-related movement restrictions. The announcement includes information about how to contact the Office of the Ombudsman so that measures can be taken against those who attempt to act against individuality, diversity, and human rights.
Fighting Corruption during COVID-19
In July 2020, President Ramaphosa “announced the establishment of a collaborative and coordinating centre to strengthen the collective efforts among law enforcement agencies so as to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute COVID-related corruption.” As part of this effort, nine state institutions were brought together to investigate “allegations of corruption” on the following issues: “the distribution of food parcels, social relief grants, the procurement of personal protective equipment and other medical supplies, and UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund) special COVID-19 scheme.” Additional government measures include, among others: the National Treasury’s issuance of regulations “to ensure that emergency procurement of supplies and services meet the constitutional requirements of fairness, transparency, competitiveness and cost effectiveness,” the Competition Commission’s investigation of “over 800 complaints of excessive pricing” including prosecution of or settlements reached “with 28 companies, imposing penalties and fines of over R16 million,” the Auditor-General’s adoption of “special measures to safeguard funds committed to the fight against COVID-19,” and the President’s authorization of the “Special Investigating Unit . . . to investigate any unlawful or improper conduct in the procurement of any goods, works and services during or related to the national state of disaster in any state institution.”
The Electoral Commission Institutes the Queue Management System at Its Registration Centres
The Electoral Commission of Ghana “instituted a Queue Management System” due to “overcrowding at some [voter registration] Centres in the Greater Accra Metropolis” as part of the “2020 Voters Registration Exercise.” The measures aimed to “reduce the long queues and help with the enforcement of social distancing protocols at the Centres.”