“As never since the Second World War, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the need for strong protection of human rights, including economic and social rights”, said Luis Leite Ramos (European People's Party, Portugal), Chair of the Social, Health and Sustainable Development Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In a press release published on Wednesday 1 April, he announced that a motion for a resolution had been initiated by French Liberal Jennifer de Temmerman, chair of the subcommittee on Public Health and Sustainable Development. Entitled “COVID-19 – an effective response respectful of human rights”, this text refers to Resolution 2114, adopted by PACE in 2016 after the Ebola epidemic, which is called “The handling of international public-health emergencies”.
A further step is necessary given that “the world was not ready for this pandemic”, it is noted in the new draft resolution. This is not only “ in order to save lives and guarantee access to health care, but also to manage the social, economic, financial and political consequences of the pandemic in an equitable way through international co-operation”.
This proposal will be discussed—along with others—in the online meetings that are being set up at the bureau and standing committee level of PACE. It should then be discussed and voted on during the debates on the different aspects of this global crisis, which are expected be held over a whole day during the PACE session, which is still scheduled for 22-26 June in Strasbourg. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)