COVID-19 responses, human rights and the cultural context of Global South

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-01-2022-0002
• Published date: 14 March 2022
• Date: 14 March 2022
• Pages: 399-411
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Inequalities & diverse/minority groups,Sociology,Race & ethnic studies,Minorities,Multiculturalism,Racial identity,Work,economy & organizations
• Author: Md. Kamal Uddin,Muhammad Tareq Chy,Helal Uddin Ahmmed

COVID-19 responses, human rights and

the cultural context of Global South

Md. Kamal Uddin, Muhammad Tareq Chy and Helal Uddin Ahmmed

Abstract

Purpose –This paperfocuses on COVID-19 and human rightsin the Global South. ControllingCOVID-19

has become verychallenging to the courtiers in the Global Southand the Global North. Various restrictive

measures, mainly lockdown,home quarantine, travel restrictionsand social distancing have been taken

in both Global Northand South to control COVID-19. However, the lower-middleand poor class people of

the Global South have suffered from these restrictive measures. Thus, this paper aims to explore the

human rightsissues of the Global South duringCOVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach –This study is a qualitativeresearch based on secondary materials.It

includes relevant scholarly articles, news reports and various reports from different national and

international organizations. It critically reviews the current literature related to the topic to develop a

theoretical understanding of human rights and public health in general and human rights challenges in

COVID-19 in the Global South in particular. Existing international human rights principles in the case of

public health were reviewed and discussed to identify the links between human rights laws in public

health perspectives. Contents analysis was carried out to identify the relevant themes on the issues of

human rightsin response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings –This paper finds thatuniversal guidelines to control COVID-19 challengedthe human rights

norms, whichimpacts the enjoyment of human rights in theGlobal South. The human rights of the people

in the GlobalSouth were undermined in the responseto the control of COVID-19.

Originality/value –This paper is a significant study on the issues of human rights in public health

emergencies. It addresses how the human rights of the vulnerable people in the Global South are

undermined in the globalpandemic response, which can be useful for the countriesin the Global South

for ensuringbetter human rights-based responsesin the future.

Keywords South Asia, Global South, COVID-19 pandemic, Cultural perspectives,

Disadvantaged people, Human rights abuses

Paper type Viewpoint

Introduction

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)was first reported in Wuhan, China in the last of December

2019 and announced as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 (World Health Organization

[WHO], 2021). It affects human life from every aspect throughout the world. There have

been 376,478,335 confirmed cases and 5,66,6064 deaths reported worldwide because of

COVID-19, as of February 1, 2022, (WHO, 2021). The countries in the Global North and

South have taken almost similar preventive measures to control the escalation of the

COVID-19 pandemic. However, the International Health Regulations of 2005 clearly

indicates that the additional health measures in any public health emergency are required

to ensure human rights principles, dignity and necessary freedom of the people (Habibi

et al., 2020). Therefore, human rights norms in the context of COVID-19’s response are

significantly important. Human rights basicallyare a group of rights people enjoy as human

beings, which include the enjoyment of civil and political rights and economic, social and

cultural rights and a combination of these together (Forman and Kohler, 2020). Human

rights, in the true sense, are universal. However, cultural perspectives matter in the

Md. Kamal Uddin,

Muhammad Tareq Chy and

Helal Uddin Ahmmed are

all based at the Department

of International Relations,

University of Chittagong,

Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Received 6 January 2022

Revised 11 February 2022

Accepted 19 February 2022

DOI 10.1108/IJHRH-01-2022-0002 VOL. 15 NO. 4 2022,pp. 399-411, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-4902 jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN HEALTHCARE jPAGE 399