ECNL and ICNL publish guide for authorities on protecting human rights in their COVID-19 responses

Trust grantees, European Center for Not for Profit Law (ECNL) and International Center for Not for Profit Law (ICNL), have collaborated to publish a short guide for authorities to uphold human rights and protect human dignity, whilst protecting lives during the COVID-19 crisis. As governments rapidly introduce emergency measures, civil society space and fundamental freedoms are impacted. The 2-page guide covers six areas that states must ensure they do and six they must not do to uphold international human rights obligations in their emergency responses to the pandemic.

The briefer is available in Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, English, French, German, Macedonian and Spanish, and can be found here.

As part of its CSO Meter initiative, ECNL and its partners in the Eastern Partnership region have also published a briefer in response to the pandemic for the 6 countries in this region. It summarises emergency measures taken by the relevant governments and CSO responses, addressing the subsequent impact on their freedoms. Civil society has constituted an important part of the COVID-19 crisis response through statements, petitions, free legal advice, fundraising, volunteering and more.

The Eastern Partnership briefer can be found, in English, here.