The World today is witnessing an extraordinary situation in the form of the COVID – 19 pandemic which has claimed millions of lives worldwide. A disease outbreak of this extent was last witnessed, in the year 1918, when in the aftermaths of the World War – I, Spanish Flu started spreading. COVID – 19 is also a representation of the fact that in these hundred years, despite establishment of international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), exclusively devoted towards the objective of establishing international healthcare standards, the World Community to a large extent remained unprepared to deal with such situations. The pandemic has not just taken a toll on human lives but has also adversely impacted the economic models operating worldwide. This simply highlights that the so called ‘Sustainable Models of Governance’ remain far from success. If the reports of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are to be believed, the economic repercussions of the pandemic would be such that the world would enter into a recessionary phase with a loss of around Two Trillion Dollars. This simply highlights the fact that Nation States need to reassess the role of factors like poverty, illiteracy, insanitary and unhygienic conditions etc., in coping with health care crisis. The need of the hour is also to take into consideration variables like human rights, especially the rights of the disabled populations, in managing health crises of this level. In the present article, therefore, an attempt will be made to suggest alternative recovery mechanisms for pandemics, with special focus on mental healthcare and disability rights. Emphasis will also be laid on the fact that Nation States need to acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed intensified inequalities experienced by the world’s one billion people with disabilities and should adopt a response which is disabled friendly.
International Legal Provisions on Disability Rights and Humanitarian Crises
In the year 2006, the United Nations General Assembly, with an overwhelming majority, passed the first human rights treaty of the 21st century, i.e., the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The objective of this Convention was to create a legally binding framework for Nation States in this regard. It is pertinent to note that before coming into force of this Convention, none of the human rights treaties existing before had provisions relating to disabled rights. For successful enforcement of these rights, the only recourse available under these so called ‘hard law instruments’ was the omnibus provision. The main idea behind the Convention, therefore, was to transform the pre-existing attitude of the society towards persons with disabilities and treating them as active participants in the societal life.
Further, there exists an inherent link between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the CRPD, and this treaty can be successfully utilised for achievement of all goals and targets decided by Nation States, and not just those which in specific terms pertain to persons with disabilities. This is of great significance in the present context, since, the provisions of the Convention can be invoked for protecting the interests of the persons with disabilities during the ongoing pandemic.
In this regard Article 11 of the CRPD is of utmost importance. The Article lays down the responsibility of the State parties ‘to take all possible measures for ensuring the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in the national response to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies.’ Therefore, in furtherance of the mandate of this article, measures pertaining to all areas of life of the disabled individuals shall be incorporated in policy decisions. This must be inclusive of the following: protecting access to healthcare without any discrimination, ensuring general wellbeing of the disabled and preventing the spread of infectious diseases amongst them and lastly, granting them protection from negative attitudes, isolation, and stigmatization which might arise due to an ongoing crisis.
It can be said that for properly safeguarding the rights of disabled individuals during pandemics, States are required to effectively implement their obligations under both the CRPD and also the Sustainable Development Agenda. Moreover, while doing so, special considerations are to be given to the prevailing diversity amongst the disabled population, especially women and elderly. Lastly, during any sort of humanitarian crisis, in furtherance of international commitments, discriminatory denial of essential supplies like food, life-saving drugs and medical services must be prevented at any cost.
United Nations report on COVID – 19 and disabled rights
Recently a report has been launched by the United Nations pertaining to impact of the COVID – 19 pandemic and rights of the disabled population. The United Nations Secretary General, during the report launch highlighted that in normal circumstances also ‘people with special needs’ are more likely to be illiterate, deprived of job opportunities and usually find it difficult to participate actively in community life. The rate of poverty, neglect and violence is, therefore, much higher amongst them. It was also observed by him the pandemic has had the worst impact on people with disabilities and has increased these inequalities multi – fold. The reason behind this is barriers like non-implementation of proper sanitation measures and difficult to attain healthcare facilities. Because of these reasons, a disease which is otherwise not very fatal, has resulted in a fatality rate of 19 – 72 % amongst the disabled population. Another factor which deserves to be highlighted is that in certain countries, healthcare is provided on rationing basis and the basis of determination is most often arbitrary criteria like age, quality of life etc.
The economic crisis which is a by-product of the pandemic has also resulted in lay-offs in almost all economies. This aspect of the calamity has also not spared the individuals with disabilities, and they have emerged as being most vulnerable, mostly because of their inability to return to work. Surges in domestic violence is further proving to be a challenge for disabled women and girls.
The only possible solution to combat the problems highlighted above is to place the disabled segment of the society at the core of the action plans and recovery efforts. Another solution can be to adopt a bottom-up approach and make them a part of the decision – making process by holding regular consultations, especially because they have experience pertaining to thriving in isolationary situations and working in alternate work setups. Importance of SDGs, therefore, must be remembered at all costs and the ultimate aim must to create more inclusive and accessible societies.
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