An international human rights group has warned that the majority of nations across the globe have implemented COVID related restrictions that have severely eroded the liberties of their citizens.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), based in Sweden, reports that 61 per cent of countries have used restrictions “that were concerning from a democracy and human rights perspective.”
‘These [restrictions] violated democratic standards because they were either disproportionate, illegal, indefinite or unnecessary in relation to the health threat,” the group declared in its report.
ℹ️ By October 2020, 99 out of 162 countries in the 🌎 had implemented measures to contain #COVID19 that present concerns from a #Democracy & #HumanRights perspective.📣 For more findings, look out for @Int_IDEA‘s #GlobalStateofDemocracy in Focus out on 🗓 Wednesday 9 December‼️ pic.twitter.com/juzrZZk8zX
— International IDEA (@Int_IDEA) December 8, 2020
Even more concerning was the finding that almost half of all Democratic countries implemented measures that violate basic human rights:
📣 Our latest report on the #GlobalStateofDemocracy shows worrying 🌍 trends‼️ Nearly half of #democracies worldwide implemented measures to curb the #COVID19 #pandemic that violate basic democratic & #HumanRights standards. Access it ⬇️. #DefendDemocracyhttps://t.co/oLgBUwrbeu
— International IDEA (@Int_IDEA) December 9, 2020
The group has warned that most at risk from the restrictions is freedom of expression:
ℹ️ The aspects of #democracy that have seen the most concerning developments during the #pandemic are #FreedomOfExpression, #media integrity, and personal #integrity and #security. 📣 Look out for @Int_IDEA‘s #GlobalStateofDemocracy in Focus out on 9 December‼️ pic.twitter.com/ryRKvJHwd7
— International IDEA (@Int_IDEA) December 8, 2020
IDEA also noted that half of all countries have used COVID to implement restrictions in the name of preventing “disinformation” about the virus – READ MORE
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