Today, the ICJ published a briefing paper entitled “COVID-19 and Human Rights: Upholding the Right to Health in Myanmar’s Conflict Areas.”
The briefing paper analyzes the ongoing Internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin states through a right to health lens amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on Myanmar’s obligation to uphold the right to health under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Myanmar became a party to the treaty in 2017.
The briefing paper also discusses the right to health and international humanitarian law implications of the attack against World Health Organization employees in Rakhine state in April 2020.
Questions answered include:
- What does the right to health guarantee?
- Who does the right to health protect?
- What are Myanmar’s obligations regarding the right to health?
- How is access to information important to upholding the right to health?
- Do these human rights obligations and protections apply in situations of armed conflict?
- How does the Internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin states affect Myanmar’s obligation to uphold the right to health?
- What are the legal implications of attacks against medical personnel in areas of armed conflict?
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Contact
Jenny Domino, ICJ Associate Legal Adviser, e: jenny.domino(a)icj.org
Related Work
Report: Curtailing the Right to Freedom of Expression and Information in Myanmar
Publication: Questions and Answers on Human Rights Law in Rakhine State