Separate reports from a number of international and European agencies reported that the “Covid-19” pandemic has had a significant impact on the humanitarian situation of a number of groups.
A report by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights released today, Thursday, showed that the “Covid-19” pandemic had an “unprecedented and profound” impact on human rights, and exacerbated racism against minorities and child abuse.
The situation caused by Corona, according to the Vienna-based agency, “exacerbated existing challenges and inequalities in all aspects of life, and this affected especially vulnerable groups.”
A number of the 27 member states of the European Union declared a state of emergency, “which gave governments extraordinary decision-making powers, limiting all human rights,” as indicated by the study, which also included North Macedonia and Serbia.
The elderly, children, Roma, refugees, migrants and the disabled are among the most affected groups, and women have been affected at “varying levels” in terms of employment, work-life alignment or health.
As for minorities, the report indicated a high risk of infection transmission and job loss.
In addition, the report emphasized that the epidemic “caused an increase in incidents of racism and xenophobia,” referring to “verbal insults, cases of harassment, physical assault and hate speech.”
For their part, children suffered from distance education, as the agency pointed out that “the educational systems were not ready for this sudden shift,” teachers were not trained, and the price was paid more by students who come from economically or socially disadvantaged backgrounds and who do not have an Internet connection or computers.
“Child abuse has also increased during lockdowns and quarantines,” the report added, citing statistics from the European Police Agency (Europol), as well as the number of cases of sexual abuse online. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.464.0_en.html#goog_972294720
Child labor
Earlier, a joint report of the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that the number of children working in the world has risen to 160 million, an increase of 8 million and 400 thousand children during the past four years.
The report warned that an additional 9 million children are at risk of falling into child labor by 2022 as a result of the Corona pandemic.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said that many families were forced to make what she called painful choices due to the repercussions of Corona, school closures and economic turmoil.
For his part, Jay Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor Organization, called for action to save children from the danger of employment.