Human rights in times of triage: The discourse of the United Nations human rights experts during COVID-19

Gustavo Arosemena*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

Abstract

The present chapter aims to map the institutional response of the United Nations (UN) human rights experts to the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretically informed qualitative analysis is used to identify the emphasized themes in the emerging UN discourse, and which themes were under-emphasized. Tensions and contradictions are also highlighted. This chapter explores equality as the core demand of human rights, the tensions that lie in calls for proportionality, the relative lack of consideration of trade-offs and resource scarcity as well as the relative absence of normative absolutes. It also explores how human rights discourse interfaced with science and democracy.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSocio-Economic Rights, Inequalities and Vulnerability in Times of Crises: Building Back Better
EditorsAndrea Broderick, Jennifer Sellin
Place of PublicationCheltenham
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing
Chapter3
Pages41-65
Number of pages25
ISBN (Electronic)9781035306657
ISBN (Print)9781035306640
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Dec 2024

Publication series

SeriesThe Association of Human Rights Institutes series

Keywords

  • conflicts of rights
  • COVID-19
  • deference
  • human rights
  • proportionality
  • triage

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Human rights in times of triage: The discourse of the United Nations human rights experts during COVID-19'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this