The Response of International Institutions to the Global Coronavirus Response

The International Organization for Migration released an announcement (“COVID-19 Does Not Discriminate; Nor Should Our Response”) about the response to the global spread of the coronavirus.  It begins:

“As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Network on Migration salutes the immense efforts to date to combat this crisis and urges that all – including migrants regardless of their migratory status – are included in efforts to mitigate and roll back this illness’s impact. To that end, migrants must be seen as both potential victims and as an integral part of any effective public health response. It is particularly important that all authorities make every effort to confront xenophobia, including where migrants and others are subject to discrimination or violence linked to the origin and spreading of the pandemic. COVID-19 does not discriminate, and nor should our response, if it is to succeed.”

In addition,  Professor E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, issued a press release and a statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination commemorated on  March 21, 2020.  The press release, which is available in English and Spanish, speaks out against the xenophobic  responses of certain world leaders to the Covid-19 virus. The statement is a joint statement with the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, and it also calls upon United Nations Member States to take all the necessary steps to ensure a proper commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action next year. The Statement is available in English at this link.

KJ