Equinet’s response to COVID-19

• • https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/Novost.aspx?newsid=1513&lang=EN
  • https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/Novost.aspx?newsid=1516&lang=EN
  • https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/Novost.aspx?newsid=1517&lang=EN
  • https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/Novost.aspx?newsid=1509&lang=EN
  • https://www.ombudsmen.gov.ba/Novost.aspx?newsid=1518&lang=EN

On March 23^th 2020, a Decision on the prohibition of leaving the place of residence and the place of permanent residence was adopted in Croatia. The main reason for adopting such Decision was that it was estimated how in some areas there was a significantly increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 disease. Because of that, in order to reduce the possibility of further spreading of the disease, it was (and still is) prohibited to leave the place of residence and the place of permanent residence without pass. The passes are issued by the local civil protection headquarters upon personal application. Originally, during March the passes were in paper format and the digital e-Passes were introduced from April 1^st. From that date leaving the place of residence/permanent residence has only been possible with the  e-Passes.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities in Croatia has received a number (about 20) of submissions and inquiries from citizens regarding the manner of issuing passes and cases of refusal of their requests for issuing. The proceedings found that some of the claims had been substantially rejected, for example request made by the family member of person with disability (husband) to travel over the 300 km route to his wife to make purchases in the shop; there were more cases where persons did not determinate either the departure date or the return day, which is why such requests were also reasonably denied. On the other hand, there were a cases of unjustified refusal of the application for the passes due to the fact that the person with disability is employed in a place outside the place of his/her registered place of residence and is not legally required to reside in the place where he/she resides - namely, it is established that the difference between residence and place of residence was not respected in such cases.

The facts of the case are as follows: by the end of March the complainant arrived in Georgia from abroad. According to the rules related to COVID19, she was transferred to one of facilities allocated for quarantine, where other people also went through quarantine. A particular male doctor was assigned by the Ministry of Health, to undertake medical check of people arrived in this premises. The doctor and the complainant have not met previously. As reported by the complainant, while checking her lungs, she was asked to completely undress her blouse and while checking her joints she was asked to undress her trousers. The doctors checked her joints by stressing his hand close to her intimate parts. Before leaving, the doctor asked her, whether she had a spouse or boyfriend and if so, she had to restrain from sexual contact with him, throughout two weeks. He also left his phone number and told her, she could call anytime. The case is currently being examined.

We have mostly received complaints from people with a perceived Asian background. Incidents range from racist slurs uttered in the street to severe forms of harassment. Multiple complainants have reported that strangers yelled „corona“ at them. Several people were denied service in shops, or felt that they were being kept at an excessive distance when compared to other customers or that they were the only customers that staff served while wearing a mask.

A woman with Chinese background reported that a neighbour waited for her every time she walked her dog to say “corona” to her. A young man from Malaysia received a note from his neighbour telling him to go back to China because he had brought Germany “to the gallows”.  A scientist of Chinese origin received an anonymous email at her workplace, a university, which contained a Covid-19 death wish for her child, blamed all Chinese people for the virus, insulted her and told her to go back to China. The email ended with the words „I know where you live.”

The first complaint we received, in January, came from a Chinese citizen who was told not to show up for a pre-planned routine check-up at her doctor’s office even though she had not been to China in months.

So far, the Swedish Equality Ombudsman has identified three (3) complaints related to Covid-19 and its effects.

1. Accessibility for person in a wheel-chair when trying to pay at a super-market owing to barriers obliging clients to keep a certain distance from the cashier.
2. Cancellation of a flight.
3. The way in which the Swedish Public Health Authority describes people aged 70.  

On 27 March, the Greek Ombudsman, acting both as human rights defender and as equality body, sent a formal letter to competent government ministers, recommending the adoption of specific protective measures for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as elderly, suffering from severe chronic illnesses or homeless people, Roma communities, immigrants or asylum seekers, prisoners and detained people or people living in institutions. The main point of this intervention was to stress the need of proportionality in the measures taken in order to equally protect the groups of population affected the pandemic. In the employment context, specific measures have been recommended for pregnant employees, employees whose health conditions make any potential infection by the COVID-19 virus life threatening, as well as for carers of vulnerable persons due to their disability, condition of health, family status etc. 

Regarding the increased risk for domestic violence against women, children or elderly or disabled people in locked-down conditions, the Ombudsman sent another letter to the competent authorities of the Police and the General Secretary of Family Affairs and Gender Equality, asking for specific data related to relevant complaints and the results of the action taken in dealing with them.

The majority of the complaints were submitted by employees who were not granted specific leave in order to take care of their children of school or pre-school age after the schools and nursery schools had been closed or in order to take care of close relatives who need special assistance or whose life was at risk in case they are infected by the COVID-19 virus. 

According to the Legal Act of 11/3/2020, employees who are parents of children of pre-school age are granted specific leave provided that (among other conditions) their children were registered to nursery schools before these schools were closed. Consequently, the Greek Ombudsman received complaints from employees who had charged their parents to take care of their children before the pandemic. The complainants claimed that their parents were extremely vulnerable to infections due to their age and, therefore, keeping taking care of their grand-children it would entail a great risk for them. The Greek Ombudsman asked for an amendment of the legal act. The condition has been removed for the public sector but it still remains for the employees working at the private sector.

A woman employee with a fixed-term employment contract, who was granted a special parental leave, due to Covid-19, according to par. 3 of article 4 of the Legal Act of 11.03.2020, was dismissed for exceeding the days of normal leave by one day. After examination of the complaint, the Ombudsman challenged the employer's allegations that the leave had been exceeded and in coordination with the competent Labor Inspectorate Body, intervened with the employer asking to withdrew the termination of the employment contract of the working mother. The mother employee finally kept her work.

1. Need of live interpretation in sign language or captioning/subtitling, from all tv stations, especially when state officials/ministers and/or experts are hosted to provide information regarding the pandemic.
2. All announcements / press releases / decrees / instructions regarding the pandemic and the measures taken, shall in accessible and understandable formats for all persons with disabilities.
3. Accessibility of Ministry’s website about COVID-19 pandemic should be checked because it may not be fully acccessible from persons with disabilities, resulting difficulties to their access to information about the pandemic, as well as to submit applications through the website.
4. State shall provide ways of communication to persons who live in psychiatric institutions and social care homes, via technology or electronically, as well as unhindered access to information.

Lastly, following a written communication between the Cyprus NPM and the Director of Immigration Services, two persons from Iran who were arrested under aliens legislation were released from custody, under specific terms.

• Representatives of the Office of Public Defender of Georgia visited the checkpoints set up for quarantine purposes in Marneuli, Rustavi and Mtskheta, where servicemen of the Defense Forces are deployed together with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Representatives of the Office of Public Defender of Georgia evaluated the working conditions, health care procedures and monitored the procedures carried out by the military towards citizens at the checkpoints (14/04/2020).

30/04/2020 -  Face masks - overcoming  the barriers they pose to communications (article)

29/04/2020 - Protecting your staff and business during the Covid-19 pandemic (article)

21/04/2020 - Section 75 duties when developing Covid-19 related policies (article)

16/04/2020 - Protecting pregnant employees during the Covid-19 (article)

07/04/2020 - People with disabilities must not be left behind by response to Convid-19 (blog)

06/04/2020 - Furlough leave - advice note for employers (article)

01/04/2020 - Equality matters in extraordinary times (blog)

31/03/2020 - Difficult times, difficult decisions (article)

• Inclusion of the category of self-employed in activities such as “Outpatient Seller”;
• Involvement of unemployed jobseekers, who have not been previously employed and consequently have not contributed to the social security scheme, as limited by DCM 254/2020, referring to article 53 of the Law 7703/1993 “On social insurance”; as well as paying special attention to “special groups” according to the Law 15/2019 "On the promotion of employment".
• Creating facilities for the registration of “unemployed jobseekers”, according to the provisions of Law 15/2019 “On the promotion of employment”, in order to create the possibility for the inclusion of this category also as beneficiaries of financial assistance pursuant to DCM no. 254/2020.
• Removal of the date 10 March 2020 as the deadline for registration of unemployed jobseekers, as well as for the application for economic assistance.

• Include the category of persons who are unemployed jobseekers, which have not been previously employed and consequently have not contributed to the social security scheme, according to the predictions of article 53 of Law 7703 dated 11/05/1993 “On social insurance”.
• Creating facilities for persons who are not yet registered as unemployed jobseekers, in order to create the opportunity for the inclusion of this category also, as beneficiary subjects of assistance, pursuant to Decision of the Council of Ministers no. 236/2020.

This recommendation derives from a complaint submitted by an organization with legitimate interest against the Council of Ministers, which claims discrimination due to "economic and family situation". The organization informs that the Council of Ministers has approved Decision no. 236, dated 19.03.2020, leaving behind families who provide income through informal work and thus, do not find themselves relying on the categories defined in this decision. Therefore they cannot benefit from the assistance provided by the services provided by state institutions. It is necessary that the poor families, who have members as unemployed jobseekers, which for objective reasons have not been able to get a job from the state institutions, are also part of this decision, as beneficiaries of the housing assistance.

With regard to public appearances, mainly, the Commissioner:

• made interviews and also different articles have been delivered by the media, on this pandemic situation and CPD work on it;
• communicated in social media reports of international organisations (such as United Nations Secretary General Speech[1] and UN statement to protect LGBT+ people[2], UN Women[3], Equinet[4] , CoE[5] etc) with regard to pandemic, and its impacts on discrimination, and specifically on vulnerable groups and the negative outcomes due to the pandemic situation of COVID-19.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/we-are-all-together-human-rights-and-covid-19-response-and?fbclid=IwAR3B53zLfCEH5q6X7AZ0ou-hFTXSJMbNtrd42i_BHyg1M8DYiVH2M_s6Ek4

[2] https://news.trust.org/item/20200417194115-bm20k/?fbclid=IwAR3fn13h331T6Iz8mpO_5IpKbvqwXr5QY1w6RcCkF0zCo_2JDfAga7ObYOQ

[3] https://eca.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/unpacking-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-women-and-girls-in-albania?fbclid=IwAR1sq-JRW4c4UUMgD8WtkRUB9YaoeClvHCr7LULByvopNpyM4QrjjMVOCr0

[4] https://equineteurope.org/2020/when-staying-home-is-dangerous-fighting-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-europe/?fbclid=IwAR1kuNZT_ClAM5pV_mEf8OHbMXARpeykt-VQGVPR5c8dP6esQ2ORhrHlgkw

Link of fcb post: https://www.facebook.com/antidiskriminimi/photos/a.598065836903242/2904157556294047/?type=3&theater

[5] https://www.facebook.com/antidiskriminimi/photos/a.598065836903242/2901155979927538/?type=3&theater

A student from South Korea had to end her year abroad in Germany prematurely and was on a train to the airport, when she was approached by a train attendant who inquired about her health. Even though she replied she felt completely healthy, she was then escorted from the train by police officers. She was interrogated about her health and asked whether she had been in contact with any infected people. Two medical workers in protective gear continued this interrogation which happened in plain sight on the platform. The student missed her train, but mostly felt humiliated in front of a crowd that watched her and took photos of her against her will.

Reported cases of discrimination on grounds of age affect children as well as older people. Multiple supermarkets and DIY stores reportedly refuse admission to children, which puts single parents into difficulties.

There have been repeated complaints about media reports and comments by politicians that refer to at-risk populations as “the old and the weak”. While not discriminatory in the legal sense, this is perceived as stigmatising.

As a protective measure, many supermarkets mandate the use of a shopping cart. According to a complaint, at least one supermarket did not want to allow an exception for people who are using a walking aid thus making it impossible for them to access the store.

People with hearing disabilities feel particularly disadvantaged in the current crisis. We have received repeated complaints about a lack of sign language interpretation for government press conferences and news broadcasts. We have also received complaints about compulsory mask wearing, which makes it impossible for people with hearing impairments to practice lip reading.

We have received a number of complaints pointing out that the official application forms for government support in the context of the Covid-19 crisis do not include the legally recognised third gender option “diverse”. Instead have to self-identify as either „male“ or „female“ and potentially mis-gender themselves.

One of the members of the Spanish Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination, Fundación Secretariado Gitano, who is also the coordinator of the Support Service for victims of racial or ethnic discrimination of the Council, has carried out a telephone survey of almost 11,000 Roma who participate in their programs, in 68 cities throughout Spain during the week of March 30 to April 3. The objectives were to verify the situation that we already perceive, to know the real needs of the participants and to adapt their intervention.

The survey provides data on five fields: the health situation, social needs, employment, education of minors and perception of situations of discrimination. Despite the low real incidence of Covid-19 on the Roma population, its image has been negatively over-represented in some media, on social networks, or in the public discourse of some politicians.

I point out some data demonstrating the social and health situation that many Roma families are experiencing, in most cases, with minors under their care:

• Only 1.53% of people surveyed have manifested symptoms of the COVID-19 (and more women than men) and only 1% are confirmed cases.
• More than 40% of the people surveyed are having problems with access to food.
• 64% of the participating Roma people were unemployed.
• There are 58% of unemployed people who do not receive any type of allowance and who are facing a situation of vulnerability at the moment.
• With the state of emergency, the situation of two thirds of the gypsy wage earners has worsened: more than a third have lost their job, and another third has temporary fired.
• 71% of people who are self-employed engage in street vending informally or helping the family.
• As for the educational situation, many young people are facing problems to follow the school year: only a third of minors have a computer. More than 40% of the students do not have internet access or have it with limited data.

Regarding the perception of discrimination, we included two questions in the survey form:

• 6.3% of the people surveyed state that they have suffered one or more cases of discrimination, insult or aggression for being a gypsy, which, in absolute terms, is a high number if we consider that discrimination is normalized in the gypsy community, which means that many people, despite being victims, do not detect it.
• And 37% believe that they are being stigmatized, offering a negative and unfair image of the Roma community in the context of the Covid-19 crisis.

below some recent examples of actions taken by the EHRC in response to COVID-19.

We also have a general link page on our COVID-19 work which members might wish to access at

       – hhtp://equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/our-response-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

• Written to the UK Prime Minister (19.3.20) about the human rights and equality considerations in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Written a parliamentary briefing (23.3.20) in response to the UK Government’s emergency legislation to address the coronavirus crisis in the UK (Coronavirus Bill 2019-21).
• Written to the British Retail Consortium (21.4.20) to highlight our concerns that disabled and clinically vulnerable people must still be able to access and buy food and essential items in shops as part of any special measures introduced by retailers during the coronavirus crisis.
• Written to the British Medical Association (23.4.20) to highlight our concerns around its ethical guidance during the coronavirus outbreak (specifically in relation to older and disabled people) to remind them that the protected characteristics of patients should not influence medical decisions by doctors and health professionals about who should/should not receive treatment for coronavirus.
• Written to the Prime Minister concerning the importance of providing British Sign Language interpretation for the Government’s daily briefings on the pandemic.
• Published our interim report on the UK’s criminal justice system – which highlights the negative impact of the use of digital technology in the justice system on certain disabled people.

Regarding EB responses to COVID-19, please find here the link to an English version publication made by the Institute of Women addressing the gender impact of the pandemic and the importance of incorporating the gender perspective in the response to the crisis. The publication also includes some of the measures adopted by the Government.

NCPE published an article in a local newspaper (below) highlighting various aspects of equality in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reference to the important role of equality bodies, as per EQUINET’s blogs, is also made.

NCPE Article - Equality during Covid-19 - ToM - 8 May 2020

 Public Defender Considers that the Anti-Crisis Economic Plan does not Properly Address the Needs of Persons with Disabilities – Government of Georgia presented the Anti-Crisis Economic Plan to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19. According to the plan, only persons with severe disabilities and children with disabilities will enjoy social benefits, while persons with significant and moderate disabilities, as well as the children with Down syndrome and autism, who do not have the disability status due to the defective assessment model, are left without assistance. Since various programmes for persons with disabilities were suspended across the country, the services are partially delivered remotely, which is often ineffective, families cannot cope with the social needs of persons with disabilities and the local authorities do not carry out effective measures, the Public Defender considers it necessary that the planned activities be reviewed and amended.

Public Defender Held an Online Meeting with Head of State Care and Trafficking Agency and received information about the working methods and activities of the Agency during the pandemic. Public Defender received information on the activities of social workers and psychologists, as well as in the method of processing cases and contacting persons in need. Particular attention was paid to the situation of children in state care.

In the end of April 2020, the Centre received a complaint about police mistreatment and violence in a Roma settlement, which was placed into quarantine after several inhabitants tested positive for COVID-19, which included video recording and pictures. The complaint alleged that victims of such police treatment were also minors. The video and pictures were also posted at social media. The Centre issued a press release and called for the President of the Police Force of the Slovak Republic to investigate the allegations and adopt necessary measures in case it is proven that the police conduct violated human dignity of the Roma concerned or amounted to torture or other inhuman or cruel treatment. The Centre also highlighted the inadequacy and lack of justification of certain measures adopted in respect to isolated Roma settlements based on the decision of the government to primarily test Roma communities to prevent the spread of the pandemic, which has caused growing disturbance in the settlements isolated. The statement of the Centre is available at its website and was also shared through social media. It was widely covered in media and the situation is being investigated. The Centre has also addressed a request for information about the investigation to relevant authorities and is awaiting the response.

Prior to targeting testing for COVID-19 in marginalised Roma settlements, which was a measure introduced in April 2020 to detect possible outburst in these vulnerable communities, one Roma settlement was already put in general quarantine after one of its inhabitants breached the obligatory quarantine upon his return from abroad. The whole settlement was put in quarantine until the tests were run, which proved negative results. The Centre monitored the situation and approached the mayor of the town concerned to explain the measures adopted. The Centre also consulted the situation with NGO working in the region. The situation was also consulted with the local social worker, who confirmed that the town secured food and medicine supply and provision of health care to people living in the settlement. No incidents or violence caused by the situation were reported and the situation was daily monitored by field social workers. The Centre followed-up on the development with the local social worker who informed it that inhabitants with negative test results were allowed to freely move around and leave the area of the settlement as needed.

The Centre monitors whether and to what extent health care facilities and doctors have only been providing urgent health care. The Centre addressed a request to the Ministry of Health to undertake steps to remediate the current situation, which it considers in violation with the right to health, and to adopt legislation to prevent such situation in the future. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health informed that guidance for health care providers are being prepared so that they relax the measures adopted and start providing also planned interventions and other health care. The Centre has currently been addressed letters to public providers of institutional health care calling for them to remediate the situation and provide health care in standard regime, considering the right to health as well as low numbers of new positive tests and hospitalised persons treated for COVID-19 in Slovakia. The letters also requested information to monitor the scale at which human rights have been interfered into by measures adopted by particular providers, which units were the most affected and until when the measures plan to apply. The Centre consulted the situation also with civil society organisations, for instance Association for Protection of Patients’ Right or organisation for patients with cancer (Nie rakovine – No to cancer). Further steps will be communicated at website and social media of the Centre.

Based on information in media, the Centre registered a problem with access to safe abortions, which are legal in Slovakia up to 12 weeks of pregnancy based on the woman’s choice. There appear to be cases when women have been rejected abortions with an argument that the health care providers (hospitals and clinics) are in the current situation only providing urgent health care. The situation was also contested by the public defender of rights. In response, the Minister of Health supported such approach under which abortion based on a woman’s free choice is not considered urgent health care. The Centre approached the Health Care Surveillance Authority whether they have received any complaint in this regard, however, no such complaints were reported. The Centre further contacted several different specialists in gynaecology, who confirmed that due to the limited time when abortion based on free choice can be conducted, it is indeed an urgent health care, contrary to the Ministry’s opinion. The Centre consequently addressed a written request for statement from the main expert for gynaecology at the Ministry of Health. The Centre has also offered cooperation to the Slovak Gynaecology-Obstetrics Society and addressed its members a call to respect ethical code of medical workers and act upon their best medical knowledge, irrespective of political statements of the Ministry of Health, in order to protect sexual and reproductive rights of women.

The Centre also raises attention to social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls, considering that the current situation only deepens existing inequality and uncovers vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems. In these regards, the Centre shared the policy brief of the UN Secretary General on the impact of COVID-19 on women, as well as informed about the particular risk of increased gender-based violence during the current situation together with contacts of where to seek help (on our website).

The Centre also promotes measures specifically affecting particular groups, such as the measure that compulsory wearing of face-masks no longer applies to people with autism (on our website) or special grant aid provided to personal assistants to persons with disabilities and measures allowing family members, who were not listed as assistants prior to the pandemic, to temporarily act as personal assistants to relatives with disabilities and receive the related contributions (on our website).

In the beginning of April 2020, in response to critique of civil society from government actors upon repeated calls for respecting human rights of the most vulnerable (in particular marginalised Roma communities) addressed by NGOs, the Centre issued a statement of support to the civil society organisations, many of which are now in the field helping those most vulnerable and cooperating with municipalities or the state in order to contribute to protection of fundamental rights of the marginalised and vulnerable groups. The call also underlines the importance of civil society organisations in democratic space. The statement of support is available at the Centre’s website and was shared on its Facebook and Instagram profiles, where people could also tag the civil society organisations whose work they appreciate.

The Institute of Women and for Equal Opportunities has been working remotely since 15th March. In addition to the continuity of its ordinary activities to support gender equality and women´s rights, the Institute has inaugurated weekly on-line debates on relevant topics regarding gender equality and Covid-19, women´s empowerment, harassment and social networks, care, and other political, economic and social issues from a feminist perspective.

The debates, that can be followed through the Institute of Women YouTube channel. 

#DebatesINMujer

Restrictions put in place due to Covid-19 are discriminating against religious people who are not allowed to visit/hold church service, even when respecting barrier gestures, and thus not putting anyone at risk.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions a number of businesses (e.g. cinemas, supermarkets) as well as some government services (Covid-testing facilities) started providing “drive-in” / “drive-through” services, discriminating against persons who are not or no longer able to drive a car due to their age or different forms of disability.

This was done without consultation with us and will cause considerable difficulty with regards to access for people using wheelchairs. The Commissioner Mr Oliver Scicluna contacted the Times of Malta who published an article. This article spoke about the lack of consultation with regard to this, and other issues that affected disabled people, despite the fact that we had established a task force to deal with the Covid situation and its repercussions for disabled people.

As a result of this article the person co-ordinating the Government's approach to Covid contacted us and asked for a meeting where we can hopefully establish a process which will mean the rights of disabled people are taken into consideration with respect to Covid actions taken in the future.

Own Initiative Intervention of Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights as an Equality Body, regarding women's right related to maternity during the COVID-19 period (SUMMARY)

In an own- initiative Report dated 8 May 2020, the Cyprus Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights suggested that public and private hospitals with gynecological clinics should allow fathers to be present during childbirth and the birth of their children, provided that each father is successfully subjected to a COVID-19 negative test.

The Commissioner said she was prompted to weigh in on the matter after receiving complaints that public and private hospitals had decided or were inclined to ban fathers during labour.

Under her competence as an Equality Body, the Commissioner stressed that the exclusion of future fathers in an absolute way from attending childbirth, invoking the emergency due to Covid-19, is not in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, and the non-discrimination rule in relation to the obligation for more favourable treatment on women’s issues related to motherhood. She also stated that ensuring maternity protection prohibits any less favourable treatment of a woman, in particular as regards pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and motherhood and a violation of the above, constitutes gender discrimination.

Women’s rights during childbirth, must be protected during the Covid-19 pandemic the Commissioner said, if all of the necessary precautionary and protective measures are taken to avoid the risk of spreading the virus. Otherwise it would constitute direct gender discrimination against pregnant women wishing to have the person of their choice present during childbirth.

Among the rights expectant mothers have in order to ensure a safe and positive experience during childbirth, is respect for their choices and preferences, including the choice of the person who will be with them during labour.

The Commissioner recommended that all hospitals, public and private, allow the presence of fathers during labour and the birth of their children, if each father tests negative for COVID-19. The Commissioner underlined that her opinion was based on the scientific recommendations of international organisations such as the WHO, the International Confederation of Midwives and the United Nations Population Fund.

A special reference was made to the recommendation made by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, to the CoE member states in the context of tackling the pandemic, to ensure full access of women to services without any discrimination, which in terms of motherhood, means the prohibition of less favourable treatment.

The Report was submitted to the Minister of Health who is the competent authority for issuing such instructions to public and private hospitals in order for them to abide the recommendation issued by the Commissioner.

Link to the Intervention(in Greek) - here.

Relevant publication about the Intervention (in English) - here.

Hence, we have urged the authorities to secure uninterrupted work of civil society organizations, by including them in measures to tackle coronavirus financial effects, especially as many of them are helping those at the highest risk of the impacts of the pandemic: homeless, older people, people with disabilities, Roma, etc.  In this endeavor, we have also sent out an inquiry to appropriate authorities, laying out the importance of including these organizations in the decision making processes, which can help strengthen public trust in the institutions and measures and restrictions brought up to tackle the pandemic.

We are also looking into a complaint from a retired citizen who is not eligible for government support meant to maintain jobs during the crisis. Namely, the state had previously made it possible for retired people to work part time so they can earn additional funds to their often low pensions. However, these jobs were not a part of the program to provide support during the crisis so this vulnerable group as it was the position of the authorities that they already receive basic income.

An example of complaint related to employment would be a worker who was dismissed via telephone because she couldn’t come to work as all local transportation has been shut off temporarily.

Commissioner for Protection of Equality acted in favor of another vulnerable social group which was disproportionally affected by the curfew – persons with autism and developmental disabilities, particularly children. Since they needed to keep their daily routines in order to avoid mood swings or tantrums, we have sent another initiative - to allow children with autism or developmental disabilities and their parents to go outside anytime, as well as adult persons with their assistants/guardians. This initiative was immediately accepted and implemented on the following day.

From March – June 2020, the Ombudsperson Institution has received complaints on different grounds and especially from those arriving from abroad who were placed in quarantine for 14 days. The Ombudsperson opened Ex Officio investigations based on the allegations that people placed in quarantine were discriminated regarding issuing decisions for certain persons to leave the quarantine. In the same period, we received additional complaints through the NPM from the sentenced prisoners, who asked for their sentence to be suspended due to COVID-19.

Statistical data for the cases for the period mid- March to end of June are as follows:

Number of received cases: 272

Number of cases opened for investigations (which were declared admissible) 122

Number of cases initiated on own initiative ex. Officio: 13

Most of the complaints received were of the below grounds:

1. Complaints of prisoners for temporary release from serving their sentence due to fear of infection with Covid 19 virus.
2. Complaint against the Parole Panel, due to delays in reviewing their requests for early release from serving the sentence.
3. Complaint due to restriction of Freedom of Movement, insufficient time according to the rotation of ID numbers, for late or early hours (state of emergency restriction measures).
4. Request for sending to the Constitutional Court, the Decision of the Government and the Decisions of the Ministry of Health to restrict the freedom of movement.
5. Complaint due to the impossibility of returning citizens from Europe due to the closure of borders.
6. Complaints regarding the impossibility of repaying loans to banks, due to job losses in the private sector.
7. Request due to the interruption of social assistance.
8. Complaints with regard to the use of official languages
9. Complaints related to the protection of privacy and personal data

On 2 April 2020, the Ombudsperson addressed a letter with recommendation to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment with regard to the protection of privacy of the citizens returning from other countries, through the flights organized by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, which were photographed in the lobby of the airport after their arrival, without obtaining their consent or disclosing the reason for the photo. Of concern was the publication of their photos on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Infrastructure, without any measure which would make it impossible to identify them.

Therefore, the Ombudsperson, in order to protect the rights of these citizens, and in particular the right to privacy and to avoid unintentional omissions in the administration of the process, recommended the ministry to duly inform the citizens for the purpose of the photograph and on the occasion of the publication of the photos, to protect the identity of the citizens.

The Ministry, after this letter with recommendation, removed the photos from their official website which would enable the identification of returned citizens and changed its practice accordingly.

On 15 April 2020, the Ombudsperson Institution of the Republic of Kosovo addressed a letter with recommendation to the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health, which was based on a complaint lodged from a journalist with regard to the publication of their public announcements on their official websites not in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on the Use of Languages. These announcements were being published only in Albanian Language, although by Constitution and Law, the Serbian Language is also an official language in the Republic of Kosovo. The above mentioned authorities, has immediately taken measures according to our recommendation and published all of the future announcements in both languages.

Some of the actions undertaken during the pandemic from the Ombudsperson Institution of Kosovo are as follows:

Constitutional review

The Ombudsperson Institution provided comments on two constitutional review cases of the Constitutional Court on the following issues:

1) On 23 March 2020, Kosovo Government has issued the Decision No. 01/15 announcing the measures to combat and to prevent Covid-19, which included the imposition of curfews and the prohibition of public and private gatherings.

The President of the Republic of Kosovo addressed the Constitutional Court requesting its constitutional assessment of the above mentioned Decision No. 01/15, alleging that this decision violates freedom of movement and freedom of gathering. The Constitutional Court asked the Ombudsperson Institution to give comments on the President’s referral to the Constitutional Court. The Ombudsperson in his comments provided that, according to the Constitution and international instruments for human rights, which are directly applicable in the Republic of Kosovo, states have the right to limit some of the human rights. In this case, the right to life and public safety prevailed the freedom of movement and freedom of public gatherings. In principle, the Ombudsperson states the content of the decision seems to be sensible and even necessary in times of a pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the Ombudsperson stated that there might be a problem with the necessity and proportionality of the restriction of private gatherings, as this heavily interferes with Art.8 ECHR - protection of private life.

The Constitutional Court, on 6 April 2020 published the Judgment KO54/20 ruling that the Government Decision No. 01/15 is not compatible with the Constitution and declared the decision invalid. However, the Constitutional Court postponed the execution of its judgment until 14 of April 2020, considering the seriousness of the situation caused by COVID-19, in order to leave time for the Government to adjust the measures in accordance with the Constitution. Moreover, the Court requested from the Assembly to notify the Court of all steps taken by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo following the publication of Judgment KO54/20. A few weeks later the Constitutional Court stated that it did not receive a response from Assembly. In this regard, the Court initially emphasized that the Assembly is obliged to determine the most appropriate mechanisms and authorizations, either through the amendment of existing applicable legislation or through the adoption of a new law, so that the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Health, respectively the Government, take necessary measures to combat and prevent COVID-19 pandemics, in accordance with the Constitution and Judgment KO54 /20.

2) On 14 April 2020, the Ministry of Health issued 38 decisions for each municipality introducing measures for each municipality. The stricter curfew was imposed and some of the municipalities were put on quarantine. A group of 30 Members of the Assembly, referred three of these decisions for constitutional review. The Constitutional Court asked for the Ombudsperson for comments. The Ombudsperson sent the comments to the Constitutional Court, referring to his previous comments on the case referred to the Court by the President, with a comparative analysis of the other national institutions working on human rights, international organizations, international human rights NGOs and their positions towards the human rights situation created by Covid-19. The Ombudsperson stated that there is a lack of parliamentary oversight on Government’s work.

The Constitutional Court, on 5 May 2020 on the above-mentioned constitutional complaint, declaring it partially unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court stated that:

The Ministry of Health has acted in accordance with the authorizations specified in the Law no. 02/L-109 on Prevention and Fighting against Infectious Diseases in the right to freedom of movement of citizens of the three municipalities. However, the Court, ruled that administrative fines and relevant sanctions, imposed by the Ministry of Health are not compatible with the Constitution and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 of the ECHR. The Court reasoned that administrative fines imposed by these three contested Decisions are not "defined by law" and, consequently, were declared unconstitutional.

The court, on the other hand, ruled that Decision on declaring the whole municipality as “quarantine zone”, is not in accordance the Constitution and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 of the ECHR. The Court found that the Ministry of Health has exceeded the competencies set out through Law no. 02/L-109 on Prevention and Fighting against Infectious Diseases, and consequently “interventions” in the right to freedom of movement, through the quarantine of the entire municipality are not “defined by law”. The court clarified that according to the Law no. 02/L-109 on Prevention and Fighting against Infectious Diseases the "quarantine" may be ordered by the Ministry of Health, following the recommendation of the Public Health Institution, only for natural persons who are proven or suspected to have been in direct contact with sick persons or suspected of contagious disease.

On 4 April 2020, the Ombudsperson through a public statement requested from media not to publish names of the persons in the quarantine. In this statement, the Ombudsperson emphasized that it sees with great concern publication of some news by portals which have published lists with tables containing names and surnames, as well as other information, concerning persons who have been ordered to be isolated in quarantine, due to coronavirus.

The Ombudsperson addressed portals with the request to remove this type of news so that they are not re-published by other portals. At the same time the Ombudsperson requested from media and journalists to do more for protection of personal data of persons in self-isolation, quarantine, those hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID 19, apart those given by person’s consent.

Media has playing a major role in these circumstances by placing journalists at the front line in order to disseminate accurate information to the public. Media have also their own liabilities to accomplish according to the Code of Ethics and other self-regulation documents. The Ombudsperson put emphases on the latest recommendations of the Press Council of Kosovo (PCK) for all media regarding their reporting on the situation with COVID-19.

On 23 April 2020, the Ombudsperson of the Republic of Kosovo has addressed an opinion to the relevant authorities related to the requests from release of certain categories of prisoners at the time of global Coronavirus (Covid 19) pandemic.

This Opinion is based on the complaints of some prisoners who addressed the Ombudsperson with the request for early release or parole based on the situation in the country after the outbreak of Covid-19 infection cases, which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO required undertaking of severe measures from states governments in order to prevent spreading of COVID-19. Such measures have been taken by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo as well.

The Ombudsperson Institution in this opinion has reinstated the relevant international standards in the matter raised in the complaint received and called on the authorities to implement them.

On 29 April 2020, the Ombudsperson issued a press statement related to the domestic violence during Covid-19 pandemics. The institution, has been notified on the increase of reported number of domestic violence cases. According to official data obtained from Kosovo Police, in March 2019, the number of reported cases was 124, while 169 cases were reported during March 2020. It is obvious that the number of reported cases of domestic violence has increased by 36% compared to the same period last year.

While health emergency caused slowdown of courts’ functioning and postponement of non-urgent court hearings, safety of the victim and her children should remain a primary concern for law enforcement institutions as well as judicial authorities for immediate actions, prevention and protection. Accordingly, state institutions remain committed to their liabilities to provide victims with appropriate and immediate protection from the risk of violence.

The Ombudsperson drew attention to the state’s obligation towards international human rights standards, to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and ensure compensation for acts of violence, pursuant to their obligations under the European Convention on Hman Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Complaint regarding healthcare and age-related discrimination: A steering document for physicians at a hospital containing principles for decision-making with regard to initiating and interrupting intensive care.

The Complainant and his cousin, who are from the Middle East, were forced to wait for their turn outside a bank with reference to Covid-19. Two others, of African origin, also had wait outside, whereas to ”Swedes” who arrived could wait for their turn inside the bank.

The Complainant claims that old age pensioners are not fairly compensated by Stockholm public transport when they are unable to use their yearly travel card owing to the pandemic.

A mother and her child were expelled from a supermarket as, at that particular time, it was open only to people at risk, i.e. in that case, elderly.

The Complainant claims that there is generally a debate on social media concerning immigrants, in particular of Somali origin who have, as a group, been portrayed on social and other media as being particularly affected by the pandemic with reference to their way of life.

An 11-year old had to wait outside a super-market before being allowed to enter to do his shopping.

A child who suffers from asthma could not attend pre-school due to the recommendations of the Public Health Authority.

University of Stockholm only proposes classes on a distance due to Covid-19 and also the so-called ”resource rooms” are closed. The resource rooms are intended as an aid to people with a disability and their closure therefore, claims the Complainant, implies that disabled suffer a particular disadvantage. Rarely are there more than one person at a time in a given resource room and there closure therefore does not bring anything in terms of social distancing.

The Complainant claims that a headmaster has reported a pupil to the social services due to him or her being absent a great deal, whereas the absence, according to the Complainant, had to do with the child suffering from Covid-19.

An individual older than 70 years, had his or her appointment at a clinic cancelled due to the pandemic and her age. The appointment was then reinstated due to new directives concerning age and risk. The Complainant, however, wished to continue not attending the clinic, in order to maintain social distancing. As a result he or she was removed from the waiting list and asked to contact the clinic again when he or she feel it is safe to attend.

The Complainant has had his driver’s license preparatory course delayed due to Covid-19.

The Commission for Protection against Discrimination has filed 14 complaints related to the state of emergency. According to the specifics of the Law for Protection against Discrimination (LPD) there are currently 3 proceedings for protection against discrimination. In other 3 cases, letters were sent to eliminate irregularities in order to clear them in the initiative documents. The remaining 8 cases do not constitute files, but are complaints on various topics sent to the e-mail of the Commission, none of which can be qualified as a complaint, because they either do not contain the requisite requisites by law or are not related to the activity of the Commission, are not formed as a complaint, etc.

 At the same time, the Anti-Discrimination Commission has 24 regional representatives located in regional cities throughout the country. The regional representatives are in relation to those who wish to submit an initiative document to the Commission.

Complaints can be summarized as follows:

1. A complaint about not allowing a citizen to the grocery store because he does not use a protective mask. The applicant considers that he has been treated unequally because such access is provided to persons wearing masks.
2. A complaint about a bank entrance information sign that customers without masks will not be served. The applicant considers that he has been treated unequally because such access is provided to persons wearing masks.
3. A complaint about measures taken to limit the spread of the virus by placing checkpoints to cross between different districts, claiming that if you work as a freelancer (the applicant is a lawyer) you cannot perform it in another district because you cannot take a note from your employer about your workplace.
4. A complaint from an applicant who had to wait in line at the grocery store because of his measures, but when his turn came, the guard refused to let him into the store for a reason not specified in the complaint.
5. A complaint that the children of working parents are discriminated by teachers in a particular school, as opposed to non-working parents, because instead of the teachers teaching the children, they have to teach the lessons themselves.
6. A complaint from a citizen who entered a shopping area and began picking food when an employee approached him and told him that he would not be served unless he wore a protective mask on his face
7. A request for a declaration of a conflict of interest regarding the refusal of the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria to exercise his power and to propose a freeze on deputies' salaries during the state of emergency. At the same time, they demanded that doctors are discriminated, regarding the decision of the deputies to get a quick test. The request is vaguely written.

Each of the above documents contains complaints, some qualify as a complaint, but none contains all the requisite requisites to initiate proceedings.;

8. Complaints over the words of Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, claiming that the minister called all practitioners and self-employed persons "marginalized" on March 24 at a press conference at the Council of Ministers, announcing the economic and social measures of the government for combating the effects of COVID-19. Out of these 7 complaints, only 3 were eligible complaints and files were filed, other 3 were notified.
9. A complaint from a lawyer that only lawyers were sprayed with liquid disinfectant in the District Court and are thus treated unequally compared to judges and court employees who are not sprayed.
10. A complaint by a parent of a child, concerning an order of the Minister of Health regarding visiting parks by children, which stipulates that only children under 12 years of age have the right to visit parks.
11. A complaint from a restaurant owner that the imposed restrictions concerning the epidemiological situation and the inability to exercise his activity have a negative impact on his business.

What's more with the letter ex. № 80-00-28 / 24.03.2020 addressed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Head of the National Operational Staff for Combating Coronavirus in Bulgaria and to the Head of the Logistic Coordination Center for providing individual protective equipment and disinfectants, the Commission on anti-discrimination expressed concern about what was happening and, in order to protect human health, suggested that CPD members, employees should be used rationally to inform the population, especially in dealing with vulnerable groups.

COVID-19 Specific Communications:

• On 22 May, the Commission reiterated its call for additional data from An Garda Síochána on COVID policing.  In the first week in May, the Commission sought clarity from Minister Stanton on the management of the outbreak of COVID-19 in direct provision.

• On 28 May, the Commission contacted Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty T.D. regarding the exclusion of applicants for International Protection residing in direct provision from the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment Scheme.

• In the same week, on May 27, the Commission pursued the issue of unconscious bias and inadvertent discrimination in the planned system of school-based calculated grades.

• On the same day, the Commission made public recommendations about the exclusion of women returning from Maternity Leave from the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.

According to the complainant, due to Covid-19, the regional authorities of the county of Kronoberg has decided to cancel planned doctor’s visits for people 70 years of age and above.

Complainant claims to have been subject of discrimination by a train company which did not let him stand close the train door with his electric scooter as he was used to, but obliged him to sit, which, due to the risk of contagion, he did not wish to do.

Complainant puts forward that disabled people are discriminated against, are denied full participation in society and equality in terms of life conditions, in particular in the present social situation as dominated by Covid-19.

According to the complainant, elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are hit too hard by the pandemic, considering that they are not allowed to receive visits and cannot themselves use the phone. No other means of staying in contact with their loved ones has been organised for them.

Complainant claims that Public Health Agency Sweden discriminates against people 70 years of age and above.

The complainant puts forward that all people suffering from Covid-19 are not treated equally by the health care system, as people of a certain age are not given access to all types of treatment.

• Access to shops
• Accessible information (sign language, ETR, …)
• Protective gear and mouth masks
• Transportation
• Children with disabilities (education, summer camps, leisure, …)

The report is available on Unia's website.

On August 11th, 2020, the Office of the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights, in her capacity as a National Human Rights Institute and the National Preventive Mechanism, issued a Statement regarding the implementation of measures at Social Care homes, in order to prevent the spread of the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The Ombudsman noted that the restrictive measures implemented at social care homes and homes for the elderly and specifically, the restriction of visitations, unavoidably resulted in the further isolation of persons residing in such premises.

People who were mostly affected were those who were already in a state of confinement living in these settings. For these individuals, contact with the outside world and their loved ones had become even more difficult, or even impossible, throughout the implementation of these restrictive measures.

As the Ombudsman stated, the loss of interaction with other people and especially with the family, for more than two months, may have been detrimental to the very well-being of these individuals. The situation was even more difficult for people with dementia who were unable to comprehend the reason they no longer received visits from family and friends. 

As the Ombudsman noted, the care of persons living in social care homes should not only be related to their physical health but the State, thought the competent authorities’ cooperation with the owners of the Social Care Homes, take into account the resident’s personal needs, their prosperity and dignity and make all possible efforts to prevent the danger of them being socially excluded.  

The Ombudsman suggested that measures should be implemented in order for the residents of social care homes be engaged in creative ways (such as painting, knitting, puzzles etc.), based on individualized plans that take into account their physical and mental condition. 

Furthermore, it was suggested that residents receive further psychological support by specially trained staff, especially post pandemic and also receive training/support in the use of technology (i.e. video-calling) for the purpose of socializing and avoidance of any further isolation. 

The Statement was submitted to the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance, as well as the Minister of Health, in order to take appropriate action within their competences. 

Link to the Intervention(in Greek) here. 

A municipality decided to temporarily bar certain elderly people suffering from dementia from attending a weekly workshop owing to the need, it was claimed, to ensure that the people concerned did not fail, owing to their illness, to observe rules on social distancing.

The complainant visited a toy store and was told that her children were not allowed to touch any of the toys on display for risk of transmitting Covid and that, in any event, as the children were not themselves shopping, they should stay at home and not come to the store.

The complainant claims that being older than 70 years, contrary to those below that age, he is not entitled to compensation for loss of salary when absent from work due to Covid.

The complainant has been excluded from work opportunities due to her being over 70 years of age.

The above decision provoked a lot of reactions, especially in relation to the possibility of using a mask by children with disabilities both on a practical level and in relation to their accessibility to the learning process and, consequently, to their equal access to education.

In her Own Initiative Intervention, the Commissioner presented the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, dated 21 August 2020, regarding the obligation to use of protective mask from children with disabilities, such as children with hearing, sensory or physical disabilities. developmental disorders and/or other learning difficulties, while attending school. Specifically, WHO & UNICEF recommend the use of alternative means of protection from children with disabilities and developmental disorders, like transparent masks or protective shields, so that by adapting the means of protection to the needs of these children, their right to equal access to education is guaranteed.

The Commissioner also referred to the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Articles 2, 3, 5, 7 & 24), as well as to relevant provisions of the Law on Persons with Disabilities, according to which, the right of children with disabilities to equal access to education is guaranteed.

In particular, in the Intervention was noted that the decision to use protective masks by students aged six and over did not include reasonable accommodations nor any exceptions in the case of children with disabilities, as it did not include any provision for their different treatment, in order to remove the obstacles before them for their full and equal access to the learning process.

As a result, children with disabilities were placed at a disadvantage and unfavorable position comparing to other children, because children with hearing impairments, on the one hand, are deprived of the opportunity to monitor the teacher's face (lips and expressions) during the lesson, as well as their classmates, as a result of which they would be unable to understand what they are saying, while at the same time, the use of the mask by themselves may cause additional obstacles, due to its possible friction with the hearing aids on the back of their ears.

Similarly, children with sensory and mental disabilities or other developmental disorders are more likely to not tolerate the use of the mask, while children with physical disabilities may need help to use it properly and appropriately.

Consequently, the beginning of the school year with the mandatory use of protective masks by all children without exception and without the removal of obstacles, would result in their unequal treatment compared to other children, due to the deprivation of their right to education on an equal base with other children of their age, since the mask, of themselves and/or their teachers, will hinder their access to learning on an equal base with others.

For equal treatment of children with disabilities in education, the Commissioner recommended to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Health, to reconsider the use of alternative forms of protection by children with disabilities while attending school, such as masks. with transparency or protective shields, as well as by teachers and/or their classmates, when and where needed, so that a final solution to the issue to be found before the beginning of the new school year.

Following the intervention of the Commissioner, involved Ministries implemented her abovementioned recommendations and changed the above decision, so that the use of a protective mask is not mandatory for children from six to twelve years, as well as for children over twelve years with hearing impairment or developmental disorders, while teachers, in these cases, may use a transparent plastic mask or face shield, for the purpose of facilitating lip-reading.

Link to the Intervention(in Greek) here.

The complainant has been excluded from certain work opportunities due to her being over 70 years of age and therefore considered belonging to a “risk-group” with regard to Covid.

Due to restrictions purportedly aiming to limit the spread of Covid, the healthy complainant was not allowed to accompany his wife to an ultra-sound pregnancy check-up.

An employer has not lived up to the requirements stipulated in regulations with regard to work environment, the complainant claims, by not adapting work tasks for pregnant women working as nurses – as the employer has a great deal to gain by keeping them on their regular tasks – thereby exposing pregnant women to potential harm in the form of increased risk of contracting Covid, which has been shown to more harmful to pregnant women than to others.

The complainant works as a teacher for children with special needs. She suffers from a disability which puts her in the category of people who risk suffering grave consequences if contracting Covid. Whereas she has had the opportunity to work from home until now, her superior has now ordered her to work with physical presence at the school from January 2021, despite a deteriorating general situation with regard to Covid, and not from home. The superior is using Covid as a pretext to get rid of her¨, the complainant claims, owing to her creating trouble with her need for reasonable accommodation. He has also suggested that she take a leave of absence which is not possible as it would cause her a monthly loss of income with which she would not be able to cope.

Children placed in foster care may not come for home visits according to the complainant due to Covid.

Elderly people with Covid are not allowed to come to hospital to receive oxygen but must be cared for at home.

A child was sent home from kindergarten due to coughing etc.

A principal at school asked parents to "take home" a child with disabilities when the child's resource educator had become ill in Covid.

A region discriminates against the elderly and the sick, who in some cases are also susceptible to infection, by forcing them to share medical trips in a taxi with several others and being infected by Covid at risk.

The complainant claims discrimination against the elderly when ordering PCR-tests since it is not possible to order a PCR-test without an electronic bank-ID.

The complaints are about that there have been general assessments that elderly people who are ill in Covid should not receive hospital care without regard to an individual assessment.

A man with a Spanish-sounding name got no time from the health center to get an appointment and do a test for Covid. He needed to call again the next day and could not book an appointment in advance. However, his partner was given the opportunity to book an appointment for a test the next day.

A shop does not give school children access to the shop because some children do not follow the recommendations and restrictions due to Covid, entering the shop more than they should.

The report “Ireland’s Emergency Powers During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, further sets out that shifting relationships between the Government and NPHET, and limited opportunities for Oireachtas oversight have made it difficult to ascertain where, if at all, human rights and equality concerns are being addressed. Authored by experts from the COVID-19 Law and Human Rights Observatory in Trinity College Dublin, the study looks at the 4 statutes and more than 65 sets of regulations enacted between March and December 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also suggests that Garda enforcement of emergency COVID powers has disproportionately affected young people, ethnic and racial minorities, Travellers and Roma. However, because An Garda Síochána has resisted repeated calls, including from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Policing Authority, to publish its data on how enforcement powers are exercised against particular groups, the Gardaí cannot be held to account, and effective human rights and equality analysis of these powers is hampered. The study has been published by the Commission as part of its mandate to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to human rights and equality.

The Report finds violations regarding fulfillment of constitutional and legal obligations towards persons infected with HIV and TB. Regarding HIV-infected persons, the Report raises concerns about the cease to function of the Center for Voluntary Counseling and Testing within Infectious Diseases Clinic as of March 2020, the failure to perform tests and disclosing outcomes of the tests only in writing for CD4 and viral load tests, as well as regarding the failure to maintain contacts of Infectious Diseases Clinic with HIV and AIDS patients during the pandemic. As for issues related to people affected by tuberculosis, the Report notes the lack of special sanitary facilities in pulmonology clinics / hospitals, lack of sufficient pulmonologists in the Pulmonology Clinic and some general hospitals, lack of case tracking in the field as well as the lack of the use of digital health technologies to support treatment of patients, in line with WHO recommendations.

Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms is essential and very important for an effective response in the prevention and treatment of HIV and tuberculosis in Kosovo. Despite the fact that Kosovo has made a lot of progress in responding to them, there are still aspects that require attention of the responsible authorities, regarding the rights of persons affected by HIV and TB, therefore the Ombudsperson, based on the analysis and case investigation, has addressed the Report with relevant recommendations to responsible authorities, which aims to impact on the improvement of the situation regarding this issue.

The Conference offered an opportunity to look at how the pandemic has affected various sectors, the groups most affected by this crisis, the impact of COVID-19 on the world of work and more importantly, the way forward towards a just and equal society post-pandemic.

You may find all the PowerPoint presentations in the link below:
https://ncpe.gov.mt/en/Pages/Upcoming-events-and-Developments.aspx

Moreover, the NCPE has published a research study on the distribution of work in households during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that, the increase in the number of hours spent doing household tasks and childcare increased more for women than for men, while the time spent on leisure, personal care and sleep decreased more for women than it did for men. The full research study can be read here.
You may also visit NCPE’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more information.

Children are denied care at a health center as the child's mother is unable to wear a face protection due to severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

A person without a bank ID and with a telephone phobia can’t book a vaccination.

The health center does not provide the weak and sick with the help they need to order Covid tests.