In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. In the same month, Bosnia and Herzegovina began implementing restrictive measures aimed at protecting the local population from the new virus. As in many other countries of the world, these measures were on the verge of not respecting human rights and caused numerous controversies.
Lockdowns and other restrictive measures to keep people in their homes and prevent socializing with others were introduced. But what if home is not a safe place? What if being locked down with a member of your family or a partner is the very definition of being unsafe and at risk of physical injury or psychological abuse?
Measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic have limited a number of fundamental rights to an unprecedented extent. The rights of economic activity, movement, assembly and religious worship have been subjected to the most severe restrictions. Here, however, lies the great danger of the gradual consolidation of a constitutional mithridatism.
Any pandemic is not only a threat to the health and safety of the people but may also lead to other significant threats to them. In times of great national uncertainty, the government is called upon to act, and the present pandemic is no exception. In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic exigencies, governments around the world have taken vast and unparalleled decisions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect lives.
Since the 2015 refugee crisis onwards, the yearly quota of working permits for Third Country Nationals (TCNs) offered by the Romanian Government has gradually increased, reaching 25,000 in 2020. An important category of TCNs working in Romania are people from South Asia, mainly Indian, Bangladeshi, Sinhalese, or Nepali migrants.
Many extraordinary events took place in 2020. What do you think about how they will reshape the world in the rest of the decade? In light of the global pandemic, I see three significant changes in the making. First, the preparedness of the state for emergencies will improve. Health systems were unprepared for such a health crisis, while the state emergency infrastructure was underdeveloped and in poor condition. Going forward, the political elite will need…
With the below 101 groups from 47 countries, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with WIPO and the creativity, inventiveness, and entrepreneurial spirit protected by intellectual property rights around the world.
While putting severe pressure on healthcare systems worldwide and causing a global economic meltdown, the COVID-19 pandemic has created several challenges. One of the core ones is the question of responsibility for vaccination.
On Consumer Choice Radio, Tanja Porčnik from the 4Liberty.eu Network partner Visio Institute in Slovenia discusses human rights in a pandemic, what the role of government should be, and how we can keep our elected leaders accountable.
In non-emergency times, the role of economic freedom, defined as a lack of interference or coercion by others in an individual’s economic decisions, has been scientifically proven to yield economic growth and prosperity for the greatest number of people.
