Inputs on the Thematic Review of the High-Level Political Forum 2021

I. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs under review in the 2021 HLPF from the vantage point of your intergovernmental body, bearing in mind the interlinkages with other SDGs

The pandemic has significantly affected progress toward goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Instead of sprinting towards its achievement, this crisis calls for a renewed effort on SDG 16 to achieve more peaceful, just and inclusive societies as the pandemic had a direct impact on its implementation.

Although, in some respects, the crisis ostensibly appears to be even-handed in nature, affecting all segments of the population, all sectors of the economy, and all regions of the world, the pandemic exacerbates pre-existing vulnerabilities of certain groups, including the youth. Indeed, the pandemic has made inequalities in societies even more evident, with severe disparities becoming evident within and across countries, for instance with respect to access to basic goods, health care, social protection, employment opportunities, education and justice. Vulnerable groups, including minors, women, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, elderly, people with disabilities, detainees in correction facilities, people with substance use disorders or affected by mental illness, etc. find themselves exposed to risks, not only those derived from the exposure to the virus itself, but also in terms of the discrimination, exploitation and violence. These risk may even be unintentionally generated by the measures implemented in an effort to contain the spread.

As a consequence of the pandemic, the fragility of the economic sector was exploited by organized crime to expand business and influence. Criminal groups have demonstrated how opportunistic they have been during the pandemic, particularly in the area of counterfeiting and infiltration into the legal economy. Organized criminal groups have exploited the vast amount of resources allocated and distributed by States in response to the pandemic, and have used this dynamic to corrupt public officials, siphoning funds away from key sectors, such as health care, education and social protection services.

There are indications that the COVID-19 pandemic has been integrated into terrorist groups’ narratives and propaganda, that these narratives have spread across social media platforms and that young people – with increased time spent online – have been impacted by extremist ideas. The pandemic has exacerbated the use of social media as a breeding ground for the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation by non-state actors. The proliferation of misinformation and disinformation has jeopardized the efficacy and credibility of governmental responses to the pandemic. It has been demonstrated how the most vulnerable – including women and children – have been disproportionately affected by the crisis, subjecting these groups to a greater incidence of human trafficking.

Human trafficking has opened up economic opportunities for organized criminal groups, in light of pandemic-induced limitations on criminal justice responses. Support services for victims have also been inhibited during the pandemic. Although traditional systems and venues of exploitation were thrown into disarray due to movement restrictions and the interruption of numerous economic activities, traffickers identified other modalities to maintain their revenue through new or expanded forms of exploitation.
Trafficking and online sexual exploitation are examples of how traffickers have kept their revenue intact and have enhanced their control over victims, particularly women and girls. Online child sexual exploitation has drastically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a dangerous enclave for pedophiles, abusers and other malicious actors. Many children across the world have become “at risk” to criminal predators who have adapted to the crisis and exploited the vulnerability of young people, generating a parallel pandemic.

Basic human rights, including the right to education, have been impacted during the pandemic. For many, family life during lockdowns has been highly stressful: schools have closed, and socialization has been significantly limited. This has exacerbated the harm of the crisis on young people and children. Increased stress at home for entire families has served to exacerbate already-unstable relationships, with implications on children’s well-being.

The pandemic has impacted gender inequality; this has posed serious human rights challenges, principally evidenced by increases in domestic violence. Considering that a significant percentage (40%) of all employed women work in key sectors most affected by COVID-19, women have become more dependent on public resources and require more urgent access to a limited supply of essential goods.

Equally, emergency measures taken by Member States to cope with the pandemic have, in some cases, negatively impacted individuals, sometimes violating some human rights, such as the right of access to justice and the right to a fair trial in a timely manner. Other liberties have been curtailed, including the freedom of assembly and the freedom to peacefully protest. In some cases, governmental responses to the pandemic have had a disproportionate impact on citizens’ ability to obtain or maintain gainful employment (and income), as well as their ability to access many needed social and health care services.

The pandemic also created crises within justice sectors. Courts, justice systems and security systems experienced a significant slowdown, with interruption of activities, reduction of available staff and suspension of hearings; this dynamic occurred with a concomitant rise in family disputes, gender-based violence, labour disputes, increased obstacles in access to social security benefits, housing disputes, evictions and bankruptcies. In many countries, overloaded justice systems face an increasing backlog of cases, and individuals and businesses seeking resolution of their cases are becoming increasingly frustrated with the inability of justice systems to address their grievances.

For people in prisons and detention centres, the suspension or limitation of court activities has resulted in extended stays in detention and has affected the right to a fair and timely trial. Access to lawyers and legal aid has also been affected. Basic health and safety requirements of physical distancing, in already-congested detention centres and prisons, have not only jeopardized the health of detainees, but have brought into question how to handle such dynamics in the future. Governmental responses to the pandemic have meant that prison systems and incarceration centres have taken measures to restrict visiting rights, imposing greater isolation and mental health challenges on detainees, as well as their family members.

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