HRC49 - NB8 statement - Panel discussion on the importance of robust public policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in contributing to the Covid-19 pandemic

Human Rights Council – 49th session

Panel discussion on the importance of robust public policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights in contributing to the Covid-19 pandemic

Statement by Sweden on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries

22 March 2022

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic Baltic states.

The pandemic has put enormous pressure on access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, and individuals, exacerbated democratic backsliding, and weakened the respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The pandemic has also amplified existing inequalities and has had a disproportionate impact on women, girls and persons in vulnerable situations.

The Secretary General’s report “Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights” is a timely call to action to invest in all human rights, drawing on the lessons from the pandemic.

We must leave no one behind and intensify our work to ensure that more people have access to social protection and facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal economy. Decent work is an important precondition for access to both social protection and adequate income.

More equal societies are also healthier, wealthier and more peaceful. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, we would particularly like to highlight the role of a human rights-based approach to social protection systems for promotion of global health, protection of everyone from the pandemic and its consequences and for preventing future crises from taking such a devastating toll.

We welcome the findings of this report on a human rights-based implementation of the 2030 Agenda and their complementary with the Secretary General's call for a new social contract anchored in human rights.

Esteemed panellists,