scholarly journals COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps and Technologies as a tool of Mass Surveillance: A Cure Deadlier than the Disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 50-67
Author(s):  
Arafat Ibnul Bashar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mass Surveillance

“Desperate times call for desperate measures” – COVID-19 contact tracing apps and technology have been operating in the desperate times created by the COVID-19 global pandemic. But the impact of these apps and technology on society is contentious, as the benefit gained from such is said to be largely outweighed by the negative impact it can have during and after the pandemic. Surveillance measures have always been a tricky business. Labeled as the ‘magical solution’ for most horrid problems of our time such as terrorism, crime prevention, it has always failed to live up to its name and has proved to be one of the prominent tools for the authoritarian regimes to oppress people and commit gross human rights violations. Over-reliance on COVID-19 apps and considering them a ‘magical solution’ to containing the spread of Coronavirus can have irreversible consequences. Instead, the pandemic and desperate situation posed by it may have provided the regimes around the world an opportunity to introduce new surveillance infrastructures or strengthen the existing ones, which would have taken years and lots of friction from courts, activists, and civil society, to achieve. The article assesses the legality of COVID-19 contact tracing apps and technology and tries to draw a picture of the society that faces the consequences of surveillance and data collected through such apps and technology and looks at how legal mechanisms can cope with such consequences.

scholarly journals STIGMA-STATISTIK: Når dagsordener sættes i dansk aids-politik

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Seeberg
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Hiv Testing ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Infected Person ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Aids Policy ◽  
The Impact

Jens Seeberg: Stigma Statistics: Agendas in the Making in Danish AIDS Policy This article explores a number of paradoxes and assumptions in the public debate on AIDS in Denmark. They form part of a recurrent attack on the Danish ‘soft line’ AIDS policy that maintains anonymity and voluntary HIV-testing. One central issue in recent years has been obligatory testing of asylum seekers from high risk areas as a precondition for considering the asylum request. Especially asylum seekers from African countries are pointed out as constituting a major threat to the native Danish population in terms of spread of HIV. This is shown to rest on a misreading of the official statistics, repeated as often as the statistics themselves. The assumption that there is a basic clash between the human rights of the HIV-infected person and the population in general is discussed. This conceived clash rests on the assumption that restrictions of the human rights of the HIV-infected person will provide efficient protection for the noninfected majority. The potential counterproductive effects of this line of thought are discussed. Contact tracing is sometimes considered as an effective preventive measure. Part of the critique of the present AIDS policy States that contact tracing is virtually non-existing and that this has a major negative impact on the preventive efforts. It is argued that while the impact of contact tracing in itself may be rather limited, the lack of contact tracing may be seen as a symptom of insufficient counselling. While obligatory HIV testing may never be practiced in Denmark, its recurrent appearance on the agenda serves to provoke a defensive stand among AIDS policy makers. It is argued that this debate has hitherto had the effect of keeping the needs of HIV-infected people - and especially HIV-infected immigrants — away from public debate and serious concern.

scholarly journals Universal Testing of all Pregnant Women for COVID-19: A Way Forward for Comprehensive Antenatal Care

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (09) ◽  
pp. 373-376
Author(s):  
Hema Divakar ◽  
Poorni Narayanan ◽  
Rita Singh ◽  
Divakar Gubbi Jyothi Girish
Keyword(s):  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Obstetric Outcomes ◽  
Universal Testing ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 global pandemic has placed undue stress on health systems all around the world. However, little is known about the impact of exposure to the virus on growing foetuses or the course of COVID-19 in pregnant women, who are often asymptomatic. To develop effective policies and recommendations, robust data for both asymptomatic and symptomatic pregnant women is crucial. This can only be acquired through universal testing of all pregnant women for COVID-19. The acquired data will not only enhance our ability to answer questions around negative obstetric outcomes, such as miscarriages and preterm labours, but also lead to enhanced contact tracing, which will slow the spread of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Do Civil Liberties Really Matter During Pandemics?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-98
Author(s):  
Conrad Nyamutata
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Health Control ◽  
The Core ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (covid-19) in December 2019 precipitated public health control measures in many states across the world. The impact of covid-19 was as unprecedented as were the measures introduced by states to control it. The outbreak provides an opportunity to analyse responses of states to pandemics. At the core of this article is the question whether civil liberties matter during pandemics. A rights-based approach is founded on human rights protected in international human rights treaties. In cases of massive disease outbreaks, states adopt and enforce typically radical measures to contain the spread of the infection. After the outbreak of covid-19, a range of restrictions was imposed by the affected states. However, in the haste to contain a rapidly spreading pandemic, human rights are potentially vulnerable to violations. This article assesses the responses to the pandemic by states within the context of human rights. As the article seeks to illustrate, in times of pandemics, the law on management of pandemics does not favour human rights observance. Even states with deep-rooted democratic cultures resort to illiberal responses. The rhetoric of inalienability of rights becomes hollow as even traditional democratic states mimic authoritarian regimes.

Towards the New Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Biodiversity

While 2020 –dubbed the “Super Year for Nature –has seen the world battling an unforeseen global pandemic, this article comes back on the Convention of Biological Diversity and its regime, studies the aim of the negotiations of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and the relevance of this framework for the planet, considering that the protection of biological diversity impacts all aspects of human life, including the full enjoying of human rights and protection against future pandemics.

A National Treasure? The Role of Civil Society in Promoting and Enforcing Human Rights in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Samuels
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social And Economic Rights

Abstract The article investigates the negative attitude towards civil society over the last decade in the United Kingdom and the repercussions for human rights. It considers this in the context of the United Kingdom government’s implementation of the policy of austerity. It reflects on the various policy and legal changes, and the impact on the campaigning and advocacy work of civil society organizations, particularly those that work on social and economic rights.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Surgical Training: the Past, the Present and the Future

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Yiasemidou
Keyword(s):  
Infection Control ◽  
Surgical Training ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Elective Surgery ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Surgical Services ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic and infection control measures had an unavoidable impact on surgical services. During the first wave of the pandemic, elective surgery, endoscopy, and ‘face-to-face’ clinics were discontinued after recommendations from professional bodies. In addition, training courses, examinations, conferences, and training rotations were postponed or cancelled. Inadvertently, infection control and prevention measures, both within and outside hospitals, have caused a significant negative impact on training. At the same time, they have given space to new technologies, like telemedicine and platforms for webinars, to blossom. While the recovery phase is well underway in some parts of the world, most surgical services are not operating at full capacity. Unfortunately, some countries are still battling a second or third wave of the pandemic with severely negative consequences on surgical services. Several studies have looked into the impact of COVID-19 on surgical training. Here, an objective overview of studies from different parts of the world is presented. Also, evidence-based solutions are suggested for future surgical training interventions.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic: A review of the global lockdown and its far-reaching effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 003685042110198
Author(s):  
Helen Onyeaka ◽  
Christian K Anumudu ◽  
Zainab T Al-Sharify ◽  
Esther Egele-Godswill ◽  
Paul Mbaegbu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Education Delivery ◽  
Environmental Air ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th of March 2020, leading to some form of lockdown across almost all countries of the world. The extent of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 has a significant impact on our lives that must be studied carefully to combat it. This study highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on crucial aspects of daily life globally, including; Food security, Global economy, Education, Tourism, hospitality, sports and leisure, Gender Relation, Domestic Violence/Abuse, Mental Health and Environmental air pollution through a systematic search of the literature. The COVID-19 global lockdown was initiated to stem the spread of the virus and ‘flatten the curve’ of the pandemic. However, the impact of the lockdown has had far-reaching effects in different strata of life, including; changes in the accessibility and structure of education delivery to students, food insecurity as a result of unavailability and fluctuation in prices, the depression of the global economy, increase in mental health challenges, wellbeing and quality of life amongst others. This review article highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown across the globe. As the global lockdown is being lifted in a phased manner in various countries of the world, it is necessary to explore its impacts to understand its consequences comprehensively. This will guide future decisions that will be made in a possible future wave of the COVID-19 pandemic or other global disease outbreak.

The Impact of COVID-19: Democracy in the Time of a Pandemic

Social Change ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-482
Author(s):  
Zoya Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Domain Experts ◽  
Sharp Focus ◽  
The World ◽  
Democratic Rights ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Impact

The recent spread of the delta variant of the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, though uneven, has once again set alarm bells ringing throughout the world. Nearly two years have passed since the onset of this pandemic: vaccines have been developed and vaccination is underway, but the end of the campaign against the pandemic is nowhere in sight. This drive has merely attempted to adjust and readjust, with or without success, to the various fresh challenges that have kept emerging from time to time. The pandemic’s persistence and its handling by the governments both have had implications for citizens’/peoples’ rights as well as for the systems which were in place before the pandemic. In this symposium domain experts investigate, with a sharp focus on India, the interface between the COVID-19 pandemic and democracy, health, education and social sciences. These contributions are notable for their nuanced and insightful examination of the impact of the pandemic on crucial social development issues with special attention to the exacerbated plight of society’s marginalised sections. In India, as in several other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected democracy. The health crisis came at a moment when India was already experiencing democratic backsliding. The pandemic came in handy in imposing greater restrictions on democratic rights, public discussion and political opposition. This note provides an analysis and commentary on how the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted governance, at times undermining human rights and democratic processes, and posing a range of new challenges to democracy.

The Rise of Digital Repression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Political Repression ◽  
The World ◽  
Dna Collection ◽  
Opposition Movements ◽  
Mass Surveillance

This book documents the rise of digital repression—how governments are deploying new technologies to counter dissent, maintain political control, and ensure regime survival. The emergence of varied digital technologies is bringing new dimensions to political repression. At its core, the expanding use of digital repression reflects a fairly simple motivation: states are seeking and finding new ways to control, manipulate, surveil, or disrupt real or perceived threats. This book investigates the goals, motivations, and drivers of digital repression. It presents case studies in Thailand, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, highlighting how governments pursue digital strategies based on a range of factors: ongoing levels of repression, leadership, state capacity, and technological development. But a basic political motive—how to preserve and sustain political incumbency—remains a principal explanation for their use. The international community is already seeing glimpses of what the frontiers of repression look like, such as in China, where authorities have brought together mass surveillance, online censorship, DNA collection, and artificial intelligence to enforce their rule in Xinjiang. Many of these trends are going global. This has major implications for democratic governments and civil society activists around the world. The book also presents innovative ideas and strategies for civil society and opposition movements to respond to the digital autocratic wave.

The Impact of Nontariff Trade Policy of European Union Crude Palm Oil Import on Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Rest of the World Economy: An Analysis in GTAP Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52
Author(s):  
Rozy A. Pratama ◽  
Tri Widodo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Trade Analysis ◽  
Global Trade Analysis Project ◽  
The Impact

Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest producers and exporters of palm oil in the world vegetable oil market. Palm oil and its derivative products are the highest contributors to foreign exchange in 2018. This study aims to analyze the impact of the European Union import non-tariff trade policies on the Indonesian and Malaysian economies The analysis uses the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of world trade on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) program. The results of this study found that the non-tariff import policy by the European Union had a negative impact on the economies of Indonesia and Malaysia. Moreover, the policy also has a negative impact on countries in Southeast Asia and the European Union. This shows that the enactment of non-tariff import trade policies for Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil products has a global impact.

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