The Fundamental Rights Forum is your opportunity to shape the rights-compliant recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
“We need to ensure that the recovery from the pandemic leads to a fair and just society that honours the dignity of everyone and ensures that no one is left behind”, stressed Michael O’Flaherty, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.”
The starting point is the distribution of vaccines. “It is about making sure that the people most vulnerable and most exposed are up there at the top of the line. We need vaccine justice,” said O’Flaherty.
Another important issue is the long-term impact of the pandemic on people’s social rights.
“The danger of widening social divisions always lurks during economic downturns,” said the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić in a recent speech.
She added: “And there will be a premium on ensuring that we respond in a way that protects the rights, needs and dignity of those who have least.”
This is particularly acute for those groups already living at the margins of our society.
“This is the time to pay more attention to vulnerable communities such as the Roma and Sinti, whom have yet again been targeted and made scapegoats for a situation in which they have suffered so much themselves,” said Matteo Mecacci, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in a statement on International Roma Day.
Rising inequalities and continuous uncertainty also hit young people hard.
“For young people, this pandemic represents a new wave of uncertainty following a decade of precariousness,” said Paulína Jalakšová, Board Member of the European Youth Forum, in the recent Fundamental Rights Dialogue.
“Will we be able to finish our education in time, will we find jobs, will we be able to pay the rent?”
“Europe cannot afford to leave young people behind. We need structural changes to address the root causes of youth exclusion.”
And there are so many more challenges ahead.
Do you have an idea that could protect rights for all as we move towards living with Covid-19? Can you help build trust and deliver on the vision of hope?
If so, we want to hear from you today.
Submit your proposal for a session at the Fundamental Rights Forum
and lead the dialogue on Europe’s most pressing human rights challenges