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The COVID-19 Pandemic And Its Impact On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights

Human Rights and Egalitarian Futures after the Pandemic

Francisco-José Quintana

 

How can human rights contribute to institutional reconstruction? The devastation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the precariousness of our institutional arrangements. In this context of tragic human loss, fragile economies, and mounting unemployment, to which the poorest remain the most vulnerable, the call to reimagine the organisation of our societies is as challenging as necessary. In the hope that the crisis might open up space for change, progressives have advanced significant proposals. Some of them share a number of ambitious goals including: challenging entrenched social and economic inequalities; supporting and expanding social and economic security programmes; and learning from the pandemic how to better resist the destruction of the environment. Although we might disagree on how to advance these goals, this consideration is, in our present circumstance, secondary to broadening the consensus and advancing an agenda in this direction. It is in this constructive spirit that I suggest that, to maximise the support of human rights to this agenda, a deeper engagement with their complicities with the present order is necessary.

To understand the relationship between human rights and the structure of society, legal thought is an essential tool. This is because law deals with this structure at the level of significant detail. As argued by Roberto Mangabeira Unger, it is in these details that the contradictions and deviations to dominant arrangements —including those dominant elements in human rights— lie, and these can become points of departure for new alternatives. This approach faces, however, an obstacle: the idealisation and systematisation of human rights law, as any other field of law, by scholars and practitioners. This portrays the law and their subfields as coherent and defensible systems, denying these very ambiguities and tensions and thus hindering change. I propose, therefore, to acknowledge human rights’ complicities with the present order as tensions with other discourses, practices, and structures of human rights, and change them. I want to focus on two specific tensions of crucial importance for this agenda: their relationship with the state, and with inequality.

Human rights have a two-sided relationship with the state: they both aim at protecting the individual from the state, but rely on the state to uphold them and ensure their respect. However, human rights have focused too much on “naming and shaming” states as those individually responsible for specific human rights violations and less on agendas addressing the material resources on which the essential functions of government —and, in turn, the effective enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural human rights— depends. A progressive agenda would benefit from a human rights movement less sceptical of government and deploying its language in favour of struggles for structural economic transformation. Now that more actors across the political spectrum have come to appreciate the importance of government, the context seems favourable for human rights to embrace the significance of state resources by calling for reform in areas of the global economy such as international trade, intellectual property and access to medicines, and financial regulation. Structural transformation can be gradual and one example, which has received significant attention, stands for many that would show how additional support from human rights movements is necessary: sovereign debt. Right now, debt relief is critical. But a permanent and equitable sovereign debt restructuring mechanism —which has been postponed many times— remains necessary for developing economies. A politics of human rights concerned with the material resources of states —on which the realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights depends— should be further involved in this kind of institutional debates.

The relationship between human rights and material inequality, in turn, has been the object of much analysis. Prominent critiques have recently exposed economic and social rights as concerned with sufficiency rather than equality —and thus increasing respect for them as entirely compatible with increasing inequality—, and shown how neoliberalism has contributed to and benefited from hegemonic conceptions of human rights. Many human rights activists and supporters have unsurprisingly taken issue with these critiques, especially because many of them intend to do just the opposite. For those of us who want to increase the influence of an egalitarian agenda within human rights, the crisis both demands and offers opportunities for action, by resisting (and breaking with) the neoliberal market order. Human rights should be deployed to reject the structural adjustment programmes that left marginalised groups extremely vulnerable to this pandemic and will once again be demanded by international financial institutions to pay for the economic fallout. Right now, the denunciation of the “false dilemma” between health and the economy is essential. Moving forward, a commitment towards equality will demand less deference from human rights to strategic accommodation, including in the form of uncomfortable alliances with these financial institutions. Instead, human rights movements can promote and demand the discussion of egalitarian —and not just strategically useful— economic programmes among coalitions and governments. Resistance, in turn, will remain crucial, as perhaps best illustrated today by the staunch activism of indigenous and environmental advocates.

It is a critical moment to push for structural change that can bring about egalitarian futures. The point is not merely to make sure that agendas on the table are shaped by human rights. Human rights themselves are the product of struggle and are constituted by elements pointing in different directions. The tensions between human rights and the state, and human rights and inequality, in particular, must not be dismissed, but acknowledged, in order to be driven towards not just any, but a progressive human rights politics of institutional reconstruction.

Francisco-José Quintana is a Ph.D. candidate and a Gates Cambridge scholar at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. He is a founding member of the editorial collective of the Latin American Journal of International Law (Revista Latinoamericana de Derecho Internacional). He holds LLM degrees from Harvard Law School and the London School of Economics and was previously a Lecturer at Torcuato Di Tella University. Twitter: @quintana_fj

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Climate and Environmental Justice

We have advanced rights-based and gender-transformative transition frameworks through research that centres the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities on the frontlines of extractive energy policies, promoting climate and energy frameworks attentive to the social and care-related impacts of transition pathways. We have developed a clear vision for a gender-just transition, firmly rooted in gender and human rights norms, establishing both the legal basis and the direction for the transformative changes our planet and societies urgently need. In particular, the ‘Guiding Principles for Gender Equality and Human Rights in the Energy Transition’, a collective effort built through online consultations, an in-person workshop and multiple rounds of revision with activists, practitioners and experts from around the world, outline a transformative vision for reshaping global energy systems through a human rights and gender equality lens.

Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

What's next?

We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

What's next?

We will shape the UN Tax Convention and its Protocols so they embed human rights principles, and we will stay engaged through follow-up processes (including the expected Conference of the Parties) to support effective implementation. We will keep linking tax and climate finance so that new resources mobilised through fiscal cooperation are channelled to adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, in line with UNFCCC commitments.

Public Services for Care Societies

We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

Across Africa, this work is complemented by a multi-country study examining the human rights implications of austerity in education and health, including how regressive fiscal policies, rising debt burdens and persistent underinvestment undermine the financing and delivery of public services.

In Latin America, from 29 November to 2 December 2021, over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future. Following the meeting, the Santiago Declaration on Public Services was adopted to demand universal access to quality, gender-transformative and equitable public services as the foundation of a fair and just society.

We are currently advancing work on care systems, linking public services and fiscal justice through integrated research, advocacy and communications, including a regional campaign framing care as a collective responsibility requiring sustained public investment.

What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.