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

Undocumented migrants’ social rights in the time of Covid-19 in Ireland

Dr. Stefano Angeleri

An extended version of this article is published on the blog of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway.

 

With one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates and unemployment growth rates in the Global North, the coronavirus pandemic and the containment measures implemented in Ireland have drawn everyone’s attention to the importance of a functioning public health system and accessible social protection mechanisms. Even though governmental ‘breakthroughs have not occurred across all economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights equally’ and the system has been unable to protect everyone’s life (e.g. people living in residential settings), the current ‘public health first’ approach and the adoption of vulnerability-targeted measures deserve some praise from a human rights perspective. This course of action is particularly welcome when we consider that Ireland is a country where most ESC rights are not recognised as truly ‘fundamental’ rights in the constitutional edifice, despite the repeated recommendations of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission pushing for their constitutional recognition.

Here too, the pandemic may constitute an opportunity for redesigning laws and policies at different levels of governance to genuinely realise ESC rights, which are as critical as civil and political rights, especially for vulnerable populations. Like other crises, the impact of Covid-19 exacerbates social inequalities and disproportionately reduces the wellbeing of already disadvantaged people. Among them, the 17,000 undocumented migrants living in Ireland, who are at particular risk of socio-economic destitution in normal times, may experience even worse living conditions in these challenging circumstances. They hide from public authorities for fear of deportation and can generally only rely on informal and often unsafe work, with limited legal and social protection, to make a living.

In this country of less than 5 million inhabitants, access to social benefits and free-of-charge health care is based on an assessment of a series of eligibility criteria, including having the right to reside in the country and fulfilling a condition of ‘habitual’ or ‘ordinary’ residence, with wide margins of administrative discretion. As a result, in ‘normal times’, undocumented migrants are excluded from the enjoyment of several social rights: they are entitled to receive emergency treatment in hospital but are essentially prevented from accessing any social benefits, though some charitable initiatives offer them free healthcare and some social services.

During the early days of the pandemic, the Department of Justice and Equality assured the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, that there will be no data sharing between Government departments on undocumented migrants’ during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ensuring the separation between public service provision (which is critical for human rights) and immigration enforcement is the best way of guaranteeing the effective enjoyment of social rights, which, otherwise, would be merely theoretical.

All people – documented or undocumented – can apply for hardship payments and access information on social welfare services without fear of being reported to the immigration authorities. In particular, the ‘Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment’ has been offered to all people who have lost their job, regardless of migration status. Other emergency one-off payments, such as the ‘urgent needs’ and ‘exceptional needs payment’, are also available regardless of migration and employment status. However, to apply for these payments, it is necessary to have a personal public service (PPS) number which normally exposes them to potential data sharing between government departments. Obtaining a PPS number in pandemic times is challenging as the Department of Social Protection has temporarily postponed the regular PPS number allocation process. Finally, examples of individual cases where people were denied payments based on their immigration status were recorded.  

Anyone in Ireland, regardless of their migration status, can arrange to be tested for Covid-19 and receive treatment using any general practitioner as a gatekeeper if they are able to pay the related fees. Furthermore, the Health Care Executive and Safetynet have made necessary medical care available to irregular migrants and other vulnerable communities via the Covid-19 Community Assessment Hub in Dublin. While the health system will not share information with immigration authorities, health care charges remain a significant barrier to access, which hospitals can decide to waive only in situations of particular hardship.

Although imperfect, these measures have enhanced Ireland’s level of compliance with international and European human rights duties by fulfilling the positive obligations to guarantee access to essential health care to prevent a reasonably foreseeable risk that can result in loss of life and to progressively move towards the full realisation of ESC rights for everyone. However, this is not enough, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has repeatedly stated that state authorities must provide ‘a minimum essential level of benefits to all […] that enable them to acquire at least essential health care, basic shelter and housing, water and sanitation, foodstuffs, and the most basic forms of education’. Similarly, the European Committee of Social Rights has held that states should provide ‘emergency social and medical assistance to everyone, including irregular migrant adults, to meet their urgent and immediate needs, such as shelter, food, emergency medical care and clothing’, clarifying that the ‘urgent or serious’ nature of these needs should not be interpreted ‘too narrowly’.

Therefore, the realisation of the human right to health  requires more than an emergency medical approach: its scope embraces the provision of preventive, curative and palliative health care as well as the adoption of measures that promote other social determinants of health. These include enjoying empowering living conditions without disproportionate differentiations based on migration status. Several studies, including one carried out by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, have reported that ‘providing regular preventive care [to irregular migrants], as opposed to providing only emergency care, is cost-saving for healthcare systems’.

But what about health and social needs of undocumented migrants after August, when pandemic measures may be lifted and the economic crisis is likely to continue? The aforementioned emergency policies represent progressive steps towards an enhanced realisation of the ESC rights of a particularly vulnerable group, where before there was a vacuum. Though social provisions for undocumented people are not regulated via a stable legislative measure, an argument against any unjustified retrogressive measure curtailing the advancement of the core content of social rights of undocumented migrants can be put forward. As ESC rights are to be realised progressively, there is a strong presumption that retrogressive measures (which are backward steps in human rights realisation) are not permitted. This is particularly the case in economic downturn with a disproportionate detrimental impact on the worst-off and when the special vulnerability to precarious living, health and employment conditions of migrants in an undocumented situation is heightened.

It is legitimate to ask whether this crisis may trigger reforms that recognise the fundamental nature of ESC rights and their essential role in building more equal societies or will such rights continue to be considered ‘directive principles of social policy’ (Article 45 Irish Constitution)? Are we willing to address the social needs of every person in a situation of hardship without regard to institutionally constructed forms of ‘otherness’?

These are political questions, but they are also intimately linked to a genuine implementation of the international legal duties that Ireland has decided to pursue and its political commitment to the goals of reducing inequalities, poverty and moving towards universal health coverage. Will we return to business as usual, which will mean violating international and European human rights law, or take this opportunity to embrace change?

Dr. Stefano Angeleri is a postdoctoral researcher at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway, where he lectures in international human rights and European migration law. Dr Angeleri  manages the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union’s FRANET project for Ireland and he acts as national coordinator of the Irish / UK section of the Academic Network on the European Social Charter and Social Rights.

Twitter: @StefAngeleri

 

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.