ABSTRACT
Multiple calls have been issued since 2020 by United Nations institutions in favour of a human rights-based approach both for the adoption of immediate responses to COVID-19 and the development of strategies for the (re)construction of resilient societies. The advantages linked with such an approach seem evident: it offers a solid framework for the adoption of responses that are legal, necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory; and it orientates the choices to be made for the preparation of resilient societies. This chapter first exposes the linkages between health and human rights that justify the characterisation of COVID-19 as a human rights crisis, and the imperative to rely on a human rights-based approach during such a pandemic. Secondly, it identifies the concrete efforts that must be made to develop human rights-based guidance concerning states’ immediate responses to, and longer-term preparations for, public health emergencies.
