Blog

Across Brazil, many Indigenous peoples have gone into voluntary isolation, barricading access roads to protect their villages from the COVID-19 pandemic. As one Indigenous nurse recently told Amnesty International by telephone: “I explain the importance of not leaving our villages. We are over 400 people in this Indigenous territory. If one person gets COVID-19, it can contaminate us all.” 

Worries about the spread of the virus among Indigenous peoples have increased, as this week the first case among Brazil’s Indigenous peoples was confirmed: in Amazonas state, a 20-year-old Indigenous Kokama woman tested positive for the virus. 

The global climate strikes that saw millions of people marching in the streets in 2019 are going online in response to the need for physical distancing to prevent the spread of covid-19.

We encourage you to stay safe at home and join the climate strike online tomorrow, and every Friday until the end of April. To join the strike online here is what to do:

1.    Make a climate strike sign
2.    Take a photo of yourself holding the sign
3.    Post to your favourite social media channel with the hashtag #climatestrikeonline.

We would love it if you would also tag Amnesty Canada at @amnestynow so that we can see your posts.

Although we are physically distant at the moment, we are more united than ever. We may be stuck inside, but we can continue advocating for human rights. After all, a focus on human rights is crucial to fight the covid crisis in a fast and fair way, and the same applies to the climate crisis.

See you at the #climatestrikeonline!

David Griffiths is Director of the Office of the Secretary General at Amnesty's International Secretariat in London, England

The pain of the COVID-19 pandemic, a defining event of our times, will continue long after the virus subsides. When the immediate crisis is over many will have experienced unimaginable loss.

Many will have lost loved ones, huge numbers will have lost jobs and perhaps homes, and hundreds of millions will have experienced the anxiety and loneliness of social isolation.

But we will have gained something too –  a choice.

When we emerge from this collective trauma we can choose to go back to our old trajectory. Or, we can learn from this experience and make different choices for the future.

Every person on the planet has a stake in fighting this virus. As Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), put it, “we have an unprecedented opportunity to come together as one against a common enemy: an enemy against humanity”.

By Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada

This article originally appeared in The Toronto Star., March 19, 2020.
 

Amidst the uncertainty and fear that has taken hold globally as the scope and impact of the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, we cannot lose sight that human rights principles are essential to all aspects of this crisis.

And already people everywhere are responding in ways that resonate with the universal human rights vision, through compassion, community and putting others first.

As many of us hunker down in the safety of our homes, health care, transportation, grocery store, sanitation and other workers head out to ensure that we are supported.

More broadly, people are looking out for friends and neighbours, and are refraining from actions that may put others at risk or impede efforts to contain the pandemic. That starts with the simple act of staying home and getting out of the way of the virus.