Human rights must be at the heart of Government’s response to COVID-19

The Human Rights Law Centre told the Senate Committee tasked with investigating the Federal Government's response to COVID-19 that human rights must be at the centre of the Government’s actions, both now and into the future.

Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director with the Human Rights Law Centre said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus human rights issues requiring urgent action.

“The pandemic and its economic fallout are not impacting people equally. They are laying bare inequality and injustice in our society. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, older people, people in detention, people with a disability, people in insecure work and refugees and people seeking asylum are all at greater risk. Out of this crisis, we have an opportunity to build a fairer, more compassionate community with human rights at its heart.”

Read the submission to the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 here.