Democracy & Human Rights

In the shadows of the Covid-19-crisis, refugees and irregular migrants in Europe’s neighbouring countries are afraid for their very existence and terrified of long-term detention in reception camps. In Tunisia, political provisions are being put into place and emergency plans negotiated to deal with migrants and refugees on their way to Europe.

Britain is in the midst of finalising the Brexit transition process while also being hit especially hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The German Council Presidency has to protect public health all over Europe while also preventing another financial crisis from happening. But this might also give new momentum to systemic change towards a more sustainable economy.

The October uprising has paved the way for new constitution in Chile. However, the virus has forced citizens’ organisations into quarantine and is delaying constitutional change. What happens next?

The change of government in Austria after the Ibiza affair on the one hand lead to a withdrawal of antifeminist (politically right) populist measures of the prior turquoise-blue government. On the other hand, existing structures of disadvantage and oppression have not been questioned by the successor government.

The disappointment in Italian society in relation to the EU at the beginning of the corona crisis has now changed to confidence. Now the expectations of financial solidarity are particularly directed towards the forthcoming German EU Presidency.

A fluctuating economy, high unemployment, enormous violence against women and girls – what was already a difficult situation in Mexico has been made far worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Dawid Danilo Bartelt, Head of the Mexico City Office, describes the country’s approach to tackling coronavirus.

The Covid-19 pandemic affects different groups of people differently. It is, however, possible to argue that asylum seekers, migrants and refugees scattered across the globe are among the most vulnerable groups to the outbreak. Yet, what are the key challenges facing migrants and refugees in Turkey, particularly challenges in accessing healthcare services during the pandemic?

El Salvador, like many other countries in Central America and the world, is in a situation bordering on tragedy, facing a pandemic under the immense structural failures resulting from centuries of environmental and human exploitation. 

The direction has been pointing constantly downwards since 2015. In the international ranking on press freedom by "Reporters Without Borders", Poland was 18th at the time, but has now slipped to 62nd place. 44 places in five years. The changes in the media landscape are admittedly occurring more subtly than in Hungary, for example. But restrictions on the work of journalists in the country are becoming increasingly noticeable.

The crisis associated with the Covid19 pandemic has a gender, and clearly shows social inequalities of all kinds. It particularly affects women, as well as disadvantaged and variously marginalised groups. There are also attempts to exploit the pandemic for short-term political goals directly targeting women's rights.