UN Secretary-General criticized governments using pandemic as excuse to suspend electoral processes

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today warned of the growing dangers of the technological use of large databases, which some governments “They exploit to control the behavior of their citizens, in violation of human rights”.

He added that the most recent example of the injustice the pandemic brings was evident in vaccinations, given that “75 percent of doses were given in just ten countries, while more than 130 countries did not. not yet received one. “.

“Equal access to vaccines is a human rights issue, ‘vaccine nationalism’ works against it, and doses must be a public good, accessible to all,” said the Secretary General. Guterres further reaffirmed that “Using the pandemic as a pretext, authorities in some countries have deployed strong security responses and emergency measures to crush dissent, criminalize fundamental freedoms, silence independent information and limit NGO activities.”

“The restrictions linked to the pandemic have been used to reverse electoral processes, weaken opposition voices and quell critics,” he warned.

Data usage

“Our data is used to shape and manipulate our behavior, without our realizing it”, the secretary-general warned at the opening of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which declared that this problem “is no longer science fiction or a dystopian prediction of the XXII century”.

“This is a current issue that requires serious discussion,” stressed the Portuguese, who said “we need a secure, fair and open digital future that does not infringe on our privacy or our dignity. “.

Guterres also underlined the grave situation facing the world as a result of the pandemic, which “has struck the planet mercilessly” and “has deepened the divisions, vulnerabilities and inequalities that already existed before, also opening new divides”.

The health crisis, among others, “has made progress on gender equality for years” and that “extreme poverty is increasing in the world for the first time in decades”.

With information from EFE

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