UN Secretary-General António Guterres has cautioned against using the guise of enforcing COVID-19 protocols to violate the rights of people.

The UN chief, in his message to mark Human Rights Day on Thursday, called for human rights to be put “front and centre” of COVID-19 response and recovery globally in order to achieve a better future for people everywhere.

“People and their rights must be front and centre of response and recovery. We need universal, rights-based frameworks like health coverage for all to beat this pandemic and protect us for the future”, he said.

The pandemic, said the UN chief, has reinforced two fundamental truths about human rights, starting with the observation that violations harm us all.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups including frontline workers, people with disabilities, older people, women and girls, and minorities.

“At the same time, the pandemic is undermining human rights by providing a pretext for heavy-handed security responses and repressive measures that curtail civic space and media freedom,” he said.

The secretary-general said that human rights were universal and protected everyone, underscoring how effective pandemic response must be based on solidarity and cooperation.

“Divisive approaches, authoritarianism and nationalism make no sense against a global threat,” he stressed.

Mr. Guterres had earlier issued his Call to Action for Human Rights described as a seven-point blueprint for positive change.

It spelt out the central role of human rights in areas such as crisis response, gender equality, public participation and sustainable development.

“On Human Rights Day and every day, let’s resolve to act collectively, with human rights front and centre, to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build a better future for all,” he said.

Human Rights Day commemorates the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.

More than seven decades on, the milestone document provides an essential framework for the world to “recover better” from the pandemic, the UN’s more than 130 independent rights experts said in a statement, echoing the UN chief’s message.

They underlined “the centrality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the international human rights protection system” at a time when the world faces not only the pandemic, but also climate change, racism and discrimination.

Stating that 2020 would be remembered for its “unique existential challenges”, the experts said commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the closing days of the year served as “an important and powerful message.

The message is: “global threats to humanity demand global responses that rest on multilateralism, cooperation, and solidarity.”

The experts who issued the statement were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor specific country situations or human rights issues in all regions of the world.

They are independent of the UN, and serve in their individual capacity, and do not receive a salary for their work.