QUNO welcomes the UN High Commissioner’s report on Covid-19 and human rights and its emphasis on structural inequality and discrimination.  In an oral statement to the 46^th Session of the Human Rights Council we responded to this report, focusing on the human rights of migrants. (Full video of the statement is available below)

We drew the Council’s attention to the more than 1,000 people who have died in migration since the last session of the Council and underlined the need for States to address the structural and systemic inequalities that lead to the loss of life including in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement calls on all States to provide effective Covid-19 vaccine access to all migrants regardless of status. Steps need to be taken to address the implicit and explicit exclusion of migrants in healthcare systems. Our statement underlined that processes to design, deliver and evaluate vaccination programmes should be informed by migrants including those with irregular status.

We reiterated that the inclusion of migrants’ views should be central to the role of the Human Rights Council in moving forward with recovery and reform.