Welcome to the United Nations
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing and exacerbating existing human rights challenges and inequalities with a devastating effect on all, in particular women, vulnerable groups and societies. To respond to this, the Human Rights Treaty bodies have taken a series of steps to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the enjoyment of human rights and highlight the relevance of protecting and promoting human rights as a means to achieve a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.
The Treaty bodies have done this through issuing advice, guidance notes and statements identifying the impact of the pandemic and recommendations to assist States and other actors to respond to COVID-19. These are available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/COVID-19-and-TreatyBodies.aspx Further, the treaty bodies are examining State policies and practices related to COVID-19 under the State reporting procedure and making recommendations to those States under review on how to build back better.
The Chairs of the UN Human Rights Treaty bodies (the Chairs) submit this document as a contribution to the High-Level Political Forum 2021. In doing so, the Chairs reiterate the strong relationship between human rights treaties and the 2030 Agenda and the mutually reinforcing nature of recommendations emanating from the Treaty bodies and the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).
