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It’s been more than two years since the World Health Organization first declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. It hasn’t been easy, but most people have learned since then how to live with COVID-19 as part of our daily backdrop.
But human rights setbacks are a remnant of the pandemic that few people consider – and one that is likely to persist, writes human rights scholar Stephen Bagwell.
Many countries first used the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on human rights in 2020, Bagwell writes. “Declarations of emergency, for example, gave police significant power to crack down on political protests,” he explains.
Some countries continue to use COVID-19 as a reason to squash protests and limit freedom of speech, a trend that is extending well beyond the peak of COVID-19, Bagwell writes.
Also today :
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Stephen Bagwell, University of Missouri-St. Louis
All of the 39 countries human rights experts tracked in 2020 experienced a decline in human rights. It’s not yet clear whether countries will quickly bounce back as the pandemic eases.
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Environment + Energy
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Gabriella Gricius, Colorado State University
The Arctic Council was the world’s primary forum for cooperation among the eight Arctic nations and a channel for diplomacy – until Russia launched a war.
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Education
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Mildred Boveda, Penn State
Students with disabilities do better when they remain in general education classes, but systemic bias often leads them to be placed in separate classrooms, a special education researcher writes.
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Ethics + Religion
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Daniel Pierce, University of Richmond
Religious beliefs and modern biology sometimes seem to collide. But exploring those ideas with compassion and an open mind can lead to deeper learning across cultures.
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Health + Medicine
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Brittany Larsen, Iowa State University
Research has been inconclusive on the degree to which drinking alcohol leads to the growth of harmful fat. But a new study suggests that beer and spirits are far bigger culprits than wine.
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Leah Samuel, The Conversation
Scholars weigh in on the known and unknown about marijuana and its incarnations.
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Steven Walkley, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Melissa Wasserstein, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Deciphering the biological pathways behind rare genetic diseases often involves assembling a team of specialists to work closely with the family members of those affected.
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Politics + Society
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Gisèle Yasmeen, University of British Columbia
Environmental catastrophe, war, a worldwide pandemic. What does this mean for feeding the world today and in the future?
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