Censorship, surveillance could be the biggest rights challenges post Covid-19 - The Mail & Guardian

, the White House has sought to prevent the country’s top infectious diseases expert from testifying before a congressional committee looking into the administration’s response to the pandemic.points to higher levels of trust in government responses to the pandemic. Some of the countries reporting increased trust in government include China, India and Saudi Arabia. and their current governments have been known to hound whistleblowers, investigative journalists and rights defenders.

International law and constitutional principles mandate that restrictions on civic space must stand the test of proportionality and necessity in a democratic society. Yet the pendulum seems to have swung away from the core civic freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Rampant censorship and runaway surveillance could create a post 9/11-like situation where torture and enforced disappearances were justified in the name of keeping people safe.ed “against the background of rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a push back against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures unrelated to the pandemic”.

Our political leaders are making life-or-death decisions. The need to access credible information, shape decisions and hold decision makers to account has never been more acute. Concerned citizens, the media and civil society organisations need civic space not only to ensure better decisions now but also to protect the interests of future generations. The post 9/11 experience has taught us that the price of hard-won rights is eternal vigilance.

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