The Implications of and Responses to COVID-19: Localizing Human Rights in the City of York (UK)

This essay attempts to capture the human rights implications of COVID-19, and responses to it, in the city of York (UK). Three human rights contributions are identified: ensuring that responses enhance dignity, the right to life, non-discrimination, and protect the most vulnerable; using human rights when balancing priorities and making difficult decisions; and optimizing the link between disease and democracy. The overarching aim is to localize and contextualize human rights in a meaningful way in the city, and thereby to provide meaningful guidance to the City Council and statutory agencies when implementing the difficult measures required by the pandemic, and to support civil society advocacy and monitoring. This work, led by the York Human Rights City (YHRC) network, illustrates the value of a localized 'thick description' of human rights and the multi-dimensional picture of challenges, innovations and solutions facilitated by such an approach.