"We Must Ensure That There Is Equitable Distribution Of COVID19 Vaccine": Justice Indira Banerjee

"We must ensure that there is equitable distribution of the COVID vaccine, that the benefits of the vaccine are not just confined to the affluent countries but also extended to the less-developed in the underdeveloped countries", Justice Indira Banerjee expressed on Friday.The Supreme Court judge was speaking at a webinar on "World Human Rights Day" organised by St. Thomas College of Law and INDIA LEGAL on "STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, THE NEED OF GLOBAL SOLIDARITY""For the COVID problem to be controlled, it will also have to be tackled unitedly, not by any one country alone. As regards the development of the vaccine, there is the Oxford vaccine, there is a Russian vaccine, then Pfizer is also working on one. So different countries are working towards it. We must ensure that there is equitable distribution of the COVID vaccine, that the benefits of the vaccine are not just confined to the affluent countries but also for the less-developed in the underdeveloped countries", said the judge.Justice Banerjee mentioned various international documents on the issue of Human Rights- that of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Genocide Convention, agreements regarding trafficking, exploitation and prostitution, the International Labour Organisation convention on the right to organise and collective bargaining, conventions as regards refugees, slavery, racial discrimination, discrimination against women, religious discrimination, torture, right to development, child rights, migrant workers and minorities."The enforcement of obligations arising out of human rights documents depends on the will to implement these rights. This will has to be across the board. The State certainly owes a responsibility, however, we, as individuals, are also accountable as much of the human rights violation occurs at the behest of individuals, on account of their behaviour towards other individuals", explained the judge.She referred to a case on manual scavenging that she had dealt with- "It was the individual who was getting the manual scavenging done. So citizens have an individual as well as a collective responsibility towards securing each other's human rights". "The Covid pandemic has violated human rights in more ways than one. Several people have died, many have fallen ill, others and lost their jobs. Then there was the problem of the migrant workers, who were left jobless and had to walk back hundreds of miles, hundreds of kilometres to their homes", she explained.Justice Banerjee continued to observe that international cooperation is necessary as it is the core of international solidarity, this being solidarity which is not limited to assistance alone but one which includes sustainability of development, international relations and improvement. "The United Nations Commission on Human Rights had taken a step in 2005 and had appointed an independent expert on human rights to prepare a draft declaration on the rights of people to international solidarity", she added."The extension of people's right to include more categories was meant to be effected through elevation of the duty to cooperate in pursuing the objectives of the United Nations Charter- for the correlative duty which is intrinsic in human rights to be transformed into an obligation. The first example of it was the African Charter on Human and People's Rights which contained binding legal obligations", continued the judge."The right to development, to peace, to a clean and healthy environment, the rights of minorities and of the indigenous people...Domestic violence, with strikes at the very root of the human rights of women...Sexual harassment and sexual exploitation of women...there is nothing worse than trafficking and trading of human beings, buying and selling them like chattel for material considerations for the purposes of slavery, prostitution, bonded labour. All this needs to be checked by collective effort, not only at an individual level, not even by any nation-state alone", she elaborated."That is why December 20 has been declared as the International Solidarity Day for human rights. There is also a draft declaration on rights of people to international solidarity. A World Solidarity Fund has also been set up", said Justice Banerjee.Quoting from the report of the independent expert, she cited that International solidarity is the expression of a spirit of unity among individuals, peoples, States and international organizations. It encompasses the union of interests, purposes and actions and the recognition of different needs and rights to achieve common goals. International solidarity is a foundational principle underpinning contemporary international law in order to preserve international order and to ensure the survival of international society."The permanent sovereignty of nations over their natural wealth, their freedom to...

"We Must Ensure That There Is Equitable Distribution Of COVID19 Vaccine": Justice Indira Banerjee

Mehal Jain

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