As COVID-19 spreads throughout the Middle East and civil wars continue, already fragile human rights protections are increasingly under threat. COVID-19 puts migrants and minority communities at increasing risk due to structural inequalities, and activist movements are losing crucial visibility and the ability to mobilize and gather in public. Meanwhile, the impacts of the virus expose existing injustices faced by detainees, women, and occupied communities.
How are social movements in Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq adapting to changing dynamics as they confront pandemic-related shutdowns and existing internet restrictions? How do inequalities in the region’s legal systems prevent women from exercising personal rights, as domestic violence rates surge worldwide? What are the unique challenges faced by migrant workers, refugees, and IDPs? In countries with ongoing conflicts, what are the prospects for advocating for greater rights for detainees and prisoners of conscience?
This event is part of a series on human rights in the MENA region in the face of Covid-19.
Speakers:
Nour El Achi
Activist, Minteshreen
Mai El-Sadany
Managing director and legal and judicial director, TIMEP
Sana Mustafa
Founder and manager, Sana Mustafa Consulting LLC; founding member, The Network For Refugee Voices
Ibrahim Al-Assil, moderator
Non-resident scholar, MEI
