Civic space a victim of virus

German playwright Bertolt Brecht once wrote: “War is like love, it always finds a way.” This observation can be extended to the actions of authoritarian regimes, and even some supposedly democratic ones, in their constant efforts to limit civic space and, with it, crack down on basic civil and human rights.

In the last few months, hiding behind the urgent necessity to monitor and contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), governments in different parts of the world have been cracking down on various freedoms and encroaching on people’s privacy in a brazen exploitation of the shift in the public’s priorities — a public that is either oblivious or not interested enough to proactively object to such assaults on its rights.

The UN has recently highlighted that governments’ public health responses to the protracted COVID-19 pandemic have, in many cases, entailed unacceptable restrictions of key public freedoms, such as the right to freedom of expression; restrictions that have an adverse impact on civic space and, as a consequence, democracy.

Civic space is, after all, regarded as the bedrock of any open and democratic society, as it enables citizens and civil society organizations to freely participate in the social and political arenas and mobilize support for worthy causes, including the protection of civil rights, while holding governments accountable.

Many of the measures to contain and defeat COVID-19 intrinsically restrict some of our basic human and civil rights. While the public understands and generally accepts such measures when they are linked to scientific evidence and when it makes common sense, other restrictions — such as those which advance a government’s pre-existing agenda that might include cracking down on minority groups — are strongly objectionable.

A further disturbing aspect of the cynical exploitation of COVID-19 for political gain has been the explicit or implicit blaming of minority groups for its spread. And, as always, the media is not exempt from being on the receiving end of harassment in efforts to silence criticism of governments’ widespread failure to deal with the coronavirus.

At a time when societies and communities should be coming together to deal with the deadly nature of the pandemic, and when civic space could help mitigate its devastating consequences, some governments are treating elements of civil society as if they themselves were the enemy, not COVID-19. If our civic spaces are not protected, a trail of destruction of many of our liberties will ensue and will linger even after the coronavirus is defeated.

The warning issued by UN human rights special rapporteur Fionnuala Ni Aolain that the world is facing “a parallel epidemic of authoritarian and repressive measures” should reverberate loud and clear as a call to arms for all who seek to prevent the destruction of civic space.

Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program.