The global COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the lives of all people and pushed us to take a fresh look at existing realities. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, called this situation “a panhuman crisis ” and encouraged each country to take a better coordinated, global and human rights focused approach to the pandemic.
The changing world turned the social sphere into the key indicator of competitiveness of the state and into the instrument for economic and social risks management, directly related to health and education systems. This level will be decisive for the country’s competitiveness in the post–pandemic period regionally and internationally.
ARGO, a national non-commercial association, recognizes and appreciates the efforts taken by the President and the Government to stabilize the epidemiological situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
We believe that every anti-COVID-19 measure should be legal, adequate, reasonable and non-discriminatory. On the pandemic background it is especially important for public authorities to demonstrate their responsible approach of informing the public in a timely and adequate manner, the provision of required social and medical care for every population group. The actions, aimed to protect labor rights and minimize unemployment, shall be unprecedented. Timely implementation of effective decisions of Kazakhstan’s Government will strengthen the population’s confidence towards the state’s measures and will mitigate social consequences of the pandemic.
We emphasize that in this current situation, the civil sector, possessing significant capacity to strengthen compliance with the standards in human rights areas via direct and enhanced engagement in decision-making processes, gains crucial importance. Considering the above, the assistance from civil sector experts will contribute to transparency, flexibility and accountability of government institutions on site and add to increased efficiency of anti-coronavirus measures, taken by the Government.
Moreover, ARGO encourages citizens to be united in increasing the level of responsibility for their own health and the health of family and colleagues, and to consider the actions of fellow citizens who are breaching sanitary and epidemiological requirements as impermissible and call everyone to «zero tolerance» to such behaviors. Only with high deliberateness, patience and implementation of the right to the future we shall have the chance to overcome this crisis with minimum losses. Human life is an absolute value given to us by heaven, and only when we are all united we will be able to help ourselves and the country.