Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Our expert on human trafficking has been concerned about the impacts, and we are working to see more documentation of that, but there is a concern that, as one of the earlier questions put it, some of this activity moves to the background in a way that makes it more d

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, our office has documented instances where there were arrests and roundups of people pretextually. I could get back to you with additional information. We've issued statements on those issues. Thank you.

Foreign Affairs committee  We've seen different problems in different places. Sometimes it's the case that minority groups don't have as much access to services or to information about the pandemic. We've also seen, I believe in Canada and in other western countries and elsewhere, that groups that have h

Foreign Affairs committee  Certainly. Thank you very much. Yes, you're referring to a guidance note that we did that looks at emergency measures and their impact. There are two different ways that states can derogate from human rights. There's the formal way—which is what you were referring to—under the I

Foreign Affairs committee  We have been following that issue pretty closely. As in many cases, when you roll out something quickly in the midst of a pandemic, it's not always the best way to make good policy. I think we have learned a lot about the use of contact-tracing apps and what are appropriate ways

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for the opportunity. I do think this is an area where more attention has been paid, but there's never enough engagement on these issues. Therefore, it is really important that we look at what's happening and try to outline clearly what types of responses are effective.

Foreign Affairs committee  Gillian, did you want to go first on that? I think it was directed at you.

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure. I'm happy to come in. Thank you, sir. We certainly agree with your question. In fact, as you've said, we've seen a rise in human rights violations during the pandemic in a variety of different ways. You emphasized the fact that women at home in close quarters are sometimes

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. I'll be brief, then. I think there are a couple of points that haven't come through entirely. These aren't solutions that any one country, obviously, is going to put on the table by itself. We feel strongly that part of what's been shown here is the need for multi

Foreign Affairs committee  What I can speak to is what I see in my own experience, and that is that my office does not feel we are hampered in that way. We are able to pursue our mandate to the full extent of the mandate. We speak out on crises across the world. We speak out on China as we do on other coun

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much for your question, a very relevant and important one in the current circumstances. Our office has done extensive work on looking at the issues of mass detention and incarceration during the pandemic, and in fact issued human rights guidance on some of the cri

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, and apologies for that. Thank you, sir. Yes, I'm happy to speak a bit on the role of the Human Rights Council in addressing a crisis such as that which you've described. The Human Rights Council does...and has been effective in putting in place mandates relating to in

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much for the invitation to speak on this important topic. COVID-19 has acted as a stress test for our societies. It draws into sharp contrast the weaknesses that we know are there but that might not always be visible or that at le