Unprecedented Legal Measures in the Wake of Corona Virus: The Ugandan Perspective

Abstract

The Corona Pandemic is one of the problems which
continues to affect the globe as the death tolls and the
numbers of infected people keep increasing. It is against this
backdrop that States have evoked Public Health Law as a
measure of protecting their citizens. In light of the above, this
article examines International, Regional and Ugandan Public
Health regimes in the fight against COVID-19. In order to
control the spread of the Corona virus the government of
Uganda introduced measures such as lockdowns restriction of
movement, curfew and closing borders, bars, shopping malls
and non-food markets. Enforcement of these measures and
laws has been characterized by violence, brutality and
excessive use of force from police and other security agencies.
This has raised a lot of debate about the protection of human
rights in the wake of the COVID 19. The article also examines
the impact of such measures on human rights and seeks to
assess their justification. The article underscores the fact that
derogation from human rights during public health emergencies
should be guided by the international and regional human rights
regimes to which Uganda is a party. The article thus discusses
the international and regional human rights instruments in
relation to public health law and underscores the need to strike
a balance in order to respect human rights.

Key Words: Corona virus, COVID 19, derogation, epidemic,
human rights, infectious diseases, international human
rights instruments, limitations, pandemic, restrictions.