Lagos - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged
West African governments to ensure the upholding
of such rights as crucial in controlling the
unprecedented Ebola epidemic that is ravaging
the region.
The organisation expressed its sympathy to the
families, friends, and colleagues of those who
have died as a result of the Ebola outbreak, and
recognized the courage of many health workers
and others in caring for the sick.
HRW said governments in Ebola-affected
countries should better protect health workers
from infection, limit use of quarantines, address
the gender dimensions of the outbreak, ensure
security forces responding to the crisis respected
basic rights and facilitated independent
monitoring of emergency measures and donations.
The organisation also said donor governments,
through international assistance and cooperation,
should help these governments fulfill the right to
health and efforts to address the epidemic’s
broader impact.
“Given the tragic magnitude of this epidemic, the
affected governments cannot and should not be
expected to fulfill the right to health on their
own,” said Corinne Dufka, HRW Senior West Africa
Researcher.
“The international community must help assume
this responsibility, while insisting that
governments do their part by ensuring
transparency and respect for human rights as
they respond to the crisis,” Dufka said.
As of early September, there had been 4 784
confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola virus, and
more than 2 400 deaths across most regions of
Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and in two
cities in Nigeria.
Doctors without Borders, the World Health
Organization (WHO), and the United States Centre
for Disease Control, among other organizations,
have repeatedly warned that the outbreak was
spiraling out of control.
- CAJ News