TWN Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Sept22/01)
9 September 2022
Third World Network

UN: COVID-19 has created an unprecedented crisis for youth
Published in SUNS #9639 dated 2 September 2022

Geneva, 1 Sep (Kanaga Raja) -- Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected young people's human rights in manifold, intersecting ways, with significant socioeconomic and psychological consequences for youth, and have also exacerbated inequalities, including between youth, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The report (A/HRC/51/19) to be presented at the upcoming 51st regular session of the Human Rights Council (12 September-7 October 2022) states that the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that has exposed systemic and structural causes of inequality, exclusion and discrimination globally and has demonstrated that many countries - both developed and developing - need to establish and strengthen human rights frameworks and their implementation.

The report said that it has further highlighted the inter-relatedness and interdependence of young people's rights.

"The effects of pandemic responses on the social, cultural, economic, and civil and political rights of the 1.8 billion youth globally - the largest ever youth population - are far-reaching and multiple."

The report said ongoing, renewed and new challenges to young people's human rights related to the pandemic have caused increased discrimination and inequalities, including between youth.

The pandemic's severe impact on youth rights has increased feelings of youth exclusion, and has threatened their ability to develop to their full potential and their long-term prospects.

In short, it has created a crisis for young people and their futures, the report underlined.

According to the report, young people are less well-equipped and face greater barriers during their transition to independence than they did prior to the pandemic, and they will need targeted, specific support to be recognized as rights-holders, to access their human rights and to realize their potential.

It said that as the world enters the next phase of the pandemic response and recovery, the multitude of human rights challenges facing youth, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, must not be forgotten and must continue to be a priority for States and the international community in efforts to build back better from COVID-19 in partnership with youth.

According to the report, the pandemic has fundamentally changed how youth globally live their lives and access education, opportunities and livelihoods.

It said while the challenges young people face vary on the ground and are specific to their contexts, many youth worldwide feel that current social, political and economic systems at all levels ignore their lived experiences and do not adequately prepare them or provide for their future.

It said that the pandemic has not affected all youth equally. It has increased inequalities between them and placed youth in vulnerable situations, who face additional barriers to human rights and multiple forms of discrimination, at heightened risk of rights violations.

According to the report, they include young women and girls; youth with disabilities; youth affected by conflict; asylum-seeking, internally displaced, migrant and refugee youth; care-leavers; youth in conflict with the law; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and inter-sex youth; indigenous youth; and young people in rural areas, among others.

The report said that interruptions in education and employment risk compounding inequalities between youth.

"Youth with lower-secondary education are three times more likely not to be in employment, education or training compared with those with a university degree, which affects future employment and earnings."

At the same time, the report said that the pandemic has been a moment when youth have again demonstrated their leadership in defending human rights, protecting others and advocating for change.

It said throughout the pandemic, youth supported public health measures to limit the virus' spread and to vaccinate populations and contributed to efforts to combat misinformation and encourage support for pandemic measures.

Youth worldwide have engaged in State- and youth-led initiatives, including awareness-raising, helping vulnerable populations, and have participated as health-care and essential workers, scientists and entrepreneurs.

They have worked to mitigate and address the pandemic's varied human rights impacts, including discrimination, food insecurity, poverty and increased inequalities.

The report said while the international human rights framework provides comprehensive human rights protection, youth continue to face challenges to the enjoyment of their human rights, which the pandemic has exacerbated.

"There are dedicated human rights instruments for youth and guidance on young people's human rights at the regional level. However, there is no universal human rights instrument dedicated to youth rights, as is the case for certain categories of persons such as children, persons with disabilities and women," it added.

CHALLENGES FACED BY YOUTH

According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected youth worldwide, causing loss of life and livelihoods and affecting their rights to education, employment, social security, health and participation as well as housing and freedom of religion, expression, movement and information.

"The pandemic created the worst education crisis ever recorded. Unprecedented global shutdowns of educational institutions left youth with limited or no alternative learning methods."

The report said that the long-term consequences of such measures include disrupted and lost learning, deepening educational inequalities, increased rates of youth not completing education, lost access to a safe space, and interrupted access to health-care and support services and human contact.

This affects young people's social and behavioural development and mental health and has long-term social and economic costs for society and the employment world, it added.

In March 2020, over 1.52 billion young people in more than 165 countries were out of education, representing 87 per cent of the world's enrolled school and university population.

As of September 2021, 27 per cent of national education systems remained fully or partially closed, some without re-opening plans. According to the Global Survey on Youth and COVID-19, over 70 per cent of youth who were studying or studying and working were adversely affected by academic institutions closing.

Nearly one in eight saw their education completely stop, and 65 per cent reported having learned less since the pandemic had begun, underlining the multiple challenges of remote and online learning.

Many countries implemented remote learning modalities to support continued learning, including online platforms, television and radio programming, and take-home packages, said the report.

However, it added, the distribution, uptake and effectiveness of such programmes varied greatly between and within countries, and mostly did not adequately replace in-person education.

An Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study across 59 countries found that, although most countries established alternative learning methods, only approximately half of all students could access most or all of the curriculum.

The shift to online learning exposed a "digital divide", resulting in major learning losses. Accessibility varied within countries, as less than 10 per cent of the poorest households have electricity in some countries, said the report.

Digital divides between urban and rural communities were greatest in East and Southern Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

"These significant digital disparities between developed and least developed countries, within countries and regions, and between low-income and middle- and high-income households exacerbated inequalities and left many youth excluded from education."

The report said that young people with limited or no access to digital connectivity and devices were unable to learn and access online learning, particularly youth affected by poverty, youth with disabilities, youth in rural areas and youth in developing countries.

"Youth in lower-income countries have far more limited access to online classes and testing than in high-income countries. Furthermore, some youth do not have adequate space or support to learn at home."

The report said that pandemic-related restrictions affected research and extension activities at higher education institutions, and international travel restrictions limited students' and faculty's international mobility.

While most countries experienced no significant difference in overall university enrolment, lower-income countries were more greatly affected. Fourteen countries experienced up to 20 per cent decreases in enrolment, and Armenia, Hungary and Venezuela reported decreases of 21-40 per cent.

The report also said the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected young workers and those transitioning from education to employment, compounding already existing problems and increasing instability.

It said that youth have disproportionately faced precarious employment conditions, reduced employment hours and income, a lack of decent work, unemployment, limited or no social security support, and limited or no new job or self-employment opportunities.

"Youth, particularly young women, are over-represented in the most affected sectors, including the informal, care, retail, hospitality, agriculture and tourism sectors, and in family businesses."

The report said they are often employed in less secure forms of work, including part-time, short-term, "zero-hour" or "gig economy" contracts with unstable working conditions, making them vulnerable when crisis strikes.

"While some economies have partially or fully recovered, great divergences in employment and labour income persist."

Youth unemployment figures have increased globally since the onset of the pandemic. Job losses for youth in 2020 were 8.7 per cent higher than for older workers, with unprecedented global employment losses of 114 million jobs compared with 2019, said the report.

This fall was greater in middle-income countries. More than one in six young people have stopped working since the pandemic began, it added.

As the pandemic continued, the prevalence among young people of non-involvement in employment, education or training; labour market inactivity; and informal work increased more than youth unemployment.

Young people aged 18-29 who were working prior to the pandemic reported an average 23 per cent reduction in working hours and 42 per cent reduction in income.

As of 2021, the pandemic had pushed 124 million people into extreme poverty, including many youth. Youth are more likely to experience poverty when faced with reduced employment or unemployment due to having limited or no savings, said the report.

"Throughout the pandemic, social protection systems have enabled economies to survive and individuals in some countries to avoid the pandemic's worst impacts, including extreme poverty, and to continue to enjoy their human rights, including adequate housing, food and health care."

However, the report said that the human right to social security is not always a practical reality for all youth, and COVID-19 has exposed their precarious situation.

"Globally, 71 per cent of people, including almost two thirds of children, have only partial or inadequate social security coverage, or none at all."

Young people often do not benefit from social protection because they work in the informal sector or have short- term or part-time employment and, consequently, are not entitled to social protection. Furthermore, young workers experience relatively larger decreases in post-support labour income.

Therefore, said the report, even in countries where job retention schemes limited decreases in post-support labour income to moderate levels, youth experienced relatively larger decreases, indicating that such schemes were less effective in protecting young workers.

The report also said that the pandemic has considerably affected young people's enjoyment of physical and mental health.

"They have struggled to access health-related information and physical and mental health treatment in a timely manner, and they have faced increased risks of physical and psychological violence, exposure to the virus as front-line and key workers, and immense mental health pressures."

Health-related pandemic responses have been compromised by years of under-investment in public health services and a lack of universal access to health care, said the report.

The health response to the virus and pandemic-related measures have placed colossal pressure on overwhelmed health systems, disrupting access to information and routine health services for medical treatment not related to COVID-19.

These pressures have caused delays in accessing essential, time-sensitive, and life-saving medications and services; delayed or cancelled appointments; disruptions to immunization schedules. In addition, they have caused illnesses and medical conditions to worsen or go undiagnosed, the report added.

"Limited access to health insurance coverage, especially in low- and middle-income countries without universal health coverage, means youth struggle to access appropriate and timely health care. Young people in poverty or working in the informal sector are particularly impacted."

The report said that the risk of domestic and gender-based violence increases during lockdowns and economic and social crises, particularly for young women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and inter-sex youth. In addition to being confined with abusers, access to support services and shelters is severely disrupted.

"Since the pandemic began, online enquiries to violence prevention hotlines in Europe increased up to five times while emergency calls reporting domestic violence against women and children increased by 60 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year."

The multiple challenges involving the pandemic and young people's mental health have the potential to create an unprecedented mental health crisis. Youth are particularly at risk of increased anxiety and mental health concerns as most mental health conditions develop during adolescence and youth, said the report.

It said the pandemic and response measures have also drastically affected young people's mental health, generating colossal mental health needs, which require significant and sustained investment.

They have experienced stress, anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and moderate increases in symptoms of depression and sadness due to physical distancing and quarantine measures, the fear of infection and adjusting to the "new normal", it added.

The report also said that lockdown measures have restricted young people's freedom of movement and of peaceful assembly and association, and have also restricted their access to social interactions, support services and positive coping mechanisms, including sports, social and community initiatives, and formal and non-formal education.

It said that these restrictions negatively affect youth's mental health, causing feelings of isolation and increasing the risk of youth employing negative coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and drug abuse, self-harm or other harmful behaviours.

Mental health systems globally faced decades of chronic under-investment prior to the pandemic and struggled to meet existing demand.

The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing delays to and pressures on mental health systems, overwhelming them and causing further lengthy delays, said the report.

Consequently, youth cannot access timely, quality mental health support, leaving conditions to go undiagnosed or worsen, it added. +