Civil society calls on AIIB to recognise risks to human rights defenders in its COVID-19 response

Recourse and the NGO Forum on ADB have called on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to implement concrete precautionary measures to protect human rights defenders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations highlight that lockdown measures, increased militarisation, and the suspension of courts have heightened the risk of arbitrary arrests, stigmatisation of marginalised groups, and limited legal recourse. They request that the AIIB establish secure communication channels, monitor for abuses in financed sectors, and explicitly warn borrowers against using assistance funds for the intimidating surveillance of communities.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has created specific conditions that increase the risk of reprisals against human rights defenders, including the ease of targeting individuals in lockdown, arbitrary detentions under the guise of lockdown violations, and the stigmatisation of marginalised groups such as LGBT, Roma, and HIV-positive people.
• Systemic barriers during the pandemic have hindered the ability of defenders to operate and seek justice, specifically through the suspension of courts, limited movement preventing support from civil society and international organisations, and increased militarisation of response measures.
• There are concerns that the urgency of the pandemic is being used to weaken development safeguards, including pressure to streamline loan approvals and the hacking of digital communications leading to activist self-censorship.
• The AIIB is urged to take specific actions to protect vulnerable groups, including using secure communication channels, screening for abuses in financed sectors (such as the health sector), and ensuring borrowers do not use COVID-19 assistance funds for intimidating surveillance.

APA

rrotadmin (2020). Civil society calls on AIIB to recognise risks to human rights defenders in its COVID-19 response. Recourse. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/civil-society-calls-on-aiib-to-recognise-risks-to-human-rights-defenders-in-its-covid-19-response/

Chicago

rrotadmin. Civil society calls on AIIB to recognise risks to human rights defenders in its COVID-19 response. Recourse, 2020. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/civil-society-calls-on-aiib-to-recognise-risks-to-human-rights-defenders-in-its-covid-19-response/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=rrotadmin |title=Civil society calls on AIIB to recognise risks to human rights defenders in its COVID-19 response |publisher=Recourse |date=24 April 2020 |url=https://re-course.org/newsupdates/civil-society-calls-on-aiib-to-recognise-risks-to-human-rights-defenders-in-its-covid-19-response/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rrotadmin2020civil, author = {rrotadmin}, title = {{Civil society calls on AIIB to recognise risks to human rights defenders in its COVID-19 response}}, publisher = {Recourse}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://re-course.org/newsupdates/civil-society-calls-on-aiib-to-recognise-risks-to-human-rights-defenders-in-its-covid-19-response/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }