“Do not die, I love you so much! But the corpse, alas! kept on dying’’: Specific protections, death, bereavement and human rights in the pandemic context

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the response of international human rights law and international human rights bodies in the definition of guidelines for States to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The main argument is that the high levels of adaptability of the norms for the protection of human beings and the standards developed in this matter are reflected in the way their protective effects have been at display; mainly, in i) the limits for restrictions or suspensions of human rights for epidemic control and ii) the specific provisions for the protection of vulnerable groups. Towards the end of the document, given the importance of the subject in the context of the pandemic, the author reflects on the approach of international human rights law towards death, the handling of corpses, the mourning and the participation of families in decisions regarding the disposition of the bodies of their loved ones.