[click here to read in Spanish, Arabic, French languages] Across the world, government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted deep and long-standing systemic inequalities in the current dominant economic and development models. Messages, such as “stay home, stay safe”, social distancing, and “wash hands for 20–40 seconds with soap and running water” are barely relevant for those who struggle for food, decent living, public water, and basic sanitation. From our view as human rights defenders from Colombia and India, we see our government taking measures that are destroying lives.
