MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. The coronavirus pandemic has confirmed the need for a strong state, without which the lives of people cannot be saved by any political freedoms, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote in his article published on Saturday on RT website on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations.
"The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that political freedoms as such can do little to save people's lives. There is a need for efficient and affordable medical and social care systems, nation-wide sanitary safety programs, utmost coordination of efforts at all levels of public authority. Strong states that proved capable of mobilizing their economies and political institutions to fight back the pandemic, succeeded in overcoming its consequences and preserved millions of lives," he said.
"The current world economic recession caused by the global pandemic pushes states towards revisiting their values and prioritizing the protection of people's lives and health as well as human rights to guarantee decent and safe existence", Medvedev noted.
"Civilized nations, on whose behalf the UN was created alongside other international organizations that came into existence in the late 1940's through 1950's, were called to prevent the horrors of World War II, genocide, war crimes, abuse of fundamental human rights and freedoms, humiliation of human dignity from happening ever again. They saw the best solution in restricting, as much as possible, the government's involvement in social development, absolutizing private and individual freedoms, continuously expanding the scope of subjective rights, often to the detriment of public interest. At the same time, it is national states that have been assigned, in the context of the so-called "positive obligations," with increasingly significant obligations not only to refrain from violating an individual's rights, but to ensure their respect as well as provide "good" governance," the politician believes.
At the same time, in his opinion, "ensuring due balance between different human rights categories is of primary importance". "For this reason, the Soviet Union pointed out the need to enshrine an extensive list of social and economic rights when working on the Universal Declaration. This point proves valid today. The current world economic recession caused by the global pandemic pushes states towards revisiting their values and prioritizing the protection of people's lives and health as well as human rights to guarantee decent and safe existence," Medvedev said.
Cooperation to save lives
Medvedev is confident that no political considerations should interfere with the cooperation of countries in order to save lives.
"Amid the continuing global epidemic, we need to guarantee unhindered supply of food, equipment and technology to the most affected areas. Russia has consistently called for renouncing trade and financial restrictions on humanitarian shipments worldwide. Political considerations should not affect cooperation to save lives," he said.
According to Medvedev, "We should not forget that the UN has been founded as an organization that should seek solutions to the most pressing global problems and stand guard of the interests of peace and security. It is designed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, ensure compliance with international law and improve living conditions for people. Ultimately, these are the high ideals that the United Nations has been created to attain".
Medvedev believes that pluralism and unlimited freedom of speech are not enough to ensure stable development of mankind. "The Black Lives Matter movement, which has swept across the western world in 2020, clearly demonstrates that there is an unsatisfied global demand for a just world order, for bridging the gap between the rich and the poor and for access to adequate healthcare, modern education and decent wages for all, regardless of color or social status. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare inequalities in dozens of countries. Many people were left to fend for themselves," he noted.
"These circumstances prove that social justice cannot be restored only through developing the market economy without interference from the state (according to the principle of "laissez faire") or through generous but sporadic charity projects. This requires involvement of the state, a sensible fiscal policy, a responsible and stable government, and a clear vision of the long-term social and economic development goals. States need to take decisive steps to adapt their national economies and political systems to the modern challenges," Medvedev said.