‘Political leaders and corporate titans put profit and power ahead of people, betraying promises for fair recovery from pandemic’

From a human rights perspective, 2021 was largely a story of betrayal in the corridors of power, says Amnesty International.

Amnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights in 2021, published in March 2022, shows that promises to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic were little more than lip service. Hopes of global cooperation withered in the face of vaccine hoarding and corporate greed.

Governments suppressed independent and critical voices, with some even using the pandemic as a pretext to shrink further the civic space. New and unresolved conflicts erupted or persisted. Those forced to flee were subjected to a litany of abuses, including pushbacks by countries in the Global North.

But hopes for a better post-pandemic world were kept alive by courageous individuals, social movements and civil society organizations.

Wealthy states colluded with corporate giants in 2021 to dupe people with empty slogans and false promises of a fair recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, in what amounts to one of the greatest betrayals of our times, said Amnesty International today, as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world.

The report finds that these states, alongside corporate titans, have in fact driven deeper global inequality. It details root causes including noxious corporate greed and brutal national selfishness, as well as neglect of health and public infrastructure by governments around the world.

“2021 should have been a year of healing and recuperation.?Instead, it became an incubator for deeper inequality and greater instability, a legacy caustic for years to come,”?said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Leader after leader dangled promises to ‘build back better’ to address deep-seated inequalities that exacerbated the impact of the pandemic. Instead, they have performed a tragic fable of betrayal and greed in cahoots with corporate titans. Whilst this has played out around the world, the effects have been most damaging to the most marginalized communities, including those on the front lines of endemic poverty.”

The rapid roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines appeared to be a scientific silver bullet, offering hope of an end to the pandemic for all.

However, despite enough production to fully vaccinate the world in 2021, by year’s end less than 4% of those living in low-income countries had been fully vaccinated.

“At the G7, G20 and COP26 summits, grandstanding on a global stage, political and economic leaders paid lip service to policies that could generate a sea change in vaccine access, reverse under-investment in social protection, and tackle the impact of climate change. Heads of Big Pharma and Big Tech spun us lines about corporate responsibility. At this watershed movement, the stage was set for recovery, and genuine meaningful change for a more equal world,” said Agnès Callamard.

“However, they squandered the opportunity, reverting to type with policies and practice that drove further inequality. Members of the Rich Boys Club offered promises publicly that they reneged on privately.”

Wealthy states such as EU member states, the UK and the USA stockpiled more doses than needed, whilst turning a blind eye as Big Pharma put profits ahead of people, refusing to share their technology to enable wider distribution of vaccines. In 2021, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna projected eye-watering profits of up to US$54 billion yet supplied less than 2% of their vaccines to low-income countries.

Big Pharma were not the only corporate giants to undermine pandemic recovery for profit. Social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter provided fertile ground for Covid-19 misinformation, allowing vaccine hesitancy to flourish. Some political leaders also acted as super-spreaders of misinformation, breeding distrust and fear for their own political gain.

“Social media companies’ allowed their lucrative algorithms to spread harmful misinformation about the pandemic, prioritizing the sensationalist and the discriminatory over truth,” said Agnès Callamard.

“The extent of their profiteering from that misinformation and the impact of that on the lives of millions mean those companies have a serious case to answer.”