Human Security in Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Socio-Demographic Aspects

Abstract

Since the beginning of 2020, the outbreak and the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the world in many aspects varying across countries, social groups, and societal domains, of which Europe is one of the regions suffering the most. In an effort to provide an overview of the negative impact of the pandemic, the authors focuse on how the pandemic and the restrictions of European governments have interfered with a wide range of fundamental rights. First, the research paper illustrates the conceptual framework for human security in documents published by the United Nations (UN) and the approach of the European Union (EU) to human security. Second, the paper outlines several key points of the COVID-19 pandemic in the epidemical aspects to emphasize the seriousness of this crisis; thereby, it can be concluded that the stringent measures by EU leaders and national governments which are inevitable are believed to be somehow extreme though. The third part of the paper focuses on the negative impact of the pandemic and policy responses on the rights to education, healthcare, and the increase in the rate of unemployment, food insecurity, and domestic violence. The fourth strand of the paper is devoted to coming up with three policy recommendations for the EU and member states to limit the negative impact on human security.