How COVID-19 and social conflict responses relate (ISS)

As part of the Humanity Hub’s first seasonal programming theme, focusing on COVID responses, we will share insights by members of the Humanity Hub community and the Hague Peace & Justice ecosystem. This week, we are spotlighting a paper published by the International Institute of Social Studies on how COVID-19 and social conflict responses relate.

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread over the world, it became apparent that it exacerbated existing crises and magnified vulnerabilities.

In April 2020, we therefore set out with a group of students to follow what happened in 7 countries: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Zimbabwe, Philippines, India, Brazil and Chile. In all these countries, COVID-19 became part of intersecting and compounded crises. The ongoing research programme at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of When Disaster meets Conflict is about dealing with intersecting crises, and became the steppingstone for the analysis of the responses to COVID-19.