COVID-19 first appeared in China and soon became a global pandemic, but the polities of East Asia have been relatively successful in containing it. Some African states adopted harsh measures to suppress the pathogen while others drew on experience with AIDS and Ebola to mount effective responses. Although a wealthy and technologically developed country, the U.S. has been notably ineffective in responding to the pandemic. This symposium explored these contradictions and complexities. It also discussed the decline in positive international cooperation, which puts all of humanity at risk, and will expose ways states are cooperating to exploit the pandemic to do harm.
The Symposium recording is available here. Due to technical difficulties, the first presentation by Marta Hanson is not included in the recording, but an earlier, longer version is available here.
The Symposium poster is available here. The Symposium flyer is available here.
PROGRAM
A full program with a summary of each presentation is available here, biographical details of each speaker are available here.
8:30 Welcoming Remarks
Ellen Dussourd, Co-Chair, Alison Des Forges Memorial Committee
Shaun Irlam, Co-Chair, Alison Des Forges Memorial Committee; Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, University at Buffalo
8:45 - 10:45 CONTROLLING COVID-19 IN EAST ASIA
Session Description: According to common stereotypes, disease in general and pandemics in particular are associated with presumably poorer regions and more authoritarian states of the world, as in the cases of the Asian Flu, the SARS epidemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, three East Asian polities—the People’s Republic, Hong Kong, and the Republic of Korea—have been relatively successful in bringing COVID 19 under control. This suggests that they may to some extent serve as models from which other regions of the world can learn.
Moderators: Roger Des Forges, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, UB and Lina Mu, Director, Office of Global Health Initiatives; Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, UB
“From Sick Man of Asia to Sick Uncle Sam”
Marta Hanson, Associate Professor, Department of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
“One Country, Two Approaches in Responding to COVID-19: Mainland China and Hong Kong Compared"
Chunyan Ding, Associate Professor, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong
“History, Democracy, and Science in the Republic of Korea’s Response to COVID-19”
Juhwan Oh, Professor, College of Medicine/Hospital, Seoul National University College
10:45 - 12:00 ROUNDTABLE: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: WILL NATIONALISM AND SECURITIZATION ECLIPSE REAL GLOBAL SOLIDARITY?
Session Description: "Global cooperation" is a catch phrase that typically promotes an image of how states collaborate positively on behalf of the public good in times of public emergency. But cooperation can have a dark side as well, with global institutions and states exploiting an emergency to secure and expand state power. Roundtable discussants will reflect on positive cooperation, for example in the rollout of vaccines, and on more concerning modes of cooperation, such as many states' securitization of response to COVID-19.
Moderator: Satpal Singh, Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, UB
Facilitator: Julia Hall, human rights lawyer and Expert on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, Amnesty International--International Secretariat, London
Opening Remarks: “Global Solidarity versus Nationalism: Reflections on International Cooperation in the COVID-19 Response”
Rajat Khosla, Senior Director, Research, Advocacy and Policy, Amnesty International—International Secretariat, London
Opening Remarks: "Under the Cover of COVID-19: Securitization of the Pandemic Response at Global and National Levels"
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Regents Professor and Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy and Society, Law School, University of Minnesota; Professor, School of Law, Queen’s University of Belfast; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch Break
1:00 - 3:00 PANDEMICS, HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA
Session Description: In Africa, nation-states have mobilized past experiences of containing HIV AIDS and Ebola by combining modern and indigenous medical knowledge systems. They have done so even as they faced financial and technological limitations, as well as new variants of COVID-19.
Moderators: Ndubueze Mbah, Associate Professor, Department of History, UB and Tia Palermo, Associate Professor, Division of Health Services Policy and Practice, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, UB
“COVAX, TRIPPS and AstraZeneca: Challenges Facing African Countries in Responding to COVID-19”
Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya
“Public Health, Politics, and Human Rights in Sierra Leone: Encounters with an Ebola Epidemic (2013-2015) and a Coronavirus Pandemic (2020)”
Tamba M’bayo, Associate Professor, Department of History, West Virginia University
“Weaponizing COVID-19 as a Pretext for Human Rights Violations in Africa”
Mausi Segun, Executive Director, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
3:00 Closing Remarks
Sponsors: Alison Des Forges Memorial Committee; University at Buffalo: Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy; Confucius Institute; Department of Comparative Literature; Gender Institute; Humanities Institute; James Agee Chair in American Culture; Office of Global Health Initiatives, School of Public Health and Health Professions; Office of the Vice Provost for International Education
This symposium honors the life and work of human rights activist Alison Des Forges (1942-2009). For more information, email Roger Des Forges at rvd@buffalo.edu, Ellen Dussourd at dussourd@buffalo.edu, or Shaun Irlam at irlam@buffalo.edu.