A/HRC/49/44 35. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic and its myriad containment responses have had profound implications worldwide, especially in societies struggling with conflict or insecurity. The pandemic has given rise to states of emergency that States have exploited in these contexts to justify new restrictions on rights of religious or belief minority communities, many of whom face existing rights restrictions and other forms of deprivation. In Sri Lanka, authorities have restricted exercise of funeral and burial rituals of Christian and Muslim minorities, including through mandatory cremation, purportedly as a COVID-19 health measure. 83 During COVID-19, India has increased restrictions on movements of the predominantly Muslim Kashmiri population, already under strict lockdown since the 2019 revocation of Kashmir’s special autonomous status, and sent more troops.84 These measures, combined with Internet shutdowns, have hampered Kashmiris’ ability to protect themselves from the virus or receive outside help.85 36. In several crisis-affected regions, the State, media, and public have scapegoated faith minorities as a primary source and spreader of the COVID-19, with States deliberately shifting blame for their failures to historically vilified and vulnerable populations. 86 In Pakistan, influencers have referred to COVID-19 as the “Shi’a Virus.”87 In Sri Lanka, India, and Myanmar, State and non-state actors have accused Muslim minorities of importing the virus or increasing infection rates, sometimes with deadly consequences.88 Social media has proven a dangerous tool for spreading these conspiracy theories, with the “corona jihad” hashtag (#coronajihad) going viral on Twitter in India after the Government announced high infection rates in the Muslim population. D. Compounding factors (i) Shrinking political and civic space 37. Minority/majority power dynamics are often most stark during conflict and insecurity. The most politically marginalized are particularly susceptible to rising insecurity, with violence and discrimination frequently representing a continuation rather than a break from recent history - and often “compounding” vulnerability. Shrinking of political and civic space may silence minorities, limiting their avenues to advocate and enact change that could mitigate insecurity and its adverse effects. For example, some States deliberately disenfranchise religious or belief minorities by denying citizenship and restricting their electoral rights.89 Myanmar has denied citizenship to the predominantly Muslim Rohingya minority since 1982. In India, authorities omitted Muslim migrants from citizenship fasttracking and excluded Bengali-speaking Muslims from the national citizen registry. 90 In Pakistan, minority Ahmadis must renounce their faith to vote in general elections, leading many to forego the right and many political parties not bothering to campaign to Ahmadis or advocate for their concerns. 38. Other political exclusion and disempowerment tools include replacing, arbitrarily detaining, or murdering political leaders that represent minorities or restricting their appointment to prominent positions. For instance, in Afghanistan, the Taliban has replaced Shi’a Hazara officials at the sub-national level with Pashtun Taliban supporters, often from outside of the region - through a policy to replace one ethno-religious minority with another to seize local power.91 In Israel, Muslim leaders have criticized the Ministry of Interior for appointing non-Muslims – mostly Druze former military officers – to head its Muslim Affairs 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 10 AL LKA 8/2020. https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-world/2021. https://minorityrights.org/2020/06/18/kashmir-a-tale-of-two-lockdowns/. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16502/IDSB52.1_10.1908819682021.111.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/16502/IDSB52.1_10.1908819682021.111.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. A/HRC/46/30, para.21. See also https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/southasia/india/report-india/, https://minorityrights.org/2020/12/20/hate-speech-myanmar/. e.g. Pakistan, Israel, Afghanistan, West Papua. A/HRC/46/30, para.41. Consultation-Afghanistan.