A/76/257 initiatives and assisted migrants, including returning migrants, regardless of their migration status. 95 VI. Conclusions 79. The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected all orders of life, but in particular the health, social and economic fabric of societies, unveiling systemic inequalities, severe human rights gaps and governance deficits. Migrants, in particular those in a vulnerable situation, have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic, including by the restrictive measures taken to counter it and the discrimination and abuses stemming from private actors. Several of their rights have been particularly affected, including the right to liberty of movement, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to health and an equitable access to health services, the right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work, and the right to an adequate standard of living and freedom from discrimination. 80. The public emergency provoked by the pandemic has led to restrictions of several rights, including liberty of movement. The closure of borders and other emergency measures at international borders from countries of origin, transit and destination have led to migrants in some countries being stranded; others have been forced to return to their countries of origin, and a number of asylum seekers have not been able to gain effective access to asylum procedures. 81. Ensuring equitable access to health services for all became most relevant in the collective efforts to contain the pandemic. However, migrants, in particular those who are undocumented or in an irregular situation, face difficulties in gaining access to health services, due to, inter alia, legal and policy barriers, including strict requirements for documentation, fees, lack of accessible information and lack of effective protection firewalls that would help to overcome concerns about and fear of migrants. Migrants who are deprived of their liberty or in other settings characterized by confinement, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and lack of sanitation protocols and their implementation, are at a heightened risk of infection in the case of an outbreak. 82. Migrant workers, including those who are undocumented or in an irregular situation, contribute robustly to the health-care sector, the agrofood industry, the delivery sector and other essential sectors that have been critical during the pandemic. However, the pandemic has further exposed their vulnerabilities, the fragility of their status in society and the economy and the neglect for their human rights and entitlements, such as unsafe working conditions, lack of social protections, withdrawal of wages, discrimination, etc. 83. One and a half years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while uncertainty remains owing to the evolution of the virus, positive signs of recovery exist in a number of countries, associated with progress made in vaccination __________________ 95 21-10577 See www.ilo.org/asia/publications/issue-briefs/WCMS_746979/lang--en/index.htm; ILO, “COVID-19: Impact on Cambodian migrant workers”; ILO, “Impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh Overseas Migrant Workers”, available from www.ilo.org/dhaka/Whatwedo/Projects/WCMS_ 762473/lang--en/index.htm; ILO, The impact of COVID-19 on labour migration governance, recruitment practices and migrant workers (2020), available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_780964.pdf; ILO, “COVID-19: Impact on migrant workers and country response in Thailand”, available from www.ilo.org/asia/publications/issue-briefs/WCMS_741920/lang--en/index.htm; submissions by: Migration Forum Asia; Center for Migration, Gender, and Justice; CARE Ecuador; Instituto de Democracia y Derechos Humanos; Europe Must Act. 19/22