코로나19로 인한 국제인권조약상 의무의 이행정지

National emergency situations caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 have compelled governments all over the world to impose various measures restricting the liberty and freedom of their citizens. Those measures significantly restrained the right to movement, the right to assembly, the right to privacy, the right to property, the right to education etc, which constitute or tends to constitute violations of international or regional human rights treaty obligations. In this context, international law experts pay attention to the derogation provisions of human rights treaties that permits governments to suspend their treaty obligations under certain conditions. The derogation clauses provide room for state parties to human rights treaties to cope with national emergency situations such as COVID-19 without being labeled a human right offender. While quite a number of states have invoked the derogation clauses, it is still true that may countries implemented right restrictive emergency measures without invoking the clauses. However, the key effect of the derogation that allows the treaty mechanism and other state parties to monitor the suspension of the member states’ human rights treaty obligations becomes ever more valuable in the midst of global emergency like COVID-19.