A/HRC/45/12 contracting or further spreading the coronavirus, or refraining from economic and social activities that could be done safely out of fear of the unknown. 74. Uncertainty is always a factor in science. In the case of COVID-19, across the board there was remarkable lack of precautionary measures employed by States and businesses, in relation to the cost-effective wearing of face coverings, dissemination of information about the risk of airborne spread and transparency regarding the deadly nature of the virus itself. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992 states: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” Since the 1930s, precaution has been seen as a fundamental part of responsible development of medicines to protect public health. Yet States continue to attack the principle of precaution in debates over international trade and environmental protection. It is not a coincidence that States that have been at the forefront of arguing against the precautionary principle, including Brazil, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, have recorded among the most severe outbreaks in the pandemic to date. 75. The outbreak has also been accompanied by waves of misinformation 67 and an “infodemic” (an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not), 68 and the spread of “fake news” is putting lives at risk.69 This includes underreporting of cases and the promotion of untested and potentially dangerous treatments. The motives for spreading disinformation are many, and include political aims, self-promotion, and attracting attention as part of a business model. Those who spread misinformation play on emotions, fears, prejudices and ignorance, and falsely claim to “bring meaning and certainty to a reality that is complex, challenging and fast-changing”. 70 Irrespective of whether the intention is malicious, “the effect of sharing falsehoods is to disinform and disempower the public with deadly potential”,71 and moves away from real solutions and long-term strategies. In order to counter rumours and ensure their own credibility, States should be more transparent, proactively disclose more data and improve access to information from official sources, in line with right-to-information laws and policies while promoting freedom of expression. 76. Other States have instrumentalized precautionary and containment measures to limit the full enjoyment of human rights, creating an environment of uncertainty and lack of trust regarding the information available on the actual risk of the disease and the necessity and proportionality of measures taken for prevention. Several States further entrenched repressive measures, including with regard to civil society, surveillance of citizens and human rights defenders, censorship, restrictions on free expression and information, and unjustified limits on public participation, civic spaces and freedom of movement, 72 far overreaching the limits of the derogations permitted under international human rights law during health emergencies of such scale. 77. Meaningful consent cannot be achieved without information. Under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all persons have the right not to be subjected without their free consent to medical or scientific experimentation. Within the context of COVID-19, the capacity of individuals to be fully informed and to exercise meaningful consent with respect to possible exposure to viruses, and to treatments and vaccines, including their risks, must be protected under human rights law and standards.73 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 See www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-briefing.pdf, and www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2020/04/Fighting-misinformation-and-defending -free-expression-during-COVID-19-recommendations-for-states-1.pdf. See www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200202-sitrep-13-ncovv3.pdf. See https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061592. Ibid. Ibid. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25788&LangID=E and https://ipi.media/covid19-media-freedom-monitoring/. A/64/272, para. 19; Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, para. 8. 17