A/HRC/45/12 death sentence for the elderly. Harrowing tales from around the world describe an extreme detachment of States in the face of a clear situation of extreme vulnerability. Reports proliferate of abandoned older persons, suggesting inadequate efforts to prevent exposure among those in the most vulnerable age group. In some countries, between 42 and 57 per cent of coronavirus deaths were linked to nursing homes and other residences of older persons, which horrifically became used by some local authorities as destinations of choice for people with the virus.51 4. Indigenous peoples 61. Indigenous peoples face an alarming situation as COVID-19 cases multiply. 52 Already, COVID-19 is devastating indigenous communities, invoking the tragic history of smallpox that decimated many peoples of the Americas and elsewhere. Testing for many communities remains limited and self-isolation is often not a viable option. Illegal miners and other unwelcome outsiders continue to present an existential threat to communities, particularly those who voluntarily live in isolation. 62. Socioeconomically marginalized indigenous peoples are also at elevated risk because of lack of access to effective monitoring and early-warning systems. Lack of access to health-care services is a pervasive problem, compounded by stigmatization and discrimination. Economic realities have forced a grave choice between income and health, if such a choice exists at all. For indigenous women, who are often the main providers of food and nutrition to their families, the choice is even graver. 53 63. For example, Navajo Nation leaders have drawn attention to their community’s per capita COVID-19 infection rates, among the highest in the United States of America. In Brazil, Yanomami communities face existential threats and a health crisis brought about by contact with illegal miners. They launched the #MinersOutCovidOut campaign to demand “the immediate expulsion of the miners from their territory, which has been the target of illegal gold mining since the 1980s”, noting that as a result of activity related to the mining, 13 per cent of the Yanomami population had succumbed to, among other diseases, influenza, the measles, pneumonia and malaria, against which the tribe has little or no immunity. 54 In Ecuador, indigenous federations have alleged, in a series of lawsuits, violations of the rights to life and health, among others, following the entry of COVID-19 into their territories. The COVID-19 crisis coincided with recent oil spills, which had deprived their communities of access to clean water. A provincial court ruled that the relevant ministries must better communicate and coordinate with Waorani leaders to provide more COVID-19 tests, food and other necessities to communities, and to provide information on COVID-19 protocols for oil companies operating there.55 5. Disabilities 64. Persons with disabilities are disproportionately at risk of exposure. In many instances they have been left behind, for example through the discontinuation of support services. Measures to prevent exposure, such as social distancing and self-isolation, may be impossible, including for those who rely on the support of others to eat, dress and bathe. 51 52 53 54 55 14 See www.politico.eu/article/the-silent-coronavirus-covid19-massacre-in-italy-milan-lombardynursing-care-homes-elderly/, and https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/06/01/ coronavirus-nursing-home-deaths-top-40-600/5273075002/. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25893&LangID=E. See www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/covid-19.html. See www.rightlivelihoodaward.org/media/minersoutcovidout-yanomami-leaders-launch-globalcampaign/. See https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/court-forces-ecuador-government-to-protect-indigenouswaorani-during-covid-19/.