Covid-19 and deprivation of liberty

Abstract

The deprivation of liberty implies restricting one of the human rights most valued by people. In the world, the number of people deprived of their liberty is growing, which obviously generates a great responsibility for States, both in the sense of ensuring the well-being of those who are part of the prison population, as well as trying to rehabilitate them and later reintegrating them into society, where treatment axes such as education, health, and work are fundamental. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized COVID-2019 as a pandemic. This declaration forced States to take drastic prevention and care measures in order to protect the health and lives of their citizens, and one of the priority attention groups was that of the prison population. Therefore, several measures were implemented, ranging from simplifying procedures, accessing prison benefits, and granting temporary house arrests, while the risk due to the pandemic remains imminent. This article analyzes the measures adopted within the context of the health emergency in several South American countries