The Duties of Occupying Powers in Relation to the Fight against COVID-19

Abstract

Significant scholarship is investigating the array of international legal issues pertaining to the fight against COVID-19. This brief post aims at contributing to this debate by assessing the obligations upon occupying powers in this regard. Many sources have been reported that COVID-19 has reached occupied areas such as the OPT and Northern Cyprus. This post does not focus on the legality of the specific measures undertaken by some occupying powers, which will require more in-depth knowledge of facts and figures than the one currently available. Rather, it describes in wide brushstrokes the relevant legal framework to pave the way to future further analysis.

Keywords: COVID19, law of occupation, right to health, Israel, Palestine, Gaza