As stated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, COVID-19 is not only a health an socio-economic crisis, but also a pandemic of human rights abuses. It has exacerbated global and national inequalities and made workers much more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse of their rights. Social scientists, activists, the United Nations and others warn that much of the advances made in the last decades in tackling inequalities and improving human rights risk being reversed by the crisis. Thus, COVID-19 is a stress test for States and societies alike.

In this context, Asia, the home of the largest world population and a leader in economic globalization, has been particularly affected. Especially when viewed from a labour rights perspective. With its necessary imposed processes of social isolation, COVID-19 has made it extremely challenging for workers to organise themselves using traditional methods of fight against oppression. A number of sectors are particularly revealing of the dynamics at play in a globalization questioned and yet also reinforced in its dividing aspects by the world pandemic. In this regard, the garment and textile industry with its complex supply chain and its millions of often invisible workers is revealing of a broader picture of rights violations, but also resistance and resilience.

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