Policy briefing Data gaps impact the ability of marginalized peoples in the Mekong region to access their civil rights. Supporting them to access their digital rights allows them to address and bridge these data gaps, enabling them to realize their civil rights. Efforts to support marginalized peoples to access their digital rights greatly helps amplify their voices in their advocacy for increased realization of their civil rights.

Data has been of primary importance for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with the appropriate measures. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020. Thailand announced a state of emergency on March 26th, the first country in the Mekong Region to do so. Cambodia (April 29, 2020) and Myanmar (June 10, 2020) followed; neither Vietnam nor Lao PDR made such announcements, although Vietnam declared a national pandemic on March 30, 2020.

Marginalized peoples have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. In part, it is a result of national and international measures to control the virus, which limit access to basic civil rights. Further, the statistical invisibility of these populations due to the data gaps in the region have limited their access to COVID-19 related relief. Together, these factors have limited the ability of vulnerable populations to access their civil rights during the pandemic. Thus, the pandemic presents a pertinent case study with which to understand the connection between data gaps, civil rights, and digital rights.

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