THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY Project on Social Control and Human Rights Research Paper (Final Draft) PUBLIC HEALTH & SOCIAL CONTROL: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

1. On April 24, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had received reports from the United States and Mexico about a new form of swine influenza, Type A (H1N1). Although the confirmed cases in the United States were relatively mild, the reports from Mexico were more alarming. Fifty-nine individuals, most of whom had been young and healthy, were dead in Mexico City alone.1 Around the globe, health officials who had long been preparing for a fearsome influenza pandemic jumped into action. In Mexico City schools and public gatherings were cancelled. 2 In China, Mexican travelers were quarantined.3 In Egypt, authorities slaughtered swine herds kept by Coptic Christians.4