5. Restrictions on movements within States In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, States must respect the liberty of movement of all persons within their territory. All persons, including migrants, refugees, and other displaced persons, are guaranteed free movement within States. In adopting measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, States have adopted a wide range of limits on free movement. International law does not forbid policies requiring social distancing in public, self-isolation at home or curfews, where demonstrably necessary to the health of individuals and the community. Quarantines restricting freedom of movement and requiring residence at designated places may also be permissible, provided they do not constitute arbitrary detention. The cordoning off of areas – preventing either exit or entrance – must also meet requirements of reasonableness and proportionality. In each of these cases, restrictions on movement must be designed and enforced in a non-discriminatory way. Restrictions on freedom of movement must also be consistent with other human rights. In particular, they must respect the right to life (including rights to food, clean water, health, and access to humanitarian aid) as well as freedoms of speech, assembly, and association and protection against arbitrary detention. They must also respect the protection of the family as a fundamental group unit of society; the separation of families is not justified other than for purposes of self-isolation, confinement, or treatment of infected family members. (Sources: UDHR arts. 13(1), 16, 29(2); ICCPR arts. 12(1),(3), 23; UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR General Comment No. 27.) 6. Non-return and access to territory A State’s pursuit of legitimate health goals must respect the fundamental principle of nonrefoulement, including non-return to a real risk of persecution, arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The norm of non-refoulement, a fundamental principle of international law, is implicated in two important respects by State measures to respond to COVID-19. First, it may, under certain circumstances, prohibit removal of a migrant, refugee, or displaced person to a country where the absence or inadequacy of health care creates threats to life or a risk of serious, rapid, and irreversible decline in health. Second, State measures may infringe upon the right to seek and enjoy asylum. Blanket measures to exclude refugees or asylum seekers from access to territory without ensuring protection from refoulement are inconsistent with international law. Exceptions for refugees and asylum seekers to border closures and limitations on entry, combined with health measures such as screening, testing and quarantine, can enable States to manage arrivals safely while respecting the principle of nonrefoulement. 7