A/75/163
Final report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health, Dainius Pūras
Summary
The present report is the final report of Dainius Pūras to the General Assembly
in his capacity as the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of
the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
The original vision for the present report was to bring together the key themes
explored during his tenure, providing a retrospective look at key right -to-health
elements explored and extended during the past six years. That vision has evolved,
given the global health and human rights crises that have emerged from the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. As the appointed independent expert of the
United Nations on the right to health, the Special Rapporteur finds it both relevant and
necessary to provide formal comments on the pandemic, which must be considered
from a right-to-health perspective.
The key themes of the Special Rapporteur’s work, underpinning his reports,
country visits and other interventions, provide an important lens through which to view
the fragile socioeconomic and political institutions of the global community, which
have been further undermined by COVID-19. However, the pandemic and
observations arising throughout the Special Rapporteur’s tenure of the mandate
provide him with reason for hope that emerges from the power of participatory
democracy and solidarity and the ongoing strength and resilience of the collective
humanity during challenging crises and unjust expressions of power. The most
effective “vaccine” for global health challenges has been and will always be the full
realization of all human rights, including the promotion of physical and mental health
through the meaningful participation and empowerment of all people.
2/22
20-09596