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The right to mental health 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The promotion and protection of human rights in mental health is reliant upon a redistribution of power in the clinical, research and public policy settings. Decision-making power in mental health is concentrated in the hands of biomedical gatekeepers, in particular biological psychiatry backed by the pharmaceutical industry. That undermines modern principles of holistic care, governance for mental health, innovative and independent interdisciplinary research and the formulation of rights-based priorities in mental health policy. International organizations, specifically WHO and the World Bank, are also influential stakeholders, whose role and relations interplay and overlap with the role of the psychiatric profession and the pharmaceutical industry.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- At the clinical level, power imbalances reinforce paternalism and even patriarchal approaches, which dominate the relationship between psychiatric professionals and users of mental health services. That asymmetry disempowers users and undermines their right to make decisions about their health, creating an environment where human rights violations can and do occur. Laws allowing the psychiatric profession to treat and confine by force legitimize that power and its misuse. That misuse of power asymmetries thrives, in part, because legal statutes often compel the profession and obligate the State to take coercive action.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- One decade later, progress is slow. Effective, acceptable and scalable treatment alternatives remain on the periphery of health-care systems, deinstitutionalization has stalled, mental health investment continues to be predominantly focused on a biomedical model and mental health legislative reform has proliferated, undermining legal capacity and equal protection under the law for people with cognitive, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. In some countries, the abandonment of asylums has created an insidious pipeline to homelessness, hospital and prison. When international assistance is available, it often supports the renovation of large residential institutions and psychiatric hospitals, undermining progress.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The professional group in psychiatry is a powerful actor in mental health governance and advocacy. National mental health strategies tend to reflect biomedical agendas and obscure the views and meaningful participation of civil society, users and former users of mental health services and experts from various non-medical disciplines. In that context, the 2005 WHO Resource Book on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation, developed using human rights guidelines at the time, was highly influential in the development of mental health laws that allowed “exceptions”. Those legal “exceptions” normalized coercion in everyday practice, widening the space for human rights violations to occur and it is therefore a welcome development to see the laws being revisited and the Resource Book formally withdrawn, as a result of the framework brought about by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Conventional wisdom based on a reductionist biomedical interpretation of complex mental health-related issues dominates mental health policies and services, even when not supported by research. Persons with psychosocial disabilities continue to be falsely viewed as dangerous, despite clear evidence that they are commonly victims rather than perpetrators of violence. Likewise, their capacity to make decisions is questioned, with many being labelled incompetent and denied the right to make decisions for themselves. That stereotype is now regularly shattered, as people show that they can live independently when empowered through appropriate legal protection and support.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlights the devastating impact that institutionalization has on young children, particularly on their mental health and holistic development. Mental health-related services for children receive inadequate investment and lack quality standards of care and staffing, thus creating an environment where abuse is common for children with disabilities or with difficulties in social and emotional development, especially for those in institutional care. There are many examples of innovative child mental health services and practices throughout the world and there is convincing research on their effectiveness in promoting mental health and preventing deterioration in mental health conditions. However, those good practices often serve merely as pilot projects, owing to a lack of political will to replicate and mainstream them in general childcare services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Reductive biomedical approaches to treatment that do not adequately address contexts and relationships can no longer be considered compliant with the right to health. While a biomedical component remains important, its dominance has become counter-productive, disempowering rights holders and reinforcing stigma and exclusion. In many parts of the world, community care is not available, accessible, acceptable and/or of sufficient quality (often limited to psychotropic medications). The largest concentration of mental hospitals and beds separated from regular health care is in higher-income countries, a cautionary note for lower and middle-income countries to forge a different path and shift to rights-based mental health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- International treaties recognize the obligation of international cooperation for the right to health, a responsibility reinforced by the commitment to a global partnership for sustainable development in Sustainable Development Goal 17. Higher-income States have a particular duty to provide assistance for the right to health, including mental health, in lower-income countries. There is an immediate obligation to refrain from providing development cooperation supporting mental health-care systems that are discriminatory or where violence, torture and other human rights violations occur. Rights-based development cooperation should support balanced health promotion and psychosocial interventions and other treatment alternatives, delivered in the community to effectively safeguard individuals from discriminatory, arbitrary, excessive, inappropriate and/or ineffective clinical care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Coercion in psychiatry perpetuates power imbalances in care relationships, causes mistrust, exacerbates stigma and discrimination and has made many turn away, fearful of seeking help within mainstream mental health services. Considering that the right to health is now understood within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, immediate action is required to radically reduce medical coercion and facilitate the move towards an end to all forced psychiatric treatment and confinement. In that connection, States must not permit substitute decision-makers to provide consent on behalf of persons with disabilities on decisions that concern their physical or mental integrity; instead, support should be provided at all times for them to make decisions, including in emergency and crisis situations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Peer support, when not compromised, is an integral part of recovery-based services. It provides hope and empowers people to learn from each other, including through peer support networks, recovery colleges, club houses and peer-led crisis houses. Open Dialogue, a successful mental health system, has entirely replaced emergency, medicalized treatment in Lapland. Other non-coercive models include mental health crisis units, respite houses, community development models for social inclusion, personal ombudsmen, empowerment psychiatry and family support conferencing. The Soteria House project is a long-standing recovery-based model, which has been recreated in many countries. The increasing availability of alternatives and education and training on the use of non-consensual measures are critical indicators for measuring overall progress towards compliance with the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Today, there are unique opportunities for mental health. The international recognition of mental health as a global health imperative, including within the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, is welcome progress. The right to health framework offers guidance to States on how rights-based policies and investments must be directed to secure dignity and well-being for all. To reach parity between physical and mental health, mental health must be integrated in primary and general health care through the participation of all stakeholders in the development of public policies that address the underlying determinants. Effective psychosocial interventions in the community should be scaled up and the culture of coercion, isolation and excessive medicalization abandoned.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Beyond the health sector, corrupt practices that have a direct impact on the right to health have occurred in other private sector companies, including private water companies, tobacco manufacturers, food and beverage manufacturers, car manufacturers and the natural resources extraction industry. Such practices include, for example, bribery of public officials and the manipulation of scientific research practices. In his previous reports, the Special Rapporteur has highlighted how power asymmetries have given rise to the widespread prioritizing of specialized medicine over primary care and public health interventions, including poverty reduction, labour conditions and early childhood services (see A/HRC/35/21, paras. 21-26). Such asymmetries generate preferences for physical health care over mental health care; biomedical interventions over non-biomedical interventions; the prioritization of certain disciplines that promote expensive biomedical technologies over social sciences in public health research agendas; and limited space for civil society participation in health policymaking.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Although many everyday practices in health-related services may not be considered as corruption, legally speaking, their accumulation and their acceptance by various stakeholders have a detrimental cumulative effect on the performance of health-care systems and, indirectly, on individual and societal health. It is for that reason that the present report is focused not only on those forms of corruption that are legally defined as breaking the law and should be brought to justice, but also on those practices which undermine principles of medical ethics, social justice, as well as effective and transparent health-care provision. When such practices are not properly addressed, they pave the way to non-transparent decisions at all levels of policymaking, policy implementation and services provision and thus lead to corrupt environments and foster institutional corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The lesser form of corruption, namely, petty corruption, is quite common in the health sector and includes informal payments from patient to health-care provider, absenteeism of health personnel and preferential treatment. These forms of corruption are also sometimes called “survival corruption”, as they are exacerbated by a lack of resources in health-care settings, poor working conditions, low pay, and hierarchical structures, which drive people to engage in such acts. There is evidence that this “microform” of corruption has a particularly negative effect on the poor in society, as they are often unable to pay the bribes necessary for a certain service.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In the context of universal health coverage, as one of the important global commitments under the 2030 Agenda, it is critical to strengthen health-care systems so that all segments of population trust primary care and primarily use this level of services for most health conditions. This would be an effective anti-corruption measure to help decrease the prevailing tendency whereby users of health services prefer to bypass primary care and use specialized health-care services. The Special Rapporteur welcomes recent initiatives developed and replicated in some countries through which medical doctors educate the general population against wasteful or unnecessary use of medical tests, treatments and procedures in health care. Such initiatives, inter alia, “choosing wisely”, “realistic medicines” or “preventing over-diagnosis”, should be supported by States as effective measures to develop rational health-care services and thus prevent unnecessary and costly use of specialized interventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Where there is opacity surrounding decisions at the political, macro or micro levels, corruption can flourish, go undetected and occur with impunity. Transparency unveils corruption and is inextricably linked to the right to access information, participation and accountability. Access to information and transparency laws provide a framework for addressing corrupt practices, while the regulations and monitoring arrangements are also vital. Transparency can often be enhanced by the participation of rights holders and civil society organizations in decision-making processes that may be prone to corrupt practices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- There are particular challenges to transparency in the health sector. Asymmetric information between providers, payers and users leads to provider or user moral hazard. Information is divided between a multitude of different actors, including regulators, payers, providers, users and suppliers, which reduces transparency. There are many varying ways to improve transparency depending on the context. For example, transparency in procurement is enhanced through public access to procurement bidding results, monitoring of the prices paid and analysis of bids. Transparency in recruitment can be supported through the publication of criteria. Transparency through the promotion of information that sets out the services and treatments to which individuals are entitled and how these services are reimbursed can help minimize inequalities in access to care through corrupt practices. The publication of transparent waiting lists can negate the practice of bribery to access more rapid treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- There is a significant demand from civil society for accountability of Governments and other institutions. Sustainable Development Goal 16 includes a commitment to create effective, transparent and accountable institutions at all levels. Accountability is at the heart of human rights and central to the fight against corruption. Human rights-based accountability for corruption helps reveal where corruption has taken place and resulted in human rights abuses. Effective accountability processes are also important for the reason that they can have a deterrent effect in relation to corruption. It is therefore troubling that research suggests that accountability for corruption is rare, indicating a need for governments to take concerted steps to strengthen accountability mechanisms and processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In terms of affordability, health-care providers can make health-care services more expensive by demanding payments (informal or under-the-table payments), which can put treatment out of reach and be a matter of life or death, contribute to morbidity or impoverish patients and their families. The payment of bribes by patients for privileged care is common in many countries and results in discriminatory access to care, with wealthier patients likely to access care more easily than those that are too poor to pay bribes. As a result of bribery in procurement processes, medicines may be more expensive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Corruption also infringes medical ethics, which are an essential component of acceptable health care. Lastly, in terms of quality, corruption can affect the quality of medicines, for example, when regulators are bribed to carry out less rigorous checks, or when hospital administrators purchase medicines of unknown quality. Quality can also be compromised where bribes are extorted or accepted in decisions on hiring staff, or accrediting, licensing or certifying facilities, in deciding which medicines to include on essential medicines lists, or to market unregulated medicines, which can increase mortality and morbidity among those affected, as well as hampering disease control efforts. Nepotism, cronyism and other forms of favouritism can also compromise the quality of health and health-related services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Strengthen those elements in the medical education curriculum of future medical doctors that strengthen their knowledge and skills in order to prevent them from becoming involved in corrupt acts, unethical behaviour, reliance on excessive and unnecessary medical interventions, disease mongering, favouritism, informal payments and other practices that are either corrupt or increase the risk of corruption;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Everyone, throughout their lifetime, requires an environment that supports their mental health and well-being; in that connection, we are all potential users of mental health services. Many will experience occasional and short-lived psychosocial difficulties or distress that require additional support. Some have cognitive, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, or are persons with autism who, regardless of self-identification or diagnosis, face barriers in the exercise of their rights on the basis of a real or perceived impairment and are therefore disproportionately exposed to human rights violations in mental health settings. Many may have a diagnosis related to mental health or identify with the term, while others may choose to identify themselves in other ways, including as survivors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The psychosocial model has emerged as an evidence-based response to the biomedical paradigm.It looks beyond (without excluding) biological factors, understanding psychological and social experiences as risk factors contributing to poor mental health and as positive contributors to well-being. That can include short-term and low-cost interventions that can be integrated into regular care. When used appropriately, such interventions can empower the disadvantaged, improve parenting and other competencies, target individuals in their context, improve the quality of relationships and promote self-esteem and dignity. For any mental health system to be compliant with the right to health, the biomedical and psychosocial models and interventions must be appropriately balanced, avoiding the arbitrary assumption that biomedical interventions are more effective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and recent efforts by influential global actors such as WHO, the Movement for Global Mental Health and the World Bank, mental health is emerging at the international level as a human development imperative. The 2030 Agenda and most of its sustainable development goals implicate mental health: Goal 3 seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages and target 3.4 includes the promotion of mental health and well-being in reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases. How national efforts harness the momentum of the 2030 Agenda to address mental health has important implications for the effective realization of the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- An effective tool used to elevate global mental health is the use of alarming statistics to indicate the scale and economic burden of “mental disorders”. While it is uncontroversial to note that millions of people around the world are grossly underserved, the current “burden of disease” approach firmly roots the global mental health crisis within a biomedical model, too narrow to be proactive and responsive in addressing mental health issues at the national and global level. The focus on treating individual conditions inevitably leads to policy arrangements, systems and services that create narrow, ineffective and potentially harmful outcomes. It paves the way for further medicalization of global mental health, distracting policymakers from addressing the main risk and protective factors affecting mental health for everyone. To address the grossly unmet need for rights-based mental health services for all, an assessment of the “global burden of obstacles” that has maintained the status quo in mental health is required.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The right to mental health includes both immediate obligations and requirements to take deliberate, concrete, targeted action to progressively realize other obligations. States must use appropriate indicators and benchmarks to monitor progress, including in respect of reducing and eliminating medical coercion. Indicators should be disaggregated by, among others, sex, age, race and ethnicity, disability and socioeconomic status. States must devote the maximum available resources to the right to health, yet globally, spending on mental health stands at less than 10 per cent of spending on physical health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The right to health requires that mental health care be brought closer to primary care and general medicine, integrating mental with physical health, professionally, politically and geographically. It not only integrates mental health services into mainstream health care so they can be accessible for everyone, it ensures that entire groups of people who are traditionally isolated from mainstream health care, including persons with disabilities, receive care and support on an equal basis with others. Inclusion also comes with socioeconomic advantages. Mental health concerns everyone and when needed, services should be accessible and available to all at the primary and specialized care levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- While the paradigm shift in mental health requires a move towards integrated and population-based services, mental distress will still occur and rights-based treatment responses are required. The interventions used to address serious cases are perhaps the biggest indictment of the biomedical tradition. Coercion, medicalization and exclusion, which are vestiges of traditional psychiatric care relationships, must be replaced with a modern understanding of recovery and evidence-based services that restore dignity and return rights holders to their families and communities. People can and do recover from even the most severe mental health conditions and go on to live full and rich lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In particular, children and adults with intellectual disabilities and with autism too often suffer from institutionalized approaches and excessively medicalized practices. Institutionalizing and medicating children with autism, based on their impairment, is unacceptable. Autism represents a critical challenge to modern systems of care and support, as medical attempts to “cure” the condition have often turned out to be harmful, leading to further mental health deterioration of children and adults with the condition. Support for them should not only address their right to health, but their rights to education, employment and living in the community on an equal basis with others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Justification for using coercion is generally based on “medical necessity” and “dangerousness”. These subjective principles are not supported by research and their application is open to broad interpretation, raising questions of arbitrariness that has come under increasing legal scrutiny. “Dangerousness” is often based on inappropriate prejudice, rather than evidence. There also exist compelling arguments that forced treatment, including with psychotropic medications, is not effective, despite its widespread use. Decisions to use coercion are exclusive to psychiatrists, who work in systems that lack the clinical tools to try non-coercive options. The reality in many countries is that alternatives do not exist and reliance on the use of coercion is the result of a systemic failure to protect the rights of individuals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 66e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur takes note of the concerns of various stakeholders, particularly within the medical communities, regarding the absolute ban on all forms of non-consensual measures. He acknowledges that their radical reduction and eventual elimination is a challenging process that will take time. However, there is shared agreement about the unacceptably high prevalence of human rights violations within mental health settings and that change is necessary. Instead of using legal or ethical arguments to justify the status quo, concerted efforts are needed to abandon it. Failure to take immediate measures towards such a change is no longer acceptable and the Special Rapporteur proposes five deliberate, targeted, and concrete actions as follows:] Scale up research investment and quantitative and qualitative data collection to monitor progress towards these goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Alongside general corruption, health sector corruption is widespread and has serious consequences for the enjoyment of the right to health on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. The most common forms of corruption in the health sector are selling government posts, absenteeism, bribes, procurement corruption, theft or misuse of property, fraud, and embezzlement of user fee revenue, as well as informal payments to health-care providers. A range of stakeholders may be implicated in these and other corrupt practices in the health sector affecting the enjoyment of the right to health. These include but are not limited to health ministers, parliaments, accrediting and licensing bodies, public and private insurers, hospitals, health professionals and health professional associations, community health workers, pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, medical researchers and medical research groups and patients and patient support groups. As will be argued below, they all bear responsibilities with regard to the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Meaningful participation of people in decisions that affect their health and socioeconomic well-being is a key component of the right to health and crucial when it comes to combating corruption in health care and in society at large. States’ obligations under article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights require that the right to participate in decision-making processes affecting their health and development must be an integral component of any relevant policy, programme or strategy. Sustainable Development Goal target 16.7 stipulates the duty to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Key elements of meaningful participation with the aim of preventing and controlling corruption are the active disclosure of important health-related information and the participation of relevant stakeholders in health decision-making, including in health sector plans, in the annual budget process and in review processes for health laws, policies and programmes. In the context of budgets, participation involves the engagement of a variety of stakeholders in determining the allocation of funding, as well as monitoring expenditure. Methods for realizing participation include forums and conferences, local health committees and teams, citizens’ juries, public meetings, but also institutional participation, for example in hospital boards. Key stakeholders include, but are not limited to, national health assemblies, community-based and grass-roots organizations, professional associations and other non-governmental bodies and civil society organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Patients’ organizations and other more empowered interest groups may exert influence on health decision-making by lobbying in favour of the prescription and reimbursement of expensive drugs or particular programmes or treatments in a health service at the expense of other treatments or programmes. Paradoxically, these activities can reinforce imbalances and power asymmetries, as they too often result in undue pressure on policymakers to invest in specialized care and vertical programmes of treatment for certain diseases at the expense of primary care and holistic medicine. Thus participation has to be carefully planned, balanced and accompanied by open and transparent planning mechanisms to ensure representation of a broad range of civil society and other key stakeholders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
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Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Corruption undermines the State’s obligation to realize the right to health “to the maximum of its available resources”. Notably, embezzlement diverts financial resources from their intended purpose. Corruption also reduces the ability of governments to generate maximum resources, including through international cooperation, in the first place by making countries less attractive to donors and investment, and may support tax evasion. Measures to prevent and protect against corruption offences are therefore an essential component of this obligation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- A 2006 study found that the majority of DSM-IV (fourth edition of the Manual) panel members had financial ties to drug companies and that 100 per cent of the Mood Disorders work group and the Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders work group had commercial ties to the companies that manufacture antidepressants and antipsychotics. Despite a disclosure policy implemented by the American Psychiatric Association one year later, the majority of individuals serving on the DSM-5 (fifth edition of the Manual) still had such ties and, as with the DSM-IV, the most conflicted panels were those for which pharmacological treatment was the first-line intervention.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The inclusion of new disorders in DSM-5 referred to above have led some to question whether the updated edition inadvertently functioned as a vehicle for high-profit patent extensions. It was found that in the majority of clinical trials testing drugs for new DSM disorders (e.g., “Binge-eating disorder”), there were commercial ties between DSM-5 panel members and the pharmaceutical companies that manufactured the drugs that were being tested for these new disorders. This is not to suggest any wrongdoing on the part of DSM panel members, but rather to emphasize the economies of influence at play and that transparency alone is an insufficient measure for systemic problems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to protect against harm by third parties, including the private sector, and should work to ensure that private actors support the realization of the right to mental health, while fully understanding their role and duties in that respect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Health settings must empower users as rights holders to exercise autonomy and participate meaningfully and actively in all matters concerning them, to make their own choices about their health, including sexual and reproductive health, and their treatment, with appropriate support where needed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Constitution of WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Like all aspects of health, a range of biological, social and psychological factors affect mental health. It is from this understanding that duty bearers can more accurately understand their corresponding obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to mental health for all. Most of the current discussions around mental health and human rights have focused on informed consent in the context of psychiatric treatment. While that discourse is deeply meaningful, it has emerged as a result of systemic failures to protect the right to mental health and to provide non-coercive treatment alternatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The modern understanding of mental health is shaped by paradigm shifts often marked by a combination of improvements and failures in evidence-based and ethical care. This began 200 years ago with the desire to unchain the “mad” in prison dungeons and moved to the introduction of psychotherapies, shock treatments, and psychotropic medications in the 20th century. The pendulum of how individual pathology is explained has swung between the extremes of a “brainless mind” and a “mindless brain”. Recently, through the disability framework, the limitations of focusing on individual pathology alone have been acknowledged, locating disability and well-being in the broader terrain of personal, social, political, and economic lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Finding an equilibrium between the aforesaid extremes of the twentieth century has created a momentum for deinstitutionalization and the identification of a balanced, biopsychosocial model of care. Those efforts were reinforced by WHO in a report in 2001, in which it called for a modern public health framework and the liberation of mental health and those using mental health services from isolation, stigma and discrimination. A growing research base has produced evidence indicating that the status quo, preoccupied with biomedical interventions, including psychotropic medications and non-consensual measures, is no longer defensible in the context of improving mental health. Most important have been the organized efforts of civil society, particularly movements led by users and former users of mental health services and organizations of persons with disabilities, in calling attention to the failures of traditional mental health services to meet their needs and secure their rights. They have challenged the drivers of human rights violations, developed alternative treatments and recrafted a new narrative for mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The status quo in current psychiatry, based on power asymmetries, leads to the mistrust of many users and threatens and undermines the reputation of the psychiatric profession. Open and ongoing discussions within the psychiatric profession about its future, including its role in relation to other stakeholders, is critical. The Special Rapporteur welcomes and encourages such discussions within the psychiatric profession and with other stakeholders, and he is convinced that the search for consensus and progress is to the advantage of everyone, including psychiatry. The active involvement of the psychiatric profession and its leaders in the shift towards rights-compliant mental health policies and services is a crucial element for success in positive global mental health changes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Powerful actors influence the research domain, which shapes policy and the implementation of evidence. Scientific research in mental health and policy continues to suffer from a lack of diversified funding and remains focused on the neurobiological model. In particular, academic psychiatry has outsize influence, informing policymakers on resource allocation and guiding principles for mental health policies and services. Academic psychiatry has mostly confined its research agenda to the biological determinants of mental health. That bias also dominates the teaching in medical schools, restricting the knowledge transfer to the next generation of professionals and depriving them of an understanding of the range of factors that affect mental health and contribute to recovery.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Special attention should be paid to women, who suffer disproportionately from mental health practices that are based on paternalistic and patriarchal traditions, inappropriate and harmful gender stereotypes, medicalization of women’s feelings and behaviour, and coercion. Women who have suffered from violence and inequalities within their families, communities and societies, and who have mental health conditions very often face situations in mental health settings that amount to violence, coercion, humiliation and disrespect for their dignity. It is unacceptable that after suffering from violations in family and other settings, women suffer from violations again within services that are supposed to promote their mental health. In that regard, it is very important to emphasize that violations of sexual and reproductive health rights have a direct, negative impact on the mental health of women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- The right to health is an inclusive right to both health care and the underlying and social determinants of health. Public health has individual and collective dimensions, which are essential in securing the right to the enjoyment of the underlying and social determinants of health. Given the deep connections between mental health and the physical, psychosocial, political and economic environment, the right to determinants of health is a precondition for securing the right to mental health. Under international human rights law, States must act on a range of underlying determinants, such as violence, supportive family environments and discrimination, to secure in particular the right to health of children and women and persons with disabilities. In short, respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to mental health requires concerted action to secure certain preconditions that are associated with mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Various international and regional processes have helped to define the public health and social justice imperatives for addressing the social determinants of health. The final report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health was a pioneering piece that brought greater visibility to social determinants. Medicine, in particular its mental health component, is to a large extent a social science and this understanding should be used to guide its practice. To take full account of the evidence around the determinants of mental health, the right to those determinants must expand beyond inequities, discrimination and the physical environment to reflect the documented importance of healthy psychosocial environments (see A/70/213 para. 55 and A/71/304, paras. 16 and 19). That includes developing public policies that promote non-violent and respectful relationships in families, schools, workplaces, communities and health and social services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The recognition by WHO of the importance of developing rights-based strategies, which promote and protect the mental health of entire populations, is welcomed. Individual and social factors, cultural values and the social experiences of everyday life in families, schools, the workplace and communities influence the mental health of each person. The fact that children spend a significant amount of time in schools and most adults at the workplace, means that rights-based action must promote healthy, safe and enabling environments that are free from violence, discrimination and other forms of abuse. Likewise, a person’s mental health affects life within those domains and is integral to shaping the health of communities and populations. Population-based approaches to mental health promotion move health systems beyond individualized responses towards action on a range of structural barriers and inequalities (social determinants) that can negatively affect mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to secure social determinants to promote mental health requires cross-sectoral action to ensure a robust commitment from all relevant ministries. For example, suicide prevention strategies are traditionally targeted towards high-risk groups and address clinical depression as a biomedical phenomenon, while cross-sectoral programmes that address the social and environmental determinants of suicide through population-based approaches show more promise. Bullying in schools is another phenomenon to be considered as a global and national public health priority. States should first and foremost address emotional and psychosocial environments, targeting relationships rather than individuals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Both corruption occurring in society at large (general corruption), as well as corruption specifically occurring in the health or other health-related sectors, have a negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to health. These forms are intertwined. Corruption in society at large may affect the regulatory environment and the efficiency of State institutions. It hinders economic growth and sustainable development as well as equitable distribution of resources. It undermines public confidence in the State and may obstruct attainment of the commitments made through Sustainable Development Goal 16 to create effective and accountable institutions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination encompasses any distinction, exclusion or restriction that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by all persons, on an equal footing, of all rights and freedoms. Non-discrimination and equality are human rights obligations which are fundamental to realizing the right to health. Not only must health and other goods and services be available to all on the basis of non-discrimination, but broader promotion and protection of equality and non-discrimination are vital in guaranteeing the equitable enjoyment of the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- In the health sector, low-income and other groups in vulnerable situations are affected the most by corruption and a lack of transparency. Lower-income groups have the most difficulty affording the informal payments that are often required to receive the medical treatment they need. In health-care settings that face a high level of corruption, the poorer sections of the population and those who live in rural areas may suffer longer waiting periods at public health clinics and are also more frequently denied vaccines than rich and urban sections of the population. Health sector corruption can also lead to discrimination more directly when health-care providers and professionals treat patients differently according to their income and their contact with the medical profession.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- There are several intersecting groups in society that suffer from corruption on other grounds. There is, for example, evidence that corruption does not affect rural areas in the same way as it affects urban areas. Women can often be particularly affected by health sector corruption. In many countries, they are more likely to use health care than men, a pattern partly explained by their increased use of services during their reproductive years. They may thus be disproportionately affected by the effects of health sector corruption, for example when they lack the money to afford informal payments necessary for assistance around childbirth. Women may also be more vulnerable to informal payments where they lack economic means, for example where they do not participate equally in the paid labour force or do not have equal access to or control of financial resources within the household. Furthermore, women constitute a large proportion of health-care personnel, and can thus be disproportionately affected when health sector corruption negatively affects the timely payment of proper wages.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Three main characteristics make the health sector particularly vulnerable to corruption: (a) power asymmetries or an imbalance of information, inter alia, between health-care provider and patient and between government, the private sector and rights holders; (b) uncertainty inherent in selecting, monitoring, measuring and delivering health-care services; and (c) the complexity of health systems: the large number of parties involved makes it more difficult to generate and analyse information in a transparent manner. A fourth problem, sometimes termed “provider moral hazard”, is that health professionals, public officials or private actors may choose to act in their own interests rather than in the interests of the rights holders towards whom they bear duties. Moreover, where health systems lack transparency, participation and accountability, a fertile breeding ground is created for corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Health reforms introduce organizational changes that can mitigate corruption but may also open new channels for abuse. As discussed during the expert consultation held in Bangkok, transferring responsibility for public health facilities from national to local governments may make them more accountable and less corrupt, but it can also create opportunities for local officials to divert resources for personal gain. Deregulation can eliminate requirements that are exploited by public officials to charge bribes, but it can also eliminate rules and oversight that are necessary to protect the public against unscrupulous actors. Permitting doctors to combine public and private practices is often justified as assuring staffing of public facilities, but may create situations where patients cannot obtain treatment to which they are entitled in public facilities, either because doctors are unavailable or because they encourage patients to see them privately.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The harmful effects of the tobacco industry and unhealthy foods industry has been covered up by manufacturers and industry lobbyists, including through sponsoring research to downplay links to health problems. Misinformation, pressure and bribery from private sector actors, including the food and beverage and breast-milk substitute industries and the tobacco and the polluting industries, can interfere with the obligation of governments to adopt an appropriate legislative, regulatory and policy framework to promote and protect public health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption and to explicitly criminalize the corrupt acts identified in that treaty and which are also prevalent in the health sector;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Ensure the integration of the right to health as a standard in anti-corruption laws and policies aimed at regulating the health sector;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- For decades, mental health services have been governed by a reductionist biomedical paradigm that has contributed to the exclusion, neglect, coercion and abuse of people with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities, persons with autism and those who deviate from prevailing cultural, social and political norms. Notably, the political abuse of psychiatry remains an issue of serious concern. While mental health services are starved of resources, any scaled-up investment must be shaped by the experiences of the past to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- While governments have the primary duty to regulate and oversee the pharmaceutical sector, the pharmaceutical industry has a responsibility to engage with governments on the issue of corruption. It has an independent responsibility to prevent corruption throughout its value chain, inter alia, through institutional checks and balances, protection and security of medicines and the adoption of monitoring and accountability procedures such as audits and whistle-blowing mechanisms for all staff in the company.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Studies have revealed that commercially funded trials are up to four times more likely to report industry-friendly results than trials without such financial conflicts of interest. In addition, there is clear evidence of publication bias in psychotropic drug trials; research demonstrating the ineffectiveness of a drug can be suppressed or written in a way that conveys a positive result. Such publication biases result in an inflated perception of efficacy and an underestimation of the harms of psychotropic medications.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Research has shown the damaging mental health and social impact of adversities and trauma experienced throughout childhood. Toxic stress, abusive family and intimate relationships, the placement of young children in institutional care, bullying, sexual, physical and emotional child abuse and parental loss negatively affect brain development and the ability to form healthy relationships, all affecting the ability of children to fully realize their right to health as they transition into adulthood (see A/HRC/32/32, paras. 67-73, and A/70/213, para. 67).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The present report distinguishes between users of services and persons with disabilities, based on the barriers faced by the latter, considering in an inclusive manner that everyone is a rights holder.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Despite clear evidence that there can be no health without mental health, nowhere in the world does mental health enjoy parity with physical health in national policies and budgets or in medical education and practice. Globally, it is estimated that less than 7 per cent of health budgets is allocated to address mental health. In lower-income countries, less than $2 per person is spent annually on it. Most investment is focused on long-term institutional care and psychiatric hospitals, resulting in a near total policy failure to promote mental health holistically for all. The arbitrary division of physical and mental health and the subsequent isolation and abandonment of mental health has contributed to an untenable situation of unmet needs and human rights violations (see A/HRC/34/32, paras. 11-21), including of the right to the highest attainable standard of mental and physical health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination continue to impede the ability of individuals, including women and persons from racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities, to realize their right to mental health. Discrimination and inequality are both a cause and a consequence of poor mental health, with long-term implications for morbidity, mortality and societal well-being. Discrimination, harmful stereotypes (including gender) and stigma in the community, family, schools and workplace disable healthy relationships, social connections and the supportive and inclusive environments that are required for the good mental health and well-being of everyone. Likewise, discriminatory attitudes influencing policies, laws and practices constitute barriers for those requiring emotional and social support and/or treatment. Consequently, individuals and groups in vulnerable situations who are discriminated against by law and/or in practice are denied their right to mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The Convention establishes that all mental health services designed for persons with disabilities are to be effectively monitored by independent authorities (art. 16.3). Human rights must be incorporated into the framework of reference for all monitoring and review procedures in the field of mental health. The Special Rapporteur encourages national human rights institutions to pay attention to the right to mental health in their monitoring and promotion activities. Persons with lived experience, their families and civil society should be engaged in the development and implementation of monitoring and accountability arrangements.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Adequate mental health services must be made available. In many countries, the limited mental health and social care available is based on a narrow biomedical model and institutionalization. The scaling-up of care must not involve the scaling-up of inappropriate care. For care to comply with the right to health, it must embrace a broad package of integrated and coordinated services for promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, care and recovery and the rhetoric of “scaling up” must be replaced with mental health actions to “scale across”. That includes mental health services integrated into primary and general health care, which support early identification and intervention, with services designed to support a diverse community. Evidence-based psychosocial interventions and trained community health workers to deliver them must be enhanced. Services must support the rights of people with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities and with autism to live independently and be included in the community, rather than being segregated in inappropriate care facilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Three major obstacles which reinforce each other are identified in the following sections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In view of that obligation, it is troubling that mental health is still neglected in development cooperation and other international policies on health financing. Between 2007 and 2013, only 1 per cent of international health aid went to mental health. In times of humanitarian crises, in both the relief and recovery stages, international support must include psychosocial support to strengthen resilience in the face of enormous adversity and suffering. Elsewhere, where cooperation has been provided, it has prioritized the improvement of existing psychiatric hospitals and long-term care facilities that are inherently incompatible with human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- International assistance and cooperation also includes technical support for rights-based mental health policies and practices. The WHO QualityRights initiative is a commendable example of such technical assistance. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes recent support by the World Bank and WHO for moving mental health to the centre of the global development agenda. However, he cautions that such global initiatives must incorporate the full range of human rights. In particular, multilateral agencies should give priority to ensuring the attainment of the right to health of those in the most vulnerable situations, such as persons with disabilities. A global agenda that focuses on anxiety and depression (common mental health conditions) may reflect a failure to include the persons most in need of rights-based changes in mental health services. Such selective agendas can reinforce practices based on the medicalization of human responses and inadequately address structural issues, such as poverty, inequality, gender stereotypes and violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur calls for leadership to confront the global burden of obstacles and embed rights-based mental health innovation in public policy. That includes State champions in international policy efforts, the leadership of professional psychiatry in assessing constructively its approach to the necessity for change, managers of mental health services leading change by example and municipal officials championing grassroots innovation. These champions must work in partnership with their constituents, including persons with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities and with autism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- While corruption manifests at many levels within societies and States, the present report focuses on the links between corruption and the enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Corruption in government, institutions and society at large is a significant obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to health of individuals and groups. In countries with a higher level of perceived national corruption, there is a much higher prevalence of poor health. Corruption in Government and society can reduce the ability of the government to raise resources for health and other social sectors through putting off investors or donors or as a result of tax evasion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In many countries health is among the most corrupt sectors. Health sector corruption, including for example the bribing of health officials and unofficial payments to health-care providers, obstructs the ability of States to fulfil their right to health obligation and to guarantee available, accessible, acceptable and good quality health services, goods and facilities. Yet corruption affecting health also occurs in other sectors and industries, for example, the water sector, and the food and beverages, tobacco and other industries. Moreover, corruption has significant implications for equality and non-discrimination since it has a particularly marked impact on the health of populations in situations of vulnerability and social exclusion, in particular those living in poverty and children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Accountability comprises three elements: monitoring (“what is happening, where and to whom (results) and how much is spent, where, on what and whom (resources)”), review (“analysing whether pledges, promises and commitments have been kept by countries, donors and non-state actors”) and remedies and action. The rule of law, transparency and access to information, including on decision-making processes, budgets and financial transfers in both the public and private sectors, provide vital conditions which help to strengthen accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Health systems are complex and a wide range of monitoring and review processes have a role to play in enhancing accountability for the right to health in the context of corruption. In terms of monitoring, budget monitoring, effective and accurate accounting, audits and public expenditure tracking surveys are ways of monitoring how funds have been allocated and whether they have been distributed as intended, or whether corruption may have occurred. Yet in many low-income countries, Governments lack financial and technical capacity to operate such systems in an effective way. As well as monitoring of funds, monitoring of health professionals’ practice and supplies is also important. The establishment of well-resourced and independent anti-corruption and fraud agencies to prevent and detect corruption, including in the health sector, can also support the monitoring dimension of accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Participation in health decision-making leads to improved health outcomes and is essential for ensuring the distribution of policies and programmes to broader segments of the population, thus making governance more accountable. Participation goes beyond merely being educated, informed or consulted. It implies a human right to actively engage individuals and groups in the development, implementation and review of policies, standards, indicators, benchmarks or legislation, particularly aimed at including the voices and needs of more vulnerable or otherwise underrepresented and especially affected populations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Judicial, quasi-judicial, political and administrative mechanisms at the local, national and international levels can all play an important review function. It is essential that rights holders are aware of their entitlements and that complaints procedures are simple and accessible. Independent complaints procedures are often valuable. Rights holders must be able to participate in review procedures carried out by quasi-judicial, political or administrative bodies. Moreover, whistle-blower protection in the public and private sectors for individuals in procurement bodies, health authorities, health service providers and suppliers of medicine and equipment supports review through encouraging the reporting of corruption. Domestic human rights bodies, such as national human rights institutions, as well as international mechanisms such as the United Nations treaty bodies and the universal periodic review, can provide an important contribution to enhancing accountability for the right to health, including in the context of corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Governments must take action where monitoring and review have revealed corrupt practices. Not only should sanctions be applied, but remedies must also be awarded and implemented. Accountability should not be exclusively equated with a blame and punishment model that puts front-line workers in the firing line. Rather it is better understood as reinforcing the rule of law, including the promotion and protection of the right to health in the health system. Court judgments, as well as recommendations from other review bodies, can lead to actions by governments and other duty bearers producing transformative changes in the health sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all organs of society have human rights responsibilities. It is now widely acknowledged that, while States parties are ultimately accountable for the right to health, all members of society, including health professionals and the private business sector have responsibilities regarding the realization of the right to health. As indicated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, private actors have the responsibility to “respect” human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The medical profession has a responsibility to abstain from unethical and unprofessional behaviour under its professional codes, which often emphasize a commitment to integrity and non-corrupt behaviour. Among other acts, the medical profession is to refrain from favouritism and other forms of preferential treatment for well-connected individuals; accepting bribes; using hospital equipment for private business; and referring public hospital patients to their private practices. They should remain independent from outside organizations that have vested interests in their clinical activities. They should avoid conflicts of interest that compromise their decisions regarding the care of patients.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- While medical doctors and other health-care workers are accountable and responsible for ethical conduct and non-corrupt behaviour, it is crucial that corrupt practices and institutional corruption do not affect decisions made at the level of academic medicine. Medical schools that train future medical doctors and carry out medical research and university hospitals that provide a tertiary level of health-care services and use expensive biomedical technologies have a key role in preventing corruption in the rest of the health-care system. It is very important to use the principle of academic autonomy in a responsible way. The academic medical elite has enormous power over decision-making and when they advise policymakers on how to invest resources proper accountability mechanisms need to be in place.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, since the right to health includes not only a right to health care but also to the determinants of health, it offers a road map and tools for addressing corrupt action in the health sector as well as corruption affecting the social, environmental and other determinants of health. Measures to address the right to health should be holistic and integrated, go beyond the provision of health services and be underpinned by cross-departmental commitment (see A/HRC/32/32, para. 37). It requires the improvement not only of outcomes but also of processes, for example with governance and health systems required to operate on the basis of principles including transparency, participation, accountability and non-discrimination, all of which have a particular importance for addressing corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- When it comes to addressing corruption and a lack of transparency, the right to health is closely related to and dependent upon other human rights and fundamental freedoms that are critical to the fight against corruption, including the right to life; freedom of expression including the right to seek, receive and impart information; freedom of association; and the right to a fair trial. For example, freedom of expression offers a basis for protecting whistle-blowers, which is of key importance in combating corruption, while the right to information is vital to access information including on financial transactions and decision-making processes that may reveal corruption. The promotion and protection of these rights will also therefore be vital tools to address corruption affecting health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Corruption can also arise when States fail in their obligation to ensure that there is an adequate number of health professionals receiving domestically competitive salaries as petty corruption is often used by health professionals or other local officials to make up for inadequate, or unpaid salaries, although it should also be noted that bribes and illicit charges also occur where health professionals earn adequate salaries. As well as competitive salaries, reward for correct performance can also help to tackle corruption. Absenteeism of health service staff also negatively affects availability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- When guidelines are produced by medical specialty groups, especially those with strong and pervasive industry ties, these groups tend to recommend market-driven treatment options (e.g. pharmacotherapy) when less expensive and safer (e.g., lifestyle change or psychosocial support) approaches are available. For example, meta-analyses,, re-analyses of antidepressant clinical trial data, and narrative reviews have explicitly concluded that because of the risk benefit profile, antidepressants should not be used as a first-line intervention for mild depression, as this may result in overtreatment. Nonetheless, some guidelines produced by industry-funded psychiatry specialty organizations continue to use a predominately biological framework and recommend antidepressant medication as a first-line intervention for even mild depression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Because of biomedical bias, there exists a worrying lag between emerging evidence and how it is used to inform policy development and practice. For decades now, an evidence base informed by experiential and scientific research has been accumulating in support of psychosocial, recovery-oriented services and support and non-coercive alternatives to existing services. Without promotion of and investment in such services and the stakeholders behind them, they will remain peripheral and will not be able to generate the changes they promise to bring.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The momentum sustained by civil society towards a paradigm shift has contributed to an evolving human rights framework in the area of mental health. The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 laid the foundation for that paradigm shift, with the aim of leaving behind the legacy of human rights violations in mental health services. The right to the highest attainable standard of health has much to contribute to advancing that shift and provides a framework for the full realization of the right of everyone to mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Corruption can have a devastating effect on good governance, the rule of law, development and the equitable enjoyment of all human rights, including the right to health. Corruption has been the subject of international legal commitments as well as recent political commitments. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (targets 16.5 and 16.6) stipulate that corruption and bribery, in all their forms, should be substantially reduced by 2030 and that effective, accountable and transparent institutions should be developed at all levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- A distinction is frequently made between “grand” and “petty” corruption. Grand or “high-level” corruption refers to acts committed at a high level of government that distort policies of the central government, for example a health minister “skimming” money off a loan from a foreign country. Petty or “administrative” corruption is smaller-scale everyday corruption by low- and mid-level public officials in their interaction with citizens, for example an informal payment from patient to doctor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Considering that mental health services are often underfunded, the resulting low-quality residential and in-patient psychiatric services lead to over-medicalization, violence and other forms of violations of children’s rights. These must be abandoned or substantially transformed and more importantly, programmes to respond to childhood adversity must be organized around participatory frameworks that recognize children as rights holders, respect their evolving capacities and empower children and families to improve their mental health and well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The biomedical model regards neurobiological aspects and processes as the explanation for mental conditions and the basis for interventions. It was believed that biomedical explanations, such as “chemical imbalance”, would bring mental health closer to physical health and general medicine, gradually eliminating stigma. However, that has not happened and many of the concepts supporting the biomedical model in mental health have failed to be confirmed by further research. Diagnostic tools, such as the International Classification of Diseases and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, continue to expand the parameters of individual diagnosis, often without a solid scientific basis. Critics warn that the overexpansion of diagnostic categories encroaches upon human experience in a way that could lead to a narrowing acceptance of human diversity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- However, the field of mental health continues to be over-medicalized and the reductionist biomedical model, with support from psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry, dominates clinical practice, policy, research agendas, medical education and investment in mental health around the world. The majority of mental health investments in low-, middle- and high-income countries disproportionately fund services based on the biomedical model of psychiatry. There is also a bias towards first-line treatment with psychotropic medications, in spite of accumulating evidence that they are not as effective as previously thought, that they produce harmful side effects and, in the case of antidepressants, specifically for mild and moderate depression, the benefit experienced can be attributed to a placebo effect. Despite those risks, psychotropic medications are increasingly being used in high-, middle- and low-income countries across the world. We have been sold a myth that the best solutions for addressing mental health challenges are medications and other biomedical interventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- At the international level, the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the relevant State party reporting processes provide an important new avenue for accountability for the right to mental health of persons with psychosocial, cognitive and intellectual disabilities. By contrast, at the national level, accountability mechanisms for the right to mental health are often not fit for purpose. Of particular concern is the growing prevalence of mental health tribunals, which instead of providing a mechanism for accountability, legitimize coercion and further isolate people within mental health systems from access to justice. Despite commendable efforts by several national prevention mechanisms, human rights violations in mental health services are rife and occur with impunity. Individuals often have limited access to justice, including independent accountability mechanisms. That may arise because they are deemed to lack legal capacity and have limited knowledge of their rights, legal aid cannot be accessed, or simply because oversight of complaints bodies does not exist.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The evidence base in support of mental health interventions has been problematic throughout history. That situation continues, as the evidence base for the efficacy of certain psychotropic medications and other biomedical psychiatric interventions is increasingly challenged from both a scientific and experiential perspective. That these interventions can be effective in managing certain conditions is not disputed, but there are increasing concerns about their overprescription and overuse in cases where they are not needed. There is a long history of pharmaceutical companies not disclosing negative results of drug trials, which has obscured the evidence base for their use. That denies health professionals and users access to the information necessary for making informed decisions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 66a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur takes note of the concerns of various stakeholders, particularly within the medical communities, regarding the absolute ban on all forms of non-consensual measures. He acknowledges that their radical reduction and eventual elimination is a challenging process that will take time. However, there is shared agreement about the unacceptably high prevalence of human rights violations within mental health settings and that change is necessary. Instead of using legal or ethical arguments to justify the status quo, concerted efforts are needed to abandon it. Failure to take immediate measures towards such a change is no longer acceptable and the Special Rapporteur proposes five deliberate, targeted, and concrete actions as follows:] Mainstream alternatives to coercion in policy with a view to legal reform;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Despite the right to health obligation to provide psychosocial interventions and support, they are sadly viewed as luxuries, rather than essential treatments, and therefore lack sustainable investment in health systems. That is despite evidence demonstrating that they are effective. These are essential interventions, which produce positive health outcomes and safeguard individuals from potentially harmful, more invasive medicalization. Importantly, they can include simple, low-cost, short-term interventions delivered within regular community health-care settings. Nurses, general practitioners, midwives, social workers and community health workers must be equipped with psychosocial skills to ensure accessibility, integration and sustainability. Psychosocial interventions, not medication, should be the first-line treatment options for the majority of people who experience mental health issues.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Participation in mental health services is a relatively recent phenomenon and is complicated by deeply entrenched power asymmetries within mental health systems. It is important to facilitate the empowerment of individuals, especially those with particular mental health needs, through the support of self-advocacy initiatives, peer support networks, trialogues and other user-led advocacy initiatives, as well as new working methods, such as co-production, which ensure representative and meaningful participation in health-service development and provision. In that regard, creating space for civil society and supporting the activities of non-governmental organizations is crucial to restoring trust between care providers and rights holders using services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Representatives of academic psychiatry and other mental health researchers can have significant and long-lasting ties to drug manufacturers yet believe that they are immune to explicit or implicit bias, provided that they disclose these ties. Similarly, journal editors can have financial ties to the same drug companies and publish these studies, also believing that their judgment is not compromised. However, there are decades of research demonstrating that scientists are not immune to guild interests and implicit bias and that transparency or disclosure of financial conflicts of interest is an insufficient solution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Thus, the framework of institutional corruption highlights both the harm done and what is lost, namely, harm to patients; loss of public trust and confidence in the integrity of academic medicine; and distortion of the scientific evidence base. It exposes the economies of influence that contribute to those harms and losses and it is a call for action to neutralize those influences. Below, the Special Rapporteur reviews three main areas in the mental health field using this framework, namely, the process of development and promotion of diagnostic categories for mental health conditions, psychotropic drug research and clinical practice guidelines.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Institutional corruption in the mental health system has several consequences. One of them is the medicalization of human diversity and misery, which expands the number of patients labelled with mental illness. According to WHO, more than 300 million people of all ages globally suffer from depression, and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. However, some researchers have raised serious questions about the reliability of these disease burden estimates. One study concluded that poor-quality data limit the interpretation and validity of global burden of depression estimates. They warn that uncritical application of these estimates to international health-care policymaking could divert scarce resources from other public health-care priorities. While industry certainly profits from a biological approach that emphasizes these disease burden estimates, the attainment of the right to health globally becomes ever more elusive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The right to health requires that States take action, including policy, legislative and budgetary action, to prevent corruption from impeding the available, accessible, acceptable and good-quality health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- The widening of disease boundaries has medicalized normal human experience (e.g., “social anxiety disorder”), resulting in expanded markets for treatment and diverting attention away from the cultural, socioeconomic and political context of emotional distress.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Applying a human rights-based approach to health and related policies and avoiding selective approaches to human rights and the production and use of evidence in the realization of the right to health are the most effective measures for combating corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Some obligations are not subject to progressive realization and must be implemented immediately, including certain freedoms and core obligations. Core obligations include the elaboration of a national public health strategy and non-discriminatory access to services. In terms of the right to mental health, that translates into the development of a national mental health strategy with a road map leading away from coercive treatment and towards equal access to rights-based mental health services, including the equitable distribution of services in the community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- It is important to recognize the complex role that a diagnosis of mental disorder plays in people’s lives. While many people find diagnostic categories beneficial in allowing them to access services and better understand their mental health, others find them unhelpful and stigmatizing. Mental health diagnoses have been misused to pathologize identities and other diversities, including tendencies to medicalize human misery. The pathologization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons reduces their identities to diseases, which compounds stigma and discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with their legal obligations under international human rights law, as well as high-level political commitments made in the Sustainable Development Goals to address corruption and develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions by 2030, States should provide leadership to confront the domestic and global causes of corruption and its impact on the right to health through legal, policy and programming measures in the health and related sectors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Public policies continue to neglect the importance of the preconditions of poor mental health, such as violence, disempowerment, social exclusion and isolation and the breakdown of communities, systemic socioeconomic disadvantage and harmful conditions at work and in schools. Approaches to mental health that ignore the social, economic and cultural environment are not just failing people with disabilities, they are failing to promote the mental health of many others at different stages of their lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Many countries are faced with a scarcity of human resources for mental health care and must undertake efforts to develop a workforce, including specialist and non-specialist health professionals, general practitioners and community health workers, as well as other professionals, such as teachers, social workers and other peer support and community workers with appropriate skills (including human rights education).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Informed consent is a core element of the right to health, both as a freedom and an integral safeguard to its enjoyment (see A/64/272). The right to provide consent to treatment and hospitalization includes the right to refuse treatment (see E/CN.4/2006/120, para. 82). The proliferation of paternalistic mental health legislation and lack of alternatives has made medical coercion commonplace.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- There exists an almost universal commitment to pay for hospitals, beds and medications instead of building a society in which everyone can thrive. Regrettably, prevention and promotion are forgotten components of mental health action. Harmful assumptions that goodwill and sacrifice alone will enable populations to achieve mental health and well-being have excused this inaction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Corruption is particularly detrimental in that it increases mistrust on the part of all stakeholders, especially users of services, not only in the health-care system but also in the abilities and performance of local and national authorities in general. While little research has been done on the impact of corruption on health outcomes, it is suggested, for example, that countries with higher levels of corruption have higher levels of child mortality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Mindful that the nature of corruption means that it is often difficult to distinguish intentional malfeasance from inefficiencies, errors, and differences in judgments and in priorities, the Special Rapporteur underlines that enhancing transparency is particularly important not only to address clearly corrupt practices but also to address these harmful phenomena, which obstruct the enjoyment of the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Corruption is generally defined as “the misuse of public or entrusted power for private gain”. In relation to health, in many countries varying degrees of responsibility for public roles is entrusted to private actors, including private health professionals, pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies. Corruption occurs in both the public and private sectors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Mental health policies and services illustrate how lack of transparency and accountability in the relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and academic medicine can lead to institutional corruption and have a detrimental effect on mental health policies and services, not only on a national or regional scale but also at the global level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Because of its global reach, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been referred to as the “bible” of psychiatric diagnosis and is used worldwide in psychiatric research. However, over the last decade there have been increasing concerns that the interconnected needs of the pharmaceutical industry and the psychiatric community may have played a role in the development or expansion of questionable diagnostic categories.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87j
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Ensure monitoring and accountability in the health sector and related sectors through the establishment of well-resourced and independent anti-corruption and fraud agencies, as well as accessible and effective accountability procedures for health system users who encounter corrupt practices;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Address the production and dissemination of biased outcomes of research in psychiatry and prevent, through transparent changes in medical education, research and practice, institutional corruption in psychiatry and mental health care;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 93a
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that social and underlying determinants for the promotion of mental health for all are addressed, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Prioritize mental health promotion and prevention in public policy, scaling investments across the relevant ministries;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87n
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Create awareness among health-care providers that preferential treatment of well-connected individuals is unethical and at odds with the main principles for realization of the right to health;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87q
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Create awareness among health system users of their rights as well as identifying and reporting corrupt acts;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87r
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Support initiatives that prevent excessive and unnecessary use of diagnostic and treatment interventions and involve users of services in shared decision-making with medical doctors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Mental health and emotional well-being are priority areas of focus for the Special Rapporteur (see A/HRC/29/33). In each thematic report, he has attempted to bring mental health into focus as a human rights and development priority in the context of early childhood development (see A/70/213), adolescence (see A/HRC/32/32) and the Sustainable Development Goals (see A/71/304).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- An environment that respects, protects and fulfils human rights and is free from all forms of violence, including gender-based violence, is fundamental for effective health promotion. Public health and psychosocial interventions are essential components of a rights-based mental health system, not a luxury. Relevant action must be based upon empowerment so as to enable individuals to increase control over and improve their health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 93b
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that social and underlying determinants for the promotion of mental health for all are addressed, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Take immediate action to develop public policies which, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, address mental health and holistic development in early childhood and adolescence, prioritizing promotion and psychosocial interventions;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- While psychotropic medications can be helpful, not everyone reacts well to them and in many cases they are not needed. Prescribing psychotropic medications, not because they are indicated and needed, but because effective psychosocial and public health interventions are not available, is incompatible with the right to health. For example, in most cases of mild and moderate depression “watchful waiting”, psychosocial support and psychotherapy should be the frontline treatments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Mental health has often been neglected and when it does receive resources, it becomes dominated by ineffective and harmful models, attitudes and imbalances. That has led to the current situation of the grossly unmet need for rights-based mental health promotion and care. People of all ages, when they have mental health needs, too often suffer from either an absence of care and support or from services that are ineffective and harmful.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 94a
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that international cooperation secures the right to mental health and the 2030 Agenda, States and multilateral and international institutions should:] End all financial support for segregated residential mental health institutions, large psychiatric hospitals and other segregated facilities and services;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 94b
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that international cooperation secures the right to mental health and the 2030 Agenda, States and multilateral and international institutions should:] Mainstream the right to mental health into health, poverty-reduction and development strategies and interventions, and explicitly include it in general and priority health policies and plans;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 94c
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that international cooperation secures the right to mental health and the 2030 Agenda, States and multilateral and international institutions should:] Advance global mental health in all monitoring activities of the Sustainable Development Goals, including high-level political forums.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- There are already promising initiatives in place throughout the world, including in low- and middle-income countries, which challenge the status quo. Creating the space, through strong political leadership and resources, to enable those practices to take shape in communities is a powerful means to promote and advance the changes needed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur observes that pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in finding a new indication (namely, a new disorder) for their drugs when a patent expires since this allows the drug manufacturer to obtain an additional three years of exclusivity for the drug in question. Pharmaceutical companies have used “exclusivity” as an informal mechanism to effectively extend patent protection for that time period.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 9e
- Paragraph text
- [All in all, corruption is a multidisciplinary phenomenon demanding a response from many fields of study. From a legal perspective, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (General Assembly resolution 58/4, annex) lists five acts of corruption, which can be translated as follows to the health context:] Illicit enrichment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87f
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Raise awareness among the actors in the health sector, including health-care providers, insurers and the providers of medicines and medical equipment about the harmful effects of corruption on the right to health and insist on their responsibilities under the right to health;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87i
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Engage a variety of stakeholders, such as community organizations, professional organizations and civil society organizations, including those representing groups in vulnerable situations, in determining the allocation of funding, as well as in monitoring budget expenditure at the national, local and institutional levels;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The element of quality compels going beyond the idea of users as mere recipients of care towards their full consideration as active holders of rights. To stop discriminatory practices, States should rethink the way they provide mental health care and support (see A/HRC/34/58).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95f
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Take targeted, concrete measures to radically reduce medical coercion and facilitate the move towards an end to all forced psychiatric treatment and confinement;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- As to physical accessibility, health sector corruption can lead to choices that are less favourable to the community, for instance as a result of bribes, health-care facilities may be built in urban or wealthy areas rather than in locations accessible to poor or rural populations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 9c
- Paragraph text
- [All in all, corruption is a multidisciplinary phenomenon demanding a response from many fields of study. From a legal perspective, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (General Assembly resolution 58/4, annex) lists five acts of corruption, which can be translated as follows to the health context:] Trading in influence;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 9d
- Paragraph text
- [All in all, corruption is a multidisciplinary phenomenon demanding a response from many fields of study. From a legal perspective, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (General Assembly resolution 58/4, annex) lists five acts of corruption, which can be translated as follows to the health context:] Abuse of functions;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned that treatment guidelines for mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to industry capture because the absence of biological markers for mental health conditions increases clinical uncertainty and subjective judgments. Bias in such guidelines creates the potential to expose patients to harm from unnecessary treatment or from treatment that is not evidence-based and leads to a drain on resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- To take the example of water, around 10 per cent of water sector investment is lost to corruption. Corruption can make water inaccessible and unaffordable and affect the quality of water. In some low-income countries, corruption can add an estimated 30-45 per cent to the price of connection to a water network. The increasing role played by private sector actors in water services requires the State to adopt an appropriate regulatory framework.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- There is ample research indicating that corruption and a lack of transparency exacerbate socioeconomic deprivation. Lower social groups carry a heavier burden in a society rife with corrupt elements. In turn, the equal enjoyment of the right to health is deeply affected by poverty and income inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Organizations administering health insurance schemes and insurance regulators have a responsibility to prevent embezzlement, theft and illicit enrichment from the health insurance budget and bias in favour of certain procedures, medical professionals or products due to conflicts of interests. They should avoid adverse selection practices leading to patients being refused on the basis of their health status, age, financial capacity or other factors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Existing evidence shows that mental health policies and services are especially prone to ineffective and corrupt practices, as well as the use of biased evidence. These obstacles, if not properly addressed, divert mental health policies and services from the effective realization of the right to health and hinder implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 3 and a very important target: to promote mental health and well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Indeed, institutional corruption in mental health has reinforced the medicalization of emotional distress and has thereby undermined the ability of decision makers to focus on the underlying and social determinants of health and address the way in which the health of socially disadvantaged groups is determined by exposures to societal and environmental risks and resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95g
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Seek technical assistance from the WHO QualityRights initiative to assess and improve the quality of mental health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The right to health is a powerful guide for States towards a paradigm shift that is recovery and community-based, promotes social inclusion and offers a range of rights-based treatments and psychosocial support at primary and specialized care levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The urgent need for a shift in approach should prioritize policy innovation at the population level, targeting social determinants and abandon the predominant medical model that seeks to cure individuals by targeting “disorders”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Corruption is a significant challenge to the delivery of quality health care, which is central both to the right to health and to the commitment under Sustainable Development Goal 3 to universal health coverage. The health sector is extremely vulnerable to corruption at all levels — grand and petty, political and institutional — and occurring in both the public and private sectors. It is estimated that every year 180 billion euros are lost to fraud and corruption in health care globally. Health sector corruption negatively affects the (financial) resources available for health care; resources that are drained through embezzlement and procurement fraud are no longer available for paying salaries, funding health-care delivery or maintenance. For example, there is evidence suggesting that health sector corruption has a negative effect on cancer care and care for HIV/AIDS. While these trends are visible in countries at all levels of development, it is evident that lower-income countries are more deeply affected by health sector corruption and a lack of transparency. In some countries, the health sector is considered to be the most corrupt sector of all.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
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Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is concerned that there is a “normalization of corruption” in health care; corruption can be so pervasive that it becomes accepted as “normal”. Yet these practices lead to groups and individuals being disadvantaged and to the infringement of human rights, such as access to health care on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. Changing views and perceptions in institutions and society of corruption as normal, unavoidable and justified is an important element in addressing the problem of corruption. Informal payments can be reduced by engaging with the public in a debate about the adverse consequences of corruption, with a view to changing cultural values in relation to corruption. Codes of conduct and ethics, training and education can also be used to support responsible conduct among professionals, including avoiding corrupt behaviour, although they may not be sufficient alone for behaviour change where it is most needed. States should also take action to address other trigger factors such as low or unpaid salaries, cumbersome administrative procedures and excessive red tape, as well as enhancing transparency, participation and accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The present report is the result of extensive consultations among a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of the disability community, users and former users of mental health services, civil society representatives, mental health practitioners, including representatives of the psychiatric community and the World Health Organization (WHO), academic experts, members of United Nations human rights mechanisms and representatives of Member States.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 93e
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that social and underlying determinants for the promotion of mental health for all are addressed, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Take immediate steps to eliminate the corporal punishment of children and their institutionalization, including children with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The failure of the status quo to address human rights violations in mental health-care systems is unacceptable. As mental health emerges as a policy priority, it is crucial now to assess the failure to chart a better way forward, reaching consensus on how to invest and how not to invest.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- An assessment of the global burden of obstacles alarmingly suggests their burden may be heavier than any burden of “mental disorders”. The crisis in mental health should be managed not as a crisis of individual conditions, but as a crisis of social obstacles which hinders individual rights. Mental health policies should address the “power imbalance” rather than “chemical imbalance”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 9a
- Paragraph text
- [All in all, corruption is a multidisciplinary phenomenon demanding a response from many fields of study. From a legal perspective, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (General Assembly resolution 58/4, annex) lists five acts of corruption, which can be translated as follows to the health context:] The bribery of national and foreign public officials in exchange for an undue advantage;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 9b
- Paragraph text
- [All in all, corruption is a multidisciplinary phenomenon demanding a response from many fields of study. From a legal perspective, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (General Assembly resolution 58/4, annex) lists five acts of corruption, which can be translated as follows to the health context:] Embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion of funds from the health budget by a public official;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In terms of information accessibility, a lack of information about rights in the health system can provide a smokescreen for corruption. Moreover, patients are vulnerable due to the so-called “information imbalance” in the health sector, with doctors being more knowledgeable about the health-care services that they provide than the receivers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Corruption compromises the ability of the State to guarantee the underlying and social determinants of health including safe drinking water, safe and nutritious food and a healthy environment, and exacerbates the discrimination and inequalities that prevail in societies throughout the world.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- It is the global burden of such obstacles, rather than the global burden of mental disorders, that should be addressed as a priority in mental health policies and services. In that connection, corruption in mental health research, education and services should be addressed as one of the most important concerns or obstacles.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87g
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Raise awareness among the general population about the negative impact of all forms of corruption in the health sector on individual and societal health and well-being. National human rights institutions can play a role in such awareness-raising and this may include the establishment of corruption-reporting hotlines;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87h
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Guarantee the right to participation of the population in all actions aimed at combating corruption in health, such as through the disclosure of important health-related information, as well as in the design and delivery of health programmes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Address, through legal, policy and other measures, corrupt practices taking place in all stages of the pharmaceutical value chain, including during research and development, manufacturing, registration, distribution, procurement and marketing of medicines;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The right to mental health requires care and support facilities, goods and services that are available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality. Rights-based care and support for mental health is an integral part of health care for all.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95d
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Scale up investment in alternative mental health services and support models;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95e
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Develop a basic package of appropriate, acceptable (including culturally) and high-quality psychosocial interventions as a core component of universal health coverage;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In recent years, a number of United Nations human rights bodies have acknowledged the negative impacts of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights. By its decision 2002/106, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on the impact of corruption on human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights. In her reports, the Special Rapporteur established that the enjoyment of both civil and political and economic, social and cultural rights are seriously undermined by corruption. In a report published in 2015, the Advisory Committee to the Human Rights Council explained that a human rights perspective on the impact of corruption can move the victims to the centre of the fight against corruption by highlighting the negative impacts of corruption on the individuals and groups concerned. The human rights perspective also reveals that the State bears the ultimate responsibility for such acts. Establishing the links between corruption and human rights can promote access to human rights mechanisms to combat corruption, thus creating new opportunities for monitoring and litigation (see A/HRC/28/73, paras. 27-28 and 32).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87m
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Prevent misuse of dual practices whereby health-care providers inappropriately refer patients to their own private practices; and take measures to reduce theft and improper billing in hospitals;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- There are many other manifestations of corruption in the health sector and beyond. The present report focuses on several non-exhaustive, illustrative examples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- In the present report, the Special Rapporteur expands on this issue and provides a basic introduction to some of the core challenges and opportunities for advancing the realization of the right to mental health of everyone. In the light of the scope and complexity of the issue and of the evolving human rights framework and evidence base, in his report the Special Rapporteur seeks to make a contribution to the important discussions under way as mental health emerges from the shadows as a global health priority.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination, de jure and de facto, continues to influence mental health services, depriving users of a variety of rights, including the rights to refuse treatment, to legal capacity and to privacy, and other civil and political rights. The role of psychiatry and other mental health professions is particularly important and measures are needed to ensure that their professional practices do not perpetuate stigma and discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Diversity must be broadly understood, recognizing the diversity of human experience and the variety of ways in which people process and experience life. Respecting that diversity is crucial to ending discrimination. Peer-led movements and self-help groups, which help to normalize human experiences that are considered unconventional, contribute towards more tolerant, peaceful and just societies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 92a
- Paragraph text
- [To address the imbalance of the biomedical approach in mental health services, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] States take immediate measures to establish inclusive and meaningful participatory frameworks in the design of and decision-making around public policy, to include, inter alia, psychologists, social workers, nurses, users of services, civil society and those living in poverty and in the most vulnerable situations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87p
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Create awareness, for example through the development of ethical guidelines, among health-care providers that they should remain independent from outside organizations and avoid conflicts of interest with the best interests of their patients;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 92c
- Paragraph text
- [To address the imbalance of the biomedical approach in mental health services, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] States partner with academic institutions to address the knowledge gap in rights-based and evidence-based mental health within medical education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 93c
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that social and underlying determinants for the promotion of mental health for all are addressed, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Take policy and legislative measures on the prevention of violence in all environments where people live, study and work;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 93d
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that social and underlying determinants for the promotion of mental health for all are addressed, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Take immediate action to address harmful gender stereotypes, gender-based violence and access to sexual and reproductive health;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95b
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Stop directing investment to institutional care and redirect it to community-based services;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95c
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Invest in psychosocial services, that are integrated into primary care and community services to empower users and respect their autonomy;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Private hospital and insurance boards and other institutions responsible for the financing and provision of health care or underlying determinants have an important role to play in combating corruption and lack of transparency within their organizations. They must ensure that they comply with national laws and regulations regarding corruption and human rights. They may adopt an anti-corruption strategy, including internal regulations aimed at prohibiting and preventing the diversion of budgets, medicines or medical supplies for personal advantage; the acceptance of informal payments by their health personnel; preferential treatment for well-connected individuals; the use of hospital equipment for private business; the improper referral of public hospital patients to private practices; and illegitimate absenteeism of medical personnel while being paid. When it comes to preventing informal payments, the creation of individual contracts with personnel and increased pay scales while sanctioning poor performance are recommended. In the case of whistle-blowers, hospital boards and other actors should refrain from punitive actions and provide adequate protection and guarantees to safeguard their personnel and services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Provide for comprehensive whistle-blower protection for those reporting corruption offences in the health sector and beyond, which includes guaranteeing the anonymity and protection of whistle-blowers;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Progressively build resilient health systems, with a special focus on health promotion and primary care, so as to root out the problem of systemic incentives for corruption in health sector;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87k
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Ensure judicial and other forms of review of violations of anti-corruption legislation; and effective remedies where corruption leads to a violation of the right to health;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87l
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Address petty corruption by health professionals by guaranteeing decent living wages and working conditions, job security and reward for good performance and conduct;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Take into account the Human Rights Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies in relation to Access to Medicines (A/63/263, annex);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The right to health is recognized in the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) and protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties which are binding on States parties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Additionally, regional human rights treaties and many domestic constitutions protect the right to health. These international treaties and domestic laws obligate States to take action to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health and to address corruption where it interferes with their right-to-health obligations. They should inform responses to corruption alongside other legal instruments, such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The evolving normative context around mental health involves the intimate connection between the right to health, with the entitlement to underlying determinants, and the freedom to control one’s own health and body. That is also linked to the right to liberty, freedom from non-consensual interference and respect for legal capacity. While informed consent is needed to receive treatment that is compliant with the right to health, legal capacity is needed to provide consent and must be distinguished from mental capacity. The right to health also includes a right to integration and treatment in the community with appropriate support to both live independently and to exercise legal capacity (see, for example, E/CN.4/2005/51, paras. 83-86, and A/64/272, para. 10). The denial of legal capacity frequently leads to deprivation of liberty and forced medical interventions, which raises questions not only about the prohibition of arbitrary detention and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, but also the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Prior to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, various non-binding instruments guided States in identifying their obligations to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of treatment (see General Assembly resolutions 37/53, 46/119 and 48/96). While some of them recognized important rights and standards, the safeguards they contained were often rendered meaningless in everyday practice (see E/CN.4/2005/51, paras. 88-90, and A/58/181). As the right to health guarantees freedom from discrimination, involuntary treatment and confinement, it must also be understood to guarantee the entitlement to treatment and integration in the community. The failure to secure that entitlement and other freedoms is a primary driver of coercion and confinement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides a legally binding framework for the right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. That is complemented by legal standards established, among others, by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. States parties have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the right to mental health in national laws, regulations, policies, budgetary measures, programmes and other initiatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Mental health services must be geographically and financially accessible on the basis of non-discrimination. In many low- and middle-income countries they are concentrated in major cities and inaccessible to a large part of the population. The problem is acute in countries where there is inappropriate overreliance on segregated residential and in-patient psychiatric institutions, such as in Central and Eastern Europe, and a failure to develop rights-based models of care in the community. Integrating mental health into general hospitals, primary care, and social care services and rights-compliant use of mobile technologies can support accessibility and enhance the enjoyment of the right to live and participate in the community. Accurate information on mental health must be made accessible to the public and evidence-based information on treatments, including side effects, must also be accessible, which requires the routine, complete and timely disclosure of all pharmacological information from clinical trials. A contextual understanding of the experiences of suffering and distress is critical for ensuring accessibility within systems of mental health care and support.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Mental health services must be respectful of medical ethics and human rights, as well as culturally appropriate, sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements and designed to respect confidentiality and empower individuals to control their health and well-being. They must respect the principles of medical ethics and human rights (including “first, do no harm”), choice, control, autonomy, will, preference and dignity. Overreliance on pharmacological interventions, coercive approaches and in-patient treatment is inconsistent with the principle of doing no harm, as well as with human rights. Human rights capacity-building should be routinely provided to mental health professionals. Services must be culturally appropriate and acceptable to persons with intellectual, cognitive or psychosocial disabilities and with autism, adolescents, women, older persons, indigenous persons, minorities, refugees and migrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. Many within those populations are needlessly medicalized and suffer from coercive practices, based on inappropriate and harmful gender stereotypes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 66b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur takes note of the concerns of various stakeholders, particularly within the medical communities, regarding the absolute ban on all forms of non-consensual measures. He acknowledges that their radical reduction and eventual elimination is a challenging process that will take time. However, there is shared agreement about the unacceptably high prevalence of human rights violations within mental health settings and that change is necessary. Instead of using legal or ethical arguments to justify the status quo, concerted efforts are needed to abandon it. Failure to take immediate measures towards such a change is no longer acceptable and the Special Rapporteur proposes five deliberate, targeted, and concrete actions as follows:] Develop a well-stocked basket of non-coercive alternatives in practice;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Mental health services must be of good quality. That requires the use of evidence-based practices to support prevention, promotion, treatment and recovery. Effective collaboration between different service providers and people using the services and their families and care partners, also supports enhanced quality of care. The abuse of biomedical interventions, including the inappropriate use or overprescription of psychotropic medications and the use of coercion and forced admissions, compromise the right to quality care. Prioritizing the scaling-up of community-based psychosocial services and mobilizing social resources that can support everyone throughout their life course, will enhance the quality of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The effective realization of the right to health requires the participation of everyone, particularly those living in poverty and in vulnerable situations, in decision-making at the legal, policy, community and health service level. At the population level, empowering everyone to participate meaningfully in decisions about their health and well-being requires multisectoral and inclusive engagement with stakeholders, such as users and former users of mental health services, policymakers, service providers, health workers, social workers, the legal profession, the police, carers, family members and the wider community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 66c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur takes note of the concerns of various stakeholders, particularly within the medical communities, regarding the absolute ban on all forms of non-consensual measures. He acknowledges that their radical reduction and eventual elimination is a challenging process that will take time. However, there is shared agreement about the unacceptably high prevalence of human rights violations within mental health settings and that change is necessary. Instead of using legal or ethical arguments to justify the status quo, concerted efforts are needed to abandon it. Failure to take immediate measures towards such a change is no longer acceptable and the Special Rapporteur proposes five deliberate, targeted, and concrete actions as follows:] Develop a road map to radically reduce coercive medical practices, with a view to their elimination, with the participation of diverse stakeholders, including rights holders;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 66d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur takes note of the concerns of various stakeholders, particularly within the medical communities, regarding the absolute ban on all forms of non-consensual measures. He acknowledges that their radical reduction and eventual elimination is a challenging process that will take time. However, there is shared agreement about the unacceptably high prevalence of human rights violations within mental health settings and that change is necessary. Instead of using legal or ethical arguments to justify the status quo, concerted efforts are needed to abandon it. Failure to take immediate measures towards such a change is no longer acceptable and the Special Rapporteur proposes five deliberate, targeted, and concrete actions as follows:] Establish an exchange of good practices between and within countries;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The right to health provides a valuable normative framework and constitutes a legally binding imperative to analyse and address corruption affecting health and occurring in and beyond the health sector. The framework reflects notions of good governance, transparency, accountability and participation, which are key when it comes to combating corruption. It places legal obligations on States to guarantee access to health-related goods and services for all, including individuals and groups in situations of vulnerability, and this requires them to take actions to curb corruption where it occurs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Other definitions distinguish between types of corruption, which among other forms include political and institutional corruption. “Political corruption” means manipulation by political decision makers of, for example, policies and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources, such as a government accepting a bribe in exchange for the construction of a large private hospital in the capital. “Institutional corruption” results from the normalization of behaviours that compromise truth-seeking and lead to the formation of perverse incentive structures, and thus addresses the behaviour of actors who exploit their institutional positions to influence institutional processes and actions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Within the health sector, the pharmaceutical industry stands out as being particularly prone to corruption. Corrupt practices take place at all stages of the pharmaceutical value chain, including during research and development, manufacturing, registration, distribution, procurement and marketing. The key problems are a lack of objective data and understanding of corruption in the pharmaceutical sector, a weak legislative and regulatory framework, potential undue influence from companies and a lack of leadership committed to anti-corruption efforts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- As mentioned above, institutional corruption occurs when an organization or institution is no longer sufficiently independent to pursue its stated goals or mission effectively. It occurs when systematic practices develop within an institution that are legal, accepted and normative, but nonetheless undermine its integrity. Thus, institutional corruption results from the normalization of behaviours that compromise truth seeking and from perverse incentive structures (e.g., promotions; peer-reviewed publications) that reward problematic behaviour. It is a solution-, not blame-, oriented framework — a “bad barrel” rather than a “bad apple” problem.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Certainly, many people are in need of mental health services and often they do not have access to them. However, all stakeholders, especially policymakers and the leadership of the psychiatric profession, must address the fact that overdiagnosis and overtreatment of milder forms of anxiety, depression, inattention, age-related cognitive decline and the like unnecessarily creates pathological identities in people and exposes individuals to the iatrogenic effects of labelling and the side effects of treatments without offering them benefit to offset the harm. Individualizing, decontextualizing and medicalizing emotional distress reinforces health disparities by reducing the capacity of health systems to serve those with more severe mental health problems — the ones, often from disadvantaged groups, who need the care the most.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The medicalization of the public mental health field is driven by a lack of transparency and accountability in medical education and research and leads to biased evidence being translated into practice worldwide. This is an unacceptable tendency and must be addressed by States and international organizations, with a view to ensuring that mental health policies nationally and globally are driven by non-biased evidence and a human rights-based approach. The obvious crisis in academic psychiatry, influenced by a doubtful relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, has contributed to what could be called the “corruption of knowledge” in mental health and represents a warning signal not only to mental health-care practice and research but to the health sector as a whole.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The current momentum and opportunity to advance are unique. It is from this juncture in history, within a confluence of international processes, that the Special Rapporteur seeks to make a contribution with the present report.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Accountability for the enjoyment of the right to mental health depends on three elements: (a) monitoring; (b) independent and non-independent review, such as by judicial, quasi-judicial, political and administrative bodies, as well as by social accountability mechanisms; and (c) remedies and redress. Accountability provides an opportunity for rights holders to understand how duty bearers have discharged their duties and claim redress where rights are violated. It also provides an opportunity for duty bearers to explain their actions and make amendments if required.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- There is no single definition of recovery, often described as a personal journey towards regaining a meaningful life and becoming more resilient. The recovery approach, when implemented in conformity with human rights, has helped to break down power asymmetries, empowering individuals and making them agents of change rather than passive recipients of care. Tremendous strides have been made in this area, with evidence and recovery-based support and services in practice across the world today that restore people’s hope (and trust) in services, as well as in themselves.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- At present, there is an impasse over how obligations in relation to non-consensual treatment are implemented in the light of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, given the different interpretation by international human rights mechanisms. The Special Rapporteur has followed these developments and hopes that consensus can be reached to start the shift towards strengthened mental health policies and services without delay. He seeks to participate actively in these processes and potentially report again on the progress achieved.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Education in the health-care sector is one important element in that regard. The doctrine of the “five-star doctor” needs to be reaffirmed to translate modern values and scientific evidence into everyday medical practice. Modern medical doctors need to be not only good clinicians but also effective community leaders, communicators, decision makers and managers. That philosophy should be complemented by a strong human rights-based approach and evidence gained from the modern public health approach.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The right to health requires that health-care goods, services and facilities be available in adequate numbers; financially and geographically accessible, as well as accessible on the basis of non-discrimination; acceptable, that is, respectful of the culture of individuals, minorities, peoples and communities and sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements and of good quality, thus meeting all the criteria of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has raised the issue of the global burden of obstacles (see A/HRC/35/21) that persists in mental health-care systems globally and how this hinders the realization of the right to health. Obstacles include the overuse of biomedical model and biomedical interventions, in particular psychotropic medications; power asymmetries; and the use of biased evidence. The Special Rapporteur advocated for a shift in mental health policies and services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Forgotten issues beget forgotten people. The history of psychiatry and mental health care is marked by egregious rights violations, such as lobotomy, performed in the name of medicine. Since the Second World War and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, together with other international conventions, increasing attention has been paid to human rights in global mental health and psychiatry. However, whether the global community has actually learned from the painful past remains an open question.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Asymmetries have been furthered by the financial power of, and alliances with, the pharmaceutical industry. Where financial resources for research and innovation are absent, the industry fills the gap with little transparency in drug approval processes or in doubtful relationships with health-care professionals and providers. That context illustrates how overreliance in policy on the biomedical model has gone too far and is now so resistant to change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law guarantees the right to non-discrimination in the access to and delivery of mental health-care services and the underlying determinants of health. The right to mental health is also dependent on equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of all other human rights that can themselves be considered an underlying determinant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 92b
- Paragraph text
- [To address the imbalance of the biomedical approach in mental health services, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] States and other relevant stakeholders, including academic institutions, recalibrate mental health research priorities to promote independent, qualitative and participatory social science research and research platforms, exploring alternative service models that are non-coercive;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur seeks to develop, through an inclusive and participatory process and open dialogue, guidelines on human rights and mental health to support all stakeholders in the implementation of rights-based mental health policies in their respective areas of work. He welcomes contributions and suggestions in this respect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The present report is the result of extensive consultations among a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of relevant United Nations agencies, civil society and academic experts. In May 2017, the Special Rapporteur convened an expert consultation in Bangkok and is very grateful to those who participated and provided valuable inputs for the present report.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Petty and grand corruption and institutional and political corruption can have a negative impact on the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health care. When money that has been allocated to the health sector is embezzled, the availability of health services and goods is affected.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Corruption has a devastating effect on good governance, the rule of law and equitable access to public goods and services. Corruption is a human rights concern and it has a particularly damaging effect on the enjoyment of the right to health. The health sector is especially prone to corruption, which threatens the sustainability of health-care systems worldwide.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- The right to health offers a valuable normative framework and a legally binding imperative to address corruption in and beyond the health sector. The framework embraces the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability and participation. The right to health is closely related and dependent on other human rights, which are also important for combating corruption, including freedom of expression, which gives guarantees to whistle-blowers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- All forms of corruption at all levels have a negative impact on realization of the right to health. Many of these forms originate from power imbalances and asymmetries, which are widely prevalent in the health sector. Such asymmetries are perpetuated by non-transparent decision-making and reinforce ineffective and harmful policymaking and health services provision.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] When elements of a health sector are decentralized or handed over to the private sector, to ensure that there are sufficient checks and balances to ensure that this transition addresses corruption and, at the least, does not lead to more corruption. There must be adequate oversight, transparency and monitoring of private sector and decentralized provision;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Strengthen measures to address corruption and unethical practices in the process of generation of knowledge through research, dissemination of such knowledge through medical education and the development of guidelines for diagnostics and treatment of health conditions;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 88f
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also urges other relevant stakeholders to:] Enhance transparency and avoid misusing the principle of academic autonomy when investments in health and health care are addressed, so that the integrity of academic medicine and its commitment to the realization of the right to health is not undermined.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities emphasizes full respect for legal capacity, the absolute prohibition of involuntary detention based on impairment and the elimination of forced treatment (see A/HRC/34/32, paras. 22-33). That responds to the inadequacy of procedural safeguards alone, requiring sharpened attention to non-coercive alternatives and community inclusion to secure the rights of persons with disabilities. Within that evolving framework, not all human rights mechanisms have embraced the absolute ban on involuntary detention and treatment articulated by the Committee. They include the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (see CAT/OP/27/2), the Committee Against Torture and the Human Rights Committee. However, their interpretation of exceptions used to justify coercion is narrower, signalling ongoing discussions on the matter. Notably, in the United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of Their Liberty to Bring Proceedings Before a Court, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention supported the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with regard to safeguards on the prohibition of arbitrary detention (see A/HRC/30/37, paras. 103-107).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The problem is not in diagnosing persons but in the discriminatory practices that affect the diagnosed person, which may cause more harm than the diagnosis itself. People frequently suffer more from discriminatory and inappropriate patterns of “care” than from the natural effects of mental health conditions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 95a
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure that health-care services guarantee the right to mental health for all, States should:] Ensure that users are involved in the design, implementation, delivery and evaluation of mental health services, systems and policies;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The right to health gives rise to obligations that provide a framework for action for duty bearers, as well as a framework of reference for monitoring and accountability. The right to health is subject to progressive realization. This means that many aspects of the right to health do not have to be realized immediately; rather, States must take effective and targeted measures towards the progressive realization of the right to health. However, States also have some immediate obligations, including core obligations such as the equitable distribution of health facilities, goods and services; the provision of essential medicines; access to minimum essential food, basic shelter, safe and potable water and sanitation; and the adoption of a national health strategy and plan of action on the basis of epidemiological information. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has also highlighted that universal health coverage is a core obligation (see the Committee’s general comment No. 15 (2013) on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, para. 72). States must adopt and enforce legislative, regulatory and policy measures to ensure that corruption does not impede the fulfilment of their progressive and core obligations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87o
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Develop non-biased and evidence-based treatment guidelines to reduce opportunities for corruption;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The financial resources required to both develop and gain access to health systems constitute a common barrier to achieving health equity, affecting the health and well-being of the world's poorest and marginalized most acutely. Developing countries, in particular those without strong health systems, face significant challenges to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The right to health requires States to prioritize provision for the most poor and marginalized, even in the face of resource barriers, through a range of measures. A few illustrative examples linking various Goals are as follows:
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws, policies and practices outside the health space can have a direct impact on the realization of the right to health. For example, poor people are often excluded from access to health services, as well as from underlying determinants of health, such as social housing and other social services, not (only) because they are poor but (also) because they lack security of land tenure or an official legal identity. Criminalized populations may be barred as a matter of law or policy from social housing or other social services. Persons with disabilities may be denied legal capacity and subject to medical interventions or institutionalization without their consent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The many synergies between the Sustainable Development Goals and the right to health notwithstanding, there are a number of challenges. Many of the health-related targets are reductive in their approach and do not reflect critical right-to-health elements. A superficial interpretation of the health indicators threatens to undermine the fulfilment of right-to-health obligations, for example to ensure that health-care coverage is not merely expanded but that it meets critical right-to-health requirements, including availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality. Many of the Goals' health-related targets and indicators focus narrowly on biomedical aspects, despite the requirement to ensure that health promotion and primary care are grounded in human rights and modern public health principles. The commitments made in the Declaration of Alma-Ata and the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986, should be reaffirmed and revitalized by all stakeholders, and the ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion should serve that purpose.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The present section provides only a very brief introduction to the right-to-health framework and some of the ways in which it can reinforce, strengthen and advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is important to recall a fundamental difference between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. While the Sustainable Development Goals are political commitments, the right to health gives rise to legally binding obligations on States to progressively realize the right to health, as well as duties on the part of other actors, and to do so in the context of their policies and programmes on the Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The right to health includes a right to health care. Health care is closely connected to all the targets in Goal 3 and directly reflected in the targets to achieve universal health coverage (target 3.8) and ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services (target 3.7). The relationship between universal health coverage and the right to health is explored further below, while the right to sexual and reproductive health care has been elaborated in general comments Nos. 14 and 22 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as in a number of previous reports by the mandate holder (see E/CN.4/2004/49, A/66/254, A/HRC/14/20 and A/HRC/32/32). The right to health can also support and be supported by such targets as the reduction of maternal and newborn and under-5 mortality rates (targets 3.1 and 3.2) and of the incidence of communicable and non-communicable diseases (targets 3.3 and 3.4), the promotion of mental health (target 3.4) and the reduction of the number of deaths from road traffic accidents (target 3.6).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 103t
- Paragraph text
- [As a matter of priority, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] Member States ensure that the high-level political forum on sustainable development meets as often as needed, is well resourced financially and with relevant expertise, and that States report on a regular basis after conducting monitoring and participatory reviews at the national level; the high-level political forum should consider reviews undertaken by international human rights mechanisms, such as the universal periodic review, treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- There are many forms of violence. Child abuse and neglect, domestic violence between intimate partners and suicide are interpersonal forms of violence. Armed conflicts, State-perpetrated violence, terrorism and organized violent crime are forms of collective violence. Although often viewed and studied as separate phenomena, interpersonal and collective forms of violence share common risk and protective factors and should be addressed as interrelated phenomena. Some of those common risk factors include social, economic and gender inequalities (Goals 1-17), poverty (Goal 1), power asymmetries both in the family and in the community (Goals 1, 5 and 16) and lack of mutual trust and respect. Both forms of violence intensify the risk environment for human rights violations and abuse, especially towards those groups perceived as vulnerable (Goals 3, 5 and 10).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- To date, the approach to violence reduction has been fragmented, compartmentalizing different forms of violence. Importantly, many forms of violence continue to be tolerated within societies and even supported by States. For example, violence against women and children remains accepted in many societies as a cultural norm. The institutional care of young children, a clear act of violence against children, remains widespread in many countries. Around the world, many groups in vulnerable situations, including women, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, experience numerous forms of violence. Each example is also a violation of various human rights protected under international law, including the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- A holistic approach to addressing violence is consistent with the aim of collectively implementing the Sustainable Development Goal targets on violence across the agenda. It is also consonant with the indivisible and interrelated nature of human rights. From a human rights and public health perspective, violence must be addressed comprehensively, including obligations to eliminate violence within health-care settings, to address how structural factors, such as laws and policies, institutionalize violence and to eliminate violence against women and children. The right to health also includes an entitlement to safe access to health care and to a safe environment. Importantly, children and adolescents have a right to be free from violence and to healthy development.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- As the global community is concerned by the increasing prevalence of collective violence, including violent extremism, it is important to note how the relationship between collective violence and interpersonal forms of violence may reinforce and feed one another. For example, violence against children in families can lead to high prevalence of youth violence and may contribute to the phenomenon of violent extremism. Prohibiting boys from expressing emotions from an early age, enforcing a toxic and primitive understanding of masculinity, has been linked to acts of extreme violence by young men and reinforced a tendency to join groups and movements that are involved in collective violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In particular, adolescents' leading role in using and shaping new communications technologies places them in a position to build and utilize networks to promote their right to health, for example through information dissemination, data gathering, health campaign design, health education, peer-to-peer education and counselling and conflict mediation. A number of e-health and web-based interventions and mobile applications can provide information, increase access to care, engage adolescents in treatment and initiate aftercare. These skills and capacities mean that adolescents are uniquely positioned to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3, as well as to monitoring and holding Governments to account on the commitments made (General Assembly resolution 70/1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The right to health of adolescents is closely related to other human rights included in these treaties, such as the rights of the child to healthy development, education, play and recreation, social security and privacy, and to being free from torture, all forms of violence and economic, sexual and other forms of exploitation. The right to health is also inextricably linked to non-discrimination and equality, participation and accountability. Adolescent health and development need to be promoted in the context of a holistic and comprehensive approach to the wider determinants affecting the opportunities, choices and consequent development of adolescents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The right to health provides a valuable normative framework grounded in a commitment to promote the best interests of adolescents while acknowledging their evolving capacities to take increasing levels of responsibility for their own health care. It also places a legal obligation on States to progressively realize the highest attainable standard of health of adolescents; eliminate discrimination and inequalities that obstruct equitable enjoyment of the right to health; ensure the participation of adolescents in relevant efforts; devote maximum available resources to the right to health of children; develop suitable laws and policies, including a comprehensive national health plan that addresses adolescents' right to health; and ensure accountability, including effective remedies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents are actors for social change, and are able to bring dynamism, flexibility, creativity and energy towards the realization of their own and others' rights to health. States should adopt a human rights framework for adolescent health guided by the recognition of their strengths, capacities and contributions, while also addressing the impact of social determinants of health. Respecting and engaging with adolescents and treating them as a resource contributes to building foundations for emotional security, health, education and the skills needed for the full and effective realization of the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Many adolescents, in particular girls and those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are deterred from approaching health professionals in anticipation of a judgemental attitude that results from social norms or laws that stigmatize or criminalize their sexual behaviour. Rights to sexual and reproductive health for many adolescents are further compromised by violence, including sexual and institutional violence, coercion into unwanted sex or marriage, and patriarchal and heteronormative practices and values. This reinforces harmful gender stereotypes and unequal power relations that make it difficult for many adolescent girls to refuse sex or insist on safe and responsible sex practices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The needs, experiences and preferences of target populations must be considered when formulating policies or programmes concerning sport and healthy lifestyles, and in constructing facilities. People are entitled to participate in the formulation of policies and programmes that will have a direct impact upon them, and their involvement must be secured from the design stage of any intervention. Moreover, as health behaviour is the product of social structures and practices, interventions should be adapted for specific groups based on the meaning that they attach to healthy lifestyles, in order to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- To achieve this, all relevant policies should be devised, and periodically reviewed, on the basis of a transparent process and with the participation of adolescents, and should include right to health indicators and benchmarks. Indicators should be disaggregated on suitable grounds, including those identified in the Sustainable Development Goals, namely age, income, gender, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability and geographic location, in order to monitor the health status of marginalized groups and sectors of adolescents (see target 17.18). Adolescents and other relevant civil society actors should also be actively involved in review processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents with disabilities are frequently subjected to forced medical treatment, including sterilization, abortion and contraception, which can constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Girls with disabilities in particular experience alarmingly disproportionate levels of physical and sexual violence, frequently without any means of redress or access to justice. Many health-care providers hold inaccurate, stereotypical views about individuals with disabilities, including assumptions that they are asexual, which serves to deny them access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and goods, as well as comprehensive sexuality education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- AIDS is the second most common cause of death among adolescents globally. Worldwide, adolescents in key population groups, including gay and bisexual boys, transgender adolescents, adolescents who exchange sex for money, goods or favours and adolescents who inject drugs, are also at a higher risk of HIV infection. Adolescent girls in high-HIV burden countries are particularly vulnerable, making up 75 per cent of new infections in Africa in 2013, with gender inequality, harmful traditional practices and punitive age of consent laws identified as drivers of the epidemic. These sectors and groups face a disproportionately high risk of experiencing stigma, discrimination, violence, rejection by families, criminalization and other human rights violations when seeking sexual and reproductive health services, including denial of access to health-care services, such as HIV testing, counselling and treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Historically, sport has often involved forms of "hegemonic masculinity": boys and men have frequently been enabled or encouraged to exhibit aggressive, violent or discriminatory behaviour in competitive sport, including sexism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. A welcome shift in this paradigm has occurred in a number of regions and countries where homophobia has decreased, where this has included the area of sports. Nevertheless, levels of homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination against intersex people remain high in most countries. Those who are perceived to fall outside dominant gender and heteronormative standards, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, continue to face discriminatory treatment and restrictions in sport, including discrimination, harassment and violence, and a lack of safe and welcoming spaces for participation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Acts of violence, discrimination and marginalization represent human rights breaches that prevent individuals from achieving the highest attainable standard of health. More must be done to secure the full and safe participation of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in sport and physical activity. States should decriminalize homosexuality and repeal other laws used to arrest and punish individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, and should protect individuals by implementing and enforcing anti-discrimination laws, including in sport.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, sex segregation policies have led to multiple rights violations in sport. Sex segregation has historically been justified on the basis of safety and fairness, rooted in assumptions of male physical superiority. Various legal decisions have noted that this is a generalization and have granted individual girls and women the right to compete in male sporting competitions - although not vice versa. Although it is important to preserve spaces for girls and women to confidently participate in sport, this should not result in exclusion of others, such as transgender people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Current and historic policies have resulted in intersex people - those born with sex characteristics that do not fit with typical binary sex categorization - experiencing multiple rights violations. Sex testing has frequently been conducted to avoid the apparent threat of "sex fraud" (participating under an assumed gender to obtain a competitive advantage). However, no single test "determines" gender. In the recent past, women athletes have undergone chromosomal testing, only to discover that they do not possess two X chromosomes. This has led to stigmatization and to spurious exclusion from competitive sport.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Recently, certain international and national sporting federations have instead introduced policies banning women with testosterone levels exceeding a certain threshold from participating in competitive sport. However, there is insufficient clinical evidence to establish that those women are afforded a "substantial performance advantage" warranting exclusion. Although currently suspended, following the interim judgement in Chand v. Athletics Federation of India and the International Association of Athletics Federations, these policies have led to women athletes being discriminated against and forced or coerced into "treatment" for hyperandrogenism. In fact, a number of athletes have undergone gonadectomy (removal of reproductive organs) and partial cliteroidectomy (a form of female genital mutilation) in the absence of symptoms or health issues warranting those procedures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Sporting organizations must implement policies in accordance with human rights norms and refrain from introducing policies that force, coerce or otherwise pressure women athletes into undergoing unnecessary, irreversible and harmful medical procedures in order to participate as women in competitive sport. States should also adopt legislation incorporating international human rights standards to protect the rights of intersex persons at all levels of sport, given that they frequently report bullying and discriminatory behaviour, and should take steps to protect the health rights of intersex women in their jurisdiction from interference by third parties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals reflect an unprecedented political commitment that offers opportunities for the realization of the right to health and other human rights. However, to turn this political commitment into reality, pledges must be firmly grounded in international human rights law and the legally binding obligations to promote and protect human rights, including the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda provides momentum to pave the way, both in developing and developed countries, for sustainable investments in modern public health policies and break the vicious cycle of poverty, inequities, social exclusion, discrimination and violence. States and other actors implementing the Sustainable Development Goals must not be tempted to target the "low-hanging fruit" at the expense of the most marginalized and vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 103b
- Paragraph text
- [As a matter of priority, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] Member States ensure attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals through the review of existing national and local legal and policy frameworks to assess their compatibility with the right to health and ensure that national laws, policies and programmes include targeted actions to support enabling legal and policy environments, with attention to the rule of law, health governance, law enforcement and access to justice;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Statistical data are important but not enough for monitoring; they should also be supplemented by qualitative data and information, and analysis by human rights monitoring mechanisms, international organizations and civil society. Monitoring should focus not only on outcomes but also on processes of development and on duty bearers, including States, donors, the private sector, international organizations and civil society organizations. Monitoring, including data, must feed into review processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The intersection of universal health coverage and human rights is a large, complex topic that, from the perspective of the right to health, should include a number of elements, such as the role of the private sector and of international financial institutions. The Special Rapporteur plans to devote space to universal health coverage in his future work and, in the present report, will merely point to a number of features required to establish rights-based universal health coverage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 103k
- Paragraph text
- [As a matter of priority, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] Member States ensure that the focus on addressing financial exclusion does not neglect the equally important issue of discrimination on other grounds, such as race, colour, sex, religion, property, birth, physical or mental disability, health status (including HIV/AIDS), sexual orientation and gender identity, age and civil, political, social or other status;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 103m
- Paragraph text
- [As a matter of priority, the Special Rapporteur recommends that:] Member States ensure that the focus on access to essential medicines and other life-saving interventions does not neglect equally important non biomedical interventions, including psychosocial interventions, that promote mental and physical health and well-being, reduce violence and contribute to the realization of the right to health and the Sustainable Development Goals;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The population of adolescents globally is estimated to be over 1.2 billion, 88 per cent of whom live in developing countries. Adolescents represent 18 per cent of the world's population. Although adolescence is inherently characterized by relatively low mortality compared to other age groups, it is associated with emerging and complex risk factors, resulting in patterns of behaviour that affect long-term morbidity and mortality. Likewise, adolescents are one of the groups that existing health services serve least well.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent health is the result of interactions between early childhood development and the specific biological and social role changes that accompany puberty, shaped by social determinants and by risk and protective factors that affect the uptake of health-related behaviours. While adolescents themselves have the capacity to contribute to their own health and well-being, they can only achieve this goal if States respect and protect their rights and provide them with access to the necessary conditions, services and information.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that health systems, including health-care services, in cooperation with other relevant services, such as social, child protection and education services, are responsive to the right to health of adolescents. They should address the full spectrum of adolescent health and development, including health promotion, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, palliative care, unintentional and intentional injuries, violence, and health-compromising behaviours that may begin during adolescence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Encouragingly, some States provide subsidized or free access to sporting goods, services and facilities to certain groups in society. Sports activities for people with disabilities are free in Azerbaijan, in accordance with a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers; similarly, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, access to sports camps for children is free. The Special Rapporteur recommends the adoption of similar approaches elsewhere, subject to the needs of the population and resource availability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- These attempts to control the behaviour of women through violence, and to dictate what an acceptable body image and acceptable activities are, represent clear violations of their human rights. States should take steps to protect the rights of female athletes, for example through the enforcement of criminal laws against perpetrators of violence and through the development of sensitization and education initiatives to combat negative images and attitudes around women's participation in exercise and sport.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- States should ensure that rights holders, including those from marginalized groups, are provided with the conditions to participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of laws, policies and strategies relevant to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. The effective recognition, enjoyment and protection of public freedoms, including freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association, is crucial in this respect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda builds on the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted at the start of the new millennium and concluded in 2015. The policy objectives of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals focused on improved human development outcomes in health, education, poverty and gender equality in low-income countries (A/59/422, paras. 8-13). That agenda received unprecedented attention from the international community, funding priorities and international relations throughout its 15 years. The 2030 Agenda inherits that strategic space and will be a powerful policy tool influencing international and domestic development agendas through the second and third decades of the millennium.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- For example, in addressing climate change and environmental pollution (Goal 13 and target 3.9), States and other actors must recognize the particular health impact that these environmental issues have on certain populations, due in part to socioeconomic inequality, cultural norms and intrinsic psychological factors. Climate change increases the incidence of diseases that already disproportionately affect the poor, such as malaria and diarrhoea. Likewise, environmental pollution contributes to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, disproportionately experienced by the poor. This increases health expenditures and ill mental and physical health among those who can least afford it, reinforcing the vicious cycle of poverty (A/HRC/32/23, para. 24).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The concept of international assistance and cooperation runs throughout the Sustainable Development Goals and resonates strongly with the principles of global equity, partnership and cooperation that animate the 2030 Agenda, as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. In addition, the human rights concept of international assistance and cooperation provides legal reinforcement to Goal 17 on strengthening the means of implementation to revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, including countries' development commitments to fully implement their official development assistance targets (target 17.2), mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries (target 17.3) and assist them in addressing debt (target 17.4).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The private sector has a significant bearing in the Sustainable Development Goals as it plays a crucial role - at times positive and at times negative - as a provider of health-care goods and services, as well as in research and development for medicines in many countries. In line with international human rights standards, States have an obligation to protect against interference and harm by the private sector. The adoption and implementation of a robust legal, regulatory and policy framework is critical, and accountability arrangements relating to the private sector, including monitoring, review and remedies, must be in place at the global, regional and national levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Each of the aforementioned issues represents a new focus compared with the millennium agenda that requires operational engagement in both rich and poor countries. The challenges reflected by those four issues in focus exist as much among certain segments of the population in developed countries as they do in developing countries. The 2030 Agenda targets and indicators do not adequately address those issues, creating uncertainties about how States are to carry out the business of effective implementation. Human rights and the right to health can offer a legally grounded and instructive framework to address the gaps.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The 2030 Agenda commits to prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable and to reaching the furthest behind first. Ensuring healthy lives for all at all ages (Goal 3) positions equality, non-discrimination and equity as the central health issue in the 2030 Agenda, complemented by Goal 10, which calls for reducing inequalities within and among countries. However, achieving this requires a foundational shift in implementation, one that prioritizes those furthest behind, identifies and gives visibility to those populations, understands the barriers to their exclusion and establishes mechanisms and policies to enable their inclusion and empowerment (E/HLPF/2016/2, para. 109).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Regrettably, many of the targets and indicators developed to guide States towards achieving health equality, non-discrimination and equity by 2030 are vague (target 3.4), still commit to tracking progress in the aggregate (indicator 3.8.2) and fail to articulate the interconnected nature of many of the Sustainable Development Goals. This permits Governments to focus on easier targets or narrow implementation plans that can undermine the broader commitment to prioritize those furthest behind first. The right-to-health framework serves as a helpful tool to understand inequities, set priorities and shape a holistic set of implementation mechanisms to address that gap across the 2030 Agenda.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- In conformity with international human rights standards, the Sustainable Development Goals include a commitment to collect high-quality, accessible, timely and reliable data. Realizing the right to health and achieving health equity require identifying and understanding inequalities both within and between countries. Identifying patterns of vulnerability can be accomplished through disaggregated data collection. This is essential to identifying disparities, where targeted efforts are required, monitoring progress and supporting review and accountability. The Inter Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators has recommended that global Sustainable Development Goal-related data be disaggregated on grounds of "income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts" (target 17.18). Such disaggregation would be a welcome advance over the Millennium Development Goals, which relied on data presented as national averages.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Accountability is at the heart of human rights, including the right to health. Accountability for human rights consists of a process that provides rights holders with an opportunity to understand how duty bearers have discharged their obligations, and for duty bearers to explain how they have done so. It has a corrective function, allowing individual or collective grievances to be redressed; it also has a preventive function that helps to determine which laws, policies and programmes are delivering and where adjustments need to be made. This should be viewed as a constructive process that supports individuals and groups in realizing their rights and duty bearers in fulfilling their obligations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The right to health requires that health-care goods, services and facilities be available in adequate numbers; financially and geographically accessible, as well as accessible on the basis of non-discrimination; acceptable, that is, respectful of the culture of individuals, minorities, peoples and communities and sensitive to gender and life-cycle requirements; and of good quality. Several of the Sustainable Development Goal targets are relevant to this framework, including the commitment to increase the training, recruitment and retention of health workers in developing countries (target 3.c), which supports the principle of availability of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- An effective and integrated health system that is based on the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and participation is at the heart of the right to health. Health systems are all too often not a priority for States or for bilateral and multilateral donors. In addition, they receive scant attention within the 2030 Agenda, yet many of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets are dependent on a strong health system that is adequately funded, transparent and accountable. Without focused investment in health system strengthening, there is little prospect of much progress on the health-related Goals, including addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, universal health coverage and other targets. This implies financial investment, as well as investment in good governance, transparency, participation and accountability mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The right to health encompasses the underlying determinants of health, including its social and psychosocial determinants. The Sustainable Development Goals address many of these underlying determinants, from specific right-to-health entitlements found in the targets of Goal 3, such as road safety, harmful alcohol and tobacco use and environmental pollution, as well as other Goals and targets, including on clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), education (Goal 4), food (Goal 2), decent work (Goal 8), reducing inequalities (Goal 10), gender equality (Goal 5), poverty reduction (Goal 1), climate change and access to energy (Goal 13), peace, justice and strong institutions (Goal 16) and violence (targets 5.2, 16.1 and 16.2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Review at the national and subnational levels should take place within existing national structures and processes, including national human rights institutions, policy review processes, comprehensive maternal death audits, patient's rights tribunals, and litigation. For example, national human rights institutions provide accountability for the right-to-health-related Sustainable Development Goals, including by undertaking national assessments and enquiries and by participating in other domestic and international review processes, offering advice to Governments on promoting and protecting rights in national implementation plans and on rights-based implementation, including through support for the development and use of human rights impact assessments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Many of the challenges to and opportunities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals require international cooperation, for which global or regional accountability mechanisms can be better placed to review progress than national mechanisms. Regional and global review mechanisms should scrutinize whether States have met not only their domestic right-to-health obligations in the context of the Goals but also their obligations of international cooperation, including through development cooperation and trade agreements. Regional and global mechanisms must also find a way to hold the private sector, international organizations and civil society to account.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- International human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review and independent mechanisms such as the treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, should consider the role that the Sustainable Development Goals can play in supporting the realization of the right to health and address obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to health that arise in the context of the Goals. The reviews undertaken by those bodies should be considered by the high-level political forum and the Independent Accountability Panel, and vice versa.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition are critical to ensuring non repetition and include, at the national and subnational levels, legislation, judicial remedies and redress, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, improvements in policy formulation, budgets and planning, and right-to-health training of relevant duty bearers. Review processes should make recommendations for such remedies, and duty bearers should act on them. At the same time, remedies should be available to individuals whose right to health has been violated. Some remedies, such as restitution, rehabilitation and compensation, focus on redressing harm to individual or group rights holders. Judicial remedies are extremely important for redressing violations, and States and other actors should implement relevant recommendations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Accountability depends not only on robust monitoring and review mechanisms but also on the meaningful engagement and participation of civil society. Human rights and health-related civil society actors should support accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals through monitoring, reporting, advocacy, engagement with national, regional and international review processes, and litigation. States and the international community should create the space for civil society to participate in relevant review processes, and ensure that those processes are transparent and accessible. The involvement of civil society actors is crucial; without them, the 2030 Agenda will be but an empty promise.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Achieving universal health coverage requires sufficient capacity of well-trained health workers to meet patients' needs. The global health workforce is too small and unequally distributed within and among countries, with poorer countries and communities having the fewest workers. Poor working conditions and low pay contribute to a "skills drain" of health professionals undermining the right to health in communities and countries left behind. This disproportionately affects those with limited finances or access to health care (A/60/348, sect. IV).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Universal health coverage cannot be achieved without meeting the core requirements of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality under the right to health. Among other things, services must be safely and geographically accessible without discrimination. The right to health requires that essential services include those for populations with specialized needs, such as sexual and reproductive health services adapted to the needs of women, girls, including those with disabilities, and transgender persons. Health services and access to underlying determinants must also be economically accessible. Even where there is widespread access to health services, the right to health demands that they be of sufficient quality, including in good working condition and medically and scientifically appropriate.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The right to health also requires that progress towards universal health coverage be monitored to assess who is covered, what services are covered, and the extent of financial protection, with data disaggregated to measure progress across sectors and groups. Focusing on coverage averages (indicator 3.8.1) without disaggregating data can mask exclusion, especially of those most marginalized. Using insurance coverage as a proxy indicator for financial protection (indicator 3.8.2) fails to address the impoverishing impact of health expenditures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Moving towards universal health coverage requires long-term progressive realization of the right to health that engages work across many sectors at the local, national, and international levels. The World Health Organization Consultative Group on Equity and Universal Health Coverage has proposed a three-part strategy for countries to progressively realize universal health coverage consistent with equity principles and the right to health. This includes prioritizing the worst off, expanding coverage to everyone and reducing out-of-pocket payments, all while ensuring that disadvantaged groups are not left behind.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Although opportunities for adolescents in many parts of the world have improved in recent years, the second decade of life is associated with exposure to increasing risks to the right to health, including violence, abuse, sexual or economic exploitation, trafficking, harmful traditional practices, migration, radicalization, recruitment into gangs or militias, self-harm, substance use and dependence and obesity. Gender inequalities become more significant as, for example, girls become exposed to child marriage, sexual violence and lower levels of enrolment in secondary education. The world in which adolescents live poses profound challenges, including poverty and inequality, climate change and environmental degradation, urbanization and migration, radical changes in employment potential, aging societies, rising health-care costs and escalating humanitarian and security crises.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- States policies towards adolescents are too often characterized by targeted or punitive interventions aimed at addressing problems such as juvenile delinquency and violence, as well as perceived challenges, including substance use and sexual activity; too little attention is typically paid to building positive environments in which adolescents can thrive. Punitive and excessively biomedical interventions ignore the powerful social and economic determinants influencing adolescent behaviour, opportunities and well-being. Stigmatizing, demonizing and discriminating against adolescents by, for example, criminalizing or pathologizing their behaviours and diversities, negatively affects their socially perceived roles, self-esteem, well-being and sense of empowerment. These approaches fail adolescents, their holistic development and their right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- One-size-fits-all policies designed for children or youth often fail to address adolescents, particularly 10-14 year-olds. Lack of awareness or understanding of their unique health needs can render adolescents invisible. Adolescents face multiple barriers to health services, including the following: restrictive laws and policies; unavailability of contraception or safe abortions; inaccessible services owing to lack of information, distance or cost; failure to ensure privacy and confidentiality; parental consent or notification requirements; provision of services in a manner that is disrespectful, hostile, judgemental or lacking sympathy; and discrimination against particular groups of adolescents, including those with disabilities, those living and working on the streets or in the sex trade and those from historically marginalized groups. States have positive human rights obligations to guarantee adolescents' rights and meaningfully engage with them in identifying their needs and priorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Rapid globalization and associated social and cultural changes, reinforced by the digital world, mean that many adolescents inhabit a world very different from that of the adults around them in relation to information, the speed of change, social norms, risks, aspirations and opportunities. While these rapidly changing environments offer important opportunities for adolescents, they can also pose significant challenges to their rights, for example to privacy, informed consent and freedom from exploitation, with significant implications, in particular for their mental health and well-being. Furthermore, the speed of change can inhibit intergenerational understanding, challenging the capacity of parents and other caregivers to provide the guidance necessary to protect and promote adolescents' right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Rather than only setting up separate interventions and facilities for adolescents, efforts should be made to ensure that adolescents receive adequate attention in all policies, strategies and programmes that are relevant to them. Health systems should be designed and services should be delivered in a way that respects the right to health and other related rights of adolescents, in accordance with their evolving capacities. This can only be achieved by guaranteeing the right of adolescents to be heard and to contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- States should invest in programmes to challenge outdated beliefs and negative attitudes about mental conditions through the dissemination of information. Adolescents of different ages and representing different perspectives should be consulted in the design, development, implementation and monitoring of mental health services. Investments must be made to address gender discrimination in mental health and to reach out to marginalized communities, which are disproportionately vulnerable to mental health problems and experience greater barriers in accessing services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- In other United Nations documents, participation in sport and physical activity is recognized as a stand-alone right. The recently revised International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport (of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognizes that the practice of physical education, physical activity and sport is a fundamental right for every human being, without discrimination. Equal participation in sport as a right has also been recognized in article 13 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and in article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The right to health is not only a right to health care, but a right to underlying and social determinants of health. Social determinants are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age that influence their health. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that the strongest determinants of adolescent health worldwide are structural factors such as national wealth, income inequality, gender systems and access to education. Additional determinants include social norms, laws and policies and the physical environment, as well as the online social media environment, which plays an increasingly influential role in adolescents' lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The vulnerability of boys to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation should be highlighted, together with the significant barriers they face in accessing sexual and reproductive information and services. Intersex adolescents often experience particular challenges because of irreversible and non-consensual surgeries performed during their early childhood and because of the natural development of their bodies. Discrimination within the family and society, as well as discriminatory attitudes by health providers, can result in the denial of access to health services, while lack of knowledge and awareness within the medical profession further impedes access to quality care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The benefits of sport, over and above unstructured physical activity, have not yet been fully ascertained, and more research is required in this area. However, preliminary findings indicate that a larger quantum of health benefit is gained from low-to-moderate participation in team sports than in more individual activities such as walking or gymnasium use. Positive psychological outcomes, including improved well-being and social functioning and reduced stress, are reported more frequently among sports participants, as is improved life satisfaction. Additionally, although any form of daily physical activity is associated with a lowered risk of psychological distress, the strongest effect is seen in sport (as opposed to other activities such as walking or domestic work).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
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Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 40
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- States should take steps to disseminate information to populations on sport and healthy lifestyles. Such dissemination takes two primary forms: physical education, and awareness-raising through the media and other channels. States should raise awareness of the importance of physical activity (outside of formal education mechanisms) and should encourage individuals to participate through public health campaigns. Again, what is appropriate will vary based on the jurisdiction, but encouraging examples are provided by certain States, such as mass exercise on World Day for Physical Activity to promote participation in sport.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Globally, it is estimated that approximately 20 per cent of 14-24 year olds experience a mental health condition each year. The transition from childhood to adulthood is a period of heightened vulnerability (half of all lifetime mental disorders appear by the age of 14 years) caused to a significant extent by the physical, psychological and emotional changes arising during this period. Research indicates that depression is the primary cause of illness and disability among adolescents and suicide is the third leading cause of death.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The risk of experiencing mental ill-health is heightened by poverty and by adverse childhood events, including, for example, sexual and emotional abuse, bullying and parental loss. Adolescents in post-conflict or disaster settings or who are homeless and street-involved, orphaned, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex or involved with the juvenile justice system are also at greater risk. Adolescents in the juvenile justice system suffer substantially higher rates of mental health conditions than those in the general population, with an estimated 70 per cent having at least one diagnosable mental health condition.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The international human rights framework establishes the clear duty of States to promote adolescents' mental health and emotional well-being, provide appropriate mental health treatment and care and ensure that mental health laws fully recognize the rights of those with mental illness. Target 3.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention, treatment and the promotion of mental health and well-being. That target must be applied fully to adolescents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph