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Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of the right to health of young persons under the age of 18. Article 24 of the Convention affirms the right to health as established in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is especially relevant given the importance of sexual and reproductive health to the lives of young women and men. The Convention urges States to ensure prenatal and post-natal care for mothers, develop family planning education and services and ensure the elimination of traditional practices that are "prejudicial to the health of 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Other legal restrictions also contribute to making legal abortions inaccessible. Conscientious objection laws create barriers to access by permitting health-care providers and ancillary personnel, such as receptionists and pharmacists, to refuse to provide abortion services, information about procedures and referrals to alternative facilities and providers. Examples of other restrictions include: laws prohibiting public funding of abortion care; requirements of counselling and mandatory waiting periods for women seeking to terminate a pregnancy; requirements that abortions be approved by more than one health-care provider; parental and spousal consent requirements; and laws that require health-care providers to report "suspected" cases of illegal abortion when women present for post-abortion care, including miscarriages. These laws make safe abortions and post-abortion care unavailable, especially to poor, displaced and young women. Such restrictive regimes, which are not replicated in other areas of sexual and reproductive health care, serve to reinforce the stigma that abortion is an objectionable 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Family planning empowers women to make autonomous and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health. It reduces maternal mortality by delaying pregnancies in young women who would otherwise face an increased risk of health problems and death from early childbearing. Evidence shows that access to voluntary family planning can reduce maternal deaths by between 25 and 40 per cent. Family planning also reduces the number of unsafe abortions and the perinatal transmission of HIV. Condom use not only results in lower incidences of sexually transmitted infections but, when used correctly and consistently, male condoms are 98 per cent effective toward preventing pregnancy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Studies have shown that while few young people have accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, women are generally even less well informed than men. In a UNAIDS study of 147 countries, whereas more than 70 per cent of young men were found to recognize that condoms can protect against HIV, only 55 per cent of young women identified condoms as an effective strategy for HIV prevention. Women and girls are disproportionally impacted by legal restrictions to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information, which both reinforces and exacerbates the gender inequalities that the figures demonstrate. The existence of legal restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health information and education lead to the provision of inaccurate information through informal sources that are often inaccurate and may reinforce negative gender stereotypes. As a result, young women are less prepared for their sexual and reproductive lives, leaving them vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation, as well as to an increased risk of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Adequate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health has repeatedly proved to be effecting in lowering rates of maternal mortality; preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; delaying the onset of sexual intercourse; increasing knowledge about family planning options; and protecting against gender-based violence (see E/C.12/2000/4, para. 21). Empowering women through comprehensive education and information on sexual and reproductive health is also imperative since young women often have less power or control in their relationships, which make them disproportionately vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation. As a tool for empowerment and means to critically examine gender inequalities and stereotypes, comprehensive education and information also becomes a way of eroding deeply entrenched systems of patriarchy; such systems perpetuate violations of women's rights, including their right to health (see A/65/162, paras. 7-9). Providing women with knowledge and skills relating to their sexual and reproductive health, related education and information enhances their freedom in making informed health-related decisions, and promotes their equal participation in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- States that implement and enforce criminal or other laws to restrict access to sexual and reproductive health information actively reduce access to information and therefore do not meet their obligation to respect the right to health. As a consequence of such laws and the stigma they generate, third parties, such as teachers, publishers, or booksellers may also deny women and girls access to necessary sexual and reproductive health materials. The obligation of States to fulfil the right to health requires that they develop strategies to ensure that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information is provided to everyone, especially women and young girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- International assistance is often conditioned on recipient States adopting policies in line with the social, political or economic interests and ideologies of donors. Conditional aid may require recipient States to implement specific health strategies preferred by donors in order to obtain funds. Donor-driven strategies, however, may not be aligned with the health needs of recipient States and may instead distort domestic health priorities. For example, donor funds earmarked for abstinence-only programmes in AIDS-affected countries promote the benefits of abstaining from sexual activity until marriage, but are required to withhold valuable information about the health benefits of condoms and contraception on the premise that such information contradicts the message of abstinence. Studies have found abstinence-only programmes to be ineffective in preventing HIV and that withholding information about contraceptives places young people at increased risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Community empowerment initiatives working with poor and marginalized communities have achieved extraordinary health outcomes, for example in the global fight to end HIV/AIDS (target 3.3) (E/HLPF/2016/2, para. 107). Economic and social empowerment, such as the decriminalization of sex work and sex worker mobilization, have improved health and identified critical health gaps (Goals 3 and 5). Community mobilization to attain adequate and stable housing for homeless people living with HIV can have life-saving implications for their health (targets 3.3 and 11.1). Efforts to empower parents in vulnerable situations through participatory parental education initiatives reduce the risk of negative health outcomes for their children (Goal 3 and targets 4.2, 5.2 and 16.2). When young girls have access to education, child mortality rates and girls' long-term health improve (Goals 3, 4 and 5) (A/70/213, para. 9). Investments in such initiatives place the human rights principles of autonomy and participation at the centre of public health policy and are critical components of an open, inclusive and peaceful society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Girls
- Youth
- 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. 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 and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur believes that criminalization has adverse consequences on the enjoyment of the right to health of those who engage in consensual same-sex conduct, through the creation of the societal perception that they are "abnormal" and criminals. This has a severe deleterious impact on their self-regard, with significant, and sometimes tragic, consequences on their health-seeking behaviour and mental health. Rates of suicide attempts amongst youth who engage in consensual same-sex conduct have been variously reported as between three and seven times higher than for youth who identify as heterosexual; the rates are similar for adults.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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+
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) defines sex workers as "female, male and transgender adults and young people who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or occasionally, and who may or may not consciously define those activities as income-generating". It is noted, however, that no single term adequately covers the range of transactions worldwide that involve sex work (the term "sex worker" is increasingly used within the sector, as it is considered less stigmatizing and a better descriptor of workers' experiences than the word "prostitute").
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- LGBTQI+
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Mass displacement, breakdown of community and family networks, and institutional collapse may create a vacuum in which women and young girls are vulnerable to sexual violence. They face a heightened risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as increased domestic violence and abuse from family members. Health facilities that lack qualified health professionals, patient referral mechanisms and psychological counselling may be unable to identify and respond to these forms of conflict-related sexual violence. This is especially true when health services are restricted to sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups. The stigma associated with sexual violence and HIV and the absence of adequate protection mechanisms may also contribute to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Stigma, abandonment by families and communities, and retribution from perpetrators create an atmosphere that perpetuates gender-based violence and leads to the exclusion and disempowerment of survivors. The failure to provide services that promote the safety and respect the confidentiality of survivors undermines their full participation in society, particularly in post-conflict reconstruction 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)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the Security Council (resolution 1820 (2008)) and others, certain civilians may be targeted on the basis of their perceived or actual association with ethnic, religious or political groups. Such strategies infringe human dignity and are manifestly incompatible with the right to health. In certain circumstances, they may also qualify as crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. For example, the use of gender-based violence as a strategy of conflict has been well documented. Such violence can include incestuous rape and public rape, rape as a deliberate vector of HIV, camps specifically designed for forced impregnation of women, and premeditated rape as a tool of political repression. Women and girls are common targets of sexual violence, although men and young boys may also be targeted with equal severity. As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has noted (see E/CN.4/2004/13) among others, armed groups may also specifically target sex workers, sexual and ethnic minorities and other communities as a tool for "social cleansing" of "undesirable elements". By treating civilians as objects of conflict, the physical and psychological impact of sexual violence may extend beyond immediate survivors and disempower whole communities. Due to the stigma attached to sexual violence, survivors are often forced into silence and excluded from their communities. The impact of sexual violence on the mental health of survivors, as well as their family and community may endure for generations. Sexual violence also compromises the participation of targeted communities in public health efforts long after conflict has ended.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Some 6.3 million children under the 5 years of age died in 2013, mostly from preventable causes and treatable diseases. The rates of child mortality and morbidity have declined significantly in recent years as a result of global and national commitments to child survival. However, mortality rates remain unacceptably high, particularly among young children living in poverty and from marginalized groups in low-income 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)
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- At least 200 million children under the age of 5 fail to reach their full potential. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, young children's earliest years are the foundation for their health and development across the life course. Their nutritional and health status, as well as the quality of their relationships and social interactions, have life-long implications for their development and health. Early childhood is the most effective and efficient time to ensure that all children develop their full potential and the returns on investment in early child development are substantial. Regrettably, children's right to development has thus far not received the same attention as their right to survival.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The present report focuses on the right to the highest attainable standard of health ("right to health") and its relationship to the right of the young child to survival and development. These rights are interconnected and indivisible. Their relationship has two key dimensions: (a) The right to survival and healthy development is central to the enjoyment of the right to physical and mental health throughout life; (b) The right to health in early childhood includes freedoms and entitlements that are not only essential to immediate survival and health, but also to the healthy development of the child and the adult s/he will become.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The right to health provides a valuable normative and legally binding framework to support the health-related dimensions of early child development. It places a legal obligation on States to guarantee the right to healthy development of children; eliminate discrimination and inequalities that obstruct equitable healthy development; ensure participation of stakeholders by including parents and young children in relevant efforts; devote maximum available resources to the healthy development of children; develop suitable laws and policies, including a comprehensive national plan; and ensure 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
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Low birth weight, lack of breastfeeding, undernutrition, overcrowded living conditions, indoor air pollution, unsafe drinking water and food and poor hygiene practices are the main immediate risk factors for pneumonia and diarrhoea. However, while such diseases are proximate causes of death and are duly reflected in statistics, poverty and inequalities are the root causes, or underlying social determinants. Poverty increases young children's exposure to risks such as poor nutrition, violence, inadequate sanitation, lower levels of maternal education, inadequate stimulation in the home, increased maternal stress and depression and, at the same time, limits access to health and other services. In 2013 the under-5 mortality rate in low-income countries was more than 12 times the average rate in high-income countries. There are also significant disparities in under-5 mortality and morbidity within countries, driven by poverty, gender and other inequalities. Low levels of literacy and poor access to education among women correlate strongly with high rates of under-5 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)
- Health
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Reducing under-5 mortality and morbidity is a critical right to health issue. The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that taking appropriate measures to diminish infant and child mortality is a central aspect of States parties' obligations in relation to the right of the child to health. The right to health is therefore closely linked to the right to survive of young 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)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Human rights are also one of six guiding principles of Every Newborn: An Action Plan to End Preventable Deaths. The Action Plan highlights that all planning and programming for reproductive, maternal and newborn health should be guided by principles and standards derived from international human rights treaties. A range of operational tools have also been developed to help States to systematically apply human rights standards in law, policy and service delivery for young children and their caregivers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Infants
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Young children's rights to health and development are intrinsically linked in two main ways. First, poor physical or mental health in early childhood is among several interconnected factors that can limit the right to optimal development. About 200 million children fail to reach their developmental potential because of poverty, inequality and discrimination; poor health; poor nutrition, including malnutrition and iodine and iron deficiency; intrauterine growth restriction; a lack of stable, nurturing and responsive environments with learning opportunities; and a lack of safe, supportive physical environments. HIV/AIDS, malaria, violence and maternal depression also cause severe setbacks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The treaties set out entitlements and freedoms, assign duties, provide a legally binding framework and demand accountability. They demand particular efforts, mostly by States, to address inequality and discrimination, focusing on the most marginalized young 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Other rights relevant to survival and development that are also interconnected and interrelated with the rights to health and life include the rights of young children to be registered at birth; to education; play; a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development; adequate housing; adequate nutrition; social security; water and sanitation; and the right to be free from all forms of violence. The present report focuses on the right to health, including aspects of children's development that fall within 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States and all relevant stakeholders should adopt an understanding that young children are active participants in interactions with members of their family and community as well as users of health and other services. In this regard, they are entitled to the same respect and dignity as all other members of the family, community and society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Health systems, including health-care services and preventive services, should offer, in cooperation with social, child protection, educational and other relevant services, a continuum of care for children and families. Health systems are central to the care of pregnant women, childbirth, postnatal care of the mother and child and the care of young children. Health systems are important not only in relation to specific biomedical interventions, but because they often constitute the only infrastructure that reaches young children, particularly those under 3 years of age, and can therefore initiate and foster health promotion and social service support to promote early child development and prevent risks. For example, health visits or growth monitoring sessions can provide an opportunity to incorporate other child development recommendations. The health system is therefore often in a good position to take a lead in providing integrated care for young 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
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The importance of primary health care, as expressed in the Declaration of Alma-Ata, adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978, and in article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child must be underlined with regard to health promotion and health-care services for young 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Palliative care for young children is an obligatory part of health-care services, beginning when the illness is diagnosed and continuing regardless of whether or not a child receives curative treatment. Young children in need of palliative care have the right to receive the necessary physical, social, psychosocial and spiritual care to ensure their development and promote their best possible quality of life. Symptom management and pain relief are central to children's palliative care. Health systems must have adequately trained professionals to assess and treat pain in children of different ages and developmental stages and ensure the availability of paediatric diagnostic procedures and palliative care medicines in paediatric formulations. Palliative care for children must also involve ongoing support to the child's family throughout the course of treatment and, should the disease be the cause of death, into bereavement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Health workers and other professionals such as social workers have a very important role to play in supporting positive and responsive parenting. States should ensure that there are an adequate number of general practitioners, paediatricians, nurses and other relevant health-care professionals trained to work with children. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the training and practice of medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals continues to focus predominantly on the biomedical determinants of health. Health-care services and all relevant professionals should be better equipped with relevant knowledge and practical skills to respond proactively to new knowledge about the negative impact of social determinants and early childhood adversities on the physical and mental health of children. For example, nurses and social workers, who visit families with young children should be trained to address issues related to the emotional and cognitive development of children and should be able to provide parents with the knowledge and basic skills necessary for nurturing and responsive parenting and non-violent ways of bringing up 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
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The role of the health sector is given particular attention in the present report. However, as recognized in, among other texts, the Declaration of Alma-Ata, other sectors are also very important for early child health and holistic development. The right to health of young children should be promoted and protected through sustainable and transparent implementation of the principle "health in all 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
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph