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Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Hazardous pesticides impose substantial costs on Governments and have catastrophic impacts on the environment, human health and society as a whole, implicating a number of human rights and putting certain groups at elevated risk of rights abuses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 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
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- In certain jurisdictions, individuals enjoy direct recourse against business entities for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, whether in order to impose on such private entities (negative) duties to refrain from certain courses of conduct or to impose (positive) duties to adopt certain measures or to contribute to the fulfilment of such rights. There are also a large number of domestic laws designed to protect specific economic, social and cultural rights, that apply directly to business entities, such as in the areas of non-discrimination, health-care provision, education, the environment, employment relations and consumer safety.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 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. 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
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Third, while the notion of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment may include a wide range of actions amounting to unlawful infliction of pain or suffering, the aggravated threshold of torture requires a number of additional criteria that may vary slightly depending on the applicable treaty definition and its interpretation by the relevant oversight bodies. Thus, according to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, “an act constitutes torture when the ill-treatment: (a) is intentional; (b) causes severe physical or mental suffering, and (c) is committed with a specific purpose or objective”. Similarly, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has interpreted torture as “the intentional and systematic infliction of physical or psychological pain and suffering in order to punish, intimidate or gather information” and usefully pointed out that torture could be carried out by “State or non-State actors at the time of exercising control over such person or persons”. According to the European Court of Human Rights, torture, as opposed to other inhuman and degrading treatment, involves “deliberate inhuman treatment causing very serious and cruel suffering”. Both the European Court and the African Commission have used article 1 of the Convention against Torture as a reference point for defining torture for the purposes of the European Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, whereas inter-American bodies have tended to refer to the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- 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. 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
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 90
- Paragraph text
- Today, hazardous pesticides are in excessive use, inflicting damage on human health and ecosystems around the world, and their use is poised to increase in the coming years. Safer practices exist and can be developed further to minimize the impacts of such excessive, in some cases unnecessary, use of pesticides that violate a number of human rights. A rise in organic agricultural practices in many places illustrates that farming with less or without any pesticides is feasible. Studies have indicated that agroecology is capable of delivering sufficient yields to feed the entire world population and ensure that they are adequately nourished.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 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
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation depends heavily on national legal and regulatory frameworks. While constitutional recognition of these rights shows a strong national commitment to their realization, and facilitates their inclusion in domestic laws, it does not constitute a conditio sine qua non for their inclusion in national legal frameworks. Kenya, for example, underwent a process of legal and regulatory reform before enshrining these rights in its Constitution. Laws give voice to national policies, and aspire to achieving universal realization of the rights, while rules and regulations set performance standards and determine how services should be provided to the population, as they encapsulate the technical and scientific requirements needed to give meaningful content to the general terms contained in laws. The fact that the provision of water and sanitation services must be adequate for human dignity, life and health, in accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, places concrete human rights obligations on national regulatory frameworks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights entail a set of freedoms and entitlements. They encompass the right to have control over decisions concerning sexuality and reproduction without discrimination, coercion and violence, and the right to access a range of sexual and reproductive health facilities, services, goods and information. Sexual and reproductive health services include, inter alia, contraceptive counselling, information, education, communication and services; education and services for prenatal care, safe delivery and postnatal care; the prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility; safe abortion services; the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections; and sexual and reproductive health information, education and counselling (see A/CONF.171/13/Rev.1, chap. VII).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- 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. 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. 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
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The duty to conduct legal reviews applies to weapons in the broadest sense, as well as the manner in which they are intended or reasonably expected to be used. A meaningful weapons review involves experts from various disciplines, given that it requires an examination of all relevant information regarding the weapon, such as its technical description, its performance and reliability, its environmental and medical impact and, most importantly for the present context, the nature and severity of the physical, mental and emotional injury, pain or suffering likely to be inflicted.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- All countries have engaged with the Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review and most have engaged with one or more of the special procedures. There has been much coverage of the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity under these mechanisms, particularly from the angle of anti-violence and anti-discrimination, such as in the work of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The present report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food was written in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. Pesticides, which have been aggressively promoted, are a global human rights concern, and their use can have very detrimental consequences on the enjoyment of the right to food. Defined as any substance or mixture of substances of chemical and biological ingredients intended to repel, destroy or control any pest or regulate plant growth, pesticides are responsible for an estimated 200,000 acute poisoning deaths each year, 99 per cent of which occur in developing countries, where health, safety and environmental regulations are weaker and less strictly applied. While records on global pesticide use are incomplete, it is generally agreed that application rates have increased dramatically over the past few decades.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Few people are untouched by pesticide exposure. They may be exposed through food, water, air, or direct contact with pesticides or residues. However, given that most diseases are multi-causal, and bearing in mind that individuals tend to be exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals in their daily lives, establishing a direct causal link between exposure to pesticides and their effects can be a challenge for accountability and for victims seeking access to an effective remedy. Even so, persistent use of pesticides, in particular agrochemicals used in industrial farming, have been connected to a range of adverse health impacts, both at high and low exposure levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law sets forth comprehensive State obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. In particular, the rights to adequate food and to health provide clear protections for all people against excessive or inappropriate use of pesticides. Taking a human rights approach to pesticides guarantees the principles of universality and non-discrimination, under which human rights are guaranteed for all persons, including vulnerable groups, who disproportionately feel the burden of hazardous pesticides.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- 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