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Ability of associations to access financial resources as a vital part of the right to freedom of association & Ability to hold peaceful assemblies as an integral component of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly 2013, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlights that coordination of aid is not listed as a legitimate ground for restrictions under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Furthermore, he underlines that barriers in the name of aid effectiveness have little in common with "the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- In a 2013 decision, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador admitted a habeas corpus writ petition against the penitentiary administration in relation to a claimant in detention suffering from diabetes and hypertension. The applicant argued that the failure to provide him with adequate food and an appropriate diet violated his right to health and physical integrity. While the detainee's petition was rejected on the grounds that medical evidence did not support the claim, the case demonstrates the willingness of the court to consider the protection of economic, Social and cultural rights under habeas corpus procedures. The judgment handed down in this case is significant on two counts: firstly, it demonstrates that all human rights are interconnected and indivisible; and, secondly, even though medical evidence was insufficient, the court makes the connection between those suffering from diabetes and their need for adequate and healthy food, which creates an important precedent for future cases.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Access to medicines in the context of the right-to-health framework 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Imported medicines usually exact a tariff in the country of import which is normally added onto the cost of a medicine. Half of the surveyed States indicated that a tariff or levy is imposed on imported medicines. Tariffs are indeed applied to finished pharmaceutical products in 38 per cent of countries and to APIs in 41 per cent. The States, however, reported having differential policies with respect to import tariffs levied on such specific medicines as antibiotics, antiretrovirals (ARVs), cancer drugs and vaccines, which is a positive practice and can help reduce the prices of these life-saving 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)
- Health
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to medicines in the context of the right-to-health framework 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Pricing policies of pharmaceutical industries greatly impact the affordability of medicines. Under the right to health, pharmaceutical companies have a shared responsibility to ensure that the prices of their medicines do not put them out of the reach of a majority of the population. Earlier tiered pricing of essential medicines was the norm, whereby essential medicines were sold systematically at a lower price in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Later many multinationals however opted for universal tiered prices. Tiered pricing policies have now re-emerged. Some multinational companies now engage in tiered pricing between and within countries, based on income levels (equity based pricing), which can be profitable for companies due to increases in volume and attractive to developing countries due to reductions in prices. In practice, however, tiered pricing has been limited to certain medicines such as ARVs, vaccines and contraceptives. Moreover, given the lack of guarantee of low prices and the diminished role for government decision-making in such pricing policies, alternatives such as promoting robust market competition have been recommended as good practices with a view to lowering the prices 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)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to medicines in the context of the right-to-health framework 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) are invaluable for rational prescription of medicines, as they provide guidance on the most appropriate treatment options with respect to the local burden of disease. Unfamiliarity with STGs has been demonstrated in the instances of inappropriate use of antimicrobials for non-bacterial infections, over-use of injections where oral formulations are indicated and irrational combinations for fixed dose medications. Incorrect choice of medicines by physicians has been linked to higher levels of resistance, increased costs, morbidity and mortality in patients. As a good practice, prescribers and health-care workers should be regularly trained in STGs to promote rational prescribing to patients. Regularly updating, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of STGs promote adequate access to appropriate medicines. However, this has not been done in many countries, which is a challenge that States ought to overcome.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to rights-based support for persons with disabilities 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations, including all its programmes, funds and specialized agencies, should increase the awareness and expertise of its staff on the implementation of support systems to be able to cooperate more effectively with States, including through technical guidance, information and capacity-building.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Some organizations highlighted that any new instrument should also promote communication for development and technology for development programmes and require States to establish a “femicide watch”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- As the Special Rapporteur on the right to health observed, while informed consent is commonly enshrined in the legal framework at the national level, it is frequently compromised in the health-care setting. Structural inequalities, such as the power imbalance between doctors and patients, exacerbated by stigma and discrimination, result in individuals from certain groups being disproportionately vulnerable to having informed consent compromised (ibid., para. 92).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The numerous calls by various international and regional organizations to close compulsory drug detention centres, as well as the numerous injunctions and recommendations contained in the recently released guidelines by WHO on pharmacotherapy for opiate dependence, the UNODC policy guidance on the organization's human rights responsibilities in drug detention centres, and resolutions by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, are routinely ignored. These centres continue to operate often with direct or indirect support and assistance from international donors without any adequate human rights oversight.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- For many rape survivors, access to a safe abortion procedure is made virtually impossible by a maze of administrative hurdles, and by official negligence and obstruction. In the landmark decision of K.N.L.H. v. Peru, the Human Rights Committee deemed the denial of a therapeutic abortion a violation of the individual's right to be free from ill-treatment. In the case of P. and S. v. Poland, ECHR stated that "the general stigma attached to abortion and to sexual violence …, caus[ed] much distress and suffering, both physically and mentally".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Many countries fail to make adequate arrangements for the supply of these medications. Low- and middle-income countries account for 6 per cent of morphine use worldwide while having about half of all cancer patients and 95 per cent of all new HIV infections. Thirty-two countries in Africa have almost no morphine available at all. In the United States, over a third of patients are not adequately treated for pain. In France, a study found that doctors underestimated pain in over half of their AIDS patients. In India, more than half of the country's regional cancer centres do not have morphine or doctors trained in using it. This is despite the fact that 70 per cent or more of their patients have advanced cancer and are likely to require pain treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2013
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. 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. 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
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- States are also obliged to protect against infringement of the right to health by third parties. In States where abortion is prohibited, public health and safety regulations regarding abortion, such as provisions for the training and licensing of health-care workers, cannot exist, thus increasing the potential for unsafe abortion practices. Decriminalization, coupled with appropriate regulation and the provision of accessible, safe abortion services, is the most expeditious method of fully protecting the right to health against third-party violations. Additionally, States should take measures to protect those who provide abortions and related services from harassment, violence, kidnappings and murder perpetrated by non-State actors (religiously motivated or otherwise).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- States must take measures to ensure that legal and safe abortion services are available, accessible, and of good quality. Safe abortions, however, will not immediately be available upon decriminalization unless States create conditions under which they may be provided. These conditions include establishing available and accessible clinics; the provision of additional training for physicians and health-care workers; enacting licensing requirements; and ensuring the availability of the latest and safest medicines and equipment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The provision of health-care goods and services that are of poor quality is a major problem arising from legal regimes criminalizing abortion. In these circumstances, the lack of State and professional regulation of medical practices means that abortions are performed by unskilled practitioners, in unhygienic conditions, in order to evade law enforcement. On the contrary, when performed by trained health-care providers under appropriate conditions, abortion is one of the safest medical procedures available. Criminalization further prevents practitioners from accessing accurate health information and, where exceptions to criminalization exist, the chilling effect created by its associated stigma may prevent health-care workers from seeking training and information on abortion. Health-care workers who choose to perform abortions under these circumstances may accordingly be uninformed and untrained on appropriate abortion procedure and post-abortion care, reducing the quality and availability of legal abortions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS 2001, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- We, heads of State and Government and representatives of States and Governments, assembled at the United Nations, from 25 to 27 June 2001, for the twenty-sixth special session of the General Assembly, convened in accordance with resolution 55/13 of 3 November 2000, as a matter of urgency, to review and address the problem of HIV/AIDS in all its aspects, as well as to secure a global commitment to enhancing coordination and intensification of national, regional and international efforts to combat it in a comprehensive manner;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS 2001, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that effective prevention, care and treatment strategies will require behavioural changes and increased availability of and non-discriminatory access to, inter alia, vaccines, condoms, microbicides, lubricants, sterile injecting equipment, drugs, including anti-retroviral therapy, diagnostics and related technologies, as well as increased research and development;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS 2001, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- By 2003, enact, strengthen or enforce, as appropriate, legislation, regulations and other measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against and to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people living with HIV/AIDS and members of vulnerable groups, in particular to ensure their access to, inter alia, education, inheritance, employment, health care, social and health services, prevention, support and treatment, information and legal protection, while respecting their privacy and confidentiality; and develop strategies to combat stigma and social exclusion connected with the epidemic;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS 2001, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- By 2003, ensure that all research protocols for the investigation of HIV-related treatment, including anti-retroviral therapies and vaccines, based on international guidelines and best practices, are evaluated by independent committees of ethics, in which persons living with HIV/AIDS and caregivers for anti-retroviral therapy participate;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2001
Paragraph
Detention of migrants in an irregular situation 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which apply to all categories of prisoners, both criminal and those imprisoned under any other non-criminal process, set out minimum standards for, inter alia, accommodation, personal hygiene, clothing, bedding, food, exercise, access to newspapers, books and religious advisers, communication with the outside world and medical services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Environmental sustainability is a concern where there is not an adequate sanitation system to remove the water that is brought into a household. In urban areas, in particular, this can be a problem when water is piped into a settlement without adequate removal systems. Beyond the pollution of water bodies and the consequent impacts on health, stagnant and standing water can encourage the breeding of mosquitoes, including those responsible for spreading malaria, dengue and yellow fever.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Effective and full implementation of the right to health framework, including justiciability of ESCR and the right to health; the progressive realisation of the right to health; the accountability deficit of transnational corporations; and the current ... 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Courts are experienced in adjudicating the immediate obligation of non discrimination with regard to health. For example, in Eldrige v. British Columbia (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada found that the Medical and Health Care Services Act discriminated against deaf and hard of hearing people because its lack of provision for sign language interpreters denied them equal benefits under the law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Effective and full implementation of the right to health framework, including justiciability of ESCR and the right to health; the progressive realisation of the right to health; the accountability deficit of transnational corporations; and the current ... 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Any debate about the general justiciability of the right to health ended with the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on 5 May 2013 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure on 14 April 2014. It is recommended that States ensure that the right to health is justiciable in their domestic jurisdictions. Most individual obligations of the right to health are clearly justiciable, and only obligations to fulfil that are progressively realizable require further analysis to confirm their justiciability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on 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
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Effective and full implementation of the right to health framework, including justiciability of ESCR and the right to health; the progressive realisation of the right to health; the accountability deficit of transnational corporations; and the current ... 2014, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- International investment agreements may provide for exceptions that can be used by States to defend laws in the public interest, such as public health laws. Even where international investment agreements contain such exceptions, however, investor rights may trump them. After Uruguay had entered into a bilateral investment treaty with Switzerland, it adopted public health measures on the packaging and advertisement of cigarettes, in accordance with local laws, which were enacted pursuant to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Although those measures accorded with the public health exception in the bilateral investment treaty, Phillip Morris International initiated a dispute against Uruguay, claiming that its law was unreasonable and breached the guarantee of fair and equitable 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Of grave concern are the impacts of chronic exposure to hazardous pesticides. Pesticide exposure has been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, hormone disruption, developmental disorders and sterility. They can also cause numerous neurological health effects such as memory loss, loss of coordination, reduced visual ability and reduced motor skills. Other possible effects include asthma, allergies and hypersensitivity. These symptoms are often very subtle and may not be recognized by the medical community as a clinical effect caused by pesticides. Furthermore, chronic effects of pesticides may not manifest for months or years after exposure, presenting a significant challenge for accountability and access to an effective remedy, including preventive interventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- During the 1970s, the pesticide DCBP was used extensively on banana and pineapple plantations around the world. In Davao, the Philippines, where the pesticide was used in the 1980s, high levels of sterility were scientifically proven to have resulted from exposure. Other conditions, including cancer, asthma, tuberculosis and skin disease, were also detected, but a linkage was not scientifically proven. While local authorities banned aerial spraying following community protests, the Supreme Court of the Philippines reversed the ban, allegedly under pressure from banana corporations. Further, suits brought by plantation workers have been dismissed, leaving victims without compensation. Twenty years on, despite a global ban on DBCP, soils and water sources remain contaminated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Pesticides also present a serious threat to drinking water, particularly in agricultural areas, which often depend on groundwater. While it can take several decades before pesticides applied in fields appear in water wells, high levels of herbicides in agricultural areas have already caused health problems for some communities. For example, in the United States of America, where over 70 million pounds of atrazine are used annually, runoff into water supplies has been linked to increased risk of birth defects. While atrazine was banned in the European Union in 2004, some European countries still detect it in groundwater today.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Water contamination can be equally damaging. In Guatemala, for example, contamination of the Pasión River with the pesticide malathion, used on palm oil plantations, killed thousands of fish and affected 23 species of fish. This in turn deprived 12,000 people in 14 communities of their primary source of food and livelihood.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph