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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In his first report, the Independent Expert underlined the relationship between sexual orientation and gender identity and other issues, including racism, poverty, migration, disability and other factors. A particular concern to be highlighted here is the plight of children and youth from the perspective of gender diversity. Thus, on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, 17 May 2017, the Independent Expert and a range of United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, as well as regional mechanisms, issued a joint statement calling for protection of transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents. The following excerpt epitomizes the universal message:
We call on States to adopt and implement effective measures prohibiting violence, anti-discrimination laws covering gender identity and expression — real or perceived — as well as sexual orientation as prohibited grounds for discrimination, to develop inclusive curriculums and learning materials, training for and support to teachers and other school staff, education and support programmes for parents, safe and non-discriminatory access to bathrooms, and awareness-raising programmes nurturing respect and understanding for gender diversity.
On another front, the mere existence of laws or by-laws criminalizing gender expression including through offences of “cross dressing” or “imitating the opposite sex” and other such discriminatory regulations impact on the liberty and security of these young people, tend to foster a climate where hate speech, violence and discrimination are condoned and perpetrated with impunity.
Criminalization and pervasive discrimination in such context lead to the denial of health care, including safe gender affirming procedures, and to the lack of access to information and related services. Pathologizing trans and gender diverse people — branding them as ill based on their gender identity and expression — has historically been, and continues to be, one of the root causes behind the human rights violations against them.
We reiterate our call for States to decriminalize and depathologize trans and gender diverse identities and expressions, including for young transgender people, prohibit “conversion therapies” and refrain from adopting new criminalizing laws and pathologizing medical classifications, including in the context of the upcoming review of the International Classification of Diseases. We also call on States to provide equal access to health care and access to gender affirming treatment to those who seek it. | Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2017 | ||
Servile marriage 2012, para. 63 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | As with domestic violence, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures of the numbers of girls and women in servile marriage. Statistics for early marriage, however, can be used as an indication. According to UNICEF, adolescent marriages (where one or both spouses are below the age of 19 years) commonly occur in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In those regions, most marriages take place between the ages of 15 and 18 years. UNICEF suggests that early marriages are often considered to be a way to protect girls, and even sometimes boys, from sexual predation, promiscuity and social ostracism. In some communities, parents perceive girls as wealth. | Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 19 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In the western and central parts of Tamil Nadu, a high number of adolescent girls reportedly work as bonded labourers under the sumangali scheme in textile mills and garment factories, which is a major hub in the global knitwear sector that supplies international brands. The majority of these workers are reported to belong to Dalit communities and are aged between 14 and 18 years. Debt bondage is also reported in power loom workshops located in the Tiruppur region of Tamil Nadu, which produce woven cloth both for domestic manufacturers and for global suppliers. Those affected by debt bondage in this region are reported to include members of Dalit communities and other poor communities and to include both men and women. Furthermore, some non-agricultural industries in which debt bondage among children is reported to exist include carpet weaving, beedi making, silk production, silk sari production, the brick kilns and stone quarries. | Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Servile marriage 2012, para. 36 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In its general comment No. 4, the Committee on the Rights of the Child strongly urges States parties to develop and implement legislation aimed at changing prevailing attitudes, and address gender roles and stereotypes that contribute to harmful traditional practices. It also calls upon States parties to protect adolescents from all harmful traditional practices, such as early marriage, and recommends that they review and, where necessary, reform their legislation and practice to increase the minimum age for marriage with and without parental consent to 18 years, for both girls and boys. | Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Servile marriage 2012, para. 49 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Studies show that servile marriage is most common in poor households. A UNICEF study shows that a girl from the poorest household is three times more likely to marry than a girl from the richest household. A United Nations Population Fund study on adolescents shows that, in Nigeria, 80 per cent of the poorest girls marry before the age of 18, compared to 22 per cent of the richest girls. | Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 51 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Children often start performing the same tasks as adults more regularly and full time from the age of 12 years (see A/HRC/18/30/Add.1). By the time they are adolescents, children work in the actual extraction of minerals underground, underwater or on the surface. These children are also likely to work in the separation, processing and transportation of the minerals. The children face the same risks as adults but lack the same strength and judgement to protect themselves from harm. The effects that this work has on children are much more severe than for adults because of their anatomical, physiological and psychological development, which places them in a situation of increased vulnerability. Tools and safety equipment, when available, have been designed for adults and to correspond to the measurement of children. Children also work very long hours with little or no pay. | Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 29 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Advances have been made in addressing some key protection issues, even as many continue under-examined or unresolved. The greatest strides are visible in the area of reproductive health services, mainly owing to the Inter-agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings, and the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) addressing reproductive health and sexual violence in emergency settings, developed by the Inter-agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises. This manual was revised in 2010 to better encompass IDPs and others affected by humanitarian emergencies better. Nonetheless, important gaps remain in the reproductive health response, including the provision of adequate maternal and reproductive health care for women with disabilities and adolescent girls; scaling up systematic and equitable coverage of MISP; and sustaining these services in protracted crisis and the recovery phase. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
| Special Procedures' report |
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| 2013 | ||
Human rights of internally displaced persons in the context of the Post-2015 development agenda 2015, para. 39 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The synthesis report recognizes increasingly negative displacement trends. In the section on "dignity" it states that no society can reach its full potential if whole segments of that society are excluded from participating in, contributing to, and benefiting from development. It notes that the agenda "must not exclude migrants, refugees, displaced persons, or persons affected by conflict and occupation". The chapter entitled "A synthesis" states that particular attention should be given to countries in situations of fragility and conflict and the specific conditions of each country should be addressed. There is a consistent call to "leave no one behind" and ensure equality, non-discrimination, equity and inclusion. The report states: "We must pay special attention to the people, groups and countries most in need. We need to include the poor, children, adolescents, youth and the aged, as well as the unemployed, rural populations, slum dwellers, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees and displaced persons, vulnerable groups and minorities. These also include those affected by climate change." | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
| Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 51 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Despite attempts to mainstream attention to gender, age and other elements of diversity, room remains for stronger links between gender and generation-sensitive analyses and interventions in support of IDPs. This is especially the case for adolescent girls, young and older IDW. The ageing of the global population points towards the need to integrate gender and generation-sensitive approaches to internal displacement more systematically, given the growing proportion of elderly displaced women, including widows, with particular capacities and protection and assistance concerns. These concerns may be particularly pronounced when older IDW take on the role of caregivers to children whose parents have died or moved elsewhere. Similarly, displaced girls are burdened with heavy household responsibilities, including domestic chores, such as fetching water and firewood and caring for younger siblings. This often results in young girls missing out on schooling and exposes them to increased protection risks. There is also a need for more concerted attention to the particular risks and challenges faced by IDW and girls with disabilities, including ensuring full access to and inclusion in humanitarian programmes and recognizing their skills and capacities. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
| Special Procedures' report |
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| 2013 | ||
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 43 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | However, opportunities for IDW to participate actively in decision-making processes remain particularly limited. For example, IDW have rarely played an active role in developing, implementing and monitoring national action plans on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), although IDW in a diverse range of contexts have demonstrated their ability and determination to play leading roles in developing and implementing policies and programmes concerning them. Unfortunately, the participatory approaches used to identify protection gaps of concern to IDW often do not extend to ensuring that they have an active say in the development, implementation and evaluation of responses to these gaps. IDW should therefore be given the opportunity to actively participate in peace processes; in negotiating durable solutions and the planning process for returns, reintegration or resettlement; and in post-conflict reconstruction and rebuilding. Participation of women in humanitarian planning should further reflect the diversity of the population and seek to include adolescent girls, youth and those with disabilities. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
| Special Procedures' report |
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| 2013 | ||
The impact of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements on the human rights of migrants 2016, para. 60 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Migrant children have unique concerns in the context of trade, as they comprise a significant proportion of child labourers in informal sectors, as well as in the commercial sex industry. In 2010, in the context of the trade agreement between Panama and the United States, the National Bureau against Child Labour and for the Protection of Adolescent Workers was established within the Panamanian labour department. The partnership agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union, also known as the Cotonou Agreement, provided for the creation of cooperative education programmes towards the elimination of child labour. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Human rights of migrants in the post-2015 development agenda 2014, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Development targets that pay no attention to which groups are being left behind can be met without having any real impact on ensuring a more equal and just world. The focus should not be on simply reducing the cost and increasing the flow of remittances, but rather on the human cost of migration. In many countries, the most marginalized and exploited migrants are those who are in an irregular situation, have a precarious labour contract, are low-skilled, are children or adolescents, are women, in particular in domestic work, or are working in the construction, hospitality, extraction, fishing and agricultural sectors. Such migrants experience multiple forms of discrimination, on the basis of nationality, legal status, sector of work, sex, age and ethnic, linguistic or religious identity. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Impact of the criminalization of migration on the protection and enjoyment of human rights 2010, para. 47 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Special Rapporteur continues to observe, as highlighted in his 2009 report to the General Assembly, that many countries still allow migration-related detention of children, in contravention of the best interests of the child. He also regrets the lack of "benefit of the doubt" in age-assessment processes for migrant children, the detention of unaccompanied minors, and in general, the detention of children in facilities that are unsuited for them and/or their families. In his view, the absence of a child and adolescent perspective in migration management is particularly worrisome with regard to immigration detention. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Special Procedures' report |
|
| 2010 | ||
Impact of the criminalization of migration on the protection and enjoyment of human rights 2010, para. 81 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The detention of children and adolescents through border control measures, such as interception at sea, should be addressed through a child protection approach. Similarly, migration authorities responsible for the mistreatment of children should be held fully accountable. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 | ||
Impact of the criminalization of migration on the protection and enjoyment of human rights 2010, para. 77c | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [States are particularly encouraged to:] Consider creating regularization options for persons who may not fall under the international refugee regime but who may need to have their human rights protected and consider granting legal residence to children and adolescent victims of abuse and exploitation as a durable solution, in line with the best interests of the child; | Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Special Procedures' report |
|
| 2010 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 20 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Certain human rights obligations related to hygiene can be inferred from the rights to water and sanitation, as well as the right to health, the right to food, the right to privacy, human dignity and other human rights. This report focuses on the human rights obligations related to hand-washing at appropriate times, menstrual hygiene, management of child faeces and domestic food hygiene. A working group created under WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation explained that "… various components are considered essential to menstrual hygiene management. The first is that women and adolescent girls use clean materials to absorb or collect menstrual blood, and are able to change them in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of their menstrual period. It also involves using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. Further, women and girls need access to basic information about the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear." | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 74 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Because menstrual hygiene management has such a strong impact on gender equality, it could be used as a proxy for information about discrimination against women and girls in sanitation and hygiene. Targets and indicators should be crafted to capture the ability of all women and adolescent girls to manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity, supported by amending the relevant household surveys explicitly asking about adequate menstrual hygiene management. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76c (vii) | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding data sources and methodology: Targets and indicators should be crafted to ensure that women and adolescent girls can manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity, including by specific questions in relevant household surveys about adequate menstrual hygiene management. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 73 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | One particular area where individual inequalities and the lack of attention to the needs of women and girls is starkly apparent is menstrual hygiene management. Menstruation is a taboo topic. In this context, women and girls are forced into furtive practices and obliged to hide their hygiene practices and limit their movements during menstruation. Although there is a dearth of research in this area, several studies demonstrate that adolescent girls often face significant restrictions during and associated with their menses. Girls may be taken out of school or workplaces or choose not to attend because there are no facilities for hygienically managing menstruation in sanitation facilities. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In many cultures, girls are considered adults after their first menstruation and may drop out of school, marry and start having children. Increased knowledge of menstruation by both men and women, combined with strategies to lift social taboos on menstruation, may prevent girls from being considered as adults ready for marriage but, rather, as young adolescents going through a normal phase of their development. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to freedom of opinion and expression exercised through the Internet 2011, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In other cases, intermediary liability is imposed through privacy and data protection laws. For example, a court in Italy convicted three Google executives for violating the Italian data protection code after a video depicting cruelty to a disabled teenager was posted by a user on the Google video service. Even though the video was taken down within hours of notification by Italian law enforcers, the judge found the Google executives guilty. The Government of China requires ISPs and web platforms to conduct surveillance on their users, and they are also held directly responsible for content posted by users. Companies that fail to comply with this obligation risk losing their business licences. Holding intermediaries liable for the content disseminated or created by their users severely undermines the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, because it leads to self-protective and over-broad private censorship, often without transparency and the due process of the law. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 60 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In India, members of the Adolescent Girls' Clubs against Child Marriage network help to persuade families not to marry their daughters off at a young age by educating people about the harmful consequences of early marriage. They offer a lifeline not only to girls who want to resist family pressure, but also to parents afraid that going against gender-based expectations will leave their daughters ostracized. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Student-run publications are another important means by which students can express their views. They provide a source of support because they contain reports on topics that are of concern to young people and that adults may not feel comfortable discussing. Students' writing has, however, been censored for covering issues such as teenage pregnancy and the effects of parental divorce. Increasingly, students' posts on social media are also under scrutiny and, in some cases, children have been expelled for posting criticism of their school. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 45 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The effects of limits on children's right to freedom of expression spill out of the school gates into public life. Children, just as adults, may be subject to excessive violence or arbitrary detention for expressing political views. For example, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recently highlighted such violations to the Syrian Arab Republic in relation to the arrest and incommunicado detention of a group of children between 8 and 15 years of age accused of painting anti-government graffiti on a school wall in the southern town of Dara'a (see CRC/C/SYR/CO/3-4, para. 46). It also expressed its concern to Belarus about the detention of adolescents during demonstrations held in the context of presidential elections in December 2010 (see CRC/C/BLR/CO/3-4, para. 35). | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Contemporary challenges to freedom of expression 2016, para. 43 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Article 20 (2) provides for restrictions with respect to hateful advocacy that amounts to incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence; it does not permit restrictions merely on the basis of "incompatibility" with a particular faith's values, nor does it (or article 19) permit restrictions that amount to blasphemy as such. Nonetheless, Maldives enacted a law in 2016 that criminalizes speech not expressed in accordance with social norms, national security and Islam. Singapore noted that a teenager was convicted under national legislation "for posting a video containing remarks against Christianity with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of Christians". While "wounding religious feelings" may involve real emotional costs, such charges have no basis under international human rights law and limit without justification the sharing of information and ideas pertaining to religion and belief. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | There is no reference in article 13 to the child's evolving capacities, nor is a minimum age or a certain degree of maturity for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression fixed. In this sense, freedom of expression has been regarded as having a developmental aspect, since its aim is to enable children to develop their minds and themselves in society with others and grow into citizens participating in public life. Children's freedom of expression does not - and cannot - start when children become capable of expressing their views autonomously or become teenagers; they cannot be expected to develop as autonomous beings and participants in society at the magical age of 18 years without having had the opportunity beforehand. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
The right of the child to freedom of expression 2014, para. 76 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Empowering children must include training parents and professionals who work with children to support them in using the Internet, keeping in mind their evolving capacities. A positive way to introduce online safety and information beneficial to the development of children is through school curricula, including by involving children in the development of school policies on information and communications technologies. Non-governmental organizations and public communications such as radio messages can provide similar support to children who are not in school. Some examples of child safety initiatives are SaferNet Brasil, the Slovak Safer Internet Centre and Manos por la Niñez y Adolescencia (Hands for Children and Adolescents) in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. | Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 56 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Experts recommend major changes in routine baby medical checks to detect and address social and emotional difficulties, which could be early signs of toxic stress, as a means of reducing many of society's most complex and costly medical issues, from heart disease to alcohol and drug abuse. In addition, some of the evidence-based health interventions that are included in the "zero draft" of the new global strategy for women's, children's and adolescents' health, such as nutrition counselling and "kangaroo" mother care for small babies, can be very useful in assisting main actors adopting a modern approach to health interventions. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 95 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A holistic approach to addressing violence is consistent with the aim of collectively implementing the Sustainable Development Goal targets on violence across the agenda. It is also consonant with the indivisible and interrelated nature of human rights. From a human rights and public health perspective, violence must be addressed comprehensively, including obligations to eliminate violence within health-care settings, to address how structural factors, such as laws and policies, institutionalize violence and to eliminate violence against women and children. The right to health also includes an entitlement to safe access to health care and to a safe environment. Importantly, children and adolescents have a right to be free from violence and to healthy development. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In particular, adolescents' leading role in using and shaping new communications technologies places them in a position to build and utilize networks to promote their right to health, for example through information dissemination, data gathering, health campaign design, health education, peer-to-peer education and counselling and conflict mediation. A number of e-health and web-based interventions and mobile applications can provide information, increase access to care, engage adolescents in treatment and initiate aftercare. These skills and capacities mean that adolescents are uniquely positioned to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3, as well as to monitoring and holding Governments to account on the commitments made (General Assembly resolution 70/1). | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 |