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The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The enjoyment of the right to health of all people who use drugs - and are dependent on drugs - is applicable irrespective of the fact of their drug use. It is important that drug use and drug dependence are not conflated: drug dependence is considered a chronic, relapsing disorder involving altered brain function that may require medical treatment, ideally utilizing a "biopsychosocial" approach. By contrast, drug use is not a medical condition and does not necessarily imply dependence. Indeed the majority of people who use drugs do not become dependent and do not require any 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- A number of United Nations bodies enforce the three drug control treaties and are required to promote and protect human rights, as identified in Articles 1 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations. When the goals and approaches of the international drug control regime and international human rights regime conflict, it is clear that human rights obligations should prevail. The General Assembly has consistently adopted resolutions declaring that international drug control must be carried out in conformity with the Charter, and "with full respect for human rights" (see resolutions 62/176 and 63/197).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In countries where the "war on drugs" is zealously pursued or drug laws are enforced stringently, those who are dependent on drugs may be, and often are, discouraged from accessing health services. It is reported that in some countries this approach has reinforced the status of people who use drugs as social outcasts, driving drug use underground, compromising the HIV/AIDS response, as well as discouraging people who use drugs from accessing treatment. And where HIV infections occur through unsafe injecting practices, seroprevalence among injecting drug users can be as high as 50 per cent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The non-prices measures of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provide the best examples of the protections and regulations that may replace the existing enforcement-based framework. Such measures include regulation of drug content, education and awareness-building, and measures concerning dependence reduction and cessation. Implementation of these measures would secure the right to health by, inter alia, ensuring supply of unadulterated drugs, increasing individual and community awareness to minimize risk, and ensuring access to appropriate treatment, where necessary. There generally are high levels of implementation among Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on nearly all of these measures, suggesting similar possibilities for currently controlled drugs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- People who use drugs are often subjected to discrimination in medical settings. Access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy can be low for people who use drugs: in Eastern Europe, although 70 per cent of reported cases of HIV occurred among people who injected drugs, this group comprised 39 per cent of the total population of people living with HIV receiving ARV therapy. This may be attributed to structural inequalities that impede access of these groups to the therapy; for instance, lack of targeted interventions. Cases of health-care providers, however, denying ARV treatment to people who use drugs also have been noted, in direct contravention of a right-to-health approach.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to health and international drug control, compulsory treatment for drug dependence and access to controlled medicines 2010, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Emergency obstetric procedures and management of epilepsy also require use of scheduled medications, and remain inadequately resourced. Post-partum haemorrhage results in over 100,000 maternal deaths annually. Oxytocin and ergometrine, two controlled drugs used in obstetric procedures, are difficult to access yet reduce the risk of severe post-partum bleeding by more than half. Similarly, around 75 per cent of people with epilepsy in developing countries and up to 90 per cent of patients with epilepsy in Africa do not receive treatment with essential medicines, including phenobarbital, partly because it is a controlled substance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, the model law for sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS for West and Central Africa criminalizes the transmission of HIV virus "through any means by a person with full knowledge of his/her HIV/AIDS status to another person". This provision does not require that the person intends to transmit HIV; rather, it requires only that he or she has knowledge of his/her status and fails to take into account relevant circumstances, such as whether the accused individual had knowledge of how HIV is transmitted or used effective precautionary methods, in establishing either the offence or the availability of relevant defences. This law been implemented in at least 15 African countries as of 2009, occasionally with amendments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- As such, criminalization should be considered permissible only in cases involving intentional, malicious transmission. The criminalization of any lesser mens rea is not only inappropriate, but also it is counterproductive in the struggle against the spread of HIV. In the view of UNAIDS: Criminal law should not be applied where there is no significant risk of transmission or where the person: Did not know that he/she was HIV-positive Did not understand how HIV is transmitted Disclosed his/her HIV-positive status to the person at risk (or honestly believed the other person was aware of his/her status through some other means) Did not disclose his/her HIV-positive status because of fear of violence or other serious negative consequences Took reasonable measures to reduce risk of transmission, such as practising safer sex through using a condom or other precautions to avoid higher risk acts Previously agreed on a level of mutually acceptable risk with the other person
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Finally, domestic laws prohibiting the deliberate spread of any disease or assault, or laws concerning the age of consent, adequately cover intentional transmission of HIV should the need arise to prosecute cases where this has occurred. The use of these pre-existing laws provides a legal safeguard to potential victims, without unnecessarily stigmatizing and further marginalizing those affected by HIV within the jurisdiction. States should, in addition to using pre-existing laws, issue guidelines to ensure that these laws are only utilized in cases of intentional transmission and that the relevant mens rea is to be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The International Guidelines on Sexuality Education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) describe optimal sexual education as "an age-appropriate, culturally sensitive and comprehensive approach … that include programmes providing scientifically accurate, realistic, non-judgmental information". Moreover, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information should provide "opportunities to explore one's own values and attitudes and to build decision-making, communication, and risk reduction skills about all aspects of sexuality". The Special Rapporteur on the right to education has further emphasized that a comprehensive curriculum requires sensitivity to sexual diversity and a gendered perspective (see A/65/162, para. 23).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Even in jurisdictions where sexual and reproductive health education is permitted in some form, its quality and effectiveness can be severely diminished by policy prescriptions. States have assisted in the dissemination of misinformation on condom use either by distributing materials that contain inaccurate information or by remaining silent on the topic, which allows for the proliferation of contradictory and inaccurate information. Similarly, abstinence-only campaigns that focus only on abstaining from sexual intercourse as a means to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies provide a narrow and incomplete rather than a comprehensive perspective. Such programmes, which often lack accurate and evidence-based information, have been shown to have a minimal or no effect on reducing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to health and development 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Around 33.3 million people worldwide are currently living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a universally fatal syndrome causing failure of the human immune system. One of the most pressing health and human rights conundrums of modern life, it has been described as a "health threat of massive proportions" and an "extraordinary challenge", and represents the first illness that has essentially required the introduction of a public health response that gave heed to human rights. The relationship between HIV and development has also been clearly recognized over time. The pernicious effect of HIV on human development is being tackled through its prioritization as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, and UNDP has noted that "mainstreaming" HIV into development processes is effective. The connections between HIV/AIDS and human rights were articulated by the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights ("Guidelines"), which recognize the central role played by human rights in addressing, limiting and attempting to eradicate HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The realization of the right to health of older persons 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- WHO defined primary health care in 1978 as "essential health care; based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable method and technology; universally accessible to all in the community through their full participation; at an affordable cost; and geared toward self-reliance and self-determination". The defining features of primary care - continuity, coordination and comprehensiveness - are well suited to manage chronic illness, although more remains to be done to ensure that care of sufficient quality is provided. WHO noted the importance of incorporating evidence-based, cost-effective primary and secondary prevention interventions into the health system, with emphasis on primary health care, which is the most appropriate forum through which these can be integrated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Report on expert consultation on access to medicines 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States have the primary responsibility for enhancing access to medicines; as the Millennium Development Goals recognize, however, this is a shared responsibility. If there is to be an increase in access to medicines, numerous national and international actors have a role to play. Pharmaceutical companies are among those who share this responsibility owing to their evident impact on the ability of Governments to realize the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The expert consultation identified the need for a reliable system for the supply of good-quality medicines that are affordable to all, including those living in poverty and other disadvantaged groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Primary health-care goods and services do not require specialized training for health-care workers, sophisticated diagnostic equipment or significant physical infrastructure. Primary health care is provided in the community setting in small clinics or in homes by doctors, nurses and other health-care workers and may therefore be administered in a more socially and culturally acceptable manner. Primary health care is thus more geographically adaptable and less costly to administer and make use of, which increases the availability of health goods and services for rural and remote communities and the poor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In addition to achieving more equitable health outcomes, allocating health funds and resources with a focus on primary health care also promotes efficiency within health systems. Primary health care has been demonstrated to be more cost-efficient over the long term because it prevents illness and promotes general health, reducing the need for advanced levels of curative care, which tend to be more costly. Savings resulting from investment in primary health care may be reinvested in the health system and utilized to increase access to health care for the poor, which in a virtuous cycle should further improve health outcomes. While a comprehensive and balanced health system must include available and accessible secondary and tertiary care services, States should prioritize primary health care in the allocation of health funds and resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Private health-care providers may also operate alongside single payer systems. Private hospitals and doctors may be allowed to opt out of the publicly funded system and collect private fees from patients. As a result, the public system may be left underfunded, if users are exempt from contributions upon exit from the system, and understaffed, if large numbers of health workers exit the public system for higher pay in the private sector. This, in turn, may reduce the overall quality of public health facilities, goods and services. The poor and other groups who are unable to exit the public system because they cannot afford private care are the most negatively affected under those circumstances. A parallel private health system may thus result in infringements of the right to health because it may reduce overall access to and quality of health facilities, goods and services in the public sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- At a more targeted level, community-based health insurance pools funds collected from members of small communities and includes a variety of financing mechanisms, such as community health funds, mutual health organizations and rural health insurance. Community-based health insurance programmes may operate in complement or supplement to single or multiple payer systems. These programmes generally exist in poor and other vulnerable or marginalized communities and may increase access to health facilities, goods and services for vulnerable or marginalized groups and facilitate the participation of communities in decision-making processes affecting their health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Occupational health 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Participation is essential to ensuring that health laws and policies affecting workers' occupational health are effective, responsive and sustainable. Workers' participation in the right to health process prevents top-down formulation of occupational health laws and policies, while ensuring regulation and health interventions do not become removed from the people that they are meant to serve. Participation empowers workers by ensuring that their views and experiential knowledge play integral roles in shaping laws and policies that impact their occupational health. This provides law and policymakers insight into the social context of occupational diseases, including the nature of employer-employee power relations and knowledge of specific risk factors and environmental hazards. Such knowledge is crucial to formulating laws and policies that effectively address workers' day-to-day concerns, as well as to monitoring and evaluating the implementation of such laws and policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Occupational health 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States must also not interfere, through its laws and policies or the acts of its officials, with communication and interactions amongst workers and between workers and the civil society regarding occupational health concerns. States must further facilitate the transmission of information pertaining to occupational health from affected workers directly to State officials. This may take the form of a complaint mechanism or a forum in which affected workers engage directly with relevant State officials or bodies in order to address violations of the right to occupational health. In some cases, these communications are barred by non-disclosure laws and mandatory contractual provisions between workers and their employers. States should ensure whistle-blower provisions or similar protections that supersede contractual obligations are in place to allow workers to disclose information regarding their occupational health publicly and directly to the State without fear of reprisal.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- States are obliged to utilize the maximum available resources towards the realization of economic social and cultural rights, including the right to health. An aspect of this obligation is that the right to health is progressively realizable. However, due to the destruction or diversion of resources to military or police needs, conflicts often reduce the availability of resources which may, at times, be detrimental to the right to health. Even where resources are available, States may not be able to make use of them due to the insecurity and poor infrastructure in many conflict environments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, the right to health framework imposes upon States certain core obligations. Core obligations are minimum essential levels of the right to health, non-compliance with which cannot be justified even in times of resource constraints as they are non-derogable. These include, inter alia, the obligation of States to ensure equitable distribution and access to health facilities, goods and services on a non-discriminatory basis, especially for vulnerable or marginalized groups; the obligation to provide essential medicines; and the obligation to formulate a national health plan or policy in a transparent and participatory way, taking into consideration the special needs of vulnerable populations. Therefore, even if conflicts result in resource constraints, States are required to ensure the availability, accessibility and acceptability of good quality health facilities, goods and services, especially to groups rendered vulnerable by conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to fulfil the right to health by facilitating, providing and promoting conditions conducive to its enjoyment may also be difficult in conflict due to resource constraints or security reasons. States should, however, make available essential and minimum levels of health facilities, goods and services. For instance, States may be obliged to fulfil the right to health by making available ambulances during protests or riots. States may also fulfil the right to health by entering into ceasefire agreements with non-State armed groups to ensure delivery of health services such as immunization and vaccination programmes. States could provide information about traditional medicine and support its use by communities who may be unable to access institutional care due to conflict. In the absence of their own capacity, States should request assistance from other States, civil society and humanitarian organizations, especially to fulfil their core obligations. States should not obstruct humanitarian organizations and practitioners of traditional and community-based medicine from providing health-care 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Accountability is an essential aspect of the right to health framework. It requires independent monitoring, prompt investigations, transparent governance, including collecting and disseminating accurate and complete information to the public, and access to remedies for victims of violations. These requirements are also addressed under international humanitarian law, which obliges States to prevent, investigate and punish violations of international humanitarian law. Clear policies and codes of conduct should be in place within the military, police force, and medical institutions to protect the right to health in conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Violations of the right to health in conflict, including attacks on, and interference with, the delivery of health care, are often not fully captured in current monitoring systems. Monitoring of such violations in conflict and post-conflict situations is often poor or incomplete, due to insecurity and lack of systematic data collection and dissemination by States and international organizations. Monitoring mechanisms may focus excessively on high-profile issues such as attacks on international aid workers rather than more common violations such as threats against local workers or damage to underlying determinants. The practice of retaliating against whistleblowers may also mean that health-care workers and affected populations, who are in the best position to report violations of the right to health, may be reluctant to do so for fear of being unable to provide or access medical 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- An effective international framework is needed to hold the global food industry legally accountable for its actions. There is a need to create an international framework that binds States and casts responsibility on them to modify their domestic laws for reduction and prevention of diet-related NCDs. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control could be used as a foundation on which an international framework for accountability and monitoring of the food and beverage industry can be built. The international community also needs to ensure that food corporations driven by commercial interests do not undermine the efforts of States to realize the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- With respect to the availability and accessibility of nutritionally adequate and safe food, both the right to health and the right to food cast obligations on States. Under the right to health framework, States have a core and non-derogable obligation to ensure access to the minimum essential food that is nutritionally adequate to ensure freedom from hunger for everyone. Pertinently, the right to food framework requires States to ensure the availability and accessibility of food in a quantity and quality to satisfy the individuals' dietary needs, and which contain a mix of nutrients for physical and mental growth, development and maintenance, and physical activity that are in compliance with human physiological needs at all stages of life.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for progressive realization of the right to health, which means that States have a specific and continuing obligation to move as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards the full realization of the highest attainable standard of health. States should therefore formulate a time-bound plan by taking immediate and continuing steps to the maximum of their available resources. This obligation can be fulfilled, inter alia, by formulating polices related to health, as well as to sectors such as trade and agriculture. In particular, the right to health framework requires States to take measures to prevent diet-related NCDs and provide equal and timely access to primary health care. Thus, in order to ensure the three types of obligations under the right to health, namely to respect, protect and fulfil it, States should not only provide nutritious food, but also institute measures in all areas of policymaking to reduce the burden of diet-related NCDs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Work of the mandate and priorities of the SR 2015, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The sustainable implementation of a modern public health approach is not only in line with human rights, but is also a powerful way to develop and strengthen social justice and social cohesion. In that regard, the importance of universal health coverage cannot be overestimated. Since the International Conference on Primary Health Care, there have been many achievements, but also failures. Universal coverage is a central component of healthy public policies and its global achievement should be seen as one of the main goals for the post-2015 agenda. However, the Special Rapporteur thinks that a broader holistic approach is needed so that none, in particular those in vulnerable situations and in most need of health care, are not excluded neither de jure nor de facto from access to quality 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The financial resources required to both develop and gain access to health systems constitute a common barrier to achieving health equity, affecting the health and well-being of the world's poorest and marginalized most acutely. Developing countries, in particular those without strong health systems, face significant challenges to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The right to health requires States to prioritize provision for the most poor and marginalized, even in the face of resource barriers, through a range of measures. A few illustrative examples linking various Goals are as follows:
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph