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Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 2
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In examining the relationship between the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the international legal principles governing the use of force by State agents, and in developing concrete recommendations on the matter, the Special Rapporteur hopes to strengthen the capacity of States to ensure the effective prevention of and accountability for torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including in extra-custodial settings. Moreover, as a complement to existing international standards governing the use of force, the present report is aimed at contributing to the development of seamless guidance on the entire spectrum of the use of force, from non-lethal to deliberately lethal and from custodial to extra -custodial, and therefore at supporting States in complying with their relevant huma n rights obligations. The report is also aimed at facilitating synergies, both at the national and the international levels, between mechanisms tasked with protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and those involved in overseeing and regulating the use of force more generally.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 3
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- While the present report is focused on the extra-custodial use of force by State agents, its conclusions generally will also be relevant, mutatis mutandis, for non-physical forms of coercion and for ill-treatment committed by non-State actors. Owing to constraints of time and space, the Special Rapporteur intends to more systematically consider those issues in subsequent thematic reports. Moreover, in the present report the extra-custodial use of force under the law enforcement paradigm both in peacetime and in armed conflict is covered, but the use of force as a means of warfare under the hostilities paradigm is not examined. The terms “State agent” and “law enforcement official” will be used interchangeably to denote any person exercising, de jure or de facto, public authority on behalf of the State, whether of military or civilian status and whether appointed, elected, employed or contracted, including private security personnel. 2 Finally, the implications of the extra-custodial use of force are examined in the present report under human rights law only, and not under potentially applicable international humanitarian law.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 4
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Building on the work undertaken by his predecessors and other mandate holders and mechanisms, the Special Rapporteur conducted extensive research and broad stakeholder consultations with academic experts and representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society organizations, including through a multi-stakeholder expert meeting held in Geneva on 1 and 2 May 2017 and a general call for submissions in response to a thematic questionnaire posted on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissio ner for Human Rights from 29 May to 30 June 2017. 3 The present report reflects the resulting conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 5
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Apart from prohibiting the arbitrary deprivation of life and providing a few principles on the lawful use of lethal force, human rights treaties do not expressly regulate the extra-custodial use of force. 4 Instead, the contemporary legal principles governing the use of force by law enforcement officials (“use of force principles”) have been derived primarily from State practice and the application and interpretation of these very general treaty provisions in case law. The principles have been restated in two soft law instruments, namely, the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and today can be regarded as general principles of law. 5 In particular, the use of force by State agents is governed by the following cumulative principles: • Legality: any use of force must have a legal basis and pursue a lawful purpose . 6 • Necessity: force must only be used when, and to the extent, strictly necessary for the achievement of a lawful purpose. 7 • Proportionality: the harm likely to be inflicted by the use of force must not be excessive compared to the benefit of the lawful purpose pursued. 8 • Precaution: law enforcement operations must be planned, prepared and conducted so as to minimize, to the greatest extent possible, the resort to force and, whenever it becomes unavoidable, to minimize the resulting harm.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 18
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group considers that laws may at times constitute good practices in and of themselves, but that more often they function as a component in the development of good practices. Constitutional amendments, laws or legal reforms, court decisions and the full range of ways in which laws are crafted and codified in diverse societies form an important piece of the “good practices” puzzle, and can have an immediate impact on de facto equality. A law can be “promising” or “good” in its crafting and articulation, and a court decision can be good, but for it to be considered a good practice, a wider context must be considered than can be found simply through analysis of a legal text. The Group is of the view that a good law usually becomes a good practice in conjunction with ancillary factors, such as the process by which it comes into being and is disseminated, operationalized and implemented. This is not to understate the importance of the law itself, but rather to emphasize that considerations of good practices cannot be based wholly on the legal texts themselves, but must be analysed in context, including tangible outcomes in lived reality.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 38
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- As mentioned above, unethical recruitment practices and how they represent a risk of forced labour and trafficking in persons are not widely acknowledged within the private sector or among the stakeholders that participate in the standard-setting process. While some initiatives, such as the Ethical Trading Initiative or Social Accountability International, were created to uphold a strong labour rights component, others, such as the Marine Stewardship Council, were established primarily with an environmental focus. As a result, the level of sophistication in developing indicators that can effectively account for companies’ risk practices in this area varies from one initiative to another. The differences among initiatives regarding their original motivation may not only have an impact in the standard-setting and revision process but may also affect a multi-stakeholder initiative’s success in establishing an assurance programme that effectively monitors businesses compliance with a trafficking standard.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Strengthening voluntary standards for businesses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and labour exploitation, especially in supply chains 2017, para. 36
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Some examples of industry coalitions are the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Business Social Compliance Initiative of the Foreign Trade Association. The Coalition brings together companies such as Apple, HP and Intel and has developed a code of conduct and audit scope that includes extensive references to issues such as unethical recruitment practices. The Business Social Compliance Initiative is a cross-sectoral initiative that has also developed a code of conduct and an implementation plan, including auditing, a capacity-building programme for businesses, including for suppliers, and alternative stakeholder engagement activities. As mentioned above, standards and an assurance programme alone are not sufficient to embed the standards into a company’s business model. Thus, many multi-stakeholder initiatives and industry coalitions develop, in parallel, capacity-building programmes and other awareness-raising activities for their stakeholders to help promote the standards and their implementation.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The human rights of migrants on a 2035 agenda for facilitating human mobility 2017, para. 11
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The golden thread of such an approach would primarily be to address targets 10.7 and 8.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals through a rights-based, age- and gender-sensitive plan.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 57
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In order to effectively incorporate the human rights to water and sanitation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, particularly with respect to development cooperation, an adequate architecture must be established to assist in the formulation, guidance, management and support of the development agenda. That architecture should ideally place the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation at the centre of the specific processes related to Goal 6 overall and targets 6.1 and 6.2 specifically. The Panel should be acutely aware of the need to base its recommendations in human rights principles and the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation, as outlined in the present report. In so doing, the Panel should be able to duly address concerns raised by civil society organizations regarding the possible propensity to predominantly favour a business-oriented approach to the sector. The establishment of an entity with greater openness and a wider plurality of stakeholders and viewpoints is essential to successfully introducing the human rights to water and sanitation into development cooperation and to achieving the water and sanitation-related goals of the 2030 Agenda.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 42
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- While support and participation of donors and NGOs in water and sanitation service delivery is welcome, there are challenges to sustainability when they become service providers and questions of accountability and transparency arise. A key risk to sustainability is the fact that few NGOs provide services on a permanent or long-term basis. Most usually disengage from projects after a certain period, which may have negative impacts on the long-term viability of services if no proper sustainability strategy is put in place. Even with the best of intentions, these systems may be responding to immediate and concrete needs to the detriment of building a system that can remain functional over time. While providing immediate access is important, it is equally central to guarantee long-term operation and maintenance, and to plan with government and communities for phased exits and local ownership. The lack of long-term focus has been linked to a lack of political incentives, particularly for donors, to put resources towards maintaining existing infrastructure, over building new ones that give better visibility for their investment and support.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 39
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is of the view that a forward-looking post-2015 development agenda must be ambitious. It must tackle disparities and emphasize non-discrimination and equality as core principles. This view is shared increasingly by States, United Nations entities, development actors and civil society organizations. This comes from practical evidence found on the ground. Appallingly, much of the progress made since 2000 has left the most marginalized in a similar situation. Indeed, many agree that the current set of Millennium Development Goals, which focus on average progress, has masked the inequalities that lie behind these averages, thus requiring a new method of measuring progress. According to the United Nations Development Group, inequalities have been identified as one of only nine major areas for consultation at the global level. This sentiment is widely shared by those working in the water and sanitation sectors, agreeing that "concerns of non-discrimination and equity related to fulfilling the right to access water and sanitation should be reflected in future indicators".
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 19
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In the international human rights context, commissions of inquiry are independent investigative commissions created in response to human rights violations including, but not limited to, torture, genocide, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and incidents involving multiple or high-profile killings (A/HRC/8/3, para. 12). Most commissions of inquiry are established at the initiative of national Government authorities. International experts may be part of their composition. In the present report, commissions of inquiry are defined as national commissions of inquiry and truth commissions, as well as investigations undertaken by national human rights institutions. The quest for accountability and victims' rights are common denominators for commissions of inquiry and truth commissions. While a commission of inquiry is likely to be established at the height of violence, a truth commission may only be established once a conflict is over. Both national and international commissions of inquiry often result from concerted demands by civil society or the international community. International commissions of inquiry tend, however, to have comparatively briefer temporal mandates which seek to identify patterns of violations during a protracted period of armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 79
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General has laid out a three-pillar strategy for the implementation of the responsibility to protect (see A/63/677), drawn from paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome. The first pillar emphasizes the primary responsibility of States to protect their populations by preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (atrocity crimes). The second highlights the commitment of the international community to assist States to meet their obligations and to provide necessary support and capacity-building measures when a State is unable to meet its obligation to protect populations. Under the third pillar, the international community must use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other means to protect populations from these crimes but must be prepared to take additional collective action to protect populations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. The three pillars are not sequential and each pillar is of equal importance. They are also mutually reinforcing: while appointing a special envoy to a country to monitor a deteriorating situation is a response on its own, it is also a preventative tool as it might help to stop the violence from escalating.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 74
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur recommends that States ratify the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, thereby recognizing the competence of the respective committees to consider individual communications with a view to ensuring the availability of an international adjudicatory mechanism for individuals whose right to health has been violated. The Special Rapporteur further recommends that States recognize the competence of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to receive and consider inter-State communications.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to health and development 2011, para. 38
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The historical evolution of the response to HIV/AIDS is a good example of a health problem with strong implications for human development contained most effectively by protecting and promoting human rights. Jonathan Mann described three clearly defined phases in the response to the epidemic: the first period concerned discovery of the illness and corresponding uncertainty surrounding its containment, while the second period largely focused on individual risk reduction and behavioural change, accompanied by the use of discriminatory prevention measures justified under a "public health rationale". It was not until the third period, in the late 1980s, that a societal dimension was included in the approach to the disease, and the concept of "vulnerability" arose in identifying barriers to individual control over health. The "traditional" public health approaches initially applied to HIV/AIDS, consisting of information, education and services targeted at changing individuals' behaviour and reducing risk, were effective but ultimately insufficient to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS, not least because they assumed a static social environment.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of natural resource exploitation projects 2015, para. 67
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- An environment that allows for the robust exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association is essential in ensuring that natural resource exploitation is fair, transparent and accountable and benefits citizens. These rights encourage access to information, public participation and free, prior and informed consent and also highlight the gaps in the enjoyment of other rights related to land tenure, the environment and self-determination. The Special Rapporteur believes that the more consultation on any particular exploitation issue, the better. He also wishes to highlight that the benefits of such consultation - and the improved planning that results from extensive consultation - can be immense for society at large. One example is the Government Pension Fund Global of Norway, which was set up in 1990 to hold surplus wealth produced by Norwegian petroleum income. It is now the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of multilateral institutions 2014, para. 17
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The legitimacy of civil society participation at the international level is further affirmed by the Charter of the United Nations, which acknowledges that the Economic and Social Council may consult with NGOs concerned with matters within its competence. The Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in its preamble stated that the General Assembly recognizes "the right and the responsibility of individuals, groups and associations to promote respect for and foster knowledge of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels". Article 5 of the Declaration recognizes the right of everyone, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels, to communicate with non governmental and intergovernmental organizations. These organizations have an implicit corresponding obligation to take action on such communications.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the context of multilateral institutions 2014, para. 12
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Decision-making at the multilateral level appears to take a similar trajectory, where the private sector is playing an increasingly dominant role in implementing the global development agenda, compared to civil society involvement. The for-profit sector has a variety of avenues to impact the post-2015 development agenda. For example, corporate interests are represented and have been active in multiple forums that have an influence on the post-2015 agenda processes such as the High-Level Panel established by the Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Indeed, the Economic and Social Council accreditation criteria for NGOs allow business organizations to participate as "civil society" despite the fact that they typically represent for-profit interests. The inequality in avenues available to corporate interests versus non-profit interests creates a power imbalance influencing global governance and its outcomes that favours for-profit interests.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age 2015, para. 44
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- A key escrow system permits individual access to encryption but requires users to store their private keys with the Government or a "trusted third party". Key escrows, however, have substantial vulnerabilities. For instance, the key escrow system depends on the integrity of the person, department or system charged with safeguarding the private keys, and the key database itself could be vulnerable to attack, undermining any user's communication security and privacy. Key escrow systems, rejected (along with back-door access) after significant debate in the United States in the so-called Crypto Wars of the 1990s, are currently in place in several countries and have been proposed in others. In 2011, Turkey passed regulations requiring encryption suppliers to provide copies of encryption keys to government regulators before offering their encryption tools to users. The vulnerabilities inherent in key escrows render them a serious threat to the security to exercise the freedom of expression.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 87o
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur urges States to:] Develop non-biased and evidence-based treatment guidelines to reduce opportunities for corruption;
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 63a
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework does not call for any particular form of service provision. It is well established that, from a human rights perspective, States can opt to involve non-State actors in sanitation and water services provision. But the State cannot exempt itself from its human rights obligations and hence remains the primary duty-bearer. Therefore, also when involving other actors in services provision, the role of the State is crucial. The obligations of States and the responsibilities of non-State actors are complementary. The latter can and should support the State in the realization of human rights. In line with these conclusions, the independent expert offers the following recommendations:] States must develop a national plan, including legislation and other appropriate measures, to progressively achieve the full realization of the rights to water and sanitation, including in currently unserved and underserved areas, independent of the modalities of the service provision chosen. These measures should be based on the explicit recognition of the rights to water and sanitation;
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States:] Take all possible steps to ensure that all members of the population can fulfil their right to education.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Ensure that serious crimes, including gender-based crimes or sexual violence, are dealt with within the formal justice system
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 67
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Below, the Special Rapporteur offers recommendations to States, medical and transplantation professionals and the international community.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 52
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- In Georgia, the Special Rapporteur received allegations that victims were encouraged by the prosecution to agree to plea-bargaining agreements without acknowledging their ill-treatment by the police.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 64
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- The amount of compensation awarded runs into millions of dollars and is an additional blow to developing States, especially those undergoing or recovering from crisis. For example, in Al-Kharafi v. Libya, the claimant was awarded more than $935 million. The enormous size of such awards can have a negative effect on the State's ability to implement health policies. For example, in CME v. Czech Republic, the compensation awarded to the investor was equal to the entire health budget of the State. States may also have to bear not only legal costs incurred by them during arbitration but also those incurred by the successful claimant. Even where States are successful, they may have to pay a heavy fee for the arbitrators.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Occupational health 2012, para. 14
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Many in the formal workforce find themselves in a situation similar to those in the informal workforce. There is a growing trend toward contractualization and informalization of formal work, a process by which workers become their own employers and thereby may lose occupational health protections otherwise afforded to them as employees. At the same time, many developed economies are systematically moving away from standard work-full-time, year-round, permanent wage employment with a single employer with adequate statutory benefits and entitlements -, leading to an increase in part-time, casual, temporary, self-employed or contingent workers. While such workers are not technically part of the informal economy because their work and workplaces are likely to be still regulated, they may face difficulties similar to those faced by informal workers. For example, in many developed economies, employers are not required to provide health benefits to part-time and temporary employees. Both contractualization and the trend towards replacing standard work with atypical work often represent attempts by employers to evade their responsibility under existing occupational health regimes.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 36
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Single payer systems with a single risk pool or multiple payer systems with multiple risk pools reduce financial barriers to accessing health facilities, goods and services, as required under the right to health approach. In single payer systems, one organization collects and pools funds and purchases services for the entire population. In most cases, all pool members within the system are provided access to the same health goods and services. Owing to its ability to generate and raise funds, through mechanisms such as taxation, and compulsorily enrol large numbers of people, the Government, in most cases, administers the pool and purchases health goods and services in a single payer system. Single risk pools promote equitable access to health facilities, goods and services in accordance with the right to health approach by allowing for greater cross-subsidization than systems with smaller, fragmented pools. Single payer systems are thus effective in promoting universal access to health facilities, goods and services, reducing out-of-pocket payments, and insulating users from catastrophic health expenditures.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 61
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- Recent years have witnessed various attempts to regulate the impact of business activities on human rights outside of the territorial boundaries of the home State. Notably the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011) underlined that States "should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations" and clarified the responsibility of TNCs and other business enterprises to respect human rights. Similarly The United Nations Global Compact (2000) urges TNCs to respect workers' rights and human rights; and the OECD Guidelines call on enterprises to respect human rights. In 2011, a group of experts in international law and human rights adopted the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which provide that States are responsible for violations of economic, social and cultural rights by non-State actors, including corporations in cases where these non-State actors act under the instructions or direct control of the State, or are empowered by the State to exercise elements of governmental authority.
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extra-custodial use of force and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 48
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Paragraph text
- While the lawfulness of specific weapons and other means of warfare has long been regulated in international humanitarian law, it has more recently also become an issue of consideration under human rights law with regard to the wider context of law enforcement. It is increasingly recognized that certain weapons and other means of law enforcement may be inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading by nature or design and, accordingly, that their use, production and trade would be incompatible with the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (General Assembly resolution 66/150, para. 24, and resolution 68/156, para. 30). Ever since the establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, mandate holders have expressed concern in this respect, starting in the very first report of the Special Rapporteur to the Commission on Human Rights, in 1986 (E/CN.4/1986/15, paras. 120-121), but most notably in a report prepared at the express request of the Commission in 2003 (E/CN.4/2003/69).
- Body
- Special Procedures: Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph