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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
- 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 Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The urgent need for a shift in approach should prioritize policy innovation at the population level, targeting social determinants and abandon the predominant medical model that seeks to cure individuals by targeting “disorders”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In 2000, the flow of organs was believed to follow the modern route of capital: from the South to the North, from the Third World to the First World, from poor to rich, from black and brown to white, and from female to male. Data reviewed by the Special Rapporteur generally confirmed the key points of this assertion, except in relation to the gender aspect. The trade in organs sharply reflects economic and social divisions within and, most particularly, between countries. Recipients are generally independently wealthy or supported by their Governments or private insurance companies. Victims are inevitably poor, often unemployed and with low levels of education, rendering them vulnerable to deception about the nature of the transaction and its potential impacts. Available information indicates that, while trafficking in persons for the removal of organs can occur within a single country, it may involve legitimate regional cooperation or, most commonly, potential recipients travelling to another country for a transplantation that would be unlawful or otherwise unavailable at home (known as "transplant tourism"). Intermediaries, including brokers and health-care providers, arrange the recipients' travel and recruit "donors".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- There is a pressing need to step up the overall involvement of forensic medical science across the various sectors of the criminal justice cycle, and where persons are at particular risk, including administrative, pretrial and juvenile detention and psychiatric institutions. If police officers, prison wardens, hospital administrators, prosecutors and judges were under a legal obligation to request proper forensic medical examinations as a standard procedure whenever there are suspicions or allegations of torture or other ill-treatment, victims would be in a considerably stronger position. In addition to their role in prosecution, forensic medical services can also play a transforming role in prevention. As required in the Body of Principles and expanded in the standard-setting Istanbul Protocol, routine medical examinations of detainees after admission to every place of detention create a system of "checkpoints" that minimizes the number of unaccounted cases of torture and renders impossible a shifting of blame and accountability among various detention facilities and authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has noted that inappropriate conditions of detention, including conditions characterized by structural deprivation and the non-fulfilment of rights necessary for a humane and dignified existence, amount to a systematic practice of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (E/CN.4/2004/56, para. 41, and A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 230). A considerable amount of jurisprudence at the international and regional levels has also consistently found that conditions of detention can amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. Overcrowding, lack of ventilation, poor sanitary conditions, prolonged isolation, the holding of suspects incommunicado, frequent transfers from one prison to another, the non-separation of different categories of prisoners, the holding of persons with disabilities in environments that include areas inaccessible to them and the holding of persons without means of communication could constitute or lead to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture. The Rules could benefit from adhering to the requirement established by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding services in places of detention (see general comment No. 19 of the Committee, especially paras. 1, 9, 31 and 46).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Third, there is now a much stronger commitment to taking the rule of law seriously in the context of the approach adopted within the United Nations itself, and this needs to be reflected in the legal response to cholera in Haiti.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- 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. 54
- Paragraph text
- International investment agreements may provide for exceptions that can be used by States to defend laws in the public interest, such as public health laws. Even where international investment agreements contain such exceptions, however, investor rights may trump them. After Uruguay had entered into a bilateral investment treaty with Switzerland, it adopted public health measures on the packaging and advertisement of cigarettes, in accordance with local laws, which were enacted pursuant to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Although those measures accorded with the public health exception in the bilateral investment treaty, Phillip Morris International initiated a dispute against Uruguay, claiming that its law was unreasonable and breached the guarantee of fair and equitable treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War 1949, para. C
- Paragraph text
- Art. 4.C. This Article shall in no way affect the status of medical personnel and chaplains as provided for in Article 33 of the present Convention.
- Body
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- Document type
- International treaty
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 1949
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to mental health 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination, de jure and de facto, continues to influence mental health services, depriving users of a variety of rights, including the rights to refuse treatment, to legal capacity and to privacy, and other civil and political rights. The role of psychiatry and other mental health professions is particularly important and measures are needed to ensure that their professional practices do not perpetuate stigma and discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
SRSG on children and armed conflict: Annual report 2016, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Parties to conflict must consider the long-term impact of attacks on health care. When a community is recovering from conflict it can take decades to reinstall skilled doctors, nurses, and the physical infrastructure to provide health care. Even a short period of hostilities can have a lasting impact, in particular because efforts to repair damage from attacks are sorely lacking.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Some 100 illegal kidney transplants were allegedly performed at a hospital in an African country from 2001 to 2003; most of the recipients came from the Middle East. The organs were sourced from persons from Eastern Europe and South America. Investigations revealed the existence of an international organ trafficking syndicate and brought into public view a long-standing and flourishing transplant tourism business.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- While persons travelling abroad to receive purchased organs come from many countries and from all regions of the world, "a heavier reliance on overseas transplantation and transplant tourism is believed to exist in Asia and the Middle East than in other regions". Recently, some countries have been identified as organ-importing, or "demand", countries in which criminal prosecutions for trafficking in persons for the removal of organs have been initiated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The issue of trafficking in persons for the removal of organs 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Available information on trafficking in persons for the removal of organs is incomplete and often unverified. Scholarly research in this area is not yet well developed and anecdotal reports from civil society organizations and the media remain the primary source of information. Part of the problem lies in the clandestine nature of the trafficking. Even more so than other forms of trafficking in persons, those involved in trafficking in persons for the removal of organs (including victims) have very little incentive to come forward to researchers and criminal justice authorities with information and evidence. Victims are also unlikely to be identified through the multitude of channels that are now used to identify other victims of trafficking such as those subject to forced labour or sexual exploitation. Health-care providers who end up treating persons who have obtained organs abroad may be inhibited from sharing information with the authorities owing to concerns over patient privacy, their own obligations of confidentiality, uncertainty as to whether any laws have been breached or, indeed, their own complicity in the arrangement. Furthermore, definitional problems and confusion contribute to poor reporting and analysis and render comparisons between countries and between transplantation practices extremely difficult.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72d
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Guarantee immediate and unconditional treatment of persons seeking emergency medical care, including as a result of illegal abortion;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 72c
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to abuses in health-care settings, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States to:] Set forth clear guidance on implementing domestic abortion legislation and ensure that it is interpreted broadly; and monitor the practical implementation of legislation to ensure that persons are provided the right to legal services in practice;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Torture, ill-treatment and coercion during interviews/ Universal protocol for non-coercive, ethically sound, evidence-based and empirically founded interviewing practices 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The training of interviewers encompasses several components, beginning with effective training in international human rights law, including the prohibition of torture, ill-treatment and other form of duress; where applicable, training on the Geneva Conventions should also be provided. Training should include but not be limited to theoretical knowledge about international and national standards and guidelines relating to questioning, in addition to practical information, preparation and practice in the steps of investigative interviews and exercises designed to facilitate skills development. The use of scenario-based exercises and the recording and review of interviews constitute best practices in this respect. References to empirical and scientific evidence on the unreliability and counterproductiveness of torture and coercion will also help to effect the needed change in mindsets and interviewing culture. Underlining the adverse impact of mistreatment on memory retrieval would be especially beneficial. Training should also include awareness-raising activities on effective protection of and adaptation to the specific needs of vulnerable persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- In certain selected cases it can be necessary to conduct a computerized tomography (CT)-scan if there have been head concussions or other internal injuries. However, a thorough neurological examination can be sufficient and body CT-scans are only necessary in very severe cases and in connection with intensive care or with autopsies. CT-scanning is also available in most countries and not very costly. The only test that might not be available in some countries is electromyography (EMG), to diagnose neurological damage in the peripheral nervous system (e.g., paralysis secondary to trauma). The Special Rapporteur notes that this test is also not expensive, but it requires a neurologist or neurophysiologist to conduct and interpret the results. Properly trained personnel may be in short supply. Finally, bone scintigraphy (bone-scan), a modified X-ray test for the diagnosis of fractures that are invisible in traditional X-ray images, requires the injection of contrast in the wounded bone. This test is indicated almost exclusively in the case of the torture method known as "falanga" and is neither difficult to conduct nor expensive. However, the test seems to be unavailable in a number of countries. In cases of sexual abuse, DNA detection may be required. The diagnosis of electrical lesions is also possible and methods do exist.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Medical personnel should additionally inspect the physical conditions of the inmate's confinement in accordance with article 26 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Relevant considerations include the level of hygiene and cleanliness of the facility and the inmate, heating, lighting and ventilation of the cell, suitability of clothing and bedding, adequate supply of food and water and observance of the rules concerning physical exercise.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 77f
- Paragraph text
- [In building upon the general recommendations elaborated by his distinguished predecessor, Theo van Boven, in 2003, the Special Rapporteur wishes to particularly stress the following recommendations:] In the fight against terrorism and other forms of organized crime, States should keep in mind the absolute and non-derogable nature of the prohibition of torture. In particular, detention in secret places of detention, the expulsion or "rendition" of terrorist suspects to countries known for their practice of torture, the use of diplomatic assurances from these Governments not to torture as a means of circumventing the principle of non-refoulement, "enhanced interrogation techniques" aimed at inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering on detainees for the purpose of extracting intelligence information and similar practices in the global fight against terrorism are absolutely prohibited under international law and shall immediately be terminated. After all, torture, as the ultimate form of power exercised by one individual over another individual in a powerless situation, constitutes a direct attack on the personal integrity, dignity and humanity of human beings and is, therefore, for sound philosophical and historical reasons, absolutely prohibited under international law even in the most extreme and exceptional circumstances, such as war or terrorism.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 104
- Paragraph text
- States should launch awareness-raising campaigns about servile marriage and the remedies available to potential and actual victims, reproductive health and health care, and the importance of birth and marriage registration. These should be targeted at the general public and health-care workers. Programmes should be developed with local communities and their leaders, including elders and religious leaders, to stop servile marriage within the community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2013, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- A standardized and centralized information-gathering system capable of disaggregating data (by gender, age) should be established and research undertaken on the occurrence of CST, the behaviour of offenders and effectiveness of both sentences and risk management, to facilitate the development of more evidence-based programmes and interventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Immediately after the publication of the panel's report in May 2011, a United Nations spokesperson was dismissive of the report on the grounds that it did "not present any conclusive scientific evidence linking the outbreak to the MINUSTAH peacekeepers or the Mirebalais camp". Senior officials have continued to rely on this defence. However, the more detailed and official response provided in a letter dated 25 November 2014 from Assistant Secretary-General Pedro Medrano Rojas, Senior Coordinator for the Cholera Response in Haiti, addressed to the special procedures mandate holders took a different tack. Although the letter is long and detailed, it curiously makes no mention of the panel's principal finding, which was, as noted above, that that "the source of the Haiti cholera outbreak was due to contamination of the Meye Tributary of the Artibonite River with a pathogenic strain of current South Asian type Vibrio cholerae as a result of human activity". In other words, MINUSTAH was indeed the source. Instead, after citing the panel's reference to poor water and sanitation conditions and inadequate medical facilities, Mr. Medrano suggested that the main outcome of the inquiry was the statement that the outbreak "was not the fault of, or due to deliberate action by, a group or individual". Similarly, regularly updated fact sheets describing the United Nations response continue to make no mention of the panel's principal conclusion in relation to MINUSTAH. It has been airbrushed out of the picture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- An important part of the State's investment in care services is the recruitment of adequate numbers of paid care professionals such as nurses, and providing them with decent pay and working conditions. Overall, States should shift from a strategy of reliance on market and voluntary provision of care that is informal and exploitative to one that allows professional, decently paid and compassionate forms of care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Studies in South Asia demonstrate patterns of discriminatory behaviour against individuals from lower castes, particularly in health care, including denial of or restrictions on services, lack of treatment and longer waiting periods. Health-care providers spend less time with them, and staff use derogatory or demeaning words and avoid physical contact when examining them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- Successful Roma-controlled programmes that address issues of health, education and other areas of concern in ways that are culturally appropriate and adapted to local needs should be supported and replicated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Detention of migrants in an irregular situation 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which apply to all categories of prisoners, both criminal and those imprisoned under any other non-criminal process, set out minimum standards for, inter alia, accommodation, personal hygiene, clothing, bedding, food, exercise, access to newspapers, books and religious advisers, communication with the outside world and medical services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 102a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that national human rights institutions, non-State actors and sporting bodies:] Periodically and independently monitor and promote realization of the right to health in the context of sport and physical activity (national human rights institutions and civil society);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 101c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Create or enforce national human rights protection mechanisms applicable to amateur and professional athletes, ensuring access to justice and redress in the event of rights violations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Finally, States should refrain from interfering with athletes' health rights by means of laws, policies or programmes involving forced or coercive medical treatments or experimentation, such as doping, conducted in order to enhance sporting ability among athletes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Such costs often have a significant and disproportionate impact on the poor, who pay a considerably larger portion of their total income on health. In turn, they drive many households into poverty or deepen the poverty of those already poor. Such fees could bar those without the means to pay from receiving needed care, as well as discourage people from seeking care in the first place.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Poverty
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph