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The optional protocol to the
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is widely considered as the central instrument of protection for the right to health. To date it has been ratified by 160 States Parties.
On December 10, 2008, the General Assembly unanimously adopted an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR). This will enable individuals whose rights have been violated to submit com-plaints. Up to now, 30 countries have signed. It will enter into force when it is ratified by 10 States.
WHO-OHCHR lunch time dialogue series
In February 2009, the WHO Director-General and the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights agreed that WHO and the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) should identify a few areas of technical and institutional
cooperation between the two organizations.
As a follow-up, on September 7 and November 26, 2009, high-level officials from
both WHO and OHCHR, engaged in discussions towards developing a shared un-
derstanding about the linkages between health and human rights and in particular
about how to advance the right to health.
EventsEventsEventsEvents
The lack of a complaints mechanism to the ICESCR contributed to relegating economic, social and cultural rights to a second-class status of rights for a long time. This was clearly against the principle of indivisibility, interdependence and the equal value of all human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The adoption of an OP-ICESCR will help to change such percep-tions and realign economic, social and cultural rights on an equal footing with civil and political rights.
For WHO, it is interesting to note that the Committee of the ICESCR, which exam-ines the complaints, has been given the mandate to consult specialized agencies, such as WHO, as well as recommend technical advice or assistance to support States Parties in achieving progress in implementation of the right to health.
On 10 December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which has become a universal standard for the pro-
motion and protection of human rights worldwide. This year on 10 December, the
international community celebrates Human Rights Day to mark the 61st anniversary
of the adoption of the Universal Declaration. The theme for this year’s celebration is
non-discrimination.
The prohibition against discrimination is a fundamental principle of international
human rights law. The WHO Constitution (1946) is the first international instrument
to recognize the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health as a funda-
mental right of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political be-
lief, and economic or social condition. Subsequently, everyone’s right to health on a
non-discriminatory basis has been recognized by a number of human rights treaties.
With this first newsletter WHO celebrates Human Rights Day by highlighting key
developments, over the past year, relating to Health and Human Rights.
Key Developments on the UN Human Rights AgendaKey Developments on the UN Human Rights AgendaKey Developments on the UN Human Rights AgendaKey Developments on the UN Human Rights Agenda
Human Rights Day 2009Human Rights Day 2009Human Rights Day 2009Human Rights Day 2009 10 DECEMBER 200910 DECEMBER 200910 DECEMBER 200910 DECEMBER 2009 NO. 1NO. 1NO. 1NO. 1 Health and Human Rights Health and Human Rights Health and Human Rights Health and Human Rights NewsletterNewsletterNewsletterNewsletter
In this issue:In this issue:In this issue:In this issue:
• Human Rights Day 2009
• Events
• Key Developments on
the UN Human Rights
agenda
• Capacity Building
• Regional Activities
• Tools
• Recent WHO Publica-
tions
• People Coming and
Going
For more information: World Health Organization Health and Human Rights Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights. Email: [email protected] Website: www.who.int/hhr
2
Work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
Mr Anand Grover, a practicing lawyer in the Bombay High Court
and the Supreme Court of India, took up his functions as UN
Special Rapporteur on 1 August 2008.
Poland May 5 - 11, 2009, focusing on ac-cess to health care and underlying determi-nants of health, sexual and reproductive health rights and harm reduction policies.
November 23 - December 4, 2009 Mr Grover’s mission to Australia focused on indigenous health and access to healthcare in detention establishments, including those for asylum-seekers, refugees and prisoners.
In addition to these country missions, Mr Grover issued thematic reports, one on access to medicines and intellectual prop-erty rights and the other on informed con-sent.
For more information: http://www2.ohchr. org/english/issues/health/right/
Mr Anand Grover, United Nations Spe-
cial Rapporteur on the right of everyone
to the enjoyment of the highest attain-
able standard of physical and mental
health, met the Director-General,
Dr Margaret Chan, on June 6, 2009.
Mr Grover recognized the constructive
and fruitful collaboration in the past be-
tween WHO and his predecessor,
Mr Paul Hunt, since the mandate was
established in 2002. He looked forward
to continued collaboration with WHO.
The Director-General assured Mr Grover
that WHO will continue to support his
mandate.
Mr Grover conducted a mission to
to be equal in dignity; to education; to
be free to seek, receive, and impart
information; to enjoy the benefits of
scientific progress; to freedom from
discrimination; and to enjoy the highest
attainable standard of physical and
mental health, including sexual and
reproductive health. Furthermore, the
resolution stresses that a human rights-
based approach makes efforts against
maternal mortality and morbidity more
effective and sustainable. WHO is in
the process of providing input to the
study commissioned by the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human
Rights to examine the human rights
dimensions of preventable maternal
mortality and morbidity, and how the
Council can contribute to addressing
this problem.
Other health-related resolutions
adopted this year include access to
medicines, toxic waste and the protec-
tion of human rights in the context of
HIV and AIDS.
Key Resolutions adopted by the UN Human
Rights Council (HRC)
The UN Human Rights Council
adopted a resolution on June
17, 2009 that recognizes pre-
ventable maternal mortality and
morbidity as a human rights is-
sue. Over 70 UN member states
co-sponsored this resolution, led
by Colombia and New Zealand.
By signing on to the resolution,
governments recognize that the
elimination of maternal mortality
and morbidity requires the effec-
tive promotion and protection of
women and girls’ human rights,
including their rights to life;
WHO at the special session of the HRC
WHO participated as a panellist at the tenth Special
Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the
Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Financial
Crises on the Universal Realization and Effective
Enjoyment of Human Rights, February 20 and 23,
2009, drawing attention to the challenge this crisis
poses to health.
For more information: http://www.who.int/hhr/news/
WHO%20Statement_20Human_Rights_ Commis-
sion%2020Feb.pdf
3
African Region
A workshop, organized by WHO and InWEnt Capacity Building, Germany, was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 22-23, 2009 for alumni from the African Region of the E-learning course on Health and Human Rights. The workshop was aimed to:
• Share and consolidate experiences gained so far in African countries of how human rights have been operationalized in health programmes
• Consider and discuss existing tools and methodolo-gies on how to integrate human rights in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health policies, strategies and programmes
• Identify future challenges and opportunities to build and strengthen capacity on human rights-based health programming in the African Region.
The course was attended by 34 participants, representing a broad range of alumni from ministries of health, national human rights institutions, development agencies, civil society, WHO and other UN agencies.
Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain in collabora-tion with UNDP and WHO held a train-ing on health and human rights May 13-14, 2009 which aimed to familiarize participants with the meaning of a Hu-man Rights-Based Approach to Health and the practical methodologies for its application. The training was attended by approximately 100 senior level offi-cials from the Ministry of Health, other government entities and civil society organizations.
Iraq
WHO-Iraq, in collaboration with the Ministry of
Health and the Ministry of Human Rights of
Iraq, organized a Workshop on Health and
Human Rights in Amman, Jordan, November
16-19, 2009. The UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights also collabo-
rated in conducting the Workshop. Representa-
tivers from different governments, ministries
(health, human rights, women’s affairs,
planning, education) attended along with parlia-
mentarians and NGOs. The Workshop raised
knowledge and awareness of health and human
rights in relation to the challenges facing Iraq
and concluded with concrete recommendations
for future actions.
Workshop Iraq, with Farah Elzubi– HR &Gender officer (far left back), Juana Sotomayor OHCHR focal point on Right to Health
(far left front), Naeema Al-Gasseer-WR Iraq (middle in front) and Helena Nygren Krug - Human Rights Adviser WHO (at the back).
Workshop Tanzania with Yehenew Walilegne (top far
right) and Helena Nygren-Krug (middle row, second
from right)
Organizing committee of training Bahrain with Yehenew Walilegne (far left) and Annelie Rostedt (far right) of the HHR
team in WHO HQ.
Capacity BuildingCapacity BuildingCapacity BuildingCapacity Building
4
The International Diploma on Mental Health Law and Hu-man Rights entered its second year in October 2009. The Diploma, which was launched in 2008, is a collaboration between WHO and the ILS Law College in Pune, India. The course builds the capacity of students to advocate for human rights and to influence national legislative and pol-icy reform in line with the UN Convention of
Mr Emmanuel Kamonyo, from UNDP, presented an example on "Enhancing the Accountability of
Duty-bearers to Respect, Protect, and Fulfil the Right to Health: A Case Study of ARV Medication in Western Bahr el Ghazal State". This explored the lack of avail-ability and accessibility of ARV drugs in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State of Southern Sudan, where many health centers do not have ARV drugs, and the ones
that do have them are few and far between. This raises the issue of whether the lack of available ARV treatment constitutes a violation of the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan. The report suggests actions to assist the Sudanese government in fulfilling health and human rights standards, and close collabo-ration with the Southern Sudan Hu-man Rights Commission and local civil society organizations.
"Enhancing the Accountability of Duty-bearers to Respect, Protect, and Fulfil the Right to Health: A Case Study of ARV Medication in Western
Bahr el Ghazal State"
Workshop Tanzania
International Diploma on Mental Health Law and
Human Rights
For the 4th year, WHO is running an E-learning course with InWEnt. The 5 module course on Health and Human Rights started
on 2 November 2009.
This online training intends to generate increased clarity and understanding about the important synergy between
health and human rights. It is developed with a broad target audience in mind comprising public health and human
rights practitioners, WHO staff and other UN agencies, government officials,
NGOs, students etc.
For further information see: http://www.who.int/hhr/
news/2009_2010_course_announcement.pdf
Mr Mbuagbaw Esongmbi,
from the Ministry of Jus-
tice in Cameroon, pre-
sented an initiative
f rom Cameroon on
“Sensitisation, education
and advocacy: a three
dimensional approach to
empower rights-holders to
claim their rights and hold
government accountable”.
Prevalent societal factors
such as discrimination,
stigmatization and
corruption often negatively
affect individuals' ability to
claim their right to health.
An advertising campaign
using various elements of
the popular media and a
tool to address capacity
gaps was presented to
reduce human rights
violations by increasing
awareness of human
rights and the right to
health.
“Sensitisation, education and advocacy: a three dimensional approach to empower rights-holders
to claim their rights and hold government accountable”.
At the Workshop in Tanzania, alumni presented exam-
ples of operationalizing a Human Rights Based
Approach in health.
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other key human rights standards. Students and the expert faculty comprise service us-ers, government officials, health professionals, lawyers and human rights defenders. For more infor-mation visit http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/whatsnew/en/index.html
5
New project to develop guidance on national public health laws
In collaboration with WHO, the International Development Law Organization
(IDLO), the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at George-
town University and the World Bank, a project has been initiated to develop
guidelines for countries on how to develop national public health laws.
This project was initiated at a workshop in Rome, Italy, April 26-28, 2009,
hosted by IDLO. The consultation was co-sponsored by WHO and by the
O’Neill Institute. Twenty-two experts in public health law attended the consul-
tation, from a wide range of countries and development agencies.
Workshop Rome, (from l to r) Law-
rence Gostin (O’Neill Institute),
Helena Nygren-Krug (WHO) and
David Patterson (IDLO).
Regional ActivitiesRegional ActivitiesRegional ActivitiesRegional Activities
patients (Argentina and Mexico). Recent resolutions and technical documents with a human rights based approach discussed and approved by the Member States include plans of action on:
• healthy ageing;
• young people’s health;
• gender equality; and
• mental health PAHO is currently collaborating with Member States in the reform of national policies, plans and laws using the human rights norms and standards ratified by Governments.
PAHO continues to collaborate with the regional human rights bodies such as the Inter-American Commis-sion on Human Rights. Recently PAHO presented technical informa-tion and participated in specific hearings to discuss the right to health and other related human rights in the context of malnutrition and HIV. Further, PAHO has been empower-ing and training organizations of civil society with the UN and OAS human rights instruments in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Activities AMRO PAHO
In 2009 PAHO’s project on human
rights and health conducted capacity
training workshops specially designed
for public health personnel and other
governmental officials in the context of
the right to health and other related
human rights of older persons (Brasil,
Chile and Mexico); persons with men-
tal disabilities (Argentina and Ja-
maica); persons living with HIV with
emphasis on LGTB young people
(Guatemala and Honduras); sexual
and reproductive health of indigenous
women (Peru) and organizations of
ToolsToolsToolsTools
Tool on Human Rights and Gender Equality in Health
Sector Strategies
WHO (the Department of Ethics, Eq-
uity, Trade and Human Rights and
the Department of Gender, Women
and Health), the UN Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), and the Swedish Interna-
tional Development Cooperation
Agency (Sida) have developed an
analytical tool on Human Rights and
Gender Equality in Health Sector
Strategies.
If human rights and gender
equality commitments are to be
effectively implemented, they
need to be consistently and sys-
tematically addressed in legisla-
tion, national plans, institutional
framework and sectoral strate-
gies. The tool aims to support
health policy-makers/planners
and development partners in
understanding the practical impli-
cations of incorporating a human
rights-based approach and gen-
der mainstreaming in the design
of health sector strategies.
During the process of tool develop-
ment, 2008-2009, there have been
three formal peer reviews involving a
broad range of partners in several
departments, offices and countries.
Consultations and field tests have
also taken place in Uganda, Zambia
and Yemen.
The tool will be available for use in
countries in the beginning of next
year.
For more information see:
www.who.int/hhr
6
People Coming and GoingPeople Coming and GoingPeople Coming and GoingPeople Coming and Going
RIIKKA RANTALA
Riikka Rantala joined SEARO as Health and Human Rights officer in June 2009. Riikka is a Junior Professional Officer from Finland, and she will continue the work initiated by her predecessor Mr
Samuli Seppanen. SEARO already has a sound programme foundation for HHR, with several initiatives for in-stance in environmental health and maternal and neonatal health areas. Riikka will further try to strengthen the HHR network with the country offices, support the HHR activities that the countries want to pursue in the coming biennium, and hopefully strengthen the HHR work in the region by creating a regional strategy and guidelines for HHR mainstreaming.
Riikka Rantala
MITRA MOTLAGH
Mitra Motlagh has worked for WHO
on health and human rights for the
past four years. She has spent three
years as JPO at the Mozambique
country office where she mainly pro-
vided technical assistance to various
Ministries and to the Parliament on
human rights issues, facilitated part-
nership with the UN Special Proce-
dures and implemented various ac-
tivities to raise awareness on the
right to health. After three years in
Africa she joined WHO WPRO for a
year. She is now starting a new as-
s i gnmen t w i t h
UNDP as human
rights specialist for
the Regional Bureau
for Arab States.
Mitra Motlagh
Recent WHO Publications Recent WHO Publications Recent WHO Publications Recent WHO Publications Factsheet Uganda
Together with the Ministry of Health of Uganda, the WHO Country Office issued a fact sheet on Health and Human Rights in Uganda this year. The fact sheet provides an overview of Uganda's commit-ment to the right to health, the integration of human rights in health policies and plans, and capacity building efforts at national level. promoting a human rights-based approach to health. WHO will con-tinue working with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to ensure attention to human rights in the design and implementation of health policies and programmes.
ANNELIE ROSTEDT
Annelie Rostedt
has worked
w i t h W HO
since 2005, first
with the WHO
Country Office
in Uganda, and
subsequent l y
with the Health
and Human Rights Team at WHO/
HQ. In Uganda, Annelie supported
awareness raising and capacity
development on health and human
rights in collaboration with the Min-
istry of Health, the Uganda Human
Rights Commission, civil society
organizations and OHCHR. At HQ,
Annelie has contributed to several
key activities, including the devel-
opment of a tool for human rights
and gender equality analysis of
national health sector strategies. In
January, Annelie will take up a new
assignment as Special Assistant to
the UN Resident Coordinator in
Zambia.
The Obalanga Human Rights And
Health Care Association in Amuria dis-
trict (Uganda) is a rare example of a
grass root organization advocating for
health rights.
Annelie Rostedt
FAUSTINE MAISO
Dr Faustine Maiso is a Ugandan Medical Doctor and on a 12 months contract with WHO Uganda as a HHR Officer since June 2009. He previously worked with the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) to establish the Right to Health Unit with a focus on Neglected Tropi-cal Diseases. There is a strong partnership established between UHRC, OHCHR, the Ministry of Health and WHO. This is sup-porting activities and information
sharing. Steps have been initiated to incorporate HHR education into the curricula of health training institutions. In the next 6 months focus will be on capacity building for health professionals to imple-ment the right to health.
Faustine Maiso
RUEDIGER KRECH
Dr Ruediger Krech has studied educational sciences, medi-
cine and public health and holds a doctoral degree in public
health. He was previously the Director for social security in
India at the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and
speaker of GTZ’s projects and programmes in the area of
health and social protection in Asia and Central and Eastern
Europe. He has been in charge of GTZ’s social protection
work from 2003 to 2008. Before joining GTZ, he has held vari-
ous management positions at the World Health Organization
(WHO) in the fields of health systems, health policies, health
promotion and ageing. He re-joined WHO as the Director for
Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights as of October 1,
2009.