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13Foreword: The Right to Health as an Example

1. Ak any eriou pilooper weer ere i a concluive reaoning

or e logical validiy o uman rig and e one anwer will be: No,

ere i no uc concluive argumen bu ere are many good reaon

or acknowledging uman rig and, above all e pilooper will

coninue eir binding orce i currenly no longer dependen on anyeorie and piloopical reecion bu e expreion o e will o e

communiy o naion and o a world-encompaing experience, wic

umaniy a learned rom i own iory, adoping i and convering i

ino binding law.

For ure, i ound raer paeic, bu in i pecial cae, i i com-

menurae wi e maer a and. For i i e iorically unique igna-

ure o e 21st cenury a a global civilizaion a currenly arien, no

only on e level o ecnical, economic, and communicaive procee,

bu a a worldwide, normaive agreemen a alo come or wic, in

pie o all culural and religiou dierence o umaniy, i clear on i

paricular poin: Ta every uman being oug o ave e rig o devel-

op a reely a poible, or no oer reaon an a e or e i a uman

being.

2. O coure, a reely a poible will no be underood in e ame

way everywere, bu a i no objecion o e equally aoniing, a well

a acually maer-o-coure ac, a uman rig (wi eir core o e

Foreword: Te Rigo Heal a an ExampleGeorg Koler*

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14Realizing the Right to Health

poiive and negaive auonomy o eac individual) are no longer a mere

uopia o ome ideali, bu an indipuable, world-ocieal realiy bring-

ing abou muliple eec.

Ti i aoniing becaue e univeraliy o i oug wa ill be-

ing callenged a a maer o principle in e 20th cenury: In e name o

powerul raci, imperiali and oaliarian ideologie, enemy concep and

deadly oppoiion ruled in many par o e world, denying o e oer

in eac cae e equaliy o bir on principle. Te oer peron wa a an

enemy o e people or a an Unermenc (ubuman) noing bu

e rigle objec o oreign uperioriy.

O coure, I do no claim a uc maer o aniuman deprivaion

o rig are no longer appening. Bu e novely and ingulariy o e

preen reide in e ac a e eablied uman rig o develop areely a poible procribe em a uc and igmaize em immedi-

aely a injuice.

3. And ye: I i no a maer o coure or u uman being o be able

o walk in e oe o anoer peron? I i no preciely i baic o-

cial ac wic allow or cooperaion and civilizing progre? I i no u

e elemenary experience o primary imilariy and equaliy o uman be-

ing or, i you wi: Te primary experience o e rigulne o uman-rig-claim e ground on wic uman vialiy wa able o develop in

e fr place? I e queion i ormulaed in i way, e reply i clear.

All e more preing i e dicoure on i caue wic could block, and

keep blocking, a clear anwer and i conequence.

4. Human rig are an idea wi de aco eec: A normaive power

oppoing reigning circumance in muliple apec. Ti become mo

eviden wen i i all abou realizing uman rig, i. e. o urn general de-

mand ino concree claim and commimen.

Every uman being oug o be able o lead a el-deermined lie o ar

a poible. Eac peron ould be able o exi in peace and ecuriy. Eac

peron oug o be able o ay wa e or e mean. Se ould learn wa

e i capable o doing. We oug o be allowed o join womoever we wi

o; and o on. And ereore alo: We ould be allowed o be ealy no

vicim o illnee and circumance, wic can all oo eaily be decoded

a e reul o avoidable bad luck and unju burden.

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15Foreword: The Right to Health as an Example

Te problem o realizing e idea o uman rig and in paricular o-

cuing on e rig o eal enable u o perceive wa immene ak

are ied o i aerion. Bu in working oward ulflling ee ak we

are equally able o experience were and ow ey are o be accomplied.

We learn a realizing uman rig i an objecive a i ar rom aving

been accomplied bu i need no be a poor uopia.

* i caper wa originally wrien by e auor

in German and ranlaed ino Engli by SalomHangarner.

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562

ca. Prior to coming to PHR, Ms. Kalloch worked

in philanthropy and eco-tourism, and spent over

a year doing research on gender, economics and

community management in ishing communities

around Lake Victoria in East Arica. Ms. Kallochreceived a BA, magna cum laude, in Social Studies

rom Harvard University in 2000.

Ilona Kickbusch received her PhD rom the Univer-

sity o Konstanz (Germany) and has

had a distinguished career with the

World Health Organization (WHO)

and Yale University (USA). She cur-

rently heads the new Global Health

Programme at the Graduate Insti-

tute o International and Development Studies,

Geneva (Switzerland) and serves as senior health

policy adviser to the Swiss Federal Ofce or Public

Health as well as a range o national and interna-

tional organizations. She also is an adjunct proes-

sor at Deakin University, Melbourne (Australia).

Her most recent book is Health and Modernity

(2007). Further inormation can be ound on her

website at www.ilonakickbusch.com.

Georg Kohler, born in 1945, studied philosophy

and law in Zurich and Basel. A-

ter his habilitation in philosophy,

he lectured in Munich. Since 1994,

he has held the proessorial chair

or political philosophy at Zurich

University.

Riikka Koskenmki, LL. M. (Univ. Helsinki), DEA(IUHEI, Geneva), is a Technical O-

icer (Legal) at the World Health

Organization in Geneva. Prior to

this position, she was a Legal O-

icer with the International Labour

Organization and the International

Health Organization, and a Legal Adviser with

the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. Ms. Ko-

skenmki has also worked as a Special Assistant

or the Ministry or Foreign Aairs o Finland, as

original member o the OSCE Advisory Panel on

the Prevention o Torture and has served on the

panel since 1998. Mr. Johnson holds a Masters

in Public and Private Management (M. P. P. M.)

rom Yale University. He has also been an Asso-ciate Fellow o the Institute or Policy Studies,

Washington D. C. and Fellow o Albert Einstein

Institute, Cambridge, Mass. He has received the

David W. Preus Leadership Award (2003), the

Twin Cities International Citizen Award (1999),

the Letelier-Moitt Human Rights Award (1982)

and the Archbishop John Ireland Award or Dis-

tinguished Service to Justice (1981).

Sarah Joseph is a Proessor o Human Rights Law

and the Director o the Castan

Centre or Human Rights Law at

Monash University, Melbourne. She

is the lead investigator on an Aus-

tralian Research Council grant on

the World Trade Organization and

Human Rights, and has written on various aspects

o that issue, including the issue o intellectual

property protection and access to medicines. She

has also published in many areas o human rights,

on topics such as corporations and human rights,

the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights, and sel determination. She has also co-

authored a book on Australian constitutional law.

Sarah Kalloch currently serves as Outreach and

Constituency Organizing Director

at Physicians or Human Rights.

Part o her work includes managingPHRs collaboration with the Action

Group or Health, Human Rights

and HIV/AIDS Uganda (AGHA)

and the Kenya Health Rights Advocacy Forum

(HERAF). PHR, AGHA and HERAF work together

to engage Ugandan and Kenyan health proes-

sionals in human rights and AIDS advocacy net-

works, which bring their powerul voice to deci-

sion makers, create positive change around AIDS

and help build civil society capacity in East Ari-

Authors