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Article 21 - Right to health
and rehabilitation
Background Documents | Article
21 Background
Sixth Session | Fourth
Session | Third
Session
Working Group | References
References
• CESCR: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• HRC (ICCPR): Human Rights Committee
• CERD: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• CEDAW: Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women
• CAT: Committee Against Torture
• CRC: Committee on the Rights of the Child
Related to Draft Article 21
See also CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24 (Women and health), para. 13:
The duty of States parties to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women,
access to health care services, information and education implies an obligation
to respect, protect and fulfil women’s rights to health care. States parties
have the responsibility to ensure that legislation and executive action and
policy comply with these three obligations. They must also put in place a system
that ensures effective judicial action. Failure to do so will constitute a violation
of article 12.
Related to Draft Article 21, paragraph (a)
CESCR, General Comment no. 5 (Persons with disabilities), para. 34: According
to the Standard Rules, "States should ensure that persons with disabilities,
particularly infants and children, are provided with the same level of medical
care within the same system as other members of society". The right to
physical and mental health also implies the right to have access to, and to
benefit from, those medical and social services - including orthopaedic devices
- which enable persons with disabilities to become independent, prevent further
disabilities and support their social integration. Similarly, such persons should
be provided with rehabilitation services which would enable them "to reach
and sustain their optimum level of independence and functioning". All such
services should be provided in such a way that the persons concerned are able
to maintain full respect for their rights and dignity.
CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24 (Women and health), para. 25: Women with
disabilities, of all ages, often have difficulty with physical access to health
services. Women with mental disabilities are particularly vulnerable, while
there is limited understanding, in general, of the broad range of risks to mental
health to which women are disproportionately susceptible as a result of gender
discrimination, violence, poverty, armed conflict, dislocation and other forms
of social deprivation. States parties should take appropriate measures to ensure
that health services are sensitive to the needs of women with disabilities and
are respectful of their human rights and dignity.
Related to Draft Article 21, paragraph (c)
CESCR, General Comment no. 14 (The right to the highest attainable standard
of health), para. 12: …Health facilities, goods and services have to be accessible
to everyone without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party.
Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: (…) Physical accessibility: health
facilities, goods and services must be within safe physical reach for all sections
of the population, especially vulnerable or marginalized groups, such as ethnic
minorities and indigenous populations, women, children, adolescents, older persons,
persons with disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS. Accessibility also implies
that medical services and underlying determinants of health, such as safe and
potable water and adequate sanitation facilities, are within safe physical reach,
including in rural areas. Accessibility further includes adequate access to
buildings for persons with disabilities.
CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24 (Women and health), para. 21: States parties
should report on measures taken to eliminate barriers that women face in access
to health care services and what measures they have taken to ensure women timely
and affordable access to such services. Barriers include requirements or conditions
that prejudice women’s access, such as high fees for health care services, the
requirement for preliminary authorization by spouse, parent or hospital authorities,
distance from health facilities and the absence of convenient and affordable
public transport.
Related to Draft Article 21, paragraph (j)
CESCR, General Comment no. 14 (The right to the highest attainable standard
of health), para. 8: …The right to health contains both freedoms and entitlements.
The freedoms include the right to control one's health and body, including sexual
and reproductive freedom, and the right to be free from interference, such as
the right to be free from torture, non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation.
CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24 (Women and health), para. 20: Women have
the right to be fully informed, by properly trained personnel, of their options
in agreeing to treatment or research, including likely benefits and potential
adverse effects of proposed procedures and available alternatives.
CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24 (Women and health), para. 22: …Acceptable
services are those that are delivered in a way that ensures that a woman gives
her fully informed consent, respects her dignity, guarantees her confidentiality
and is sensitive to her needs and perspectives. States parties should not permit
forms of coercion, such as non consensual sterilization, mandatory testing for
sexually transmitted diseases or mandatory pregnancy testing as a condition
of employment that violate women’s rights to informed consent and dignity.
Related to Draft Article 21, paragraph (m)
CESCR, General Comment no. 14 (The right to the highest attainable standard
of health), para. 54: The formulation and implementation of national health
strategies and plans of action should respect, inter alia, the principles of
non-discrimination and people's participation. In particular, the right of individuals
and groups to participate in decision-making processes, which may affect their
development, must be an integral component of any policy, programme or strategy
developed to discharge governmental obligations under article 12. Promoting
health must involve effective community action in setting priorities, making
decisions, planning, implementing and evaluating strategies to achieve better
health. Effective provision of health services can only be assured if people's
participation is secured by States.