Transcript International human rights documents related to race

The Right to Health and
Vulnerable Populations
Unit 11
Contributed by Dabney Evans,
Institute of Human Rights &
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
Loosely defined, Human Rights are:
 Set of beliefs about societal basis of human
well-being.
 Series of non-provable statements about what
people need to maintain their human dignity
(an abstract ideal like love, justice, peace).
 Describe the relationships between individuals
and society.
Core Characteristics of Human Rights
 Rights of individuals
 Adhere to individuals because we are human, inherently born
in dignity
 Universal
 Unalienable
 Interdependent
 Equality and non-discrimination
 Participation
 Rights engender certain claims/entitlements
 Core rights are non-derogable
 Duties to respect, protect and fulfill rights falls upon states
parties
United Nations Charter
Preamble
We the people of the United Nations determined…to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men
and women and of nations large and small have resolved
to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.
United Nations Charter
 Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well being which are
necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self determination of peoples, the United Nations shall
promote:
• Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic
and social progress and development;
• Solutions of international economic, social, health, and related
problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and
• Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion.
 Article 56*
All members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action* in cooperation with
the organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
*Sometimes interpreted as the obligation of wealthier nations to help poorer nations.
Other UN Treaties
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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
(1948)
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1950)
International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (1965)
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (1966)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (1979)
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (1984)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
2nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR aimed at the abolition of the death
penalty (1989)
Regional Systems exist as well including, European Commission and Court on Human
Rights, Organization of American States (OAS) and Organization of African Unity (OAU)
Human Rights Documents
1945 UN
Charter
1969 Racial
1978 Geneva
Discrimination
1987 Torture Convention
protocols and
American Convention
1951 OAS Charter
Genocide Convention
1950 Geneva
Conventions
1976 ICCPR and ICESCR
1954 Refugee Convention
1981 CEDAW
1990 CRC
The Right to Health
Under International
Human Rights Law
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Article 25.1
Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood,
old age, or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond his control.
Non-binding declaration
International Covenant on Economic, Social,
and Cultural Rights, (ICESCR) Article 12.1*
The States Parties to the present Covenant
recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.
*Adopted 16 Dec 1966, entered into force 3 Jan 1976, but never ratified by the US
ICESCR, Article 12.2
 The steps to be taken by the states parties to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall
include those necessary for:
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The provision for the reduction of the still-birth rate and of infant
mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial
hygiene;
The prevention, treatment, and control of epidemic, endemic,
occupational and other diseases;
The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical
service and medical attention in the event of sickness.
Convention on the Elimination on the all
forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
 Adopted by UN GA in December 1965 and entered force
in January 1969
 Originally designed to disrupt the apartheid system of
South Africa
 170 ratifications & 6 signatories out of 192 UN member
States
 The US signed this treaty in 1966 and ratified it in 1994.
 CERD is the only treaty that the US has ratified with a
mention of the right to health.
CERD
 Article 5e(iv)
States parties undertake to prohibit and eliminate racial
discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of
everyone, without distinction as to race, colour or national
or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the
enjoyment of the following rights…economic, social and
cultural rights in particular…the right to public health,
medical care, social security and social services.
Other Relevant Documents
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Durban Declaration (2001)
ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (1989)
International Convention against Apartheid in Sports (1985)
Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice (1978)
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of
the Crime of Apartheid (1976)
 CoE Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
 Adopted by UN GA in December 1979 and
entered force in September 1981
 182 ratifications & 98 signatories out of 192
UN member States
 The US signed this treaty in 1980 but has
never ratified it mainly because of the inclusion
of ESCR.
CEDAW and Discrimination
 Article 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to modify social and cultural patterns
of conduct of men and women, with a view to
achieving the elimination of prejudices and
customary and all other practices which are
based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority
of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for
men and women.
CEDAW and Health
 Article 12
States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to…ensure, on a basis of equality of
men and women, access to health care services,
including those related to family planning.
Other Relevant Documents
 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995)
 International Conference on Population and Development in
Cairo (1994)
 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
(1993)
 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993)
 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and
Eradication of Violence Against Women
 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
on the Rights of Women in Africa
Declaration on the elimination of all forms
of intolerance and of discrimination based on
religion or belief
 Originally conceptually coupled with CERD but
split once it moved from Declaration to
Convention status
 This Declaration was proclaimed by the general
assembly in 1981
 Moving it from Declaration from Convention has
been on the most contentious debates in UN
History
Religion Declaration and Health
 Article 1.3 Freedom to manifest one's religion or belief
may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed
by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order,
health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms
of others.
 Article 5.5 Practices of a religion or belief in which a child
is brought up must not be injurious to his physical or
mental health or to his full development, taking into
account article 1, paragraph 3, of the present Declaration.
People with Disabilities
 10% of the world’s population (650 million people) suffer
from disabilities.
 A convention on the rights of persons with disabilities was
completed in August 2006.
 The draft treaty specifically prohibits discrimination against
persons with disabilities in all areas of life, including civil
rights, access to justice and the right to education, health
services and access to transportation.
Conclusions
 International human rights law has a
preoccupation with the protection of vulnerable
groups.
 The right to health has been established under
international law.
 Human rights treaties provide guidance on the
aspirations and standards of practice for
programming directed towards vulnerable
populations.