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12 May 2000
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CESCR
22nd Session
11 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon adopted a general comment on the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
The comprehensive 49-paragraph document, forwarded by Committee expert Eibe Reidel, was divided into normative contents, States parties' obligations, violations, implementation at the national level and obligations of actors other than States parties. The general comment was designed to assist States parties' implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to help with the fulfilment of their reporting obligations. Article 12 of the Covenant is the right to health.
The general comment, the fourteenth of the Committee, is based on the Committee's experience in examining numerous States parties reports over many years.
In the introduction, the document stated that for millions of people throughout the world, the full enjoyment of the right to health was still a distant goal. Discussing the normative contents of Article 12, the general comment said the right to health in all its forms and at all levels contained availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality.
The general comment reaffirmed that States parties were obligated to guarantee that the right to health would be exercised without discrimination of any kind. They also had obligations, it said, to take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps toward the full realisation of the right to health.
Addressing violations of the right to health, the general comment said it was important to distinguish the inability from the unwillingness of a State party to comply with the obligations of Article 12. If resource constraints rendered it impossible for a State to comply fully with it Covenant obligations, it had the burden of justifying that every effort had nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal, the document stated.
The general comment recognized that implementation at the national level would vary from one State to another. It pointed out, however, that the Covenant clearly imposed a duty on each State to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure that everyone had access to health facilities, goods and services so that they could enjoy, as soon as possible, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
In pointing out the obligations of actors other than States parties, the document stated that the United Nations agencies and programmes, particularly the World Health Organization (WHO), were of particular importance. It said States parties, when formulating and implementing their right to health national strategies, should avail themselves of WHO's technical assistance and cooperation.
The Committee will conclude its three-week session tomorrow as it offers its conclusions and recommendations to the States which appeared before it: Georgia, Italy, Egypt, and the Republic of the Congo.
22nd Session
11 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon adopted a general comment on the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
The comprehensive 49-paragraph document, forwarded by Committee expert Eibe Reidel, was divided into normative contents, States parties' obligations, violations, implementation at the national level and obligations of actors other than States parties. The general comment was designed to assist States parties' implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to help with the fulfilment of their reporting obligations. Article 12 of the Covenant is the right to health.
The general comment, the fourteenth of the Committee, is based on the Committee's experience in examining numerous States parties reports over many years.
In the introduction, the document stated that for millions of people throughout the world, the full enjoyment of the right to health was still a distant goal. Discussing the normative contents of Article 12, the general comment said the right to health in all its forms and at all levels contained availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality.
The general comment reaffirmed that States parties were obligated to guarantee that the right to health would be exercised without discrimination of any kind. They also had obligations, it said, to take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps toward the full realisation of the right to health.
Addressing violations of the right to health, the general comment said it was important to distinguish the inability from the unwillingness of a State party to comply with the obligations of Article 12. If resource constraints rendered it impossible for a State to comply fully with it Covenant obligations, it had the burden of justifying that every effort had nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal, the document stated.
The general comment recognized that implementation at the national level would vary from one State to another. It pointed out, however, that the Covenant clearly imposed a duty on each State to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure that everyone had access to health facilities, goods and services so that they could enjoy, as soon as possible, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
In pointing out the obligations of actors other than States parties, the document stated that the United Nations agencies and programmes, particularly the World Health Organization (WHO), were of particular importance. It said States parties, when formulating and implementing their right to health national strategies, should avail themselves of WHO's technical assistance and cooperation.
The Committee will conclude its three-week session tomorrow as it offers its conclusions and recommendations to the States which appeared before it: Georgia, Italy, Egypt, and the Republic of the Congo.