Brigit Toebes

This interdisciplinary study analyses how the internationally guaranteed human ‘right to health’ is realized by States at a national level. It brings together scholars from more than ten different countries, each of them analyzing the right to health in his or her country or region. They all focus on particular themes that are important in their country, such as health inequalities, the Millennium Development Goals, or the privatization of healthcare. And despite the differences in context, lessons can be learned from the rich experiences of the others, to learn how different countries implement (or not) health-related rights.
In this book scholars, practitioners and policy makers in the fields of human rights law, health law, public health and their intersections will find a rich source of information, giving a boost to the international debate on propagation and implementation of the universal Right to Health.

This Commentary forms a response to Nikogosian's and Kickbusch's forward-looking perspective about the legal strength of international health instruments. Building on their arguments, in this commentary we consider what we can learn from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for the adoption of new legal international health instruments.

Like all private businesses, the tobacco industry has a responsibility to respect human rights. This means a responsibility not to harm human rights through the products that it brings on the market. For the tobacco industry, this makes a very clear case: by producing, marketing and selling a product that is deadly by design, the tobacco industry flagrantly violates this human rights responsibility.

In this commentary, we flag the importance of taking a
child-rights approach in the context of tobacco control,
which is thus far unprecedented. This text was written in
response to the Seventh Conference of States Parties of
WHOs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control held
in India from 7 to 12 November 2016.
While the links between tobacco control and human
rights were emphasised at this conference, a child-rights
approach was missing. We argue that this novel angle
provides important legal tools to protect the health
and well-being of children. Because children are seen
as ‘replacement smokers’ by the tobacco industry,
protecting children in this context is key to haltering
the devastating effects of tobacco use and exposure
worldwide.

By 2030, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be the leading cause of death in every region in the world. While law and policy have an important role to play in curbing this pandemic, our current understanding of how they can most effectively be used is still limited. This contribution identifies a number of gaps in current research and insists on an interdisciplinary research agenda between law, health science and international relations aimed at designing concrete proposals for laws and policies to curb the NCD pandemic, both globally and domestically.

During armed conflicts healthcare workers or medical personnel often work under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances. In such situations doctors and nurses, hospitals and medical units are at a serious risk of being attacked. Medical personnel also face complex ethical dilemmas when it comes to the treatment of patients from all sides of a conflict. This concerns military medical personnel in particular: as members of the armed forces, they face dilemmas of 'dual loyalty' where they may have to choose between the interests of their employer (the military) and the interests of their patients. This contribution looks at these issues from the perspectives of medical ethics, international humanitarian law (ihl), and human rights law (hrl). The article argues that the standards of medical ethics continue to apply during armed conflicts, and that during such situations medical ethics, ihl and hrl are mutually reinforcing. The principle of 'medical neutrality' and the human 'right to health' are positioned as key norms in this field. The article presents a normative framework for the delivery of health care on the battlefield in the form of a set of commitments for actors involved in the conflict, including the belligerent parties and (military) medical personnel.

This contribution assesses how a set of health-related norms under international law and ethics apply to situations where humanitarian assistance is provided. It asserts that the right to health, as an international human rights norm, is reinforced by similar standards under international humanitarian law, medical ethics and the International Health Regulations (WHO). Based on this integrated norm, there is a legal obligation to ensure access to a set of essential health-related services during emergencies, and to offer health-related protection. With respect to the duty to deliver such services we suggest that there is a shared responsibility of a number of actors. For the State where the emergency is taking place there is a primary legal responsibility to deliver essential health services. Nonetheless, if the services are (partly) provided by third parties there is a legal duty on the part of this State to respect and to guarantee the safe delivery of the services, and a duty to consent to the delivery of such aid. These duties could potentially also fall upon non-state actors, for example armed opposition groups, if they exercise certain governmental functions and de facto authority over a population. Arguably the international community and donor States have correlated duties to provide a certain amount of assistance and cooperation. Lastly, humanitarian aid organizations and their staff are bound by their professional ethical standards, including the principle of medical neutrality, which requires that medical aid is to be provided to everyone, irrespective of nationality and civil status.

Social determinants of health are major contributors to population health as well as health inequalities. The public perception that health inequalities that arise from these social determinants are unjust seems to be widespread across societies. Nevertheless, there is also scepticism about the progress in the implementation of actual policies to reduce health inequalities. Scholars, activists and policy makers from various disciplinary backgrounds increasingly stress the value of the human rights approach to support policies addressing health inequalities, and to hold actors in policies to address social determinants accountable for these inequalities. The 'right to health' , in conjunction with the other health-related human rights, captures most elements of social determinants of health, and makes clear appeals to the governmental authorities at all levels to take action when social injustices occur. Existing judicial and non-judicial cases show us how human rights can be instrumental in addressing inequalities in health.

This Commentary forms a response to Nikogosian's and Kickbusch's forward-looking perspective about the legal strength of international health instruments. Building on their arguments, in this commentary we consider what we can learn from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for the adoption of new legal international health instruments.

22.8. 4 Obligation to Protect..................................................... 451 22.8. 5 Accountability................. ............................................... 451 22.8. 6 Protection of Privacy...................................................... 452 22.9 Conclusions........ ... ... 22.4 Trends in Healthcare Commercialization Healthcare ...

Despite the fact that the right to health is solidly embedded in various international human rights documents, there remains widespread confusion about the precise meaning of this right and its legal ramifications. It is widely believed that the absence of a universal definition, together with the lack of clarity about the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, impede States from realising the aspirations enshrined in the right to health. In fact, conceptual unclearness is also likely to discourage national judges and treaty monitoring bodies from critically measuring--and if necessary, enforcing--State compliance and to deter Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO'S) from using the existing national and international system to monitor compliance, to report violations and to engage in other activities typically performed by human rights advocacy groups. This article seeks to articulate the meaning of the right to health, by focusing on its core content and the obligat...

ABSTRACT This working paper discusses the nature and scope of international health law as an emerging field of public international law. It identifies and maps the sources of international health law, varying from human rights law, the standards adopted by the WHO, international humanitarian law, medical ethical standards, and trade-related standards. It asserts that the internationally recognized human 'right to health' is a core norm in this field which has an important unifying role to play. Subsequently it pays attention to a number of issues that arise in terms of global and national health governance, requiring a more effective implementation of these standards. It attempts to illustrate these problems by discussing a number of important health-related themes, including health security threats, access to healthcare services and the social determinants of health, and the tensions between fostering trade and protecting health, in light of the existing standards. The conclusion is that while international health law is an important field with a huge potential, enormous challenges lie ahead, especially in terms of strengthening the existing standards and addressing the responsibilities of non-state actors in the health field which are not directly bound by the standards.

ABSTRACT This paper explores the legal contours of the field of ‘health and human rights’ as a new and emerging field of human rights law. After an analysis of its conceptual foundations, it illustrates how health and human rights evolved from a phase of standard-setting to a field that was primarily addressed by public health experts, to a field that is haphazardly, but increasingly, addressed by legal scholars and practitioners. Subsequently, it briefly analyses the practice of judicial and quasi-judicial international bodies, in particular in the context of the UN and the Council of Europe, and it explores the legal perspectives of two important health and human rights-related topics: reproductive health, including the issue of abortion, and socio-economic health inequalities.

ABSTRACT This paper reflects a Keynote lecture held at the Conference of the European Association of Health Law, Riga, 28 April 2014. The paper discusses the legal milestones when it comes to access to health services. The legal contours of fair access to health services are clearly defined, and we now also have a number of helpful guideposts to implement the right, including the so-called 'AAAQ'. At the level of implementation and enforcement of this right, however, multiple complications arise.

ABSTRACT: Sex selection embraces attempts to choose or influence the sex of a child before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after birth (infanticide). This paper examines these issues from an international human rights perspective and considers whether human rights laws ...

Many countries have national health systems that cover all or part of the population. An aging population and advances in medical technology are making health insurance increasingly expensive, and governments are left seeking cost-effective options. The Dutch government is reorganizing its health care system and seeking to combine economic competition with a right to health in order to improve the health of its population. This article addresses privatization in terms of a right to health and asks whether governments can privatize their health care systems while also guaranteeing the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of health care services. It is suggested that a "right to health impact assessment" can be a useful tool applicable also to the privatization processes in other countries.

2008, 696 + xxx p., ISBN: 978-90-5095-838-7 * With this book on the deprivation of liberty of children in light of human rights law, Liefaard has made an important contribution to children's rights. All too often, children's rights are studied rather superficially (if at all), and disconnected from the general human rights framework. Liefaard has avoided both pitfalls: he has produced a fairly comprehensive and in-depth study of the topic, and has managed to integrate and contextualise specific children's rights provisions into the overall human rights law framework. Moreover, he offers a sophisticated integrated picture of all relevant international norms, regardless of their hard or soft nature. Given their different degrees of specificity, binding treaty provisions on the one hand, and guidelines and principles on the other hand, complement each other and benefit therefore from an integrated reading. The book consists of two main parts. The first part focuses on the relevant international human rights law and standards. The second part deals with the deprivation of liberty of children in the Netherlands. Notwithstanding the broad reference to deprivation of liberty in the title, the book is mainly concerned with the deprivation of liberty of children in the context of juvenile justice. The first part on the international legal framework is covered in the chapters two and three. Chapter two ('International Human Rights Law and Standards regarding Deprivation of Liberty of Children') offers a historical account of the emergence of a normative framework for the deprivation of liberty of children, including general human rights law, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the 1990 UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty (Havana Rules). These instruments are analysed along two ordening principles: one is the distinction between international and regional instruments, the other the distinction between provisions that are directly applicable to individuals deprived of their liberty (for example the right to liberty), and provisions that are 'especially relevant' to individuals deprived of their liberty (for example the prohibition of torture; fair trial and so on). Chapter three analyses the implications of international human rights law and standards, that is which general and specific principles, and which legal requirements result from that framework. Two basic questions guide this analysis. First, there is the question of the legal requirements regarding the admissibility of the deprivation of liberty of children. Child-specific norms have been adopted here, in particular that deprivation of liberty of children should be a measure of last resort, and limited to the shortest appropriate period of time (Article 37(b), second sentence CRC). The precise scope of application is a major issue of discussion: while the text seems to limit it to juvenile justice, Liefaard sees substantive arguments, including the object and purpose *