Page 33 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

“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”.

Article 11 of the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with

Disabilities specifies at rule 19 that “in the training of professionals in the disability field, as well as
in the provision of information on disability in general training programmers’, the principle of full

participation and equality should be appropriately reflected”.

One of the earliest principles elaborated in the evolving human rights discussion of HIV/AIDS was

that commending a greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS in all aspects of work
against HIV/AIDS.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights commented that “any deliberately

retrogressive measures … would require the most careful consideration and would need to be fully

justified by reference to the totality of the rights provided for in the Covenant and in the context
of the full use of the maximum available resources”.

The right to health has been enshrined in international and regional treaties, and at least 60

national constitutions.

For example, the Constitution of South Africa states that “Everyone has the right to have access

to…health care services, including reproductive health care” and “no one may be refused

emergency medical treatment”.

The Indian Constitution guarantees the “protection of life and personal liberty” (Article 21) and
this “right to life” provision has been interpreted by the Supreme Court of India as including the

“right to good health”.

Every country in the world is now party to at least one international treaty that guarantees either

the right to health or to conditions necessary for protection of health.

30 Academic Year 2025/2026