This chapter explores the relationship between human rights and health and social care. It begins by setting out the main international mechanisms and the obligations that these place on governments. It then discusses the impact of international and domestic human rights instruments through an examination of developments in social care policy, and with regard to reproductive healthcare rights in Northern Ireland. It also highlights issues relating to devolution and the implementation of human rights in the UK.

International mechanism relating to the right to health and social care

In 2015, the principles of a human rights-based approach to health were endorsed in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015), including the target of universal health coverage. However, the right to the highest attainable standard of health has long been internationally recognised as a fundamental human right. In 1946, the constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) set out the principles which it described as basic to happiness, harmonious relations and the security of all peoples. These included the statement that: ‘The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition’ (WHO, 1946: 1). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, for example, refers to the:

Since then, a number of other human rights treaties have recognised the right to health. The most authoritative statement of the right to health is set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (United Nations, 1966). Article 12 of the Covenant recognises ‘the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health’.