Human Rights, Health and Development

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)

Daniel Tarantola 1, Andrew Byrnes 2, Michael Johnson 3, Lynn Kemp 4, Anthony Zwi 5, Sofia Gruskin 6

Technical Series Paper # 08.1

THE UNSW INITIATIVE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS - School of Public Health and Community Medicine

University of New South Wales, Australia

 Available online PDF [26p.] at: http://www.ihhr.unsw.edu.au/images/Publications/2008_IHHR_Technical_Series_Paper_08v1.pdf

 “…..Human rights, health and development represent interdependent sets of values, aspirations and disciplines. Drawing on these domains, this paper offers a theoretical and practical framework for the analysis, application and assessment of health, justice and progress. It provides a simple conceptual framework illustrating the interdependence of these domains and highlights their key features and underlying principles.

 It then describes the reciprocal interactions between health, development and human rights and suggests how these linkages can be analysed and applied in practice. A Health, Development and Human Rights Impact Assessment (HDHR IA) approach is proposed to guide and monitor policies and programs towards maximising synergy….”

 “…This paper explores the links between human rights concerns, improving the health of individuals and communities, and the goals and processes of development that are central to improving people’s living standards and life chances. It builds its analysis around a simple conceptual framework (Figure 1) which illustrates the interdependence of health, development and human rights. It highlights the underlying principles, values and prominent features of human rights, health and development as independent domains, and then describes their interactions. It focuses particular attention on how these linkages can be analysed and reinforced in practice.

This paper also proposes that a Health, Development and Human Rights Impact Assessment (HDHR IA) may be a practical approach that builds on the synergies between the three domains, providing structured and transparent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to enhance accountability for progress, while revealing shortcomings in policies and programs, and improving human welfare outcomes….”