Health and Human Rights (2nd edition): Global and European Perspectives

Health and human rights is an important dimension of international and European human rights and health law. It is multi-disciplinary, engaging scholars and practitioners of public health and medicine, as well as legal scholars and human rights lawyers. It brings a new, and often more international, and moral dimension to existing legal analyses of health issues. This book focuses on the legal interfaces between health and human rights, taking both a global and a European approach. Globally, there are tremendous challenges when it comes to the protection of collective and individual health.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 18 April 2022
Publisher: Intersentia Ltd

Health and human rights constitute a vital aspect of international and European human rights and health law, drawing scholars and practitioners from diverse fields. This multidisciplinary approach involves public health experts, medical professionals, legal scholars, and human rights lawyers, aiming to address a wide range of health-related issues. By adopting a health and human rights perspective, we apply international, regional, and domestic human rights laws to address various health-related concerns. Human rights law not only informs other areas of law that engage with health matters but also adds a new and often more international and moral dimension to existing legal analyses of health issues. In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, where health concerns transcend national boundaries, this approach becomes essential.

This book specifically focuses on the legal interfaces between health and human rights, adopting a global and European perspective. Globally, we face significant challenges in protecting collective and individual health. These challenges encompass weak primary healthcare systems, the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the health impacts of air pollution and climate change, and more. In such contexts, human rights play a crucial role in safeguarding the rights of vulnerable individuals. It provides a compelling framework for assessing these and other health-related questions, as it intertwines health-related problems with legal and moral dimensions.

The international recognition and definition of the right to health are central to this framework, but numerous other relevant human rights standards also come into play. These standards include the right to access healthcare services, the right to privacy and confidentiality, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to participate in decision-making processes related to health. By recognizing and upholding these rights, we strive to create a more equitable and just society where health is a fundamental human right and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

ISBN-13: 9781839700576
Edition number: 2 ed