There have been four Special Rapporteurs on the right to health since the mandate was established by the then UN Human Rights Committee in 2002, and throughout each tenure a considerable volume of reports and letters is generated. These independent experts identify general trends related to the right to health, highlight specific challenges and recommend solutions, and undertake country visits to examine the situation concerning the right to health in a specific country.
The reports, thematic or arising from the country missions, represent a significant library of immense value to anyone working, writing, or studying in the right to health field. For ease of access and identification of subjects covered, Health and Human Rights holds an archive of all these publications.
In 2020 the mandate passed from the third Special Rapporteur, Dainius Pūras, to the first woman to hold the post, Tlaleng Mofokeng. Traditionally, the handover from one mandate holder to the next has been celebrated at a seminar in which the experts have been joined by colleagues from around the world to discuss pressing issues relating to the right to health, and to acknowledge the impact of the outgoing mandate holder.
Restrictions imposed by COVID-19 in 2020 meant the traditional handover seminar could not take place when Dr. Pūras handed the mantle to Dr. Mofokeng. Instead, a series of five webinars was presented, organised by the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, UK. The webinars, called Handover Dialogues, brought together scholars and activists from around the globe to address the current and future state of the right to health.
The five themes addressed in the webinars are:
- Mandate history, progress, and importance as it is handed over to Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng
- Global mental health: History and the need for change
- Re-thinking criminalization: Drugs, sex work, same-sex relations and HIV
- Sexual health and rights: Reproductive justice, gender, and gender-based violence
- Preparing communities for the future: Rights-based approaches
The webinars can be viewed here. Accompanying each webinar is a discussion paper and meeting notes which have been collated by HHR, and are archived in our Essential Resources section.