Category: Volume 19, Number 1

Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado and Débora Aves Maciel Abstract This article proposes a relational approach to the study of abortion law reform in Brazil. It focuses on the interaction of pro-choice and anti-abortion movements in different state arenas and political contexts. It details the emergence of a strategic action field on abortion during the Brazilian re-democratization process and the National Constituent Assembly. We offer analysis on pro-choice and anti-abortion…

Continue reading “The Battle Over Abortion Rights in Brazil’s State Arenas (1995-2006)”

O. B. K. Dingake People with tuberculosis (TB) experience infringements of their human rights on a daily basis. In far too many cases, they lack access to effective testing and treatment, face discrimination in employment and health care settings, and are unnecessarily detained and isolated against their will. Yet, even as TB has surpassed HIV as the top infectious disease killer in the world and the global threat from multidrug-resistant…

Continue reading “Letter to the Editor: Human Rights, TB, Legislation, and Jurisprudence”

O. B. K. Dingake People with tuberculosis (TB) experience infringements of their human rights on a daily basis. In far too many cases, they lack access to effective testing and treatment, face discrimination in employment and health care settings, and are unnecessarily detained and isolated against their will. Yet, even as TB has surpassed HIV as the top infectious disease killer in the world and the global threat from multidrug-resistant…

Continue reading “Letter to the Editor: Human Rights, TB, Legislation, and Jurisprudence”

Adam Houston In 2016, December 1st—already an occasion to highlight the importance of health and human rights as World AIDS Day—took on new significance as a landmark in one of the highest-profile health and human rights cases of the 21st century. This was the day that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon finally issued an apology on behalf of the organization for its role in causing the Haitian cholera epidemic that has…

Continue reading “UNstoppable: How Advocates Persevered in the Fight for Justice for Haitian Cholera Victims”

Adam Houston In 2016, December 1st—already an occasion to highlight the importance of health and human rights as World AIDS Day—took on new significance as a landmark in one of the highest-profile health and human rights cases of the 21st century. This was the day that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon finally issued an apology on behalf of the organization for its role in causing the Haitian cholera epidemic that has…

Continue reading “UNstoppable: How Advocates Persevered in the Fight for Justice for Haitian Cholera Victims”

Benjamin Mason Meier Before the election of the Director-General of WHO, and given the importance of human rights to global health governance through WHO, Health and Human Rights asked the three final candidates for their views on human rights, WHO’s human rights mandate, and the role of human rights in WHO programming. These questions were developed by the author in collaboration with Audrey Chapman, Lisa Forman, Paul Hunt, Dainius Pūras, Javier Vasquez, and…

Continue reading “Human Rights in the World Health Organization: Views of the Director-General Candidates”

Damon Barrett Introduction The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stands alone among the core UN human rights treaties in setting out a human right to protection from drugs. Article 33 provides that “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties,…

Continue reading “The Child’s Right to Protection from Drugs: Understanding History to Move Forward”

Rick Lines, Richard Elliott, Julie Hannah, Rebecca Schleifer, Tenu Avafia, and Damon Barrett This special section of Health and Human Rights Journal examines some of the many ways in which international and domestic drug control laws engage human rights and create an environment of enhanced human rights risk. In this edition, the authors address specific human rights issues such as the right to the highest attainable standard of health (including…

Continue reading “The Case for International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Control”

Wan-Ju Wu, Sheela Maru, Kiran Regmi, and Indira Basnett Historical context Reproductive rights are considered to be an inseparable part of women’s human rights and within that the right to abortion is seen to hold an important place. —Lakshmi Dhikta v. Nepal, Supreme Court of Nepal, 20091 Nepal is often heralded as a model of the successful implementation and rapid scale-up of safe abortion services. Prior to 2002, Nepal had…

Continue reading “Abortion Care in Nepal, 15 Years After Legalization: Gaps in Access, Equity, and Quality”

Julieta Lemaitre and Rachel Sieder  Abstract Feminists and religious conservatives across the globe have increasingly turned to courts in their battles over abortion. Yet while a significant literature analyzes legal mobilization on abortion issues, it tends to focus predominantly on domestic scenarios. In this article, we consider the effects of this contentious engagement of pro-choice and anti-abortion movements in international human rights fora, asking what happens to social movement claims…

Continue reading “The Moderating Influence of International Courts on Social Movements: Evidence from the IVF Case Against Costa Rica”