Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Monitoring, Interpreting, and Adjudicating Health-Related Human Rights

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the role of human rights treaty bodies in monitoring, interpreting, and adjudicating health-related human rights obligations, facilitating accountability for the realization of human rights in health policy. With each core human rights treaty having its own corresponding human rights treaty body, these international institutions influence states and galvanize advocates to take action to realize human rights across a range of global health issues. Describing treaty body efforts to monitor state implementation, interpret human rights, and adjudicate individual complaints, this chapter reviews the evolving composition and functions of these treaty bodies and analyzes their effectiveness in facilitating the implementation of human rights as a basis for global health. Given recent United Nations efforts to strengthen treaty body functions and streamline monitoring processes, treaty bodies provide complementary approaches for public health practitioners to support accountability for the implementation of health-related human rights.

Keywords: Human rights treaty bodies, Human rights monitoring, Accountability, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Human rights indicators