Submission on the first draft general recommendation no. 37 (2023) on racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health

Abstract

This written submission was presented to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 4 August 2023. The submission comments on the first draft of CERD's general recommendation no. 37 on racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health. The authors commend the Committee’s leadership and efforts in developing a general recommendation on the right to health, building on significant normative advancements on securing equality in the enjoyment of the right to health. However, the social, economic, and public health shockwaves caused by COVID-19 require more careful assessment and engagement by this general recommendation. Such an assessment is ever more necessary as the world is on the brink of adopting new international legal instruments that will shape how the international community responds to the next global health emergency. Moreover, the authors caution the Committee from adopting any recommendation or using any language that will reify a biological understanding of race, instead of emphasizing the social effects of racial discrimination and racism in health risks and public health outcomes.

Keywords: right to health, racial discrimination, international human rights law

JEL Classification: K33, K32