Adoption of the General Recommendation No. 37 on racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health submitted by Dr. Tina Stavrinaki

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The adopted on 23 August 2024 the General Recommendation No. 37 on racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health drafted by Dr. Tina Stavrinaki, Member of the Committee. 

General recommendations are soft law instruments aiming to provide guidance on the Committee鈥檚 interpretation of treaty provisions and obligations undertaken by 182 States parties to the ICERD. They consolidate the Committee鈥檚 practice under the treaty and serve as a tool for policy makers and other stakeholders. Dr. Tina Stavrinaki organized, as rapporteur, a general thematic discussion, four regional consultations with stakeholders in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and in Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Comments were received by States parties, the World Health Organisation, other regional agencies and bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, associations of health providers and academia.

Aims

The General recommendation No. 37 adopts a holistic and an intersectional approach and aims to:

  • provide examples on how direct, indirect and structural racial discrimination occur and how racial bias, including algorithmic, may perpetuate structural inequalities;
  • clarify the scope of equality in the enjoyment of the right to health under the Convention;
  • analyse the content of the right to health under the Convention, encompassing freedoms and entitlements in prevention, autonomy and health-care;
  • provide recommendations on obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to equality and freedom from racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health.

The text is available .