Health professionals and human rights campaigners: different cultures, shared goals

Abstract

This article looks at a disagreement that emerged at an international human rights conference between health professionals and human rights activists. The disagreement centred on the scope of the responsibilities of health professionals in relation to potential systemic human rights violations. In this article, the nature of the disagreement that emerged at the conference is explored. It is first situated in relation to a strong shared commitment to the “right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”—often shortened to “the right to health” as it appears in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Some of the tensions that emerged between the participants are then looked at and some of the causes of apparent disagreement identified. The relevance of human rights to health professionals and their impact on medical practice are discussed. Finally, it is argued that, given the common interests shared by these groups, the misunderstandings are not substantive and that there is real scope for mutual learning and collaboration. Although the conference was in southern Asia, the lessons learnt are applicable anywhere in the world—they are equally as relevant to the UK and Europe as to developing countries in the south.