Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?

Abstract

While the right to health is increasingly referenced in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) discussions, its contribution to global health and development remains subject to considerable debate. This hypothesis explores the potential influence of the right to health on the formulation of health goals in 4 major SDG reports. We analyse these reports through a social constructivist lens which views the use of rights rhetoric as an important indicator of the extent to which a norm is being adopted and/or internalized. Our analysis seeks to assess the influence of this language on goals chosen, and to consider accordingly the potential for rights discourse to promote more equitable global health policy in the future.

Challenges for Measuring Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

“…The issue of universal health coverage (Target 3.8) has been extensively discussed over the last three years 24,25 and has the potential to contribute substantially towards universal access to reproductive health services provided that a rightsbased approach supersedes so-called morality and sociocultural issues 26,27 . The selection of indictors for this target is still in process and will likely not be resolved until late 2016.…”

Human Rights Discourse in the Sustainable Development Agenda Avoids Obligations and Entitlements Comment on "Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?"

“…1 Their paper speculated about, but was written before the United Nations (UN) adopted the final text of Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2 We examined Transforming Our World and found it had explicit human rights discourse and health goals that are consistent with right to health entitlements, in particular, universal health coverage.…”

Health Rights and Realization Comment on "Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?"

“…In fact what the General Assembly adopted as Goal 3 of the SDGs was almost word-for-word the text recommended by the Open Working Group (OWG) in its report of August 2014. 4 Other than a small (but significant) addition to the OWG's proposal for Goal 3.2, indeed, the two texts are identical [1] . The OWG report was one of the four examined by Forman and colleagues, and they found that it was the one with the lowest 'prevalence' of rights-relevant terminology [2] , including "no explicit reference to the right to health or to sexual and reproductive health rights. "…”

“…n their hypothesis published in IJHPM in December 2015, 1 Lisa Forman and colleagues examined the prominence of the right to health and sexual and reproductive health rights (as well as related language) in four of the key reports that fed into the process of negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That process culminated in September 2015 with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly's adoption of the SDGs which include, in Goal 3, a commitment to 'Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages' and, in Goal 5 (' Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls'), "universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. "…”