A human rights-based approach to palliative care
On November 13, RIHR participated in the virtual conference organized by the International Federation on Ageing (IFA), themed “A human rights-based approach to palliative care”.This is part of the ”COVID-19 and older persons” Virtual Town Hall Series.
The event tackled topics such as the challenges in palliative care, namely the aging of the population and the increase in the number of chronic diseases, poor primary health care, the association of palliative care with euthanasia, lack of staff, lack of a legally binding legal instrument through which states can be held accountable.It has also been suggested that palliative care needs to become an integral part of basic health care over time, helping to reduce inequality of treatment depending on where it is provided (hospitals or nursing homes).
Currently, no instrument makes direct reference to palliative care, but it can be approached from the perspective of other rights, such as: the right to life, the right to a job, the right to health care and medicines (provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights).Also, the General Comment no. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the attainment of the highest standard of physical and mental health is a key document in this area. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also provides for several rights relevant to palliative care, namely the right to independent living, community and participation, the right to autonomy, decision-making, and the right to legal assistance.
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