Health and Human Rights

An intensive course exploring linkages between health and human rights and building skills in rights based monitoring and use of international and national instruments, designed for health and human rights activists.



November 12th - 24th , 2007



Organized by

Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes

and

Tata Institute of Social Sciences


About the Course

This intensive 2 weeks residential course focuses on the relationship between health and human rights. The course identifies and discusses the complex interactions between health and human rights. The key areas covered by the course are:

  1. The implications of human rights for public health theory and practice.
  2. The effect of health policies and programs on human rights
  3. Health consequences of human rights violations
  4. The linkage and synergies between promoting and protecting health and human rights
  5. Monitoring health and human rights
This course is designed to provide an overview of the nature and role of national and international norms, processes and institutions with respect to health and human rights issues. The course will include responses of the national and international political and legal order to some of the pressing issues of health and human rights. It will explore the dialectical relation between the pursuit of national interest by the governments and the rhetoric of global objectives by the agencies that include health or human rights within their mandates.

Aim

The overall aim of the course is to prepare participants to understand and interact with the local, national and international systems relating health and human rights and to impart them with knowledge to further these concerns in their respective areas of work by applying a right-based approach.
  1. To understand that Health is not simply a medical issue based on natural and biological factors and medical interventions but is also a social issue.
  2. To have a knowledge of (a) human rights standards as expressed in nationally and internationally agreed texts; (b) the supervisory mechanisms which encourage compliance; and (c) the ways in which practical respect for human rights is fostered in concrete, practical terms.
  3. To have knowledge of how health professionals can protect and respect human rights.

Outcomes

  1. Participants will acquire a basic understanding of both the history and present status of human rights and law as they apply to public health practice.
  2. They will be able analyze the human rights dimensions of public health policies and programme and access various mechanisms and procedures to further human rights of persons whose health status is threatened


Module of the Course

Module 1 M
Introduction to human rights
  1. Philosophy and theory of human rights
  2. Historical perspective of human rights
  3. International Covenants on Human Rights
  4. International Justice System and UN complaint mechanism

Module 2
Introduction to health
  1. Political economy of Health and Health care
  2. Public Health and health care
  3. Health financing
  4. Health Care-Universal access and equity
  5. Concept of the Right to Health and Health care

Module 3M
Exploring health and human rights- vulnerable groups
  1. Gender and Reproductive rights
  2. Sexual Minorities and Human Rights
  3. Health impact on persons with psychologically disabilities
  4. Urban poor and disaplaced- Health and Human Rights
  5. Physical Disability and violation of rights
  6. HIV/AIDS discrimination, Sexual minorities, and human rights violations.
  7. Children and human rights violations.
  8. Health consequences of conflict situations and violation of rights
  9. Health impact of human rights violations on Dalits and Adivasis.
  10. Medical Ethics and Human Rights
  11. Torture- Health and Human Rights Issue

Module 4
Monitoring right to health and health care
  1. Basic Elements of Human Rights Monitoring and Fact-finding
  2. Monitoring right to health care.
  3. Overview of budgets and monitoring
  4. Indian Judicial Monitoring Mechanism

Medium of the course: English

Eligibility: Graduation and above

Registration Fees: Rs.5000/-
The cost of food and accommodation will be borne by us. (Traveling expenses have to be borne by the participants.)
On basis of need registration fees for few participants may be waived.

Last date of form submission: October 15 , 2007

Venue: Conference Hall
Tata Institute Of Social Sciences ( TISS) Campus, Deonar, Mumbai

Accommodation: TISS Hostel

Methodology:
The teaching methods will be a combination of lectures, group work, self/-group study, case studies, presentations and discussions in plenary. The main emphasis will be on participatory approaches.

About organizers:

CEHAT
CEHAT, the research center of Anusandhan Trust, stands for research, action, service and advocacy in health and allied themes. Socially relevant and rigorous academic health research and action at CEHAT is for the well being of the disadvantaged masses, for strengthening people's health movements and realizing right to health care.

TISS
Tata Institute of Social Sciences was established in 1936. It is recognized as a deemed University. Since then the institute has been expanding programme and infrastructure while responding to the changing need of the social and educational system in the country. It offers courses in social work and health administration. TISS actively engages in academic research and community level interventions.