Health and Human Rights Impact Assessment: Improving Accountability in Policy Making

Two decades ago, Gostin and Mann developed a methodology for human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of proposed public health policies.  Looking back over the last twenty years, this presentation examines the development of HRIA in the field of public health to consider the progress that has been made since Gostin and Mann published their pioneering article. HRIA in public health has advanced substantially for two main reasons.  First, the right to the highest attainable standard of health has been delineated in greater detail through domestic and international laws, policies and guidelines.  Second, nongovernmental organizations have taken the lead in developing HRIA methodology and case studies to hold governments accountable for the right to health.  However, governments have the primary responsibility for ensuring progressive realization of the right to health and they have been slow to adopt HRIA as a means to do so.  In this light, the presentation concludes by considering some of the current challenges and future prospects for HRIA in the area of public health.