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Economic, social and cultural rights
still remain a controversial issue in comparison
with the more generally accepted norms of civil and
political rights. However, it is an indisputable
fact that economic, social and cultural rights have
been legally recognised world wide in several human
rights conventions. However, the legal impact of
economic, social and cultural rights appears to be
limited due to the vague formulation of the
relevant provisions in international law. This also
applies to the right to the highest attainable
standard of health.
1998 marked the 50th Anniversary of
the WHO and of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Different from the Universal Declaration,
the interest among international lawyers towards
the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been very
limited. This may be due to the fact that the work
of the WHO has not been characterised by a high
degree of standard setting. However, the major
results achieved by the WHO in its first 50 years
of existence contribute significantly in fact to
the realisation of the universally recognised right
to health. This right has been subject to a limited
analysis from a legal point of view.
This book intends to analyse the
legal basis for the work of the WHO and the
interrelationship between the work of the WHO and
the realisation of the right to health. Particular
attention is paid to Article 12 of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. The work of the WHO in
framing international standards is analysed
including the work related to the drafting of a
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The book,
thus, analysis a number of fields of international
law which have until now been relatively untouched
or only subject to a very limited legal
interest.
Henrik Karl Nielsen is a partner of
Norsker & Co. in Copenhagen. He has represented
clients in a number of principal Danish human
rights law cases including the 1996-1999 High Court
lawsuit against the Prime Minister's Office by the
native population of Thule (Greenland) relating to
indigenous land claims.
The book has been reviewed as
follows:
Professor
Dr.jur. Ole Espersen in Mennesker &
Rettigheter, Vol 21, 4/2003
Lecturer
lic.jur. Mette Hartlev in Ugeskrift for
Retsvæsen 2001 B 567-568
Other books relating
to the work of the WHO available from
Amazon.co.uk
The
International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk
Substitutes : An International Measure to Protect
and Promote Breast-Feeding, Sami
Shubber
Historical
Dictionary of the World Health
Organisation, Kelley Lee
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