An introduction to health rights as they apply in a global landscape

The possession of rights has long been a hallmark of citizenship. From the time of Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, there has been a shift to recognising that the state assumes responsibility for the protection of some of the rights of its citizens. The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognises ‘the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’ and 'it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law'. In the international context, rights are provided for under international treaties, such as the UDHR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), inter alia.