Health Equity in Global Governance: growing recognition in need of concrete actions
By Carlos M. Correa
Health equity is a foundational principle of global health governance that should ensure all individuals have fair and just opportunities to achieve optimal health, regardless of social, economic, or geographical disparities. The right to health is recognized as a fundamental human right in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This document explores the concept of health equity drawing on United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions and key instruments from the World Health Organization (WHO). It discusses the challenges and opportunities for developing countries in pursuing equitable health outcomes, including advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Experiences and Challenges Faced by Sri Lanka in Implementing the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Including Health Equity and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
By Janani Sivapakthan
Sri Lanka’s long-standing commitment to free and equitable healthcare with a focus on primary healthcare has yielded impressive achievements in health equity, maternal and child health, disease elimination, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. However, Sri Lanka faces challenges in upholding health equity in the context of escalating domestic and global pressures. Safeguarding the highest attainable standard of health for all Sri Lankans requires addressing underinvestment, workforce migration, uneven service distribution, and the emerging burden of non-communicable diseases in a context of economic constraint.
Promoting Health Equity and Reproductive Rights in Angola
By Sandra Benge Neto
This article examines Angola´s progress in rebuilding its health system in the post conflict era, focusing on health equity and the promotion of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in alignment with the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and international human rights commitments.
Despite significant advances – such as the expansion of primary healthcare, municipalization of services, and youth–friendly centres – Angola continues to face challenges including geographic disparities, sociocultural barriers to contraception, insufficient funding, and limited data systems. Drawing from national initiatives and community based experiences, this article highlights best practices and strategic recommendations to accelerate Angola´s implementation of the Maputo Protocol and achieve universal, gender–responsive health coverage.
Brazil’s challenges in implementing the highest attainable standard in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
By Camila C. Gasparro
This paper examines Brazil’s efforts to improve women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Brazil is making progress through the Ministry of Health and collaborative engagement with social movements. However, persistent structural barriers continue to disproportionately undermine women’s sexual and reproductive rights, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and vulnerable populations.
Input to the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development
Study on Artificial Intelligence, Cultural Rights, and the Right to Development
South Centre
November 2025
The South Centre submitted an input to the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development regarding the study on “Artificial Intelligence, Cultural Rights, and the Right to Development.”
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly evolves, it presents a complex challenge for the international community. While AI holds the potential to advance human progress, unregulated deployment threatens to exacerbate existing global disparities and endanger the realisation of the Right to Development (RtD).
Key Policy Highlights from the Submission:
Addressing the AI Divide: Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) face significant gaps in digital infrastructure and access to quality local datasets. To prevent the widening of global inequalities, governance frameworks must mandate technology transfer and capacity building without imposing restrictive intellectual property barriers.
Protecting Cultural Sovereignty: The mass accumulation of data by Generative AI models risks replicating historical patterns of “digital extractivism”. There is a need to increase transparency in training data protocols to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.
Beyond Self-Regulation: Voluntary measures by the private sector lack essential mechanisms for external accountability and redress. A pragmatic regulatory approach is necessary: a legally binding global baseline for human rights accountability, complemented by flexible domestic regulations that preserve national policy space for local innovation.
To ensure AI serves humanity, the international community must move toward a governance model that guarantees global fairness, upholds human rights, and prevents market monopolisation by a few corporations.
Advancing Responsible Foreign Investment through a Legally Binding Instrument on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises
By Daniel Uribe Terán
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) presents a complex dynamic, offering potential economic growth while posing significant risks of human rights abuses and environmental degradation. This policy brief considers that current voluntary frameworks, such as Economic, Social, and Governance (ESG) and voluntary due diligence standards, are insufficient to protect human rights, as they primarily focus on mitigating investor financial risk rather than preventing actual harm. Furthermore, the international investment regime, particularly the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, systemically undermines States’ sovereign right to regulate in the public interest. ISDS cases often penalise governments for enacting environmental, labour, and human rights protections, creating a “regulatory chill” that prioritises corporate profits over social welfare. The proposed Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) on business and human rights is presented as a necessary response to establish mandatory, enforceable obligations for corporations. This includes robust Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) and legal liability mechanisms, thereby rebalancing the system to ensure corporate accountability and align investment with sustainable development goals.
South Centre Statement during the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
General Debate under Item 3
Geneva, 19 September 2025
At the 60th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC60), the South Centre delivered a statement welcoming the crucial update to the technical guidance on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity.
We are encouraged that the guidance moves beyond technical corrections to address the deep-seated root causes of why women and girls still die during childbirth. In our statement, we highlighted several key advancements:
🔹 An Intersectional Approach: The guidance rightfully identifies structural racism and discrimination as fundamental factors, providing a strong basis for targeted interventions.
🔹 A “Human Rights Economy” Framework: It broadens accountability to international financial institutions and corporations, emphasising that the global financial architecture—including sovereign debt, austerity measures, and healthcare privatisation—must be reformed to prioritise human rights.
🔹 Accountability and Reparations: The call for independent accountability mechanisms and a reparation fund for victims correctly reframes preventable maternal deaths from unfortunate accidents to serious injustices requiring systemic solutions.
These principles are intrinsically linked to the realisation of the Right to Development. A global environment that respects this right is essential for funding public health and creating societies where women and girls can thrive.
The challenge now is implementation. We call on all states, international financial institutions, and partners to fully fund and realise this new, rights-based and justice-oriented guidance.
The Role of the Human Rights Council in Advancing the Right to Health: From Guidance to Implementation
Side Event to the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Organized by the South Centre
Date & Time: 25 September 2025, 15h00-16h00
Venue: Room Concordia 1, Palais des Nations, Geneva
This side event to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council is convened to discuss the critical implementation gap at domestic level of oversight over state obligations related to health, placing the voices and priorities of the Global South at the center of the discourse to chart a course for a more effective approach to advancing the right to health for all.
ID with the SR on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
South Centre Statement (Item 3)
In its 59th session of the Human Rights Council statement on the Right to Health, the South Centre addressed the Special Rapporteur’s report, focusing on the protection of health and care workers. The statement noted the challenges they face, from migration impacts to poor working conditions, and called for their protection to ensure health equity for all.
Advancing Women and Girls’ Health in a Time of Converging Crises
South Centre Briefing Session (April 2025) Report
The South Centre hosted a high-level briefing session aimed at advancing the health rights of women and girls in the face of multiple global challenges. The meeting coincided with the South Centre’s 30th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, bringing together ambassadors, health experts, and representatives of international organisations to discuss the protection and advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the Global South.
