The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a binding human rights obligation. Yet for billions of people, this right remains unrealised. Half the world’s population is still not fully covered by essential health services, while health systems in many developing countries remain underfunded and under-resourced.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) provides an important avenue for advancing the right to health. Every 4.5 years, all 193 Member States undergo a peer review, presenting national reports, receiving recommendations and making public commitments to reform. Yet the potential of the UPR remains underused, as many delegations face capacity constraints in framing health outcomes in human rights language, identifying strategic recommendations and tracking implementation.

The South Centre and the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI) are convening an Ambassadorial Dialogue bringing together Permanent Representatives, senior diplomats, UN agencies and global health experts to explore how the UPR can advance the right to health, strengthen multilateral cooperation and promote health equity.

The dialogue will focus on advancing the right to health broadly, and more specifically, the right to health of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Not forgetting the lessons of COVID-19, it will also reflect on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) negotiations through the lens of the right to health, including how the UPR can be leveraged to hold States accountable for the duty of international cooperation.

During the meeting, the South Centre and CeHDI will launch two tools to support the use of the UPR to advance the right to health: the South Centre Toolkit on leveraging the UPR to advance the right to health of women and girls, and CeHDI’s Health & Rights Observatory, a digital platform supporting delegations to analyse UPR health recommendations and track right-to-health commitments.

Time: 16:00–18:00, followed by a networking apéritif

Format: Hybrid – In-person (CeHDI, Kyoto Building, 3rd Floor, 42 chemin du Pommier, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva) & Virtual

Moderator

H.E. Dr. Abdallah Saleh Possi
Permanent Representative of Tanzania

Speakers

H.E. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Permanent Representative of Guyana
H.E. Matthew Anthony Wilson, Permanent Representative of Barbados
H.E. Zaheer Laher, Permanent Representative of South Africa
H.E. Ever Mlilo, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe

Registration

The event is open to Member States of the South Centre, Member States of the Group of 77 and China (G77), Ambassadors and senior diplomats in Geneva, ministry officials, and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).

In-person participation is limited to 40 registered participants. Online participation will be available to all other registered participants. The working language of the event is English. No interpretation will be provided.

Register here:

Ambassadorial Dialogue: Advancing the Right to Health and Global Health Equity through the Universal Periodic Review