Health & Human Rights

Human rights are essential to global health. The inextricable linkages between global health and human rights have given rise to the interdisciplinary field of “health and human rights.” Through this field, human rights offer universal frameworks to advance justice in global health under international law, elaborating the freedoms and entitlements necessary to realize dignity for all.
PublicationsPresentationsPublic Engagement
Debates on U.S. Health Care
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Sep 2012
Health Care as a Human Right
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U.S. Health Policy
BMC International Health and Human Rights
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Aug 2012
Implementing Community Participation Through Legislative Reform: A Study of the Policy Framework for Community Participation in the Western Cape Province of South Africa
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AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, Washington, DC
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Jul 2012
The Human Right to Water and Sanitation
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Water & Sanitation
Law & Global Health Colloquium, UCL Faculty of Laws, London, England
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Jul 2012
Global Health Takes a Normative Turn: The Expanding Purview of International Health Law and Global Health Policy to Meet the Public Health Challenges of the 21st Century
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The Global Biomedical Enterprise, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Jun 2012
The World Health Organization, Global Health Governance, and the Contentious History of the Human Rights
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Health Law Professors Conference, Tempe, Arizona
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Jun 2012
Human Rights Litigation for Global Health Advancement: Mapping Health-Related Rights Through the Development of the Global Health and Human Rights Database
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Health and Human Rights: An International Journal
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Jun 2012
Bridging International Law and Rights-Based Litigation: Mapping Health-Related Rights Through the Development of the Global Health and Human Rights Law Database
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Global Health and Innovation Conference, New Haven, Connecticut
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Apr 2012
The Rise of Human Rights to Address theHealth Threats of a Globalizing World
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The Daily Tar Heel
Public Engagement
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Apr 2012
UNC Hosts Inaugural Address in Health and Human Rights Lecture Series
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Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Global Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Apr 2012
Human Right to Water: An Evolving Human Right and the 2010 UN Declaration on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
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Water & Sanitation
Breastfeeding and Public Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Apr 2012
Realizing a Human Right to Breastfeeding through Global Health Policy
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Women's & Children's Health
Global Health Discussion Series, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Mar 2012
The Future of Human Rights in Global Health
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A Drink for Tomorrow, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Mar 2012
Rethinking the Global Water Crisis
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Water & Sanitation
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
Public Engagement
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Jan 2012
Submission on the Content of a Future General Comment on the Right of the Child to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Health
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Women's & Children's Health
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
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Oct 2011
Implementing Community Participation through Policy Reform: The Western Cape’s Draft Policy Framework for Community Participation in Health
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
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Oct 2011
Social Cash Transfer Policy as a Means to Realize a Human Right to Health in the Developing World
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Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Global Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Oct 2011
Health & Human Rights: An Introduction
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2011 Water and Health Conference, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Oct 2011
Moderator, Human Rights-Based Indicators: Non-Discrimination and Equity in Access to Water and Sanitation
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Water & Sanitation
Parr Center for Ethics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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May 2011
The World Health Organization in Rights-Based Global Health Governance
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Global Legal Regulation and Social Science Measurements: Balancing Critique and Pragmatism, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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May 2011
The Human Right to Water & Sanitation: An Evolving Human Right and the Move to Apply Indicators for Global Health
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Water & Sanitation
Health & Human Rights: An International Journal
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Apr 2011
The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health: Establishing International Processes for State Reporting to an Independent Monitoring Body
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Women's & Children's Health
Global Health & Innovation Conference, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Apr 2011
Collective Rights to HIV Prevention: Human Rights for the Public’s Health
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HIV/AIDS
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Apr 2011
Big Pharma, Patents, and AIDS Policy: The Intersection of Essential Medicines and Human Rights
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HIV/AIDS
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
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Apr 2011
Right to Health Litigation and HIV/AIDS Policy
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HIV/AIDS
Advocates for Human Rights, Human Rights Week, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Apr 2011
Moderator and Facilitator, One Peace at a Time
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Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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Mar 2011
Global Health & Human Rights, National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference
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Berger International Law Speaker Series, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York
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Mar 2011
Global Health Governance and the Contentious Politics of Human Rights: Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement
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Public Health Law, UNC School of Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Feb 2011
International Human Rights Law for the Public’s Health
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Health Rights in Global Historical Perspective, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, England
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Feb 2011
The World Health Organization, Global Health Governance, and the Contentious Evolution of the Human Right to Health
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Center for Infectious Diseases and Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Feb 2011
A Rights-Based Approach to Global HIV Prevention Policy
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HIV/AIDS
Stanford Journal of International Law
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Dec 2010
Global Health Governance and the Contentious Politics of Human Rights: Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement
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American University
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Nov 2010
Human Rights in International Development as a Means to Realize Global Health
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado
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Nov 2010
Rights Based Approaches to Public Health Systems
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado
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Nov 2010
Global Justice Through a Human Right to Breastfeeding
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Women's & Children's Health
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado
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Nov 2010
Public Health Litigation for Human Rights Realization: The Development of the World Health Organization – O’Neill Institute Health & Human Rights Database
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado
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Nov 2010
Is Access to Medicines All We Got?: Conceptualizing a Human Right to HIV Prevention Systems in Global Health Policy
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HIV/AIDS
Rights Based Approaches to Public Health
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Nov 2010
A Rights-Based Approach to Health Care Reform
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U.S. Health Policy
Rights Based Approaches to Public Health Systems
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Nov 2010
Rights Based Approaches to Public Health Systems
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Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Oct 2010
Global Health Governance and the Contentious Politics of Human Rights: Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement
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Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Global Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Oct 2010
Health, Human Rights, and a Right to Water
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Water & Sanitation
Using Law, Policy, and Research to Improve the Public’s Health, Atlanta, Georgia
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Sep 2010
Global HIV/AIDS Laws and Policies: An Imperative for Prevention
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HIV/AIDS
Case Western Reserve Law Review
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Sep 2010
From the Bottle to the Grave: Realizing a Human Right to Breastfeeding through Global Health Policy
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Women's & Children's Health
Stanford Journal of International Law
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Sep 2010
Global Health Governance and the Contentious Politics of Human Rights: Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement
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Global Health and Human Rights
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Aug 2010
The World Health Organization, Human Rights, and the Failure to Achieve Health for All
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World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
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Jun 2010
Human Rights for Global Health Governance: The World Health Organization, the Human Right to Health, and the Failure to Achieve Health for All
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Health & Human Rights
Publications
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Jun 2010
International Obligations through Collective Rights: Moving from Foreign Health Assistance to Global Health Governance
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Hastings Center Reports
Public Engagement
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May 2010
From Conception to Realization: A Human Right to Health
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Case Western Reserve Law Review
Publications
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Apr 2010
From the Bottle to the Grave: Realizing a Human Right to Breastfeeding through Global Health Policy
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Women's & Children's Health
Unite for Sight Global Health/Innovate, New Haven, Connecticut
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Apr 2010
Rights-Based Approaches to Global Health Policy: The World Health Organization and an Evolving Human Right to Health
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Health and International Development, American University, Washington, DC
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Apr 2010
An Introduction to Human Rights for Health
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UNC Bioethics Interest Group, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Mar 2010
Human Rights, Health Capability, and Global Breastfeeding Policy
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Women's & Children's Health
GlobeMed and Student Global Health Committee World AIDS Day Panel, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Nov 2009
HIV and Human Rights
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HIV/AIDS
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Nov 2009
International Obligations through Collective Rights: Moving from Foreign Health Assistance to Global Health Governance
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Nov 2009
The Human Right to Water
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Water & Sanitation
International Conference on Realising the Rights to Health and Development for All, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
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Oct 2009
Human Rights for Global Health Governance: The World Health Organization, the Human Right to Health, and the Failure to Achieve Health for All
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Women's Global Health and Human Rights
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Sep 2009
Going Negative: How Reproductive Rights Discourse Has Been Altered from a Positive to a Negative Rights Framework in Support of ‘Women’s Rights’
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Women's & Children's Health
Bioethics
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Sep 2009
Health as Freedom: Addressing Social Determinants of Global Health Inequities through the Human Right to Development
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Advancing Climate Justice: Transforming the Economy, Public Health and our Environment
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Sep 2009
Climate Justice Through Collective Rights: Employing Human Rights for Environmental Health
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Lancet
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Aug 2009
Ratification of Human Rights Treaties: The Beginning, Not the End
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Dissertation
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Jul 2009
The Highest Attainable Standard: WHO, Global Health Governance, and the Contentious Politics of Human Rights
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International Congress on Law and Mental Health, New York University, New York, New York
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Jun 2009
Global Health Governance & the Right to Health
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Unite for Sight Global Health Conference, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Apr 2009
A Rights-Based Approach to US Health Care Reform: Realizing the Highest Attainable Standard of Health through a Focus on Underlying Determinants
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U.S. Health Policy
Health & Human Rights, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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Feb 2009
Human Rights, Development, and Economic Determinants of Health
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Health Policy in a Global Context, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Nov 2008
Human Rights, Harm Reduction, and HIV Prevention Among Intravenous Drug Users
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HIV/AIDS
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
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Oct 2008
Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement II: The World Health Organization, Human Rights, and the Failure to Achieve Health for All
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American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
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Oct 2008
Mainstreaming the Right to Health for Public Health Advancement I: The Rise and Fall of World Health Organization’s Support for Human Rights
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Foundations in Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY
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Oct 2008
The Responsibilities of Governments and Health Professionals for Upholding Human Rights
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Human Rights Quarterly
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Sep 2008
Development as Health: Employing the Collective Right to Development to Achieve the Goals of the Individual Right to Health
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Tobacco Control and Human Rights Conference, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Aug 2008
A Human Rights-Based Approach to Tobacco Control: Delineating the Rights-Holder and Duty-Bearer
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Unite for Sight Conference, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Apr 2008
The Highest Attainable Standard: The Implications of an Evolving Human Right to Health for Public Health and Global Health Systems
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Australian Journal of Human Rights
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Apr 2008
A ‘Vector of Rights’ Approach to Public Health: Towards an Intersectional Human Rights Framework for Considering the Prevention and Treatment of Harms to Girl Child Soldiers
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Women's & Children's Health
Journal of Law, Media & Ethics
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Dec 2007
Advancing Health Rights in a Globalized World: Responding to Globalization Through a Collective Human Right to Public Health
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New York Medical College – School of Public Health, Westchester, New York
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Nov 2007
Human Rights for the Public’s Health
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American Public Health Association 135th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Washington, DC
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Nov 2007
Easing Resource Constraints for Public Health: Progressive Realization of the Right to Health Through the Right to Development
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American Public Health Association 135th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Washington, DC
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Nov 2007
Evolution of a Human Right to Health: An Incomplete Success
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International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Padua, Italy
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Jun 2007
Deus ex Medicus? Harmonizing Individual and Collective Health Rights for Mental Health Promotion
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Public Health & Human Rights Conference, Prato, Italy
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Jun 2007
The Evolution of Health Rights in a Globalised World: Responding to Globalisation through a Collective Human Right to Public Health
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Canadian Law & Society Association Conference, Saskatoon, Canada
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Jun 2007
The Girl as Soldier and Slave: Bridging Public Health and Human Rights in Violence Prevention
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Women's & Children's Health
Public Health/Preventive Medicine Residency Program, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
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May 2007
Physician Responsibility for Human Rights
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Tobacco and Human Rights Roundtable, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Apr 2007
Human Rights in Global Tobacco Control: A Rights-Based Approach to the FCTC and Its Protocols
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Unite for Sight Conference, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
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Apr 2007
Maximizing the Available Resources: The Intersections of the Individual Human Right to Health and Collective Right to Development
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American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Boston, Massachusetts
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Nov 2006
Transcending Available Resources: Improving Public Health Through the Right to Development
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American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Boston, Massachusetts
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Nov 2006
Beyond “the highest attainable standard”: Analyzing an Evolving Right to Health as a Means of Protecting Public Health
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American Public Health Association 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition, Boston, Massachusetts
Presentations
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Nov 2006
Applying the Human Right to Health to Tobacco Control: Tobacco Cessation, Harm Reduction, and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Public Health Reports
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Oct 2006
The Fourth Pillar of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Harm Reduction and the International Human Right to Health
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Cornell International Law Journal
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Sep 2006
Employing Health Rights for Global Justice: The Promise of Public Health in Response to the Insalubrious Ramifications of Globalization
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Cornell International Law Journal Symposium, Global Justice: Poverty, Human Rights, and Responsibilities, Cornell Law School
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Apr 2006
Employing Health Rights for Global Justice: The Promise of Public Health in Response to the Insalubrious Ramifications of Globalization
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Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law & Ethics
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Sep 2005
Breathing Life into the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Smoking Cessation and the Right to Health
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Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
Columbia Human Rights Law Review
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Sep 2005
The Highest Attainable Standard: Advancing a Collective Human Right to Public Health
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American Public Health Law Conference
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Jun 2005
The Highest Attainable Standard: Advancing a Collective Human Right to Public Health
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American Journal of Law & Medicine
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Sep 2004
International Criminal Prosecution of Physicians: A Critique of Professors Annas and Grodin’s Proposed International Medical Tribunal
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Berkley Journal of International Law
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Dec 2002
International Protection of Persons Undergoing Medical Experimentation: Protecting the Right of Informed Consent
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HIV/AIDS
Benjamin Mason Meier JD, LLM, PhD
About
Academic Fields
Global Health Governance
Health & Human Rights
Global Health Law
Health Topics
COVID-19
HIV/AIDS
Tobacco Control & Environmental Health
U.S. Health Policy
Water & Sanitation
Women's & Children's Health