International Law and Global Health

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief overview of some of the core international law instruments in the field of global health. Such overview includes legally binding rules developed both under the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as beyond its purview. Instruments created within the WHO and enshrining the protection of human health as the main object and purpose consist of Regulations dealing with Nomenclature and the cross-border spread of disease—namely, the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005—as well as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Other international law regimes are correlated to human health, even though they might not foresee it as the central object and purpose. In particular, multilateral human rights frameworks such as the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, on the one hand, and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on the other hand, are a necessary stepping-stone towards the fulfilment of the “highest attainable physical and mental well-being”. Furthermore, the existing three international conventions on drug control regulate the use and abuse of substances for medical and other purposes. These instruments are by no means the only ones relevant for global health goals, as others may have important effects on the provision of healthcare products and services to populations around the world.