ABSTRACT
Robust protection of rights would provide the opportunity to access health and autonomy over the conduct one's own life. Rights must necessarily secure both the democratisation of the public sphere, ensuring access to the institution of health, and the morality and legitimacy of judgments and participation within that sphere. The Constitution of the World Health Organization, signed in 1946 and entered into force in 1948, recognises the right to health as a fundamental human right not merely to the absence of disease but to complete well-being. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights established the right to public health as a fundamental human right. The Commission on Human Rights was replaced by the Human Rights Council in 2006 by the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly. In 2007, the UN Special Rapporteur prepared draft Human Rights Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies in relation to Access to Medicines.
