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life-threatening diseases such as cancer, infant mortality, sterility and other major handicaps and
diseases. One such example of such a violation of this right is the Chernobyl incident, which has
claimed many victims and displaced populations.
B. Right to the highest attainable standard of health
27. Every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health
conducive to living in dignity. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted
that the right to health was closely related to and dependent upon the realization of other human
rights, including the rights to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life,
non-discrimination, equality, the prohibition of torture, privacy, access to information and the
freedoms of association, assembly and movement.7 Furthermore, the Committee recognized that
the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health was not confined to the right to
health care, but embraced a wide range of socio-economic factors that promoted conditions in
which people could lead a healthy life and extended to the underlying determinants of health,
such as food and nutrition, housing, access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation,
safe and healthy working conditions and a healthy environment.8
C. Right to adequate food
28. The right to adequate food is part of the broader right to an adequate standard of living,
which also includes housing and clothing, and the distinct fundamental right to be free from
hunger, which aims at preventing people from starving and is closely linked to the right to life.
As is the case for other human rights, this right is indivisibly linked to the inherent dignity of the
human person and is indispensable for the fulfilment of other universal guarantees enshrined in
the International Bill of Human Rights. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
considers that the core content of the right to adequate food implies the availability of food in a
quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse
substances, and acceptable within a given culture.9
D. Right to work
29. The right to work is enshrined in article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Every
individual has the right to be able to work, allowing the person to live in dignity. According to
the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to work is a fundamental right
7
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14 (The right to
the highest attainable standard of health) in Official Records of the Economic and Social
Council, 2001, Supplement No. 2 (E/2001/22), para. 3.
8
9
Ibid., para. 4.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 12 (The right to
adequate food), ibid., 2000, Supplement No. 2 (E/2000/22), para. 8.
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