A/HRC/33/23 the right to education, the right to freedom from violence, the right to water and sanitation and overall improvement of the economic situation, have been key. 2 International cooperation and support has played a critical role. 8. Yet, despite remarkable progress, inequality persists in many countries, hampering the further reduction of child mortality among some groups of children. Examples in that regard have been referred to in the 2016 report of Save the Children Every Last Child, 3 which reveals that disadvantaged regions in a number of countries are making slower progress. The report shows, however, that the opposite is also possible and refers to the example of the Niger, where regions that were lagging behind, such as Zinder and Maradi, have experienced a faster rate of progress than Niamey (ibid., p. 23). Progress in those deprived regions has benefited children who had low chances of survival. It is important to note that inequalities undermine progress in developed countries as well as low- and middle-income countries. 9. Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a commitment is made to accelerating the progress made to date in reducing newborn, child and maternal mortality by ending all such preventable deaths before 2030, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births. In the Agenda, it is recognized that human dignity is fundamental and that the goals and targets are to be met for all segments of society, endeavouring to reach the furthest behind first. 10. Human rights-based policies and programmes need to ensure that children in hardto-reach regions are given further attention and that investment in health care be made in regions that are falling behind. Furthermore, investment in child survival must be viewed through the lens of the rights of the child rather than driven merely by development and assistance needs. III. Human rights and prevention of child mortality: an unfinished agenda 11. Recognizing under-5 mortality as a human rights issue implies understanding that the death of a child is not an inevitable fact of life, but rather is often the result of discriminatory laws, practices and attitudes, as well as institutional arrangements that compound poverty, disempowerment and injustice. The ultimate goal of a human rightsbased approach is to change the social power dynamics that lead to inequalities and discrimination in accessing health services and failures to establish and maintain health systems that are available, accessible, affordable, acceptable and of high quality. 12. Human rights-based approaches to health in general have long been the subject of discussion. In particular, maternal health and wider sexual and reproductive health issues have been analysed through a human rights lens for many years (see A/HRC/27/20, para. 5). On the other hand, while reducing the mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age has been a focus of the global health community for several decades, it is only recently that the issue has been recognized as a human rights concern and brought to the attention of child rights mechanisms and child rights experts. A number of reasons explain that, including: (a) for a very long time the child rights community had focused on child protection issues and considered the health system merely an element of child protection; 2 3 4 See United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed (2014). Save the Children, Every Last Child (London, 2016). GE.16-11320