A/HRC/27/31 I. Introduction 1. The present technical guidance is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 24/11 of 26 September 2013, in which it requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), to prepare concise technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age. 2. The technical guidance was prepared by OHCHR, in close collaboration with WHO and with the support of an external advisory group of human rights and child health experts. It was also informed by input received from a public consultation and responses to a note verbale circulated to States, national human rights institutions and civil society requesting relevant information. Detailed information can be found at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues /Children/TechnicalGuidance/Pages/TechnicalGuidanceIndex.aspx. 3. In spite of significant progress in recent years, mortality and morbidity of children under 5 remain unacceptably high. In 2012, an estimated 6.6 million children died before their fifth birthday.1 More than half of those deaths were preventable.2 In addition, millions more children suffer illness and disability every year. Patterns of child mortality and morbidity reveal significant and persisting inequalities between and within countries, driven by poverty, social exclusion, discrimination, gender norms and neglect of basic human rights. 4. A human rights-based approach to reducing child mortality and morbidity can help draw attention to potential barriers to successfully addressing these issues, highlight the range of actors responsible for this work and provide a legal framework to strengthen public health efforts in this area. It can also facilitate the identification of populations at high risk, enable analysis of complex gaps in protection, participation and accountability, and promote the identification of comprehensive and sustainable solutions.3 A rights-based approach can enable children and their families to live lives of dignity. 5. A broad range of international human rights treaties are relevant to child mortality and morbidity, inter alia the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Furthermore, general comment No.15 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and general recommendation 24 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women are also relevant. 6. Those treaties and general comments are complemented by documents on child health published by WHO that highlight the importance of adopting a human rights-based approach to addressing child mortality and morbidity.4 Furthermore, the centrality of a human rights-based approach to child mortality and morbidity has been recognized by a wide range of global efforts such as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global 1 2 3 4 WHO, “Children: reducing mortality”, Factsheet No. 178, 2013. Ibid. A/HRC/24/60; A/HRC/22/31. F. Bustreo and others, Women’s and Children’s Health: Evidence of Impact of Human Rights, (WHO, 2013); WHO, “Every newborn: an action plan to end preventable deaths”, 2014. 3