A/HRC/14/39 59. It is clear that human rights have an important role to play in developing effective approaches to addressing this global problem through public health schemes. A number of steps that are essential to effectively address maternal mortality and morbidity have been identified as part of human rights standards, including the establishment of accessible, transparent and effective mechanisms of monitoring and accountability and of ensuring women’s rights to participate in decision-making processes that affect their pregnancy and childbirth. Related State obligations, which also include procedural obligations, are underpinned by several specific human rights principles: accountability, participation, transparency, empowerment, sustainability, international cooperation and non-discrimination. Giving effect to these principles is the core of a human rights-based approach to the eradication of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity. While maternal mortality and morbidity is global in nature, States and other actors giving international assistance and technical cooperation need also to approach their work to address maternal mortality and morbidity from a human rights-based perspective. 60. The Council has called for the integration of consideration of the human rights dimensions of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity into its mechanisms, particularly the universal periodic review and special procedures, by encouraging States and other actors to give increased attention to this issue in their engagement with the United Nations human rights system.108 In answering this call of the Council, Member and Observer States could give additional attention to systematically addressing the human rights dimensions of maternal mortality and morbidity in their reporting under the universal periodic review processes as well as to considering this issue when reviewing other States. The Council could also consider requesting States to report on certain human rights aspects of addressing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity during the universal periodic review. Another important part of this would be for the Council to invite United Nations agencies, funds and programmes that are undertaking initiatives and activities in relation to maternal mortality and morbidity to systematically contribute information for consideration in the universal periodic review. As the above discussion shows, the issue of maternal mortality and morbidity is not simply a matter of the right to health but cuts across a number of rights and thematic human rights issues. Thus, special procedures could also be encouraged by the Council to integrate consideration of the human rights dimensions of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity within the scope of their respective mandates. 61. How the substantive human rights framework applies to the context of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity has been laid out thoroughly within the work of treaty bodies as well as that of other international experts and regional bodies. However, what is missing is the operationalization of a human rights-based approach to maternal mortality and morbidity. That is, many questions remain unanswered, such as: What are specific steps that can be taken to implement/adopt a human rights-based approach to eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity? How can States ensure that constructive accountability mechanisms developed are consistent with human rights principles? What is the range of constructive accountability mechanisms that can be used to ensure effective reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity? What is needed to ensure that a constructive accountability mechanism is participatory, effective and transparent? 108 GE.10-12949 Ibid., para. 5. 21