A/HRC/14/39 are non-derogable”.30 CESCR has stated that the provision of maternal health services is comparable to a core obligation, and that States have the immediate obligation to take “deliberate, concrete and targeted steps” towards fulfilling the right to health in the context of pregnancy and childbirth.31 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women also establishes that State obligations to address maternal mortality and morbidity are of immediate effect. It requires States parties to ensure services for maternal health and equality in access to health services (art. 12), as denying services that only women need is a form of discrimination.32 Moreover, the right to life and other civil and political rights, and the right to non-discrimination, are not subject to progressive realization.33 A. Equality and non-discrimination 14. The scale of maternal mortality and morbidity across the world reflects a situation of inequality and discrimination34 suffered by women throughout their lifetimes, perpetuated by formal laws, policies and harmful social norms and practices. An approach to preventable maternal mortality and morbidity that applies the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination will provide stakeholders, including States, international organizations, and members of both the human rights and public health communities, with a vital tool in their ongoing efforts to address the problem. It can facilitate the identification of high-risk groups, enable analysis of the complex gaps in protection, participation and accountability they are facing, and promote the identification of comprehensive and sustainable solutions. 1. Obligations under international human rights law 15. International human rights law specifies that all human beings must be able to enjoy and exercise their human rights on a basis of equality between women and men,35 and free from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.36 Among other things, these fundamental legal requirements oblige States to refrain from discriminatory actions,37 to take positive proactive steps to guarantee equality38 (not just in law, but in policy and 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 8 CESCR, general comment No. 14: The right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12) (2000), para. 47. Ibid., paras. 30, 43 and 44 (a). Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), general recommendation No. 24: Women and health (art. 12) (1999), para. 11. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 6: Article 6 (right to life) (1982), para. 5; CESCR, general comment No. 20: Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (art. 2, para. 2) (2009), para. 7. A/61/338, para. 10; European Parliament, resolution on maternal mortality. ICCPR, art. 3; ICESCR, art. 3; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, arts. 1 and 2; Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 28; CESCR, general comment No. 16: The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (art. 3) (2005); CESCR, general comment No. 20. ICCPR, art. 2, para. 1; ICESCR, art. 2, para. 2; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 2, para. 1; Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 18: Non-discrimination (1989); CESCR, general comment No. 20. CESCR, general comment No. 16, para. 18. Ibid., para. 21; CESCR, general comment No. 20, para. 8 (b); CEDAW, general recommendation No. 25: Temporary special measures (art. 4, para. 1) (2004), paras. 7–8. GE.10-12949