A/HRC/4/28 page 9 additionally it provides a “map” to the right to health that is not confined to mental disabilities - it has general application. Finally, the reports also deepen and refine our conceptual understanding of some elements of general comment No. 14, such as those relating to international assistance and cooperation. D. New skills and techniques 25. Over many years, the traditional human rights movement has developed a range of methods and techniques to further its objectives. Typically, these techniques have included, inter alia, “naming and shaming”, letter-writing campaigns, taking test cases, sloganizing, and so on. These methods have served the human rights community well and they continue to be of fundamental importance, including in relation to the right to the highest attainable standard of health. But in the context of the right to health, these traditional human rights methods and techniques are no longer enough. 26. In his first report to the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that the right to health “should be consistently and coherently applied across all relevant national and international policy-making processes”.28 Indeed, this has been one of the primary aims of all his reports: to promote the integration of the right to health in all health-related policies. However, to achieve this aim, the traditional human rights methods and techniques are insufficient. The right to health cannot be integrated into national and international policies by merely “naming and shaming”, conducting letter-writing campaigns and test cases, and uttering slogans. Today, an increasing number of participants in the health and human rights movement understand that additional methods, techniques and skills are needed if the right to health is to be operationalized through health policies, programmes and projects. Moreover, they are already developing these new approaches. 27. It is now widely recognized, for example, that a system of indicators and benchmarks is needed to measure the progressive realization of the right to health. Several specialized agencies, civil society organizations, academics and others are contributing to the development of appropriate indicators and benchmarks in the specific context of the right to health and other human rights. For his part, the Special Rapporteur has written three reports on this issue, the last of which sets out a human rights-based approach to health indicators.29 28. Also, a range of actors are now developing human rights - and right-to-health - impact assessments. If the right to health is to be integrated into policies, a methodology is needed to help policymakers anticipate the likely impact of a projected policy on the enjoyment of the right to health, so that, if necessary, adjustments can be made to the proposed policy. The Special Rapporteur has co-authored a UNESCO-funded paper that introduces some of the literature on this topic and sets out, for discussion, a draft methodology for right-to-health impact assessments.30 29. Today, the health and human rights movement is grappling with difficult questions: for example, when formulating health policies, which trade-offs are permissible and impermissible from the perspective of the right to health? Given finite budgets, how should ministers of health prioritize, in a manner that is respectful of the right to health, amongst competing objectives? Of

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