A/HRC/45/19 morbidities, by ensuring their voices are part of the development and implementation of programmes and policies related to morbidities. 71. Embracing the concept of a “circle of accountability”, States can build in avenues for accountability throughout the policy cycle to address maternal morbidities. This includes clearly identifying who is responsible for what action to uphold human rights, and ensuring that women and girls are aware of where to turn if they suffer morbidities during pregnancy and childbirth. This can be achieved through systems of accountability that cut across spheres, including social, professional, political, legal, judicial and international spheres. Through engagement across diverse accountability mechanisms, information critical for corrective action to address systemic problems is revealed, and individual cases can be identified where remedies may be needed. V. Recommendations 72. Stakeholders have undertaken numerous initiatives to implement a human rights-based approach to reducing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity. Assessing the impact of the utilization of the technical guidance and increasing understanding of how human rights-based approaches to maternal mortality and morbidity can be operationalized remains critical. In this regard, it is recommended that the Human Rights Council remain seized of this important issue and continue to receive information on the implementation of the technical guidance. 73. The following recommendations are addressed to States and other stakeholders, as relevant: (a) Build recognition, at the national and international levels, that preventable maternal mortality and morbidity is a fundamental human rights issue and enhance understanding among all stakeholders of the indivisibility of all human rights; (b) Disseminate and promote implementation of the technical guidance and associated tools as widely as possible, including to all ministries, in particular ministries of health, and relevant public institutions at all levels, as well as to rights holders, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions working in related areas; (c) Strengthen awareness and build the capacities of various stakeholders, including health workers, policymakers, legislators, national human rights institutions and the judiciary, on the application of rights-based approaches to sexual and reproductive health and rights, by organizing, inter alia, briefings and trainings; (d) Convene and support multi-stakeholder meetings at multiple levels, which involve health workers and marginalized women and girls, to discuss the application of a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights, identify opportunities within national-level processes and prioritize concrete areas and plans for action; (e) Ensure coordination of multisectoral and cross-disciplinary processes at the national level in order to achieve a comprehensive approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including maternal health, as required by a human rights-based approach; (f) Engage in capacity-building for rights holders to enable them to claim their rights and to participate, and contribute to a culture of accountability for delivering on sexual and reproductive health and rights; (g) Increase awareness and the visibility of maternal morbidity as a human rights concern, including through more dedicated research in this area, allocation of sufficient resources and dedicated efforts to ensure the availability of information, particularly for women and girls, on the causes of specific maternal morbidities and their prevention; 16

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents