A/HRC/21/22 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 2 July 2012 Original: English Human Rights Council Twentieth session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Technical guidance on the application of a human rightsbased approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report contains concise technical guidance, in accordance with the request made by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 18/2. The aim of the report is to assist policymakers in improving women’s health and rights by providing guidance on implementing policies and programmes to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in accordance with human rights standards. It highlights the human rights implications for multiple actors in the policymaking, implementation and review cycle, as well as the need for robust enforcement mechanisms and international assistance and cooperation. GE.12-14847