A/HRC/4/28 page 2 Summary This report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council decision 1/102, contains two substantive sections. The first signals some of the progress made by the health and human rights movement in the last decade and it also discusses two of the key obstacles that lie ahead. As never before, civil society - especially in low- and middle-income countries - is engaging with health and human rights. Some States are taking health and human rights seriously. General comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides authoritative guidance on the scope of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (“the right to the highest attainable standard of health” or “the right to health”). Since 2000, numerous reports have explored how the right to health can be operationalized. Law cases, literature and courses on health and human rights are increasingly common. There is a new maturity about the health and human rights movement as it endeavours to integrate human rights into health policies at the national and international levels. In addition to the traditional human rights techniques, such as “naming and shaming”, the health and human rights movement is also using approaches such as indicators, benchmarks and impact assessments. However, the health and human rights movement is also confronted with a range of major obstacles. The present report focuses on two of them: the inadequate engagement within the health and human rights movement of (i) established human rights non-governmental organizations and (ii) health professionals. The report urges established human rights non-governmental organizations to work on health and human rights issues, such as maternal mortality, just as vigorously as they already campaign on disappearances, torture and prisoners of conscience. The report also emphasizes that health and human rights not only occupy much common ground, but also complement and reinforce each other. Nevertheless, many health professionals have never heard of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The report argues that there is no chance of operationalizing the right to health without the active engagement of many more health professionals, and it makes some preliminary observations about steps that might be taken to deepen health professionals’ engagement in the health and human rights movement. In recent years, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, as well as other health-related rights, have generated an increasingly rich case law. The report’s second substantive section explains that judicial accountability has enhanced protection for the right to health and other health-related rights, and also deepened understanding of what these human rights mean. The section includes a sample of cases that signal how various tribunals have interpreted and applied health-related human rights.