ACCESS TO RIGHTS AND EQUALITY OF RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH IN THE 2015 ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

The 2015 activity report of the Commissioner for Human Rights testifies to the scale of the action of this authority which has a constitutional status and numerous
means of action. The report mentions a new strategic
position which attributes “a central place to the promotion of equality, the struggle against discrimination and
access to rights” by redeploying the Authority›s territorial
network and launching a national study to identify and
better understand situations of inequality and non-recourse to rights. Considering that the right to health
“constitutes a fundamental right, a pivotal point without
which one cannot be in a position to exercise one’s other
rights”, the Commissioner for Human Rights’ action
extended to re-establishing the equality of individuals
in their access to rights in the field of health by identifying objective obstacles, such as territorial inequalities or the lack of public services, and personal obstacles
resulting from situations of vulnerability. The Commissioner for Human Rights also led a policy to combat
discrimination based on the state of health or handicap
and expressed opinions on bioethical issues relative to
transsexualism, ART and surrogacy.