Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe selection of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , targets and indicators for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) can only be understood in the light of struggles to advance these rights amid a context of the growing reliance on indicators to measure progress. If the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) de‐politicized inherently polemical issues in SRHR, the (re)production of knowledge of rights in the SDGs poses a subtler, but just as serious, threat. Although rights, and SRHR in particular, are apparently taken into account, the apparent neutrality of these metrics obscures politics and ideology. There is a danger that over‐reliance on quantitative indicators obscures the structural challenges facing the advancement of SRHR, and therefore indicators should be coupled with qualitative information derived in context.

The case of Haiti's devastating earthquake and the reactions it has elicited sharply illustrate an array of seemingly dichotomous ways of understanding obligations of "international assistance and cooperation," which are taken up by authors in this issue. First, there is a tension between dealing with immediate humanitarian needs and addressing underlying structural causes. Second, there is the related dichotomy between compassion/charity and the accountability for legal obligations that a human rights approach to health and development demands. Third, within a framework for accountability, there is a tension between an ahistorical understanding of international responsibility -- based purely on the self-evident need of fellow human beings -- and a contextually-rooted accountability. Finally, the situation of Haiti begs the question of whether we can address immense human suffering in the world through a strongly statist model or whether we require a more cosmopolitan understanding of ethical and legal obligations across borders. Drawing on the Critical Concepts articles in this issue, this essay briefly explores some of these tensions, and the potential contributions and limitations of applying a human rights framework to advance global health. Adapted from the source document.