UN expert calls for effective remedies and accountability to protect the right to health

Simão stressed that everyone whose right to health has been violated must have access to an effective remedy, with laws that recognise the multiple, overlapping factors affecting people’s health and their ability to seek justice.

The right to health is a legal protection that must give people access to effective remedies when it is violated, a UN expert said, calling for justice and accountability to be treated as essential parts of protecting people's health.

Mariângela Simão, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, said legal obligations become meaningful when people can challenge violations and obtain redress, with independent institutions able to establish what went wrong and provide appropriate reparations.

A report to the General Assembly, prepared by her predecessor, Tlaleng Mofokeng, examines how legal protections and accountability mechanisms can advance the right to health, particularly for people whose access to justice is restricted by discrimination, exclusion or other barriers.

Legal protections must give people access to remedies

Simão stressed that everyone whose right to health has been violated must have access to an effective remedy, with laws that recognise the multiple, overlapping factors affecting people's health and their ability to seek justice.

The report calls for accessible and independent bodies capable of examining complaints, determining whether violations have occurred and providing appropriate forms of reparation, giving people a practical way to enforce their rights.

Courts, bodies that perform functions similar to courts and administrative mechanisms can all contribute to accountability, the expert said, emphasising that these routes to redress need support from stronger institutions and broader safeguards.

For individuals and communities facing exclusion, the availability of a formal complaints process is only part of the requirement, because the mechanisms themselves must be accessible, independent and effective.

Accountability must include prevention and public oversight

The report places accountability beyond the courtroom, recognising the role of institutions and processes that prevent violations, provide remedies and help change the systems responsible for recurring failures. Preventive measures and public health regulation are central to that approach, alongside arrangements that allow decisions affecting health to be examined and those responsible for violations to be held accountable.

Simão said meaningful participation, transparency and accountability must be present at every level of decision-making, ensuring that a rights-based approach shapes how health-related decisions are made as well as how violations are addressed. The report connects individual access to redress with wider institutional responsibilities, treating remedies and structural safeguards as necessary parts of protecting the right to health.

Simão pledges to continue her predecessor's work

Simão said she was ready to carry forward the mandate's work, building on Mofokeng's achievements and legacy as new challenges emerge in securing the right to health. Her remarks reinforced the report's central message that legal recognition must be accompanied by institutions people can turn to when their rights are violated, supported by measures that prevent harm and make accountability part of everyday decision-making.