RES/33/11 Preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age as a human rights concern

GE.16-17295(E)

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Human Rights Council Thirty-third session

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 29 September 2016

33/11. Preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5

years of age as a human rights concern

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling its resolutions 24/11 of 26 September 2013 and 27/14 of 2 October 2014

on preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age as a human rights

concern, and all other relevant resolutions on the rights of the child of the Commission on

Human Rights, the Council and the General Assembly,

Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and

interrelated, and recognizing the need to ensure the full and effective enjoyment by all of

their human rights, including the right to development,

Deeply concerned that more than 5,900,000 children under 5 years of age die each

year, mostly from preventable and treatable causes, owing to inadequate or lack of access to

integrated and quality maternal, newborn and child health care and services, early

childbearing, and to health determinants, such as safe drinking water and sanitation, safe

and adequate food and nutrition, and that mortality remains highest among children

belonging to the poorest and most marginalized communities,

Deeply concerned also that, despite progress made in the reduction of child

mortality, Millennium Development Goal 4, on reducing child mortality by two thirds from

1990 to 2015, was not achieved, and that deaths of newborn babies are falling more slowly,

with a projected increase, if current trends continue, in the share of neonatal deaths by

2030,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,1 and

recognizing that reducing preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of

age will require efforts across the 2030 Agenda, including target 3.2, on ending preventable

deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age,

1 General Assembly resolution 70/1.

Acknowledging the work done by the United Nations and its specialized agencies,

funds and programmes in relation to the reduction and elimination of preventable mortality

and morbidity of children under 5 years of age, and in that regard notes the Global Strategy

for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) and the establishment of the

Independent Accountability Panel,

Acknowledging also the role played by women’s and girls’ education and

empowerment, and the impact of gender inequality, when addressing the underlying causes

of child mortality and morbidity,

Reaffirming that States should take all appropriate measures to ensure the right of

the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

without discrimination of any kind and, in doing so, be guided by the best interests of the

child, ensuring the meaningful participation of children, consistent with their evolving

capacities, in all matters and decisions affecting their lives, bearing in mind the rights,

duties and responsibilities of parents or caregivers in relation to preventing mortality and

morbidity of children under 5 years of age, and take steps to ensure the allocation of

available resources to the maximum extent possible to achieve the full realization of the

right of the child to the highest attainable standard of health, including by strengthening

international cooperation in this field,

Recognizing that the factors leading to preventable mortality and morbidity of

children under 5 years of age can be particularly severe in developing countries,

Recognizing also that a human rights-based approach to reducing and eliminating

preventable child mortality and morbidity is an approach underpinned by the principles of,

inter alia, equality and non-discrimination, participation, sustainability, transparency, the

best interests of the child, international cooperation and accountability,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights on the implementation of the technical guidance on the

application of a human rights-based approach to policies and programmes to reduce and

eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age;2

2. Urges States to disseminate the technical guidance and to apply it, as

appropriate, in the design, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of laws, policies,

programmes, budgets and mechanisms for remedy and redress aimed at eliminating

preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age;

3. Calls upon States to adopt a human rights-based approach to reducing and

eliminating preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age, including

in scaling up efforts to achieve the integrated management of quality maternal, newborn

and child health care and services, particularly at the community and family levels, and to

take action to address the main causes of preventable mortality and morbidity of children

under 5 years of age;

4. Calls upon States and other relevant stakeholders, including national human

rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, with due regard to the

implementation of the 2030 Agenda, to continue to take and intensify action at all levels to

address the interlinked root causes of preventable mortality and morbidity of children under

5 years of age, such as poverty, malnutrition, harmful practices, violence, stigma and

discrimination, unsafe households and environments, lack of safe drinking water and

sanitation, lack of accessible, affordable, quality and appropriate health care, services,

2 A/HRC/33/23.

medicines and vaccinations, late detection of childhood illnesses and low levels and quality

of education;

5. Calls upon States to strengthen further their international commitment,

cooperation and mutual assistance with the objective of reducing and eliminating

preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age, including through the

sharing of good practices, research, policies, review of progress through data collection and

analysis, and capacity-building;

6. Encourages States and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the issue of

preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age is given due attention

in the work of the Human Rights Council, including relevant Council processes, debates

and mechanisms, including the universal periodic review;

7. Calls upon all relevant United Nations agencies to continue to provide

technical cooperation and assistance to States, as requested, to reduce and eliminate

preventable morbidity and mortality of children under 5 years of age, by supporting the

application of the technical guidance, including through the development and dissemination

of tools for its operationalization at all relevant stages of national planning and action

cycles for child health and survival;

8. Encourages the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in

close collaboration with the World Health Organization, to intensify efforts to bring the

technical guidance to the attention of the Secretary-General and all United Nations entities

with mandates relevant to preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of

age, including the High-level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women,

Children and Adolescents, and to continue dialogue on the issue of preventable mortality

and morbidity of children under 5 years of age with all relevant actors with due regard to

the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

9. Requests the High Commissioner:

(a) To organize, prior to the thirty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, in

close collaboration with the World Health Organization, an expert workshop to discuss

experiences in preventing mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age, with a

particular focus on the implementation of the technical guidance, including challenges, best

practices and lessons learned, and including consideration of the particular challenges in

respect of the newborn child;

(b) To consult with and invite States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds

and programmes, including the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Joint United

Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and relevant special procedure mandate holders, the

Committee on the Rights of the Child, other human rights mechanisms, including regional

organizations, professional medical organizations, health policymakers or practitioners and

civil society to participate actively in the workshop;

(c) To prepare a summary report on the above-mentioned workshop, including

any good practices identified thereat and recommendations arising therefrom, for

submission to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session;

10. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

39th meeting

29 September 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]