Palliative Care as an International Human Right

A special article from the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Vol.33 No.5, May 2007. Abstract: There are major disparities in the provision of palliative care around the world. in recent years, a statement of advocacy and objectives has been repeatedly articulated that the provision of palliative care is a human right. This article examines the foundation for this assertion in the context of international human rights law. The strengths and weaknesses of this assertion are examined. The nature of both the right, and correlatively, the obligation on individual governments is discussed.