International Law and Global Health: an Overview

AuthorXabier Pons Rafols
PositionFull Professor (Catedrático) of Public International Law. Department of International Law and Economics. University of Barcelona. This study is framed within the Research Project DER2012-36793, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad).
Pages33-60
Paix et Securité Internationales
ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 3, janvier-décembre 2015, pp. 33-60
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_ int.2015.i3.02
33
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND GLOBAL HEALTH: AN OVERVIEW
XAVIER PONS RAFOLS1
In memory of Ned Hayes
I. INTRODUCTION - II. GLOBAL HEALTH AND THE GLOBALIZATION
OF HEALTH - III. GLOBAL HEALTH AS AN OBJECT OF INTERNATIONAL
REGULATIONS AND COOPERATION - IV. PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS OF
INTERNATIONAL ACTION REGARDING GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES IN THE
FIRST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY - V. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND GLOBAL HEALTH: AN OVERVIEW
ABSTRACT: Contemporary international society is characterized, among other elements, by its
progressive humanization, which situates human beings at the centre of all international concerns.
This conceptual approach, and the capacity of global health to situate itself transversally across
multiple dimensions, means that health is a material domain that can become a central axis of
international action and of International Law. In this paper are discussed, f‌i rstly, the international
notion of health and its global character in a globalized world; secondly, are analysed certain key
aspects concerning health as an object of cooperation and international regulation, particularly as
it involves the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). Finally, are presented
some of the principal substantive dimensions of current international action in matters of global
health.
KEY WORDS: Global Health; United Nations; World Health Organisation; foreign policy;
epidemic outbreaks; social determinants of health.
LE DROIT INTERNATIONAL ET LA SANTÉ MONDIALE: UN APERÇU
RÉSUMÉ: La société internationale contemporaine est caractérisée, entre autres éléments, pour
leur humanisation progressive, qui a placé l’être humain au centre de toutes les préoccupations
internationales. Cette approche conceptuelle et la même capacité de la santé mondiale à être placé
transversalement dans des multiples dimensions conf‌i gure la santé comme un domaine matériel
qui peut devenir une pièce maîtresse de l’action internationale et du droit international. Cet article
présente, en premier lieu, une approche à la notion de santé internationale et sa nature global dans
un monde globalisé; deuxièmement, sont discutés certains aspects référées à la santé comme un
objet pour la coopération et la réglementation internationale, en particulier autour de l’Organisation
des Nations Unies et de l’action de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS); enf‌i n, on fait
1 Full Professor (Catedrático) of Public Inter national Law. Department of International Law and
Economics. University of Barcelona. This study is framed within the Research Project DER2012-
36793, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía y
Competitividad).
International Law and Global Health: An Overview.
Paix et Securité Internationales
ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 3, janvier-décembre 2015, pp. 33-60
34
une brève présentation de certaines des principales dimensions de fond de l’action internationale
actuelle autour de la santé mondiale.
MOTS CLÉS : Santé mondiale ; Nations Unies ; Organisation mondiale de la Santé ; politique
extérieur ; f‌l ambées épidémiques ; déterminants sociaux de la santé.
DERECHO INTERNACIONAL Y SALUD GLOBAL: UNA PANORÁMICA
RESUMEN: La sociedad internacional contemporánea se caracteriza, entre otros elementos, por su
progresiva humanización, que ha situado a los seres humanos en el centro de todas las preocupaciones
internacionales. Este planteamiento conceptual y la misma capacidad de la salud global para
situarse transversalmente en múltiples dimensiones conf‌i guran a la salud como un ámbito material
que puede convertirse en un eje central de la actuación internacional y del Derecho Internacional.
En este artículo se presenta, en primer lugar, una aproximación a la noción internacional de salud
y a su carácter global en un mundo globalizado; en segundo lugar, se analizan algunos aspectos
clave en relación con la salud como objeto de cooperación y regulación internacional, en particular
en torno a las Naciones Unidas y a la acción de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS); por
último, se formula una rápida presentación de algunas de las principales dimensiones sustantivas de
la actual actuación internacional en materia de salud global.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Salud global; Naciones Unidas; Organización Mundial de la Salud; política
exterior; brotes epidémicos; determinantes sociales de la salud.
I. INTRODUCTION
Today’s complex international society is characterized, among other elements,
by the universality, diversity and heterogeneous nature of its components, but it
remains a society whose principal actors are the different States. They retain -in
a decentralized fashion, as sovereign subjects- political power on the international
stage. They are also the principal creators and subjects of international legal norms.
This traditional element -inherited from the Westphalian model of States- is today
blended with important new developments at the level of principles, institutions,
processes and international regulations, which are themselves a result of the
evolution of international society and the globalization process.
For my present purposes, I point out that the international society of the
21st century recognizes as fundamental values, among others: human rights, the
achievement of peace -and, therefore, the peaceful resolution of international
controversies and the prohibition of threat or use of force-, the self-determination
of peoples, as well as the pursuit of common and universal objectives that satisfy
human needs, foster economic and social development, and allow all human beings

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