184.
Article 16(1) of the African Charter provides that "even) individual shall have the right
to enjoy the best attainable state 0.( physical and mental health." Article 18(1) states that
"the family shall be the natural unit and basis of society. It shall be protected by the State
which shall take care of its physical and moral health"; and Article 18(3) that "The State
shall ensure the elimination of every discrimination against the woman and the child as
stipulated in international declarations and conventions."
185.
The Complainants claim that the intrusion of the Respondent State's military police
soldiers into their house made their women and children homeless, created
intentional anguishes on the complainants, severely damaged the physical health
and their family moral, thus violating Articles 16(1) and 18(1) and 18(3) of the
African Charter.
186.
In considering whether these rights have been violated as claimed, the Commission
will consider the normative contents of these rights as set'q~'t!in;it~;lBr-:n
il}?truments
and instruments of international treaty bodies and in light of the considerable
developments in international law with .respect to the normativedefinition of the
right to health, which includes health care and underlying determinants of health.
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187.
The Commission's Nairobi Reporting Guidelines, states that the right to health does
not mean the right to be healthy. It is 't~tl).er an inclusive right that encompasses
both access to adequate health care and the underlying determinants of health such
as: access to safe and potable water, adequate' sanitation, an adequate supply of safe
food and clothing, nutrition and b;q:using,healthx;?~ccupational and environmental
conditions, effective access to health-related edUcation and information.
The
Commission's Resolution on Access to Health and heeded Medicines= added to this
list all underlying aspects of health.
188.
Also, the Commission, in its General Comment No.2 on the Maputo Protocol=,
linked~n interpretation of 'mental and physical health' with the WHO definition: "a
state 6fi'tOmplete physicaf mental and social well- being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity".
'
189.
In these regards; in Sudiirr'Fiuman Rights Organisation & Centre on Housing Rights
and Evictions (COHRE) v Sudaw", the Commission found the looting and
destruction offoodstu££s, crops and livestock and poisoning of wells and denial of
access to watersources by the Sudanese government in Darfur to be a violation of a
number of rights including the right to health. Consequently, Sudan was required
to, among other things, rehabilitate the social and economic infrastructure to enable
internally displaced persons and refugees to return to the area and resolve issues of
land, water and livestock.
34