19. States should institute measures for affordable and inclusive health care.
Public health information campaigns should be inclusive of minorities,
communicate information in minority languages and be culturally sensitive
to the situation of persons belonging to national minorities. Where relevant,
health mediators should be used. Medical staff should receive training to
provide services to persons belonging to national minorities in a culturally
sensitive manner. The use of minority languages in communication
with medical staff should be facilitated. Sexual and reproductive health
and information services should be universally available and accessible
to national minorities, taking the needs of women, youth and children
from national minority backgrounds into account. States must combat
discrimination in the provision of health care services.
The right to physical and mental health is included in the major human rights
instruments and is also referenced in key legal instruments concerning minority
rights.109 The right to health is closely interlinked to other social and economic
factors, such as housing and education, and includes among its underlying
determinants food and nutrition, housing, water, sanitation, working conditions and
the environment.110
In addition to requiring that non-discrimination legislation addresses discrimination
in the area of health care, ensuring the right to health for persons belonging to
national minorities calls for tailored strategies to tackle discrimination and specific
issues which have a disproportionate impact on women and girls, including access
to sexual and reproductive health.111
National minorities may face barriers to accessing health care due to factors such
as lack of health insurance, lack of civil registration or identity documents, reduced
health literacy, communication issues, overall state of health, cultural barriers,
discrimination and a lack of trust in the health care system. In some contexts,
residing in rural or remote areas may present additional barriers to accessing
109 UDHR, article 25; ICESCR, article12; CRC, article 24; CRPD, article 24; and European Social Charter,
article 11. See also: CESCR, General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard
of Health (article 12 of the Convention) (2000) and General Comment No. 22: The Right to Sexual and
Reproductive Health (article 12 of the Convention) (2016). For minority-specific instruments see: FCNM
AC, Commentary on Participation, paragraphs 61–64; and Ljubljana Guidelines, Guideline 40. See also:
UNDRIP, article 21.
110 CESCR, General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, paragraph 4;
and CRC, article 24(2)(c).
111 CESCR General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, paragraph 21.
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