II. GENERAL COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

•	ICESCR General Comment 16 (Thirty-fourth session, 2005): Article 3: The Equal Right of Men and Women to the Enjoyment of all Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/2006/22 (2005) 116 at para. 29.

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29. Article 12 of the Covenant requires States parties to undertake steps towards the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The implementation of article 3, in relation to article 12, requires at a minimum the removal of legal and other obstacles that prevent men and women from accessing and benefiting from health care on a basis of equality. This includes, inter alia, addressing the ways in which gender roles affect access to determinants of health, such as water and food; the removal of legal restrictions on reproductive health provisions; the prohibition of female genital mutilation; and the provision of adequate training for health-care workers to deal with women's health issues. m/

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Notes

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m/ See the Committee's general comment No. 14 (2000), paras. 18-21.

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•	CEDAW General Recommendation 19 (Eleventh session, 1992): Violence Against Women, A/47/38 (1992) 5 at paras. 22 and 24.

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22. Compulsory sterilization or abortion adversely affects women's physical and mental health, and infringes the right of women to decide on the number and spacing of their children.

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24. In light of these comments, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommends:

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(m) States parties should ensure that measures are taken to prevent coercion in regard to fertility and reproduction, and to ensure that women are not forced to seek unsafe medical procedures such as illegal abortion because of lack of appropriate services in regard to fertility control...

•	CRC General Comment 3 (Thirty-second session, 2003): HIV/AIDS and the Rights of the Child, A/59/41 (2004) 89 at para. 6.

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6. Adequate measures to address HIV/AIDS can be undertaken only if the rights of children and adolescents are fully respected. The most relevant rights in this regard, in addition to those enumerated in paragraph 5 above, are the following: the right to access information and material aimed at the promotion of their social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health (art. 17); the right to preventive health care, sex education and family planning education and services (art. 24 (f)); the right to an appropriate standard of living (art. 27); the right to privacy (art. 16); the right not to be separated from parents (art. 9); the right to be protected from violence (art. 19); the right to special protection and assistance by the State (art. 20); the rights of children with disabilities (art. 23); the right to health (art. 24); the right to social security, including social insurance (art. 26); the right to education and leisure (arts. 28 and 31); the right to be protected from economic and sexual exploitation and abuse, and from illicit use of narcotic drugs (arts. 32, 33, 34 and 36); the right to be protected from abduction, sale and trafficking as well as torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (arts. 35 and 37); and the right to physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39). Children are confronted with serious challenges to the above-mentioned rights as a result of the epidemic. The Convention, and in particular the four general principles with their comprehensive approach, provide a powerful framework for efforts to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on the lives of children. The holistic rights-based approach required to implement the Convention is the optimal tool for addressing the broader range of issues that relate to prevention, treatment and care efforts.

•	ICCPR General Comment 28 (Sixty-eighth session, 2000): Article 3: Equality of Rights Between Men and Women, A/55/40 vol. I (2000) 133 at paras. 5, 10, 11 and 20. For text of General Comment, see EQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION - GENDER DISCRIMINATION - General.

•	ICESCR General Comment 5 (Eleventh session, 1994): Persons with Disabilities, E/1995/22 (1994) 99 at para. 31. For text of General Comment, see DISABILITY.

•	ICESCR General Comment 14 (Twenty-second session, 2000): Article 12: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, E/2001/22 (2000) 128 at paras. 8, 14, 21, 34 and 36. For text of General Comment, see HEALTH - GENERAL.

•	CEDAW General Recommendation 21 (Thirteenth session, 1994): Equality in Marriage and Family Relations, A/49/38 (1994) 1 at paras. 21-23 and 41-50. For text of General Recommendation, see EQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION - FAMILY.

•	CEDAW General Recommendation 24 (Twentieth session, 1999): Article 2: Women and Health, A/54/38/Rev.1 part I (1999) 3 at paras. 2, 12 (d), 14, 17, 18, 22, 23, 28 and 31 (c). For text of General Recommendation, see HEALTH - GENERAL.

•	CRC General Comment 4 (Thirty-third session, 2003): Adolescent Health and Development in the Context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, A/59/41 (2004) 102 at paras. 10, 28, 31, 39(c), 40 and 41. For text of General Comment, see HEALTH - GENERAL.