A missing voice: the human rights of children to a tobacco-free environment.

In this commentary, we flag the importance of taking a child-rights approach in the context of tobacco control, which is thus far unprecedented. This text was written in response to the Seventh Conference of States Parties of WHOs Framework Convention on Tobacco Control held in India from 7 to 12 November 2016.While the links between tobacco control and human rights were emphasised at this conference, a child-rights approach was missing. We argue that this novel angle provides important legal tools to protect the health and well-being of children. Because children are seen as 'replacement smokers' by the tobacco industry, protecting children in this context is key to haltering the devastating effects of tobacco use and exposure worldwide.

Access to Medicines in Times of Conflict: Overlapping Compliance and Accountability Frameworks for Syria.

Syria is currently experiencing the world's largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, and access to medicines for emergency care, pain control, and palliative care remains shockingly restricted in the country. Addressing the dire need for improved access to medicines in Syria from an international law compliance and accountability perspective, this article highlights four complementary legal frameworks: international human rights law, international drug control law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. It arrives at two central conclusions. First, all four bodies of law hold clear potential in terms of regulatory-hence compliance-and accountability mechanisms for improving access to medicines in times of conflict, but they are too weak on their own account. Second, the potential for on-the-ground change lies in the mutual reinforcement of these four legal frameworks. This reinforcement, however, remains rhetorical and far from practical. Finally, within this complex picture of complementary international legal frameworks, the article proposes concrete recommendations for a more integrated and mutually reinforcing interpretation and implementation of these areas of law to foster better access to medicines in Syria and elsewhere.

A human rights view on access to controlled substances for medical purposes under the international drug control framework.

The world is confronted with a major public health deficit caused by poor access to controlled essential medicines under the international drug control framework. This is affecting millions of patients on a daily basis and resulting in numerous human rights violations. The present review contextualises this deficit from a human rights perspective. Drug control efforts are informed by a twofold objective stemming from the double nature of scheduled substances: free access for medical purposes should be ensured, though non-medical use of substances such as opium should be restricted. The international drug control framework is, in theory, based on this twofold notion, however at the level of interpretation, monitoring, and implementation, a one-sided emphasis is demonstrated. By tracing a parallel between the obligations of states under the international drug control framework and those that derive from human rights law, the review shows that the two systems seem incoherent and conflicting in nature and flags the importance of cross-disciplinary research into drug control and human rights.