Background

Human Rights Council adopted resolution 54/6 on the centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective on 12 October 2023. Pursuant to this resolution, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is organizing in 2024 an expert workshop to address the human rights of women, persons with disabilities, children and older persons as caregivers, as well as receivers of care and support, and for their self-care from a gender equality and human rights perspective, with the objective of evaluating experiences, good practices and main challenges regarding the effective recognition of the rights of caregivers and those receiving care and support.

Based on the discussion of the above-mentioned expert workshop and in consultation with Member States of the United Nations and other interested parties, OHCHR will also prepare a comprehensive thematic study on the human rights dimension of care and support, summarizing and compiling international standards and good practices and main challenges at the national level in care and support systems, and including recommendations on promoting and ensuring the human rights of caregivers and care and support recipients. The report will be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-eighth session in 2025.

Key inputs sought

To inform the preparation of the study and the expert workshop, OHCHR would appreciate receiving information in response to the following:

1. In your country, regional or at the global level, how are the following rights recognized and protected under national, regional and/or international law? Please provide concrete examples, such as legal provisions, jurisprudence of courts and/or human rights mechanisms:

   • Human rights of unpaid and paid caregivers, including those who are women, persons with disabilities, children and older persons;
   • Human rights of recipients of care and support, including those who are women, persons with disabilities, children and older persons;
   • Human right relevant to self-care of caregivers and recipients of care and support, including those who are women, persons with disabilities, children and older persons

   Such recognition and protection may be made in relation to, but not limited to, the rights to work, social security, adequate housing, health, education, enjoyment of scientific advancement, legal capacity, equality in marriage, independent life in the community, rest and leisure, and the rights relevant to participation. It may include the recognition of care and/or support as human right(s) under the law.

2. Concrete policy or programmatic measures taken to promote and ensure the rights of caregivers and recipients of care and support in national care and support systems, mentioned under Question 1 above. If possible, please indicate the impacts of such measures.

   Such measures may include, but not limited to, social security/protection, working conditions, human support, childcare, long-term care and support, health services, education, transportation, housing, water and sanitation, assistive devices, digital technology, deinstitutionalization, access to justice, governance, financing, monitoring and evaluation, and awareness raising.

3. Main challenges faced at the national level in creating robust, resilient and gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and age-sensitive care and support systems with full respect for human rights.
4. As much as possible, we would appreciate receiving the following information in relation to your responses to points 1 and 2 above:
   • Data disaggregated by sex/gender, age, disability, and if possible also by other grounds, including income, race/ethnicity, geographic location, migratory status and other characteristics;
   • Information on people who are in vulnerable situations and/or who face intersecting forms of discrimination, such as single parents, widows/widowers, children deprived of family environment; persons with disabilities and older persons in care institutions; as well as those who are affected by humanitarian crises, armed conflicts, disasters; living in poverty; living in rural areas; migrants, refugees, asylum seekers; belonging to minorities or indigenous communities; and those who are deprived liberty.

See the note verbale in English (PDF) | Français (PDF) | Español (PDF)

Any enquiries may be made to Asako Hattori at asako.hattori@un.org.

Call for inputs from children

We want to hear from children! Children can send their views, experiences, ideas, and suggestions on children’s rights in care and support.
A child-friendly call for children to send their views directly to the UN Human Rights Office in English, French or Spanish