‘Taking out the Magnifier’: Groups in Vulnerable Situations Under Global Health Law

Abstract

In due course of international practice, numerous groups in societies worldwide potentially have been identified to be in a vulnerable situation. Particularly in healthrelated policies and programmes as well as universal strategies such as the Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda), the framing ‘groups in vulnerable situations’ or similar phrasings receive special attention. However, looking at the diverse use of the term, it is not exactly clear what vulnerability might mean in legal terms. While some mix vulnerability with norms, the author promotes an understanding of vulnerability that refers to the facts and whose nature is descriptive. Thus, one major function of the term is to urge States and those responsible for global health policy to look closely at social realities – vulnerability serves a magnifier. This contribution further elaborates an understanding of vulnerability that exists within the context of the human right to health, as this area of law provides a meaningful setting for further addressing foundational issues such as its two-fold nature, the language used, its purpose, and the discussion concerning threshold criteria. Accordingly, the author argues that vulnerability can be used as a key tool for addressing the prevailing worsening of health inequalities and disparities among distinct social groups in a given society on the basis of external factual circumstances such as time and place. Keywords: Global Health Law, Groups in Vulnerable Situations, Health Inequality, Higher Risk, Human Right to Health, Sustainable Development Goals, Vulnerability, World Health Organization