The Human Rights Lens: How Science and Law Can Improve Population Health

The fields of public health and human rights share a fundamental concern: creating the conditions in which all people can live healthy and dignified lives. Yet the connections between these fields – and the potential for each to strengthen the other – are not always fully realized.

A human rights framework offers public health more than a set of ideals. It provides tools for understanding who is most vulnerable to poor health and why; examining the laws, policies, institutions, and power structures that shape health; defining the obligations of governments and other actors; and creating mechanisms for accountability when those obligations are not met.

This convening will bring together leading scholars, legal experts, public health practitioners, advocates, and policymakers to explore how human rights frameworks can strengthen the pursuit of population health. Through keynote conversations and interdisciplinary panels, participants will examine how rights-based approaches can inform public health research, policy, and practice – from protecting health during conflict and displacement to advancing accountability and supporting the long-term well-being of communities affected by injustice.

At a time of profound global change, the convening asks a forward-looking question: How can a human rights framework help public health better address inequity, improve population health, and even strengthen international justice efforts?