Both the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA)contain specific sections on women’s health that mutually reinforce the link between women’s health and human rights, since CEDAW is a human rights treaty with the force of international law and the PFA is a policy commitment of the highest order, confirmed by the UN General Assembly in 1995 and again in 2000.

Article 12 of CEDAW imposes on states parties (Canada acceded to CEDAW in 1981) to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure , on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.”

The PFA has a section that prioritizes the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health for women. Significantly, it emphasizes a social determinants approach to understanding women’s health.

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