Access to Treatment as a Human Right, A Discussion of the Aspects of the Right to Health under National and International Law in Venezuela; Cruz Bermudez, et al v. Ministry of Health, Supreme Court of Venezuela, July 1999

grantor: University of TorontoThis is an analysis of the importance of human rights in the context of the AIDS pandemic, specifically addressing medical treatment for HIV/AIDS as critically fundamental to the right to health and the right to life. The two are so interconnected that a meaningful analysis of one must include the other. I analyze the Venezuelan Supreme Court decision 'Bermudez, et al v. Ministry of Health', to the extent that the State did not provide treatment for HIV/AIDS, it was violating individuals' right to health, and therefore, their right to life. Although the right to health is enshrined in the Venezuelan Constitution and in international treaties, several factors, including social, economical and legal challenge this decision. In conclusion, even though international human rights law has become an effective set of rules on which to base national and international public health strategies towards AIDS, the right to health, remain unprotected, especially in the developing world.L.L.M