A/61/338 that companies are constrained not only by legal standards but also by social norms and moral considerations” (E/CN.4/2006/97, para. 70). 91. Based on the Special Rapporteur’s understanding of the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the draft guidelines are a modest, constructive, practical, sector-specific contribution to this challenging, long-term process. Once more, the Special Rapporteur warmly invites all parties to provide comments on the draft.55 Conclusion 92. A consensus is emerging that business enterprises, like all actors in society, have some legal and ethical human rights responsibilities. According to its Preamble, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives rise to some human rights responsibilities for “every organ of society”, which must include business enterprises.56 The United Nations Global Compact, with more than 2,300 participating companies, affirms that businesses should support and respect the protection of international human rights. 57 The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises require businesses to “respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host Government’s obligations and commitments”.58 While holding that the draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had no legal standing, the Commission on Human Rights found that the Norms contained “useful elements and ideas”.59 Some national courts have recognized the impact of pharmaceutical company pricing policies on the human rights of patients.60 Significantly, some companies have prepared their own guidelines and other statements explicitly affirming their human rights responsibilities.61 93. Today, the key issues include, first, clarifying the scope and content of these human rights responsibilities and, second, identifying which are legal and which are ethical. The Special Rapporteur’s draft guidelines are a modest endeavour focusing on the first of these issues in the specific context of pharmaceutical companies. As for the second, in the opinion of the Special Rapporteur it is inconceivable that some human rights do not place legal responsibilities on business enterprises.62 IV. Conclusions 94. Thanks to the work of innumerable organizations and individuals, the content of the right to the highest attainable standard of health is becoming clearer. In 2000, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights developed a general framework that unpacked the right to health in terms of freedoms and entitlements; health care and underlying determinants of health; non-discrimination; participation; and monitoring and accountability. 63 In many of his reports, the Special Rapporteur has applied this general framework to a range of specific health issues. In so doing, he has sought to develop and refine the framework. In the present report, he begins to apply the framework to maternal mortality and medicines, two health issues encompassed by the Millennium Development Goals. 06-51997 21

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