MEDECINS DU MONDE - INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

Our health care charter for all foreign national residing1 in Europe

 

Taking into account that the article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care…”,

 

Taking into account that the European Human Rights Convention refers explicitly to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

 

And on the basis of our medical field experience working with the most vulnerable populations living within the European Union as well as outside Europe,

 

We commit all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to take appropriate measures in order to ensure a collective guaranty for the right to effective access to health care 2 and prevention for all foreign residents in Europe.

 

Through our actions, we have noted that the health conditions and the access to health care of migrants and particularly undocumented migrants and asylum seekers are below the ones of the general population.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to recognise the right, which can be used as evidence, to real access to health care and prevention for each foreign resident on its territory.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to refuse any kind of discrimination regarding access to health care and prevention based on the residence-related administrative status of the migrant.

 

 

Therefore,

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to ensure access to health care and prevention for all foreign residents disregarding if their residency status are regular or irregular and to provide this service in the same conditions –for persons with equal resources- that it is provided for nationals.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to ensure free medical care for pregnant women (delivery, ante natal, and post natal care) as well as for minors and all foreign residents whose revenues are below the poverty line3.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to provide asylum seekers with appropriate medical care, taking into account the specific consequences of the political violence they may have been victims of in their countries of origin.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to grant to each foreign person suffering from a serious illness, an autonomous residence permit or another authorisation conferring the right to stay and real access to health care, unless it can be proved that he/she can receive appropriate treatment and medical care in his/her country of origin.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to ensure free and effective access to health care for all the foreigners retained, kept in retention centres or waiting areas on their territory.

 

We require all the European Member States, which signed the European Human Rights Convention to recognize the right for one or several independent non-governmental organisations –especially medical and human rights organisations- to have permanent access to all reception and retention centres for migrants with irregular administrative status in Europe (waiting areas, retention centres).

 

 

 

 

 

1 A person is considered one country’s resident when he/she wished to set up its main residence in this very country. In practise, this excludes all the persons who stay in a country for tourist purposes.

 

2 Access to health care includes the medical check-up, the treatment and complementary tests that would have been prescribed.

 

3 The poverty line equals 60% of a population’s median revenue.

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