Access to healthcare, including mental healthcare, is fundamental to fully enjoying the right to health as enshrined in international human rights law. Equal access to healthcare entails the availability of basic healthcare for everyone and requires member States to remove barriers that would prevent certain groups and people from enjoying it.
The Parliamentary Assembly previously adopted Resolution 2504 (2023) “Health and social protection of undocumented workers or those in an irregular situation” and addressed the issue from the perspective of undocumented workers.
However, migrants’ and refugees’ access to healthcare merits particular attention from a broader perspective. Regardless of their status, foreign nationals face difficulties and sometimes obstacles in accessing healthcare such as loopholes in legislation, discriminatory practices, administrative complexities associated with their migrant or refugee status, language barriers and lack of awareness of their rights.
Challenges faced by the public institutions tasked with providing healthcare services also need to be addressed.
Ensuring equal access to health for migrants is not only an obligation from a human rights perspective but also a necessity, as inability of a certain group to access healthcare or delays in accessing it might pose public health risks for the entire population. In addition, vulnerable migrants such as those with disabilities require special attention in health services.
In this regard, the Assembly should give further and detailed consideration to access to healthcare for migrants and refugees. While legislation and practice may understandably differ across member States, this matter should be examined with a view to identifying existing challenges in access to healthcare – including the difficulties faced by the public sector – and to improving the conditions thereof, including by setting standards for migrants and refugees to effectively access healthcare.