The human right to health: exploring disability, migration and health

Abstract

Across the globe, an estimated one billion people are on the move today, of whom 244 million are international migrants. Not only have global horizons expanded in the realm of work and study; global conflict and exploitation have resulted in forced migration. Migration is a political issue, which raises questions of identity, citizenship, diversity and integration and is utilised to play upon the fear of the stranger, the ‘Other’ and difference in contemporary society. Disabled migrants are a hidden population whose experiences are often overlooked or subsumed within wider debates around disability and ethnicity. This article considers the intersection of disability and migration in contemporary society through the lens of healthcare access. Reflecting on the impact of citizenship rights on the realisation of human rights in the context of contemporary migration, using health as an example, the article considers the implications for disabled migrants, focusing primarily on the European Union.

Keywords:

• Human rights
• citizenship
• migration
• health
• healthcare access

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented as a keynote paper at the Disability Studies Association Conference: New Directions, 9–11 September 2014 at Lancaster University, UK. The author would like to thank Gareth Mulvey and Nick Watson, University of Glasgow and two anonymous reviewers for their supportive and constructive comments.

Notes

1. For example, the Common European Asylum System, the EC Common Immigration Pact, the Schengen Border Treaty and FRONTEX.

2. Naturalisation rate is defined as the ratio of persons acquiring citizenship to the total stock of non-nationals.