The Lancet
Jun 06, 2009   Volume 373  Number 9679  Pages 1919 – 1996
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Does ratification of human-rights treaties have effects on population health?
Alexis Palmer, Jocelyn Tomkinson, Charlene Phung, Nathan Ford, Michel Joffres, Kimberly A Fernandes, Leilei Zeng, Viviane Lima, Julio SG Montaner, Gordon H Guyatt, Edward J Mills
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Human-rights treaties indicate a country’s commitment to human rights. Here, we assess whether ratification of human-rights treaties is associated with improved health and social indicators. Data for health (including HIV prevalence, and maternal, infant, and child [<5 years] mortalities) and social indicators (child labour, human development index, sex gap, and corruption index), gathered from 170 countries, showed no consistent associations between ratification of human-rights treaties and health or social outcomes.