6]Changes --- the impact assessment changes the mandate of the plan — they sever that

(Paul, Law at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex and Special Rapportuer on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and Gillian, Senior Research Officer Human Rights Center @ University of Essex, “Impact Assessments, Poverty and Human Rights: A Case Study Using The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health” 5/31/2006 http://www.who.int/hhr/Series_6_Impact%20Assessments_Hunt_MacNaughton1.pdf)

The purpose of this report is to contribute to discussions on human rights and impact assessments. In recent years, there have been increasing calls for governments to perform human rights impact assessments prior to adopting and implementing policies, programs and projects. Yet to date, there has been little published on methodologies or tools to aid governments in undertaking human rights impact assessments. This report examines some recent developments on human rights impact assessment and, using the right to health as a case study, proposes a methodology for incorporating human rights into other forms of impact assessment. The aim of human rights impact assessment in this study is to aid governments in complying with their international and national human rights obligations. In general, impact assessment is a process used to predict the future consequences of proposed policies, programs and projects and thereby to provide governments with opportunities to improve them before they are adopted or implemented. In the context of human rights impact assessment, the process aids governments in choosing between alternatives, making modifications, and providing for mitigating measures in order to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. Thus, human rights impact assessment helps governments to adopt and implement policies, programs and projects that will best meet their obligations to take deliberate and concrete steps toward progressive realization of human rights.