VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE RIGHT TO HEALTH OF UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS IN FRANCE

There are violations of the right to health of undocumented migrants in France. The state law and program meant to provide medical care to undocumented migrants (Art. L.251-1 CASF and the L'Aide Médicale de l'Etat) are formulated in such a way that excludes some in this already-marginalized population. This paper determines that structural violence is evident in the consequences of the AME and its application, as illustrated in examples of the exclusion of undocumented migrants from medical treatment and subsequent violation of their right to health. It also examines the concepts of social stratification and social exclusion and links their cause to the denial of care based on the conditionality and application of the law. This paper goes through Article 12 on the right to health asserted in the ICESCR, and establishes that evident in the denial of health care for undocumented migrants, France is breaching its obligation to this international law. This was accomplished by both examining statistics provided by local organizations working with undocumented migrants as well as personal anecdotes of undocumented migrants who have had difficulty receiving medical care.