90 Afulukwe-Eruchalu and Durojaye/Maternal mortality in Africa 2.3 The right to dignity and to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment Another important right and freedom relating to maternal death is the right to dignity and the freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, guaranteed in most human rights instruments. The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Rights (Universal Declaration) provides that ‘the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’42 Article 1 of the Universal Declaration further provides that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity. While provisions of corresponding international human rights instruments do not explicitly guarantee the right to dignity, the equivalent of this right is expressed in provisions relating to the right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. For instance, article 7 of the ICCPR provides as follows: No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.43 Regional instruments contain explicit guarantees of both the right to dignity and freedom from torture and inhuman treatment. Article 5 of the African Charter recognises an individual’s right to dignity. It provides that ‘[e]very individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status’. It further prohibits all forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against any human being. This is complemented by article 3 of the African Women’s Rights Protocol, which guarantees women’s rights to dignity. It provides that ‘every woman shall have the right to dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition and protection of her human and legal rights’. Article 3 further provides that ‘every woman shall have the right to respect as a person and to the free development of her personality’. The right to dignity and freedom from torture and inhuman treatment has often been interpreted to ensure that prisoners are treated in humane ways. However national, regional and human rights mechanisms are increasingly recognising its application beyond prisons and other traditional settings where torture may occur to nontraditional settings such as healthcare institutions, as discussed below. National-level jurisprudence in Kenya and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture have recognised that denial of care to, humiliation, mistreatment or detention of pregnant women seeking maternal care 42 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217 A (III), UN Doc A/810 (10 December 1948). 43 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted in 1966 entered into force 23 March 1976 999 UNTS 171 and 1057 UNTS 407 / [1980] ATS 23 / 6 ILM.