What Is the Charter of Ostomates Rights?

The Charter of Ostomates Rights is a statement of principles published by the International Ostomy Association (IOA) that sets out what people living with a stoma should be able to expect from health systems, professionals, and society. It appears as a standing section on the IOA's official site (ostomyinternational.org), alongside the organization's mission to "promote quality of life for ostomates around the world." The Charter is best understood as an advocacy framework rather than a law: it does not create enforceable entitlements on its own, but it gives ostomates, caregivers, and patient associations a shared reference point when they speak to hospitals, insurers, or governments.

What the Charter Is For

The IOA is a federation of national ostomy associations, and its stated work includes member associations, continuing medical education for surgeons and specialists, and the Charter itself. The Charter fits into that structure as the patient-facing counterpart to the clinical side: if the IOA's education work aims to raise the standard of surgical and specialist care, the Charter describes the standard of treatment and support an ostomate should receive.

Because the IOA operates internationally, the Charter is written as a general statement that national associations can adopt, translate, and cite in their own settings. That is why you are more likely to see it used as a campaigning document by a local association than as a document you would file with a complaint.

What It Covers

The IOA site presents the Charter as a distinct section rather than a long explanatory article, so the practical way to read it is as a list of principles. In general terms, charters of this kind address:

• Access to care — surgery, stoma supplies, and follow-up being available regardless of where a person lives or their ability to pay.
• Information and consent — being told before surgery what a stoma involves, and what alternatives exist.
• Quality of professional care — treatment by trained surgeons, nurses, and stoma care specialists.
• Rehabilitation and support — access to stoma care nurses, peer support, and associations.
• Non-discrimination — fair treatment in employment, education, insurance, and social life.
• Dignity and privacy — respect for the person's body, needs, and choices.

The exact wording and the number of items are set by the IOA, so read the Charter page itself for the authoritative list rather than relying on a summary. What matters for practical use is that each principle names a duty-holder — usually a health provider, an employer, or a state — which is what makes the document usable in a conversation.

How Ostomates Actually Use It

The Charter is most useful in three situations:

1. Preparing for a conversation with a provider. If you are told a supply or a follow-up appointment is not available, quoting the relevant principle gives you a neutral, internationally recognized framing instead of a personal complaint.
2. Working through a national association. IOA member associations are the natural channel: they can tell you which parts of the Charter are already reflected in your country's rules and which are not.
3. Advocacy and awareness. Associations use the Charter when talking to policymakers, hospitals, or the media about gaps in stoma care.

A realistic example: someone preparing for surgery wants to know what the operation will mean for their work. The Charter's principles on information and non-discrimination give them a structure for the questions to ask — what the stoma involves, what support is available afterward, and what protections exist at work — even though the Charter itself will not answer those questions for their specific country.

Limits to Keep in Mind

• The Charter is a statement of principles, not legislation. It does not by itself oblige a hospital, insurer, or employer to do anything.
• What it means in practice depends heavily on national law and health system rules, which vary widely across IOA member countries.
• The IOA site does not present the Charter with pricing, membership, or access conditions, so treat it as a public reference document rather than a service you sign up for.

If you want to act on it, the most direct route is to find your national association through the IOA's member associations list, then ask them how the Charter is applied locally and what practical routes exist — a stoma care nurse, a patient representative, or a formal complaints process — if the standard it describes is not being met.