Human Rights, Hazardous Substances, and the Role of Geneva

Though integral to almost all sectors of society, the lack of environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste can have long-lasting negative impacts on human health, society, and on the environment. This page highlights the role stakeholders from International Geneva as a global hub for the governance of hazardous substances, and how they are actively working to reduce the environmental and health risks from chemicals, including their human rights implications.

LATEST NEWS

PFAS pollution: French citizens take on chemical giants | Euractiv | 3 February 2026
Case billed as Europe’s largest ever class action lawsuit over contamination by ‘forever chemicals’

PFAS Contamination Case in Veneto: Vicenza Court Delivers Historic Judgement in Pollution Trial | Antonio Papisca Human Rights Center | 27 June 2025
On 26 June 2025, the Court of Assise in Vicenza delivered a landmark judgment in the long-running case concerning PFAS contamination across the provinces of Vicenza, Padua, and Verona. Eleven of fifteen former managers of the chemical company Miteni S.p.A., based in Trissino (Vicenza), were convicted in the first instance for serious environmental offences, including intentional water poisoning and deliberate environmental disaster. The total prison sentences amount to 141 years, with individual sentences ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 17 years and 6 months.

Human Rights Impacts of Hazardous Substances

Though integral to almost all sectors of society, the lack of environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste can have long-lasting negative impacts on human health, society, and on the environment. Responsible for 9 million premature deaths (Global Burden of Diseases 2019), pollution is the largest environmental risk factor for diesease and premature death in the developing world, causing approximately three times more deaths than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined (Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, 2018 & 2022). Exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, plastic additives, radioactive waste, and other toxic substances and leakage of these substances into the environment is causing severe harm to people’s health and infringing on their human rights.

An estimated 350,000 chemicals and mixtures of chemicals are registered on the global market, most of which where developed in the past few decades. Many of these substances remain unidentified as they are classified as confidential business information or are poorly described.

The complete lifecycle of hazardous substances (used here to include all toxics and wastes that have adverse effects on human health and on the environment), starting from their manufacturing and transport, to use, to trade, and eventually disposal, can have an enormous impact on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights — such as the rights to life, to the highest attainable standard of health, to food, to clean water and sanitation, to housing, and the right to a healthy environment.

Spotlight on PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are toxic, man-made, hazardous chemicals that have dangerous effects on the environment and our health. Composed of thousands of synthetic organic chemicals, PFASs were developed from the 1940s by the chemical industry and, since then, have been widely used in consumer products like non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and firefighting foams, as they are known for their water-resistant, non-stick, and stain-repellent properties. However, these “forever chemicals” are also known for their long-term persistent accumulation in the environment, with a lifespan reaching up to several thousand years, as they do not break down easily and can accumulate in soil, water, and living organisms. Such compounds continuously pose exposure risks to humans, wildlife and the environment even long after they have been released into the air, water and soil. → Read more on UNEP dedicated webpage.

Exposure to certain PFAS has been linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including increased risks of cancers, immune-system suppression, thyroid and metabolic disorders, reproductive and developmental harm, altered hormone regulation, and reduced vaccine effectiveness. Studies have shown that PFAS can be found in drinking water, food, and even human blood. PFAS contamination can also compromise the rights to physical integrity, the highest attainable standard of health, to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, and to a healthy environment, including a safe and healthy working environment, among others, by contaminating drinking water supplies, food chains and household environments. → Read more on human rights, hazardous substances and the role of Geneva.

As such, the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, is dedicating his final report to the Human Rights Council at its 63rd session (HRC63), on forever chemicals (PFAS) and human rights. The focus on the human rights implications of forever chemicals is both timely and essential as scientific studies have made clear that PFAS are widely disseminated and remain recalcitrant in the environment for decades. The scale, transboundary nature and long-term costs of contamination mean that delayed action will increase remediation costs and perpetuate avoidable risks and harms to human and environmental health.

The Right to Live in a Non-toxic Environment

United Nations treaty bodies, regional courts, national courts, national human rights institutions and special procedure mandate holders have expressed concerns about the impacts of pollution and toxic substances upon the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, water, food, housing, cultural rights and an adequate standard of living, the rights of the child and the rights of Indigenous peoples. The recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly should mark a turning point in society’s approach to managing pollution and toxic substances. From a human rights perspective, achieving a non-toxic environment is a legally binding obligation rather than a policy option.

During the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, the former Special Rapporteur on environment and human rights, David R. Boyd – with the collaboration of the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana – presented a joint report on “The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: non-toxic environment” (A/HRC/49/53). The report identifies a non-toxic environment as one of the substantive elements of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The ongoing toxification of people and the planet is causing environmental injustices and creating “sacrifice zones”, extremely contaminated areas where vulnerable and marginalized groups bear a disproportionate burden of the health, human rights and environmental consequences of exposure to pollution and hazardous substances. The Special Rapporteur highlights State obligations, business responsibilities and good practices related to ensuring a non-toxic environment by preventing pollution, eliminating the use of toxic substances and rehabilitating contaminated sites.

Impact on Groups in Vulnerable Situations

While exposure to toxic hazards of chemicals and waste can pose a risk to all, it is also known to affect people differently. The lack of environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste disproportionately affects persons, groups and peoples in vulnerable situations reflecting both historical and ongoing discrimination, racism, and power imbalances that have given rise to powerful social movements for environmental justice. Exposure to toxic and otherwise hazardous substances often affects rightsholders in already vulnerable situations, among them people living in poverty, indigenous peoples, workers, migrants, and minorities. Women and children are also among the most exposed to toxic chemicals. Thus, human rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches are highly relevant to sound chemicals management.

Duty to Prevent People from Toxic Exposures

The dangers of exposure to toxic pollutants have been known for decades. Yet the magnitude and impact of a rapidly toxifying world continues to grow faster than measures to prevent exposure.

States are required by international human rights law to take active measures to prevent the exposure of individuals and communities to toxic substances. Since Rachel Carson’s warning nearly sixty years ago, States have taken positive steps. Yet prevention continues to be the exception, not the norm. No State will meet their obligations to protect, respect and fulfill human rights without taking greater measures to prevent exposure.

In October 2019, the former Special Rapporteur on toxics, Baskut Tuncak, presented a report to the UN General Assembly on the duty to prevent exposure (A/74/480). Building upon his 2016 report to the Human Rights Council on the duty to prevent childhood exposure, this report clarifies the State’s duty to prevent exposure, and its legal foundation. States have a duty to “prevent and minimize” exposure to hazardous substances to protect against preventable diseases and disabilities, considering prevention as precondition to such duty. This duty is derived from the rights to life, health, dignity and bodily integrity; the right to information and the right to a healthy environment; as well as equality and access to an effective remedy. However, an approach of prevention is the exception for many entities, leading to existential threats to life and health, such as reproductive health.

The Special Rapporteur discusses the legal basis of this duty, and highlights how exposure prevention is the exception, leading to existential threats to life and health, including reproduction. The Special Rapporteur explains the importance of this duty to prevent exposures, the human rights to a healthy environment, safe and healthy work, among others impacted by pollution and other sources of toxic exposure.

More on the duty to prevent people from toxic exposures

Tackling Toxics in Human Rights Instruments

The various human rights mechanisms and instruments present in Geneva, such as the Human Rights Council, Special Procedures, and Human Rights Treaty Bodies, play an increasingly pivotal role in addressing the human rights impacts of toxics and hazardous substances. With already existing international standards on toxics and human rights, not only do they identify the rights and the specific groups affected by toxics, they also help clarify the relevant obligations of States to advance human rights while addressing the triple planetary crisis.

Human Rights Treaty Bodies

The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties. The treaty bodies have addressed toxics and human rights in a number of statements, decisions, concluding observations, General Comments and General Recommendations. This body of work provides guidelines for the interpretation and application of State party obligations deriving from the respective Covenants and Conventions in relation to chemicals and pollution action and constitutes part of the evolving international human rights law framework that is increasingly addressing the human rights impacts of toxics and hazardous substances.

Universal Human Rights Index | Treaty Bodies on human rights and toxics

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council (HRC) has contributed to raising awareness of the links between human rights and hazardous substances including the adoption of resolutions that highlight the ways hazardous substances affect human rights, including the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes (A/HRC/RES/12/1), the rights of workers exposed to hazardous substances and wastes (A/HRC/RES/42/21), and the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights.

Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council — a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 United Nations Member States — is increasingly addressing the links between toxics, hazardous wastes. and human rights through the recommendations made by Member States to the State concerned.

Universal Human Rights Index | UPR on toxics and human rights

UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights

The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (also known as the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights), currently held by Marcos Orellana, was established to examine the human rights implications of toxic and otherwise hazardous substances. The scope of the mandate includes extractive industries, particularly oil, gas and mining; labour conditions in manufacturing and agricultural sectors; consumer products; environmental emissions of hazardous substances from all sources; military activities, war and conflict; and the disposal of waste.

As envisaged in resolution A/HRC/RES/45/17, the Human Rights Council requests the Special Rapporteur, in accordance with his mandate, to continue to provide detailed, up-to-date information on the adverse consequences for the full enjoyment of human rights of managing and disposing of hazardous substances and wastes, in an unlawful manner, which may include information on:

The adverse consequences for persons and groups in vulnerable situations, including indigenous peoples;
The science-policy interface as regards the risks associated with the lifecycle of hazardous substances and wastes, including the risks to the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, and the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress;
The developments, gaps and shortcomings in the effectiveness of international regulatory mechanisms concerning hazardous substances and wastes and their impact on the enjoyment of human rights, including with respect to emerging chemicals and waste management and disposal issues; and
Human rights issues relating to all business enterprises, both transnational and other, regarding the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes.

The Special Rapporteur also presents thematic reports to both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, highlighting relevant issues on toxics and human rights.

Thematic Reports | UN SR on toxics and human rights

Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council

As independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective other special procedures of the Human Rights Council also make links with their own mandates with issues of hazardous substances and human rights. This includes the work achieved when they undertake country visits; act on individual cases and concerns of a broader, structural nature by sending communications to States and others in which they bring alleged violations or abuses to their attention; conduct thematic studies and convene expert consultations, contribute to the development of international human rights standards, engage in advocacy, raise public awareness, and provide advice for technical cooperation.

Some relevant topics tackled by the UN Special Rapporteur on toxic and human rights, and other Special Procedures mandate holders include the following:

Principles on Human Rights and the Protection of Workers from Exposure to Toxic Substances

Workers’ rights are human rights, and human rights are workers’ rights. These rights are interrelated, indivisible and universal. They include civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Every worker has a right to dignity and to be treated ethically, with respect, and without being subjected to conditions of work that are dehumanizing or degrading. No one can be deprived of their human rights because of the work they perform.

Safe and healthy working conditions have been explicitly recognized as a human right since 1966, with the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. They are a fundamental aspect of the human right to just and favourable conditions of work. The inclusion of “a safe and healthy working environment” in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work, and the designation of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) as fundamental Conventions, further strengthens this.

In his report to the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/41), the UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, presents a final set of principles to help States, businesses and other key actors respect and protect workers from toxic occupational exposures and to provide remedies for violations of their rights. The principles contained in the report are rooted in nearly 25 years of work under the mandate, including country visits, thematic research and communications with States and non-State actors, as well as intensive, targeted consultations undertaken since 2017.

The principles include:

Principle 1 – Everyone must be protected from exposure to toxic substances at work.
Principle 2 – States have a duty to protect the human rights of workers through the prevention of exposure to toxic substances.
Principle 3 – Business enterprises have a responsibility to prevent occupational exposures to toxic substances.
Principle 4 – Hazard elimination is paramount in preventing occupational exposures.
Principle 5 – Duties and responsibilities to prevent the exposure of workers to toxic substances extend beyond borders.
Principle 6 – States must prevent third parties from distorting scientific evidence or manipulating processes to perpetuate exposure.
Principle 7 – Protecting workers from exposure to toxic substances protects their families, their communities and the environment.
Principle 8 – Every worker has the right to know, including to know their rights.
Principle 9 – Health and safety information about toxic substances must never be confidential.
Principle 10 – The right to safe and healthy work is inseparable from freedom of association, the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining.
Principle 11 – Workers, representatives of workers, whistle-blowers and rights defenders must all be protected from intimidation, threats and other forms of reprisals.
Principle 12 – Workers, their families and their communities must have immediate access to an appropriate and effective remedy, which should be available from the time of exposure.
Principle 13 – Workers or their families should not bear the burden of proving the cause of their illness or disability to access an effective remedy.
Principle 14 – Depriving workers of their right to safe and healthy work should be a crime.
Principle 15 – States should ensure accountability for cross-border cases of workers harmed by occupational exposure.

Right to a Non-Toxic Environment

The Special Rapporteur on environment and human rights, David R. Boyd – with the collaboration of the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana – presented to the 49th session of the Human Rights Council a joint report on “The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: non-toxic environment” (A/HRC/49/53).

The report identifies a non-toxic environment as one of the substantive elements of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The Special Rapporteur describes the ongoing toxification of people and the planet, which is causing environmental injustices and creating “sacrifice zones”, extremely contaminated areas where vulnerable and marginalized groups bear a disproportionate burden of the health, human rights and environmental consequences of exposure to pollution and hazardous substances. The Special Rapporteur highlights State obligations, business responsibilities and good practices related to ensuring a non-toxic environment by preventing pollution, eliminating the use of toxic substances and rehabilitating contaminated sites.

Resources on the Right to Live in a Non-Toxic Environment:

A/HRC/49/53: The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: non-toxic environment | SR environment | 2022
A/HRC/49/53 Executive Summary: Human rights depend on a non-toxic environment | SR environment | 2022
The Right to Live in a Non-Toxic Environment | Marcos Orellana and David Boyd | Rosa Luxembourg Foundation | 18 March 2022

Right to Science in the Context of Toxic Substances

The right to access to, to participate in and to enjoy science and its benefits covers all sciences: life, natural, physical, behavioural and social sciences, as well the multiple fields of application of scientific knowledge, such as engineering, technologies and health. The Special Rapporteurs on cultural rights have addressed various dimensions of the right to access to and participation in science, on the basis, in particular, of article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
— Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In the context of toxic substances, science provides the international community with knowledge about the risks and harms posed by hazardous substances on human health and environment, and thus enables the elaboration of evidence-based policies to address them. Science-based policies also protect the range of human rights that are compromised when individuals and communities are exposed to hazardous substances and waste.

The UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, in his annual report (A/HRC/48/61) to the 48th session of the Human Rights Council, highlighted the human right to science with regard to the risks and harms associated with the life cycle of hazardous substances and wastes. He examined the dynamics and interconnections between scientific progress, the diffusion of scientific information and the science-policy interface.

The right to science, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, implies the availability and accessibility of accurate scientific information to the general public and specific stakeholders. In the context of toxic substances, the right to science provides humanity with the tools to confront the severe toxification of the planet and its people. It requires that governments correct scientific disinformation. It implies an enabling environment where scientific freedoms may be realized and where governments foster needed scientific research on toxic substances that endanger human health and the environment.

Resources on the Right to Science in the Context of Toxic Substances:

A/HRC/48/61: Right to science in the context of toxic substances | SR toxics and human rights | 2021
A/HRC/48/61 Summary | Global Toxics and Human Rights Project | 2021
The right to science in the context of toxic substances | HRC48 Side Event | GEN | 22 September 2021
The right to access to and participate in science | SR cultural rights

Plastics and Human Rights

Plastic pollution is not only a threat to our environment, it is also a threat to people, as every stage of the plastic lifecycle impact human rights. These impacts include toxic pollution released in manufacturing, exposure to toxic additives in plastic consumer products, waste mismanagement, disinformation campaign about the risks of and solutions to plastic pollution, and more. Human rights principles are thus critical to support legitimate and effective responses.

→ Read more on plastics and human rights

Air Pollution and Human Rights

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide each year and that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. In addition, air pollution disproportionately affects women, children and older persons. Poor air quality has implications for a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, water, food, housing and an adequate standard of living.

Air pollution also clearly violates the right to a healthy and sustainable environment. Air pollution is a preventable problem. The solutions − laws, standards, policies, programmes, investments and technologies − are known. Implementing these solutions will of course entail large investments, but the benefits of fulfilling the right to breathe clean air for all of humanity are incalculable.

Various UN Special Procedures mandate holders have addressed the issue:

In his report to the UN General Assembly, The Right to Breathe Clean Air (A/HRC/40/55), the former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David R. Boyd, offers a number of recommendations to States for actions they should consider as part of a national air quality action plan. He also points out the specific obligation to protect people and groups in vulnerable situations. He identifies several good practices implemented worldwide that have helped to improve air quality. The Special Rapporteur also urges businesses to fulfill their responsibility, to contribute to and support efforts to reduce air pollution.
Building on past reports and research, the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño, to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council highlights the need to advance the protection of clean air as a vital element of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (A/HRC/61/47). The public health crisis can be solved and further risks prevented, as evidenced by research and improved monitoring and governance to tackle main drivers linked to a fossil-fuel-dependent economy and unsustainable activities. Stronger measures to improve air quality, prioritizing health to protect people, must be urgently implemented by States, aligned with their international and human rights obligations. The duty of private actors to support these efforts, and their urgent responsibility to prevent, reduce and remediate pollution, must also be underscored. The Special Rapporteur underscores that States must prioritize the additional recommendations towards clean air and protecting public health, which complement and build upon past recommendations.

→ Read more on air pollution and human rights

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

As the leading UN entity on human rights, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, UN Human Rights) aims to provide guidance that encourages policy coherence and ensures that efforts to address the human rights harms of toxic substances are adequate, sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and compliant with human rights obligations.

Guided by principles and standards derived from international human rights law, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the core universal human rights treaties, as well as the 2030 Agenda, UN Human Rights aim to help States, businesses and other duty-bearers meet this expectation. OHCHR and the UN Environment Programme has published Key Messages on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances “to highlight the human rights obligations and responsibilities of States and other duty-bearers, such as businesses, to prevent and remedy the harmful effects of hazardous substances.”

Key Messages

Ensure a “non-toxic environment” for present and future generations

Cooperate internationally to prevent and combat harms from exposure to hazardous substances

Prevent exposure to hazardous substances from business activities

Guarantee all persons’ access to information about hazardous substances

Ensure the meaningful and informed participation of all persons in decision-making processes

Ensure accountability and effective remedies for human rights harms caused by hazardous substances

Protect environmental human rights defenders

Protect, respect and fulfil the human rights of people who are in particularly vulnerable situations

Guarantee all human beings the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications

Take a precautionary approach to the handling and management of hazardous substances and potentially hazardous substances

A comprehensive overview of references to toxics made by special procedures, treaty bodies (including concluding observations) and the UPR (including the recommendations in the reports from the working groups) can be found by searching the Universal Human Rights Index.

A Global Framework for a Toxic-free Planet

The Global Framework on Chemicals – for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste and a High-Level Declaration (Bonn Declaration) that provides political impetus to drive the deal’s implementation, were adopted as the closing plenary of the Fifth Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) that took place from 25 to 29 September 2023 in Bonn, Germany.

Based on 28 targets that aim to improve the sound management of chemicals and waste, the framework is a comprehensive plan to guide countries and stakeholders in jointly addressing the lifecycle of chemicals, including products and waste, with a vision for a safe, healthy and sustainable future.

Human rights are also present in the framework, as seen in one of the principles:

C. Human Rights
15. The implementation of the sound management of chemicals and waste contributes to the full enjoyment of human rights and human well-being and dignity.

There is also a target (E6) on strengthening links between the new instrument and the climate, biodiversity, human rights and health agendas. The framework also calls for a phase-out by 2035 of highly hazardous pesticides in agriculture where the risks have not been managed and safer alternatives are available.

Resolutions have also been adopted that ensures human rights are “protected and respected”. These include a resolution endorsing the formation of a global alliance on highly hazardous pesticides with the goal of taking effective measures to phase out highly hazardous pesticides in agriculture where the risks have not been managed and where safer and affordable alternatives are available (Res. V/11). A resolution on “Mainstreaming a gender perspective and promoting gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls in chemicals and waste management” (Res. V/4) requests the secretariat to develop a gender action plan for consideration by the Conference at its next session.

Read the Global Framework on Chemicals

International Instruments and Standards Addressing Hazardous Substances

Providing a non-toxic environment for all has been a core priority of environmental governance since its foundations. The first Principles of both the 1972 Stockholm and 1992 Rio Declarations focus on the human right to a safe and clean environment. The Stockholm Declaration describes “the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality…”, while the Rio Declaration states that humans “are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature”. The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals reiterated the importance of taking action to prevent and reduce pollution in order to protect human health and the environment.

The UNEP Global Chemicals Outlook II emphasizes that ambitious, global action by all stakeholders is required to minimize the adverse impacts of hazardous chemicals and wastes on people and the planet. As the full lifecycle of hazardous substances can have an enormous impact on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, those responsible for the harmful impacts of hazardous substances must be held legally accountable for them through the application of human rights laws, norms and standards. Effective international and national measures must also be employed to prevent future harms.

Consult the list of International Standards addressing hazardous substances

Some extracts from international instruments and standards based in Geneva addressing hazardous substances, include:

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

Article 4 – General Obligations

2. Each Party shall take the appropriate measures to:
(d) Ensure that the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes is reduced to the minimum consistent with the environmentally sound and efficient management of such wastes, and is conducted in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such movement;

Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention

The “Ban Amendment” provides for the prohibition by each Party included in the proposed new Annex VII (Parties and other States which are members of the OECD, EC, Liechtenstein) of all transboundary movements to States not included in Annex VII of hazardous wastes covered by the Convention that are intended for final disposal, and of all transboundary movements to States not included in Annex VII of hazardous wastes covered by paragraph 1 (a) of Article 1 of the Convention that are destined for reuse, recycling or recovery operations.

The Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage Resulting from Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

The objective of the Protocol is to provide for a comprehensive regime for liability as well as adequate and prompt compensation for damage resulting from the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes, including incidents occurring because of illegal traffic in those wastes.

Convention Text: Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Article 6 – Measures to reduce or eliminate releases from stockpiles and wastes

1. In order to ensure that stockpiles consisting of or containing chemicals listed either in Annex A or Annex B and wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, consisting of, containing or contaminated with a chemical listed in Annex A, B or C, are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment, each Party shall:
(d) Take appropriate measures so that such wastes, including products and articles upon becoming wastes, are:
(i) Handled, collected, transported and stored in an environmentally sound manner;

Article 9 – Information exchange

5. For the purposes of this Convention, information on health and safety of humans and the environment shall not be regarded as confidential. Parties that exchange other information pursuant to this Convention shall protect any confidential information as mutually agreed.

Article 10 – Public information, awareness and education

1. Each Party shall, within its capabilities, promote and facilitate:
(c) Development and implementation, especially for women, children and the least educated, of educational and public awareness programmes on persistent organic pollutants, as well as on their health and environmental effects and on their alternatives;
(d) Public participation in addressing persistent organic pollutants and their health and environmental effects and in developing adequate responses, including opportunities for providing input at the national level regarding implementation of this Convention;

Convention Text: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

Article 1 – Objective

The objective of this Convention is to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human health and the environment from potential harm and to contribute to their environmentally sound use, by facilitating information exchange about their characteristics, by providing for a national decision-making process on their import and export and by disseminating these decisions to Parties.

Article 13 – Information to accompany exported chemicals

2. Without prejudice to any requirements of the importing Party, each Party shall require that both chemicals listed in Annex III and chemicals banned or severely restricted in its territory are, when exported, subject to labeling requirements that ensure adequate availability of information with regard to risks and/or hazards to human health or the environment, taking into account relevant international standards.

Article 15 – Implementation of the Convention

2. Each Party shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that the public has appropriate access to information on chemical handling and accident management and on alternatives that are safer for human health or the environment than the chemicals listed in Annex III.

Convention Text: Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

Minamata Convention on Mercury

Article 1 – Objective

The objective of this Convention is to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

Article 7 – Artisanal and small-scale gold mining

2. Each Party that has artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing subject to this Article within its territory shall take steps to reduce, and where feasible eliminate, the use of mercury and mercury compounds in, and the emissions and releases to the environment of mercury from, such mining and processing.

Convention Text: Minamata Convention on Mercury

UNECE Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Article 1 – Objective

In order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

Article 4 – Access to environmental information

1. Each Party shall ensure that, subject to the following paragraphs of this article, public authorities, in response to a request for environmental information, make such information available to the public, within the framework of national legislation, […]

Article 5 – Collection and dissemination of environmental information

1. Each Party shall ensure that:
(c) In the event of any imminent threat to human health or the environment, whether caused by human activities or due to natural causes, all information which could enable the public to take measures to prevent or mitigate harm arising from the threat and is held by a public authority is disseminated immediately and without delay to members of the public who may be affected.

Convention Text: Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

Geneva Toxic Free Talks

The Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights reports every fall to the Council and to the UN General Assembly on issues related to his mandate. The Geneva Toxic Free Talks aim to harness the opportunity of this moment of the year to reflect on the challenges posed by the production, use, and dissemination of toxics and on how Geneva contributes to bringing together the actors working in reversing the toxic tide.

More information on the Geneva Toxic Free Talks

Role of International Geneva

Geneva is a global hub for the governance of hazardous substances, and thus is actively working to reduce the environmental and health risks from chemicals, including their human rights implications.

Geneva addressing Hazardous Substances

Organizations are listed by alphabetical order.

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | BRS Conventions

The BRS Conventions promote the sound management of chemicals and waste to prevent and minimize significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. They address respectively transboundary movements and management of hazardous wastes (Basel), persistent organic pollutants (Stockholm) and international trade of certain hazardous chemicals (Rotterdam).

Center for International Environmental Law | CIEL

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) works to achieve a toxic-free future through our work negotiating new international treaties; changing public policy and private practices; advocating for precaution and increased attention on new forms of chemicals; and, along the way, building strong and diverse coalitions.

Earthjustice

Earthjustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization that wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. Their work aims to ensure that all people have safe workplaces and neighborhoods, have access to safe drinking water and food, and live in homes that are free of hazardous chemicals.

FIAN International

FIAN International is a global human rights organization that advocates for the right to adequate food and nutrition. There is a growing movement for global action to halt the increasing use of harmful pesticides in agriculture and transition towards more sustainable farming methods that protect people and the environment. FIAN International has contributed to the momentum for change with a study of local experiences from around the world. Transitioning to pesticide free food systems: people´s power and imagination takes a bottom-up human rights approach and shows that a transition towards agroecology is underway in many parts of the world.

Franciscans International

Franciscans International addresses the root causes of injustices by bringing cases of discrimination and violence, including toxic-related issues, committed against individuals and groups living on the margins to the attention of the international community.

Global Alliance on Health and Pollution | GAHP

The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) is a collaborative body made up of more than 60 members and dozens of observers that advocates for resources and solutions to pollution problems.

Global Framework on Chemicals

The Global Framework on Chemicals, adopted by the 5th International Conference on Chemicals Management in Bonn in 2023, provides a vision for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste, for a safe, healthy and sustainable future – where industry and private sectors are strategic actors to foster innovation, move towards sustainable business models and drive change. The framework instrument replaced the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

International Labour Organization | ILO

ILO aims to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards, including in the area of chemical exposure and health risks in the workplace.

Workers continue to face the persistent threat of traditional hazards and risks, including biological, chemical, and physical hazards. The inclusion of “a safe and healthy working environment” in the ILO’s framework of fundamental principles and rights at work, and the designation of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) as fundamental Conventions, ensure the protection and respect of the rights of workers.

Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals | IOMC

IOMC is a cooperative agreement among FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, UNITAR, WHO, World Bank and OECD. Its objective is to strengthen international cooperation in the field of chemicals and to increase the effectiveness of the organisations’ international chemicals programmes.

International Trade Union Confederation Geneva Office | ITUC

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) advocates for the protection of workers from the exposure to chemicals and toxic substances and for the recognition of health and safety at work as a fundamental right.

Minamata Convention on Mercury

The Minamata Convention on Mercury regulates anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds, with the aim of protecting human health and the environment. The Minamata Convention is also engaged in combating the illicit trade of mercury and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their rights to a safe and clean environment, such as in the development of the Indigenous Peoples Platform.

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction | UNDRR

UNDRR alongside the International Science Council has published the Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report that provides a common set of hazard definitions for monitoring and reviewing implementation which calls for “a data revolution, rigorous accountability mechanisms and renewed global partnerships”. The list includes the hazards that come from chemicals.

UN Environment Management Group | UN EMG

The UN EMG is a system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. It identifies issues on the international environmental agenda that warrant cooperation and finds ways of engaging its collective capacity in coherent management responses to those issues.

In support of the global Implementation Plan “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet” welcomed at the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly, the EMG has established a consultative process to prepare a UN system common approach on pollution to provide a framework that can guide and mobilize UN entities in their work to ensure pollution is prevented and reduced to levels that are not harmful to people and the planet, including through the sound management of chemicals and waste.

UN Environment Programme Chemicals and Health Branch

The Chemicals and Health Branch of UNEP works closely with governments, industry, and civil society organizations around the world to develop mainstream solutions for the sound management of chemicals and waste.

UN Institute for Training and Research | UNITAR

UNITAR Chemicals and Waste Management Programme supports governments and stakeholders to strengthen their institutional, technical, and legal infrastructure and capacity for sound chemicals management. UNITAR is part of IOMC.

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | OHCHR

OHCHR aims to promote a human rights-based approach to addressing the impacts of hazardous substances on human rights including the rights to health and life. UN Human Rights works with rights holders and duty bearers to create a better understanding of the relationship between toxics and human rights and facilitates actions to improve the level of respect for the related rights.

UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights

The UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights is an independent expert mandated by the Human Rights Council to help States, businesses and other stakeholders adopt solutions to human rights issues related to exposure to harmful substances. The current mandate holder is Marcos A. Orellana, appointed Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights in August 2020.

World Health Organization | WHO

Through the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), WHO works to establish the scientific basis for the sound management of chemicals, and to strengthen national capabilities and capacities for chemical safety.

At the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly (WHA76) that took place in Geneva from 21 to 30 May 2023, a resolution on the impact of chemicals, waste, and pollution on human health initially tabled by Peru, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Monaco, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the European Union and its Member States was adopted.

GEN Events

Toxic Substances and Wastes and Human Rights: Challenges, Responsibilities and Ways of Achieving Solutions | HRC63 Side Event

16 September 2026

Corporate Influence in the Context of Health and Environmental Protection — What role for human rights and accountability? | HRC63 Side Event

14 September 2026

Role of Science in Addressing Hazardous Substances and Human Rights | HRC63 Side Event

14 September 2026

A “Poison Country” – The Impact of Deadly Asbestos Fibers and the Struggle of Indigenous Peoples for Their Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment | HRC61 Side Event | Geneva Rights and Environment Talks 2026

9 March 2026

Keeping the Air We Breathe Safe | Geneva Rights and Environment Talks 2026

10 March 2026

The Impacts of Mercury Exposure on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Ways to Address Them | Minamata COP-6 Online Event

16 October 2025

Plastics Chemicals of Concern and the Role of Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and Youth as Drivers of Change in the Future Plastics Treaty | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

8 May 2025

Making Visible the Invisible Occupational Victims of Chemicals Recommended by the CRC for Listing onto Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

5 May 2025

End Toxic Impunity! | Workshop on How to Make Environmental Justice Effective in the Context of Toxics

3 May 2025

Bridging Commitments: Ending the Illicit Trade of End-Of-Life Ships: What Role for the Basel and Hong Kong Conventions? | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

2 May 2025

Gender, Toxics Exposures and the Right to a Clean, Safe, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

29 April 2025

How Far Have the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Gone in Advancing a Rights-based Approach and Environmental Justice? | 2025 BRS COPs Side Event

28 April 2025

Addressing the Impacts of Pesticides on Human Rights in the Framework of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | Road to 2025 BRS COPs

3 April 2025

Launch and Panel Discussion | Safeguarding the Integrity of a Science Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution Prevention

12 June 2024

Launch and Panel Discussion | Plastics Treaty: Aligning States Duties and Business Responsibilities with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

12 April 2024

How the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights can inform the negotiations on a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution | 2023 UN BHR Forum

27 November 2023

Procedures for Addressing Conflicts of Interest: Lessons Learned from Existing Science-Policy Interfaces | Road to OEWG 2 Series

18 October 2023

Resources

Key Messages on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances | OHCHR & UNEP
Plastics and Human Rights | GEN
Air Pollution and Human Rights | GEN
Human Rights and the Environment | GEN
Geneva addressing Hazardous Substances | GEN

Relevant News and Updates

European court slams Italy over mafia toxic waste dumping | POLITICO | 30 January 2025
Italy has put the lives of its citizens at risk by not addressing illegal waste dumping by the mafia in the Campania region, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday.
Plastic pollution a global threat to human rights, say UN experts | OHCHR | 21 November 2024

Photo Credit

CIMMYT, Alfonso Cortés, 2020