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| UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances and Wastes | |
|---|---|
| Name | UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances and Wastes |
| Formation | 2017 |
| Inaugural | Baskut Tuncak |
| Appointing authority | United Nations Human Rights Council |
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances and Wastes is an independent expert mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council created to address the intersection of hazardous chemicals, hazardous wastes and human rights obligations. The mandate examines responsibilities under instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Basel Convention, the Stockholm Convention and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and engages with stakeholders including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, International Labour Organization, and World Health Organization.
The mandate directs the mandate-holder to investigate links between hazardous substances and hazardous wastes and rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and regional instruments such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. It requires engagement with multilateral environmental agreements like the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, and the Stockholm Convention, and with technical agencies including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The legal framework situates the mandate within mandates of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and the network of thematic special procedures that include the Special Rapporteur on toxics predecessors and related roles under the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
The mandate was established by Resolution A/HRC/RES/34/8 of the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2017 following advocacy by civil society organizations such as Pesticide Action Network, International POPs Elimination Network, and Centre for International Environmental Law, and after precedent set by investigations like the Bhopal disaster inquiries and litigation involving Union Carbide Corporation. Debates leading to creation referenced the World Health Organization reports on lead poisoning, the Minamata disease legacy, and rulings from courts including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and national judgments in South Africa, Argentina, and India concerning contamination and corporate responsibility.
The Special Rapporteur undertakes thematic studies on pesticide exposure, mercury contamination, industrial pollution, electronic waste, asbestos, and chemical weapons legacies, linking to regulatory frameworks like the European Union REACH Regulation, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Priority themes include duty-bearer obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, corporate accountability reflected in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, gendered impacts as examined by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and indigenous rights underscored by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The mandate engages with actors such as World Bank, International Finance Corporation, European Investment Bank, and philanthropic institutions like the Gates Foundation when assessing financing for hazardous industry projects.
Country visits and fact-finding missions have been conducted to assess harms in settings from artisanal mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru to industrial contamination in United States, Nigeria, Philippines, and Ukraine. Investigations often involve collaboration with national institutions such as ministries in Brazil and South Africa, regional bodies like the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and technical partners including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and university research centers like Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The Rapporteur issues communications to States and non-state actors parallel to procedures used by the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights and other thematic rapporteurs.
The mandate produces annual reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly addressing topics such as corporate due diligence, remediation of contaminated sites, access to remedy and justice, and regulatory gaps in chemical management. Recommendations draw on international instruments including the Polluter Pays Principle as articulated in decisions by the International Court of Justice and guidance from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Reports have cited cases involving Dow Chemical Company, Bayer AG, Rio Tinto Group, and national regulatory responses in Japan, Canada, and Germany to propose norms on prevention, disclosure, and environmental remediation financing mechanisms.
The mandate has influenced policy dialogues at forums like the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention, and meetings of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and has been referenced in litigation strategies at the International Criminal Court and in transnational litigation in US courts and European Court of Human Rights filings. Critics including some industry associations and certain State delegations have argued the mandate risks regulatory overreach and overlaps with technical agencies such as the World Health Organization and United Nations Environment Programme, while civil society groups have called for stronger enforcement, binding corporate obligations, and reparations frameworks inspired by precedents like the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlements and Bhopal litigation.
The Special Rapporteur is appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council following nominations and selection by the Consultative Group and serves in an independent capacity often drawn from backgrounds in human rights law, environmental law, occupational health, and public policy. Inaugural and subsequent holders have included experts with affiliations to institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, King's College London, Columbia University, and international NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace International. The office collaborates with other mandate holders including the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, and the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity.
Category:United Nations special procedures Category:Environmental human rights