Civil Society Call to the Human Right Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure on the adverse effects of the management, movement, dumping and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights and to support its activities for the next three years

A coalition of international, regional, and local NGOs calls on the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure regarding the impact of hazardous substances and wastes on human rights. The document argues that the mismanagement of toxic products severely impacts the rights to health, an adequate standard of living, and life, often beginning with a violation of the right to access information. It highlights a gap in existing international chemical instruments, such as the Basel, Stockholm, and Rotterdam Conventions, which do not examine human rights effects, and positions the Special Procedure as critical for mainstreaming human rights into these frameworks and institutions.

• The mismanagement of toxic products and wastes leads to severe negative impacts on human rights, particularly in countries lacking adequate resources for their handling. The rights most frequently affected are the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to life.
• Human rights violations related to hazardous waste often originate from a lack of access to information, and victims frequently lack effective legal or administrative remedies.
• Current international instruments governing chemicals—specifically the Basel Convention, the Stockholm Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, and the Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management (SAICM)—do not analyze the effects of chemicals on human rights.
• The Special Procedure is viewed as essential for integrating human rights perspectives into the activities of intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Health Organization, and the International Labor Organization.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2011). Civil Society Call to the Human Right Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure on the adverse effects of the management, movement, dumping and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights and to support its activities for the next three years. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/ToxicWasteMandate_HRC18_25Sep11.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Civil Society Call to the Human Right Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure on the adverse effects of the management, movement, dumping and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights and to support its activities for the next three years. 2011. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/ToxicWasteMandate_HRC18_25Sep11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Civil Society Call to the Human Right Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure on the adverse effects of the management, movement, dumping and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights and to support its activities for the next three years |date=22 September 2011 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/ToxicWasteMandate_HRC18_25Sep11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2011civil, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Civil Society Call to the Human Right Council to renew the mandate of the Special Procedure on the adverse effects of the management, movement, dumping and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights and to support its activities for the next three years}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2011}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/ToxicWasteMandate_HRC18_25Sep11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }