the toxic truth - Greenpeace

18 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds
kEy faCTS Of ThE CaSE
the mandate to look at the whole life-cycle of
hazardous products, from their manufacture
to their final disposal.
The right to health
Article 12.1 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
guarantees “the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health…”. 21 The UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (the Committee), the expert body that
monitors the implementation of the Covenant,
has clarified that the right to health, as
defined in Article 12.1, “is an inclusive right
extending not only to timely and appropriate
health care but also to the underlying
determinants of health, such as access
to safe and potable water and adequate
sanitation, an adequate supply of safe food,
nutrition and housing, healthy occupational
and environmental conditions, and access to
health-related education and information.” 22
The Committee has also stated that the “right
to treatment includes the creation of a system
of urgent medical care in cases of accidents,
epidemics and similar health hazards, and the
provision of disaster relief and humanitarian
assistance in emergency situations”. 23
The obligations of states parties to protect the
right to health include requirements for “the
prevention and reduction of the population’s
exposure to harmful substances such as
... harmful chemicals or other detrimental
environmental conditions that directly or
indirectly impact upon human health.” 24
Violations of the obligation to protect the
right to health follow from the failure of a
state to take all necessary measures to
safeguard people from infringements of the
right to health by third parties. “This category
includes such omissions as the failure to
regulate the activities of individuals, groups
or corporations so as to prevent them from
violating the right to health of others; … and
the failure to enact or enforce laws to prevent
the pollution of water, air and soil by extractive
and manufacturing industries.” 25
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights also recognizes in Article 24 the right
of all peoples to a “general satisfactory
environment favourable to their development.”
This right is more widely known as the right to
a healthy environment. 26