States, businesses must do more to realise RTI: UN expert

FE Team | Published: September 19, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

United Nations human rights expert Baskut Tuncak has called on States and business enterprises to do more to realise the right to information about hazardous substances and wastes, reports UNB.
"People have a right to know whether they are being exposed to hazardous substances or may be harmed by them," said the expert.
"Unfortunately, often, individuals do not realise that hazardous substances are found in the course of their daily lives," the UN
Special Rapporteur on hazardous substance and waste said during the presentation of his latest report on right to information in the context of hazardous substances and wastes at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council," according to a message received here from Geneva Thursday night.
"Hazardous substances from human activity can be found in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the products we buy, and the places we live, play and work," he said.
A myriad of adverse effects, including cancer and other non-communicable diseases, are linked to the exposure to hazardous substances. "Securing adequate information about hazardous substances remains an incessant global problem," Tuncak noted.
"Today, information is neither available nor accessible about the safety of tens of thousands of chemicals on the market, the potential sources of exposure to substances with known and unknown hazards, the amount of human exposure to hazardous substances, and the impacts of exposure to a large number of hazardous substances starting from conception."
During his presentation, the independent expert explained that the right to information requires that facts be both available and accessible about hazardous substances. "For instance, information should be accessible at the time of purchase and when using a product containing hazardous substances," he said.
"Furthermore, information must work to prevent harm, to enable democratic decision-making and to ensure accountability, access to justice and an effective remedy to those affected in a manner consistent with the principle of non-discrimination," he stressed.
In his report, the expert explained that information should be collected, assessed and imparted in a manner consistent with the principle of non-discrimination, illustrating disproportionate impacts on children, workers, indigenous peoples and other particularly at-risk groups.
To ensure that individuals can effectively understand and exercise their right to information about hazardous substances and wastes, Tuncak highlighted that "States must generate, collect, assess and update information on hazardous substances and wastes, and to disseminate information to those who may be adversely affected."