A/HRC/45/12 IV. Conclusions and recommendations 88. Prevention of exposure to hazardous substances is a human rights obligation incumbent on States. While some States have addressed the grave threats of exposure to the COVID-19 virus with remarkable determination, resolve and transparency, politics, economic miscalculations and misguided motivations enabled and emboldened many Governments to reject, individually and collectively, their duty to prevent exposure. Similarly, while many businesses prioritized the public interest benefits of preventing exposure, many showed a deplorable lack of consideration for the workers and the communities in which they operate. However, in the case of COVID-19 and other hazards, it is fundamentally the duty of the State to prevent exposure. 89. For those States that have so clearly failed in their duty to prevent exposure to the virus, the failure is a multifaceted violation of their human rights obligations, including those relating to the rights to life, dignity and health. The failure often was also characterized by recurrent violations of the right to freedom of expression, including access to information. Principles of equality, non-discrimination, international cooperation and transparency, among others, were all but lost among those States. 90. Most States did not take early warnings to heart, as deforestation, biodiversity collapse, climate change, illegal wildlife trade and other environmental conditions raised the risk of the emergence of a contagion such as the COVID-19 virus. Upon the emergence of COVID-19, various States failed to act with the prudent urgency that was so clearly required. Millions of cases of infection, resulting in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths, are a direct result. Predictably, older persons, the poor, minorities, migrants, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups have all suffered from the inaction of States in the face of a clear and present danger. 91. Ironically, unemployment and economic collapse, which States cited as the threats preventing them from exercising prudent and precautionary measures to prevent exposure, especially among the most vulnerable communities, are now exacerbated by the inaction of those States. Misguided fiscal policies that made prudent action to protect human rights excessively difficult have made taking such action even more costly. The negative impact on mental and physical health and on education, and increased domestic abuse, are among the effects that have been prolonged by an unwillingness to take bold action to protect life and health at the earliest stages, and then to maintain restrictions until the risks were adequately lowered. All of these problems are due to States failing to prevent exposure to the virus at the earliest point when preventive measures could have been taken. 92. Given the interconnectedness between COVID-19 and non-communicable diseases, there is an urgent need to enhance global efforts to prevent noncommunicable diseases resulting from unhealthy environments, workplaces and consumer products. Strengthened efforts with regards to non-communicable diseases are necessary not only now, during the COVID-19 outbreak, but most importantly long after, focusing in particular on the most vulnerable. For example, interventions to reduce exposure to air pollution have immense potential in protecting health and contributing to reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases that exacerbate the risks related to exposure to viruses and other hazards. Strengthening environmental and health protections and promoting the human rights to a healthy and sustainable environment and to safe and healthy work would not only address non-communicable diseases and COVID-19 vulnerabilities, but also contribute to much broader societal benefits for public health, the environment and economies. 93. Transparency, responsiveness and ensuring that the most vulnerable members of society were protected from exposure proved to be key elements of good practices. Doctors, scientists and public health experts are human rights defenders whose right to freedom of expression must be respected. States have the duty to share and take into account evidence-based information from the scientific community in the 20