A/HRC/5/5
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against torture, privacy, access to information and the freedoms of association, assembly and
movement.37 The Committee also concluded that “the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health” is not limited to access to health care, but “embraces a wide range of
socio-economic factors that promote conditions in which people can lead a healthy life and
extends to the underlying determinants of health, such as food and nutrition, housing, access to
safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, safe and healthy working conditions and a
healthy environment”.38
32. The realization of the right to health in the context of armed conflict and toxic and
dangerous products requires States to take all appropriate measures to limit human exposure to
toxic products released during an armed conflict. In the case of States whose ability to control
their borders and territory is limited by armed conflict, this includes the adoption of laws and
regulations concerning the illicit movement and dumping of toxic wastes, as well as the means to
implement them. In the case of release or the possibility of release of dangerous products as a
result of hostilities, the State which could be affected can adopt preventive measures to limit the
health impact of a strike on an industrial complex. For example, one preventive measure could
be the emptying of tanks containing very dangerous chemicals at the outbreak of hostilities.
Measures following a release into the environment could include rapid clean-up efforts and
health warnings to the local population, as well as the availability of specialized health services.
3. Right to adequate food
33. The right to adequate food is part of the broader right to an adequate standard of living,
which also includes housing and clothing, and the distinct fundamental right to be free from
hunger, which aims to prevent people from starving. This right is linked to the inherent dignity
of the human person and is indispensable for the fulfilment of other universal guarantees
enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights. According to the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights the core content of the right to adequate food implies the availability
of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from
adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture.39
34. In the context of contamination by toxic substances during armed conflict, both the
availability and quality of food can be affected. Indeed, the use of herbicides can destroy food
crops, thus limiting the quantities of food available to the local population. Furthermore,
although not all contamination will result in the destruction of crops it can, directly or through
contaminated irrigation water, render agricultural goods unsafe for human consumption. The
37
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14 (2000),
para. 3.
38
39
Ibid., para. 4.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 12 (1999),
para. 8.
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