A/HRC/5/5 page 4 I. EXPOSURE TO TOXIC AND DANGEROUS PRODUCTS: THE IMPACT OF ARMED CONFLICT A. Toxic and dangerous products released as a result of hostilities 4. In his last report the Special Rapporteur focused on chronic, low-level exposure to hazardous chemicals.2 Previously he has reported on the human rights impact of hazardous chemicals when exposure happens on a massive scale, such as in the context of incidents of pesticide poisoning in developing countries or from accidents like the Bhopal disaster. The Special Rapporteur has also previously reported on the adverse human impact on workers and communities involved in hazardous waste disposal or recycling operations of obsolete ships and electronic wastes in developing countries.3 In this report the Special Rapporteur wishes to draw attention to the adverse effects of toxic and dangerous products in the particular context of armed conflicts. Although weaponized chemicals can be released in the context of armed conflict and unfortunately have already been used, the report will not address this issue because the use of chemical weapons is clearly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Since its prohibition, cases of use of chemical weapons have been limited to very few contexts, and have been widely condemned. 5. It is well known that war generally has an adverse impact on the environment. Throughout the ages war has had severe consequences on the environment, from the destruction of orchards in biblical times or the salting of fertile land during the Punic Wars4 to the scarring of vast portions of land caused by trench warfare and the use of massive quantities of explosives in the First World War. However, the potentially harmful consequences of armed conflict on the environment have greatly increased during the last century. This is in great part explained by the growing use and widespread availability of chemicals in industry and everyday life. Another factor in this increase has been the changing nature of armed conflict. In most cases until the First World War, battles consisted of two large armies opposing each other in a remote field. This has largely changed, with battles being fought in cities, close to industrial centres, with factories becoming targets of powerful long distance kinetic weapons. These factors lead to an exponential increase in the risk of stockpiles of toxic products and dangerous chemicals being destroyed and thus released into the environment. 6. Another factor which has contributed to increased risk in recent years is the changing nature of the goals of States and non-State actors when engaging in armed conflicts. Traditionally, wars were fought to conquer territory and to achieve this was to diminish the 2 E/CN.4/2006/42. 3 See most recently, E/CN.4/2004/46, paras. 29-43. 4 Jay E. Austin and Carl. E Bruch, The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic and Scientific Perspectives (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 1.