A/HRC/30/40 20. In the context of people harmed by pollution resulting from extractive industries, the unavailability or unreliability of baseline information has been a recurring challenge. Baseline information about the presence of hazardous substances in air, water and soil are important to understand the cause and effect of industrial activity and to ensure access to justice and to an effective remedy for victims whose rights may have been violated. In addition, some have voiced a concern that information generated has a bias to emphasize high levels of naturally occurring toxic metals to neutralize pollution concerns and responsibility for wrongdoing. Furthermore, examination of the provided information through independent experts is often missing. 21. Regarding hazardous waste, there is no clear, global overview of the volume of hazardous waste generated, the exact sources of or destinations for the waste, the hazardous substances present, or methods of handling.23 Unfortunately, it is often only after people suffer adverse effects that the illegal dumping of toxic waste is uncovered. B. Human rights implications of the right to information on hazardous substances and wastes 22. The right to information is a right in and of itself and one of the rights upon which free and democratic societies depend (see E/CN.4/2000/63, para. 42). The right to information derives from the right to freedom of expression and the right to take part in public affairs stipulated in articles 19 and 25 respectively of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Similar provisions are also found in several international and regional human rights instruments, as well as in national constitutions and laws. According to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression, this right encompasses the right of individuals to request and receive information of public interest and information concerning themselves that may affect their individual rights (see A/68/362, para. 19). 23. Concerns have been raised that, in many countries, people lack basic information about and influence over the quality of their drinking water, the air they breathe, the land they live on and the food they eat (see ECE/MP.PP/2014/27/Add.1, para. 16). In this context, better access to information can enable the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to food, the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and the right to a healthy environment. 24. Information is a precondition for the realization of several civil and political rights. In the context of hazardous substances and wastes, information gaps create a fundamental impediment to realizing the right to free, active and meaningful public participation by individuals and communities to decide what risks they are willing to accept. Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development explicitly clarifies that information on hazardous materials and activities is necessary to ensure participation of all to achieve the best possible outcome on environmental issues. 24 25. For numerous people who die prematurely because of hazardous substances every year, information on risks, mitigation measures and safer alternatives can help prevent harm and save lives, implicating the right to life. 23 24 Secretariat of the Basel Convention, Vital Waste Graphics 3 (2012), p. 7, available from www.zoinet.org/web/sites/default/files/publications/vitalwaste_BR.PDF. Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5–16 June 1972 (A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1), part one, chap. I. 7