A/HRC/20/15
rights. Such assessments prioritize concerns of the most vulnerable groups and ensure they
are included in the law- and policymaking process. In the context of occupational health,
this requires States to work together with workers to ensure occupational health laws and
policies comply with the right to health prior to implementation.
55.
For example, free trade agreements often remove or weaken occupational health and
safety regulations in order to facilitate trade and foreign direct investment. The right to
health, however, requires that States prioritize occupational health protections over traderelated concerns. Therefore, in order to facilitate prospective accountability and ensure that
free trade agreements do not violate the right to occupational health, States must conduct
human rights impacts assessments prior to signing any free trade agreement.
56.
Transnational corporations have an obligation to respect their workers‟ right to
occupational health, and States have a dual obligation in this respect. States in which
transnational corporations are domiciled have the responsibility of holding these
corporations accountable for violations of the right to occupational health occurring in
foreign jurisdictions when the foreign States are unable or unwilling to do so. This includes
violations committed by their foreign subsidiaries, joint ventures, partnerships with foreign
companies or supply-chain relationships that may have distinct legal personality but
nonetheless operate under the control of the parent corporation. This could be achieved
through a variety of mechanisms, including administrative sanctions via the occupational
health and safety regulatory body in the base country or the application of law with
extraterritorial reach. States in which transnational corporations operate must hold these
corporations directly accountable under relevant occupational health laws. Transnational
corporations must not escape accountability due to their political and financial influence;
claims that they do not fall within the host country‟s legal jurisdiction; or assertions that
they are not accountable for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries, joint ventures,
partnerships with foreign companies or supply-chain relationships.
B.
Remedies
57.
The right to health entitles all victims of violations to adequate remedies. States
must ensure workers are afforded access to adequate reparation, including restitution,
compensation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition, and that statutes of limitations
do not interfere with access to remedies. Restitution requires that States restore the situation
that existed prior to the violation. For example, if a statute regulating the use of hazardous
materials in the workplace is repealed, resulting in workers falling ill, a remedy of
restitution would require States to reinstate the law or draft a new law to address the
lacunae. Monetary compensation should cover the cost of medical care, including
rehabilitation, and any lost income arising from inability to work due to injury. Satisfaction
includes a formal commitment by States, such as legislation or an executive order, to fulfil
its obligation to realize the right to health of an individual or a specific population.
58.
The obligation to provide adequate remedies requires that workers must have access
to courts and other adjudicatory bodies where they may obtain financial compensation and
other remedies for violations of their right to occupational health. If a worker‟s right to
occupational health is violated and the State has failed to put in place effective mechanisms
to ensure that the employer provides the worker with an adequate remedy, the State has a
direct obligation to remedy the violation. This responsibility accrues from the obligation to
protect workers from violations of their right to health by third parties. Further, failure of
the State to protect workers‟ right to occupational health in this circumstance may require
an additional remedy of satisfaction and/or guarantee of non-repetition.
59.
States have a direct obligation to provide workers in the informal economy with
remedies for violations of their right to occupational health. Violations of the right to health
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