A/HRC/20/15 detection, prevention and treatment of occupational disease and the control or prohibition of harmful substance in the work place; pay special attention to the situation of vulnerable and marginalized workers; and ensure adequate accountability mechanisms are in place and remedies are available to workers. II. Conceptual framework 6. The right to occupational health is an integral component of the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights addresses occupational health in article 12.2(b) and (c) and establishes that States must take steps towards the full realization of the right to health, including the improvement of all aspects of industrial hygiene and the prevention, treatment and control of occupational and other diseases. General comment No. 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights interprets article 12.2(b) of the Covenant to include safe and hygienic working conditions, preventive measures in respect of occupational accidents and diseases and the minimization, so far as is reasonably practicable, of the causes of health hazards inherent in the working environment (para. 15). General comment No. 14 states that article 12.2(c) of the Covenant requires States to make available relevant technologies, using and improving epidemiological surveillance and data collection on a disaggregated basis (para. 16). 7. A number of international human rights instruments address the right to occupational health in a variety of contexts. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the right of everyone to “just and favourable conditions of work” (art. 23).1 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women establishes women‟s “right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction” (art. 11.1(f)) and requires States to “provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them” (art. 11.2 (d)). The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families obliges States to “take measures not less favourable than those applied to nationals to ensure that working and living conditions of migrant workers and members of their families in a regular situation are in keeping with the standards of fitness, safety, health and principles of human dignity” (art. 70). 8. The ILO recognizes both the right to a safe and healthy working environment and the protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out of his employment to be fundamental human rights. 2 The ILO defines its Decent Work agenda to require safe and healthy work that does not expose workers to health hazards. 3 The ILO has adopted numerous instruments ratified by varying numbers of member States that directly address occupational health. These include the Convention on Occupational Safety and Health, the Occupational Health Services Convention, the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention, as well as the Protection of Workers‟ Health Recommendations. The ILO defines “health” broadly in the context of work to indicate not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but also the physical and mental elements 1 2 3 4 See also International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 7. International Labour Organization (ILO), Health and life at work: A basic human right, World Day for Safety and Health at Work, 28 April 2009, (Geneva, 2009), p. 5; ILO, ILO Introductory Report: Global trends and challenges on occupational safety and health, XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2011(Geneva, 2011), p. 42; “Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work,” adopted on 29 June 2008 at the XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. ILO, Health and life at work: A basic human right, p. 11.