A/HRC/22/43 relationship of already recognized rights with the environment is to identify rights whose implementation is vital to environmental policymaking. In general, these are rights whose free exercise makes policies more transparent, better informed and more responsive.24 They include rights to freedom of expression and association, rights to receive information and participate in decision-making processes, and rights to legal remedies. When directed at environmental issues, the exercise of such rights results in policies that better reflect the concerns of those most concerned and, as a result, that better safeguard their rights to life and health, among others, from infringement through environmental harm. 25 26. Procedural rights are protected by many human rights instruments. For example, rights of freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, participation in government and effective remedies for violations of rights are recognized in the Universal Declaration (arts. 7, 8, 19, 20 and 21) and elaborated on in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (arts. 2, 19, 21, 22 and 25), both of which also make clear that the rights are not subject to discrimination.26 Even though these instruments do not explicitly address environmental issues, they undoubtedly encompass the exercise of the rights for environmental ends. 27. Another important instrument in this regard is the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which sets out, inter alia: rights to meet peacefully to promote and protect human rights; to seek and obtain information about human rights, to disseminate information about human rights and to draw attention to whether they are observed in practice; to have effective access to participation in government; and to benefit from remedies for human rights violations, including by having complaints of such violations promptly reviewed by independent and competent legal authorities and receiving redress. Again, these rights apply no less to human rights defenders seeking to exercise them for the protection of the environment than they do for other purposes protective of the full enjoyment of human rights. 28. In practice, environmental human rights defenders have proved to be especially at risk when trying to exercise these rights. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has reported (A/HRC/19/55) that she receives many communications concerning environmental activists, “including those working on issues related to extractive industries, and construction and development projects; those working for the rights of indigenous and minority communities; women human rights defenders; and journalists” (ibid., para. 64). Environmental rights defenders face a high risk of killings, attacks, assault, threats and intimidation from both State and non-State actors (ibid., paras. 64–92). Needless 24 25 26 10 To be clear, these are not the only types of rights whose fulfilment may benefit environment policymaking. As noted below, environmental rights may also give rise to substantive standards to inform and guide environmental policies. And the implementation of some rights, such as the right to sanitation, may have direct environmental benefits. See report of the independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, A/HRC/12/24, para. 35. See Council resolution 16/11, preamble (“human rights obligations and commitments have the potential to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of environmental protection and promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes”); A/HRC/19/34, para. 8 (“rights such as access to information, participation in public affairs and access to justice are central to securing governance structures that enable society to adopt fair decisionmaking processes with respect to environmental issues”). See also Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011) on article 19 (freedom of opinion and expression) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (stating in paragraph 18 that article 19, paragraph 2, of the Covenant “embraces a right of access to information held by public bodies”).