A/HRC/36/41 IV. Access to justice and remedy 96. Access to justice is an essential component of the rule of law and a means by which victims of toxics can actively claim the entire range of rights they hold, including access to an effective remedy. Human rights obligations in the area of toxics must be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached. 71 An effective system of justice and remedy helps to prevent future abuses and ensure responsible business conduct. States must ensure that victims of toxics have access to justice and effective remedies.72 A. Effective remedy 97. Effective remedies for violations of human rights law include the right of victims to have access to relevant information concerning violations and to effective and prompt reparation for harm suffered. 73 Reparations can involve restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition, including changes in relevant laws and practices, as well as bringing to justice the perpetrators of rights violations. 74 98. Extrapolating from these principles, the right to an effective remedy requires, inter alia, the remediation of contaminated sites, compensation, the cessation of action or inaction that gives rise to impacts, the provision of health care and the dissemination of information to prevent recurrence.75 Timely reparation to prevent recurrence is essential. 76 Moreover, the application must be without any discrimination of any kind or on any ground, including age. 77 To be effective, remedies should be appropriately adapted for vulnerable groups, such as children, taking into account their special needs, risks and evolving development and capacities. 78 99. Independent assessments have identified hundreds of thousands of contaminated sites around the world. Sites can become contaminated for any number of reasons, including as a result of conflict and industrial operations. Left unaddressed, contaminated sites are a continuing threat to the rights, including the rights to life and to health, of present and future generations. 100. States struggle to remediate sites, many of which have been known to authorities for decades. Businesses responsible for the contamination can be unidentifiable, may no longer exist or may simply refuse to be accountable for the ongoing risks their activities pose to the enjoyment of human rights. In some cases, informal sector activities are responsible for a legacy of contamination. States must identify and remediate contaminated sites, and take measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of toxic contamination until remediation is complete. 101. Victims have a right to fair compensation for losses suffered. Compensation can address material losses and non-material or moral suffering. States have a duty to provide health care, including treatment and medicines, to address adverse impacts as needed. 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 See, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2. See also the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, principles 22, 25 and 26, and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, principle 10. See E/CN.4/2006/42, para. 45. Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, para. 11. Ibid., paras. 15-23. See also Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant, para. 16, and Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 39. See A/HRC/33/41, para. 40. Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 16, para. 31. Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, para. 25. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 31, para. 15; see also Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 16, para. 31. 19