A/HRC/36/41 23. Although certain States have taken measures to increase public participation in decision-making on the issues of toxics, levels of social unrest driven by concerns about air pollution, water and food contamination and toxic consumer products suggest further improvements are necessary in many States. Concerned communities have complained that their views are not taken into account, that information, particularly on health impacts, is unavailable, inaccurate or too technical, and that processes are not reasonably accessible. B. Protect the most vulnerable 24. A human rights-based approach to hazardous substances and wastes, including pollutants, toxic industrial chemicals and pesticides, requires a specific focus on the protection of those most vulnerable or at risk: children, the poor, workers, persons with disabilities, older persons, indigenous peoples, migrants and minorities, while taking into account gender-specific risks. Designing laws and policies to protect those most at risk has been shown to have a ripple effect for the broader community. States must ensure that laws, policies and institutions aimed at assessing and mitigating the potential impacts of toxics are based on the needs of the most vulnerable. Low-income communities 25. Everywhere, the poor bear the brunt of inaction on toxic pollution and other threats from toxics. In all countries pollution disproportionately kills the poor, with over 90 per cent of the disease burden from pollution falling on residents of low- and middle-income countries. 28 This is in large part due to the international transfer of polluting industries through globalized supply chains, from chemical and steel manufacturing and the extraction of oil, gas, metals and minerals to the exponential increase in pesticide use and the “recycling”, incineration and disposal of waste, such as electronics, plastics, batteries and end-of-life ships.29 26. Growing evidence shows that in countries of all levels of income, polluting industries are disproportionately located in poor communities. People in poverty are more likely to reside near toxic contamination and sources of pollution and to consume toxic products. Poorer communities are also less likely to be successful in defending their rights against businesses, facing an absence of information, power asymmetries, difficulties in securing legal representation and complicating variables that make correlations between exposure and impact more difficult. Malnutrition among low-income communities can also exacerbate the health impacts of exposure to hazardous substances. Many of the groups described below are found in low-income communities, which further elevates their risk. 27. Internationally, low- and middle-income countries are at grave risk owing to the transfer of polluting industries and toxic products from wealthier countries. Many factors have led to this situation, including a deficiency in global standards and strong pressure driven by private interests. Businesses with global supply and value chains continue to be implicated in human rights abuses related to toxics in low- and middle-income countries. Children 28. WHO estimates that 1.7 million children under the age of 5 die each year as a result of toxic exposure and other aspects of an unhealthy environment. 30 Children everywhere, from all backgrounds and incomes, are exposed to dozens if not hundreds of toxic substances during critical periods of development, including while in the womb and through breast milk. Children in low-income and minority communities are exposed at 28 29 30 See www.commissiononpollution.org/about. See, for example, Qiang Zhang and others, “Transboundary health impacts of transported global air pollution and international trade”, Nature, vol. 543 (March 2017). Available at www.nature.com/nature/journal/v543/n7647/full/nature21712.html. See www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/pollution-child-death/en/. 7