A/HRC/33/41 103. Relatedly, adults and children who are physically or mentally disabled due to childhood exposure to toxics should have access to health care. 136 Such care must enable those impaired to enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate their active participation in the community. 137 3. Compensation 104. Compensation for victims is a necessary component of an effective remedy. However, compensation alone is insufficient, given the persistence of toxics in the environment and the irreversible and lifelong consequences of many types of exposure. Prevention must also be a priority, according to human rights obligations. 105. While the risk to businesses of paying victims large compensation awards can help incentivize companies to phase out toxics in products or to reduce pollution, because of substantial differences in the strength of product liability laws across jurisdictions, the threat of compensation is not sufficient. Asbestos is a common example, with countries unable to ban an unquestionably hazardous substance that kills over 100,000 people per year, despite billions of dollars in compensation being paid to victims over decades.138 106. Although large sums of compensation are paid following lawsuits involving hazardous substances and wastes, the vast majority of child victims of air pollution, food and water contamination, toxic chemicals and pesticides are not compensated. Even in cases where rights are clearly infringed and the relevant businesses or other actors identified, realizing an effective remedy and ensuring corporate accountability for harms due to toxic chemicals or pollution has proven extremely difficult around the world. The reasons for this difficulty include lack of awareness among victims that their diseases could have been caused by childhood exposure to toxic chemicals or pollution; the burden of proof placed on children, including the need to establish causation; fundamental information that has not been generated or is confidential about the hazards and uses of substances; the challenge of identifying perpetrators; weak or non-existent legislation; the costs of legal representation for plaintiffs; endless appeals processes; confidential out-ofcourt settlements; and the use of subsidiaries or contractual relationships to shield corporate liability. V. Future work 107. The Special Rapporteur plans to continue working on the obligation of States to prevent childhood exposure. He plans to carry out further investigations into the nature and scope of the obligation of States and responsibilities of businesses to prevent exposures, and into permissible restrictions in that regard, and to provide a guide to good practices. VI. Conclusions and recommendations 108. States have recognized their duty to protect and realize children’s rights, from which derives an obligation to protect children from exposure to toxics. These rights include the right to life and childhood development, the right to health, the right to physical integrity, the right to be free from the worst forms of child labour, the rights to food, water and adequate housing, and others. 136 137 138 Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 23. Ibid. UNEP, Global Chemicals Outlook. 21