A/HRC/42/41 72. States that have not already done so should put in place national protection programmes for defenders of labour rights and initiate appropriate disciplinary, civil and criminal proceedings against perpetrators of intimidation, threats and other forms of reprisals against defenders. States should commission independent periodic reviews of national protection programmes to enhance effectiveness in protecting defenders of labour rights, in consultation with workers, whistle-blowers and defenders, as well as trade unions and civil society organizations that represent them. C. Principles regarding effective remedies 73. Ensuring timely access to justice and effective remedies is not just a human right of workers, but also a potentially powerful incentive for improved working conditions. It can motivate business enterprises to develop and adopt safer practices that engage their responsibility, ranging from substituting less hazardous alternatives to adopting engineering controls to reduce exposures. On the other hand, the impunity of certain business enterprises and other beneficiaries whose acts or omissions lead to the exposure of workers to toxic substances is an impediment to improving the situation of countless workers around the world. 74. Studies suggest that only the smallest fraction of workers harmed by exposure to toxic substances are able to access remedies. 66 Major obstacles to accountability and remedy include the unreasonably high burden of proof, the long latency periods for consequences to manifest in some cases and the difficulty in establishing causation; substantial information gaps with respect to the identification of hazards, measurement of exposure and specification of the epidemiological impacts; possible exposure to a multitude of different substances in various occupational settings and over a working lifetime; and the provisions of contractual relationships between suppliers and purchasers which can shift responsibility up or down a supply chain. 67 75. The pervasive inaccessibility of effective remedies to workers who are victims of toxic exposures serves as a barrier to the transition to safer, healthier work for millions of workers around the world. Ensuring the effective implementation of the following principles would both help to bring justice to victims and drive efforts to prevent exposure, avoiding recurrence of violations and future victims. Principle 12 – Workers, their families and their communities must have immediate access to an appropriate and effective remedy, which should be available from the time of exposure. Commentary 76. All workers who are victims of infringement or violations of their rights due to toxic exposures must have the right of access to an effective remedy. 68 An appropriate and effective remedy includes prompt reparation for harms suffered, including health care, compensation, guarantees of non-repetition and adequate training for rehabilitation, reinsertion and reasonable accommodation. 69 An effective remedy also includes bringing to 66 67 68 69 16 Andrew Watterson and Rory O’Neill, “Double trouble on relative risk for occupational diseases”, Hazards Magazine, special online report, March 2015. A/HRC/39/48 and Corr.1, para. 70. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2 (3) (a); Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations; and Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 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 (General Assembly resolution 60/147, annex), paras. 11 and 15−23; 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 also ILO, Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Through Workplace Adjustments: A Practical Guide (Geneva, 2016).