A/HRC/42/41 countries, have steadily expanded into developing countries and countries with economies in transition through the globalization of supply chains. 39 Limited transparency and traceability throughout global supply and value chains enhances the problem of exposure to toxics and obstructs efforts by various stakeholders to improve occupational health. 43. While recognizing the societal benefits that can accompany the international transfer of certain technologies, the transfer of substances and production methods with occupational exposure risks for workers from countries with more advanced systems to countries with lower standards of worker protection continues to be a major problem. 40 The transboundary transfer of hazardous production processes, materials and substances to countries with lower levels of protection should be considered a form of exploitation if appropriate measures are not taken to protect workers from toxic exposures. 44. States are obliged to take reasonable measures to prevent workers’ exposure to toxic substances that occur outside their territories and that give rise to infringements of applicable rights due to the activities of business entities over which they can exercise control and that are reasonably foreseeable.41 States should require such business entities to act with due diligence to identify and prevent abuses by foreign subsidiaries, suppliers and other business partners. 45. Business enterprises, especially those with transnational operations, are responsible for the consequences of exposures of workers to toxic substances that they cause, contribute to, or to which they are linked. 42 This entails varying degrees of responsibility for the conditions under which their products are produced, used and disposed of. The responsibilities of business enterprises regarding the right to safe and healthy work and other applicable human rights apply across borders.43 Regarding the consequences to which they are linked, business enterprises have a responsibility to proactively investigate impacts on the rights of workers in their supply and value chains and during the life cycle of their products. Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they and their suppliers, both at home and abroad, adopt good practices such as the hierarchy of hazard controls to prevent exposure to toxic substances throughout their products’ life cycles, their operations and their services. Principle 6 – States must prevent third parties from distorting scientific evidence or manipulating processes to perpetuate exposure. Commentary 46. The ability to protect the human rights of workers, including to safe and healthy work, hinges upon the ability to translate evidence into protective laws and policies and the application of the human right to access to the benefits of scientific progress. 44 Despite clear evidence of both health hazards and exposure, there have been repeated instances where data have been tampered with, evidence obfuscated and processes manipulated to delay action to reduce risks. 45 This has led to extreme delays, sometimes lasting decades, in 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 United Nations Environment Programme, Global Chemicals Outlook II: From Legacies to Innovative Solutions (2019). A/33/41, para. 60. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities, paras. 30−32. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, principle 13. Ibid., principles 13 and 17; and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24, paras. 16, 25 and 33. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 15 (b). See also A/HRC/36/41. For the case of just one class of toxic chemical consisting of thousands of individual substances, perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), see, e.g., the documentary film The Devil We Know: The Chemistry of a Cover-Up, available at https://thedevilweknow.com (2018); Nathaniel Rich, “The lawyer who became Dupont’s worst nightmare”, New York Times Magazine, 6 January 2016; and Abraham Lustgarten, “How the EPA and the Pentagon downplayed a growing toxic threat”, ProPublica, 9 July 9 2018. See also ILO Chemicals Convention, art. 18; and A/HRC/36/41. 11