A/HRC/RES/42/21 at its twenty-sixth session in May 1944, which affirmed the need for protection for the life and health of workers in all occupations, Recognizing the solemn obligation of the International Labour Organization to further among the nations of the world programmes that will achieve, inter alia, adequate protection for the life and health of workers in all occupations, Recalling the outcome report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work in January 2019 and the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 108th session, Recalling also the declaration in the Constitution of the World Health Organization of the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and the Declaration on Occupational Health for All approved at the second meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health, in October 1994, recognizing the urgent need to develop occupational health at a time when rapid changes in working life are affecting both the health of workers and the health of the environment in all countries of the world, Taking note of resolution 49.12 of the World Health Assembly, of 1996, and the Declaration on Workers Health approved at the seventh meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health, in June 2006, acknowledging the potential to prevent and solve many problems by incorporating workers’ health into policies on employment, social and economic development, trade and environmental protection, Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, 1. Condemns the violations and abuses of the rights of workers in all parts of the world through unsafe exposure to toxic and hazardous substances, as reported each year and addressed in reports and discussions at the national, regional and global levels; 2. Acknowledges the need to bridge relevant discussions on the rights of workers within the labour, human rights and environmental health forums as part of efforts to inform States, United Nations agencies and other relevant stakeholders of the human rights impacts of exposure to toxic substances, including in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12 on decent work and sustainable consumption and production respectively; 3. Notes with concern that millions of workers globally die each year from unsafe or unhealthy conditions of work despite clear human rights obligations relating to the protection of their health; 4. Notes with concern also that although it has been recognized globally for more than 50 years, and despite specific efforts in certain countries and contexts, the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, as well as other interrelated and interdependent human rights of workers, continues to remain insufficiently implemented and realized, particularly with regard to unsafe occupational exposure to hazardous substances; 5. Takes note with appreciation of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes highlighting the global crisis confronting workers exposed to toxic substances, based on the work of several successive mandate holders, including the most recent report1 in which the Special Rapporteur outlined key challenges and proposed 15 principles to help States, businesses and other key actors to protect workers from unsafe toxic exposures and to provide remedies for violations and abuses of workers’ rights; 6. Encourages States, business enterprises and other actors to implement the above-mentioned principles through their respective legal and policy frameworks and through initiatives and programmes to strengthen the coherence between human rights and 1 2 A/HRC/42/41.

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