A/HRC/RES/42/21 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 8 October 2019 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-second session 9–27 September 2019 Agenda item 3 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 26 September 2019 42/21. Protection of the rights of workers exposed to hazardous substances and wastes The Human Rights Council, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Declaration on the Right to Development and the conventions of the International Labour Organization, Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, in which the Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including target 4 of Sustainable Development Goal 12 thereof on achieving by 2020 the environmentally sound management of chemicals and hazardous wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with international standards, and affirming the interlinkages and integrated nature of all the Sustainable Development Goals, Recognizing the need to reduce the adverse health impact of environmental and occupational exposure to hazardous substances, while emphasizing preventive strategies, Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, which ensure safe and healthy working conditions, Recognizing that the enjoyment of the right of each worker to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health can be undermined by unsafe exposure to hazardous substances at work, Recognizing also the right of women to protection of health and safety in the workplace, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction, Recognizing further the duty of States to prevent unsafe occupational exposure to hazardous substances and the corresponding responsibility of businesses, as recognized, inter alia, in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Recalling the Constitution of the International Labour Organization and the Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the Organization (Declaration of Philadelphia) adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization GE.19-17269(E) 