A/HRC/39/48 intermediate substances in production processes and the products of the decay of substances over time under different conditions. 65. A persistent challenge to realizing the right to information in the context of toxic chemicals are claims of confidentiality or secrecy. Illegitimate claims of confidential business information or trade secrecy regarding toxic substances and possible exposures can deprive workers of their human rights, including to safe and healthy working conditions and access to remedies. Illegitimate claims of confidentiality and secrecy involving health and safety information can mask problems and thereby stifle innovative research on products and processes to improve occupational health, while promoting a sense of impunity that can become contagious among business enterprises that continue to exploit and abuse workers by exposing them to toxic substances, and justify deriving benefits from doing so. 66. It is of great importance that health-related information be collected, processed and used in a well-controlled system that protects the privacy of workers and ensures that health surveillance is not utilized for discriminatory purposes or used in any other manner prejudicial to their interests.61 But it is of equal importance that workers have access to their own medical records. J. Limited implementation of International Labour Organization instruments 67. Concerns exist that relevant ILO standards for the protection of the human rights of workers are not adequately implemented and others are outdated. An independent assessment commissioned by ILO of its own organizational challenges attributed this to, inter alia, limited or non-existent collaboration of units and limited financial resources devoted to occupational safety and health-related activities.62 68. The low levels of ratifications of ILO instruments on occupational safety and health may be another factor, although they may in some cases be useful models for national standards. Yet another may be the regrettable exclusion of the right to safe and healthy work as a “fundamental right at work” by the ILO Governing Body. K. Restrained freedom of association 69. Challenges persist in realizing what ILO does consider to be fundamental rights at work, namely the rights to freedom of association, to organize and to collective bargaining. Certain categories of workers are denied the right of association in some countries. 63 Workers’ and employers’ organizations are illegally suspended or interfered with, and in some extreme cases trade unionists are arrested or killed (A/71/385). 64 The inability to exercise these rights, together with restraints on freedom of expression, hinder the ability of workers to defend their rights from abuses linked to toxic exposures, individually and collectively. L. Inaccessible remedies, justice and accountability 70. Studies suggest that only the smallest fraction of workers harmed by exposure to hazardous substances are able to access remedies. 65 Major obstacles to accountability 61 62 63 64 65 14 ILO, Technical and Ethical Guidelines for Workers’ Health Surveillance, Occupational Safety and Health Series No. 72 (Geneva, 1998). ILO, Independent Evaluation of the ILO’s Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health Conditions at Work (2013), pp. 46−47. See ILO, International Labour Standards on Freedom of Association. Ibid. Andrew Watterson and Rory O’Neill, “Double trouble on relative risk for occupational diseases”, Hazards Magazine, March 2015.