A/HRC/25/53 that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities… States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.”25 Many environmental treaties, including the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (art. 15), the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (art. 10), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (art. 6(a)), require environmental information to be provided to the public. The Aarhus Convention includes particularly detailed obligations.26 Illustrating the link between its obligations and those of human rights law, many Aarhus parties have discussed their compliance with that agreement in their reports under the universal periodic review process.27 35. Most States have adopted environmental impact assessment laws, in accordance with principle 17 of the Rio Declaration, which states that “environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.” The World Bank requires environmental assessment of all Bank-financed projects to “ensure that they are environmentally sound and sustainable”.28 2. Duties to facilitate public participation in environmental decision-making 36. The baseline rights of everyone to take part in the government of their country and in the conduct of public affairs are recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 21) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 25), respectively. Again, human rights bodies have built on this baseline in the environmental context, elaborating a duty to facilitate public participation in environmental decisionmaking in order to safeguard a wide spectrum of rights from environmental harm. 37. The Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders have stated that governments must facilitate the right to participation in environmental decision-making (see A/HRC/7/21 and A/68/262).29 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has encouraged States to consult with stakeholders in the course of environmental impact assessments, and has underlined that before any action is taken that interferes with the right to water, the relevant authorities must provide an opportunity for “genuine consultation with those affected” (general comment No. 15 (2002), para. 56). Regional human rights tribunals agree that individuals should have meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions concerning their environment.30 38. The need for public participation is reflected in many international environmental instruments. Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration states: “Environmental issues are best 25 26 27 28 29 30 10 See also: “Guidelines for the development of national legislation on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters” adopted at the eleventh special session of the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environmental Forum. For other examples, see the Multilateral environment agreements (MEA) report, sect. III.A.1. Individual report on the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, including the universal periodic review process, sect. III. World Bank Operational Policy 4.01, para. 1. See also: World Bank Inspection Panel, Report No. 40746-ZR, 31 August 2007, para. 346 (finding that the failure to prepare an environmental assessment violated the Operational Policy). For statements by other special rapporteurs, see Report on special procedures, sect. III.A.2. Regional agreements report, sect. II.B.1; Inter-American report, sect. III.A.2.