A/HRC/25/53 1. Duties to assess environmental impacts and make information public 30. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 19) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 19) state that the right to freedom of expression includes the freedom “to seek, receive and impart information”. The right to information is also critical to the exercise of other rights, including rights of participation. In the words of the then Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, the rights to information and participation are “both rights in themselves and essential tools for the exercise of other rights, such as the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to adequate housing and others” (A/HRC/7/21, p. 2). 31. Human rights bodies have repeatedly stated that in order to protect human rights from infringement through environmental harm, States should provide access to environmental information and provide for the assessment of environmental impacts that may interfere with the enjoyment of human rights. 32. For example, in its general comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that individuals should be given full and equal access to information concerning water and the environment (para. 48), and in its responses to country reports, it has urged States to assess the impacts of actions that may have adverse environmental effects on the right to health and other rights within its purview.22 Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has stated that information relating to large-scale development projects should be publicly available and accessible (A/68/262, para. 62), and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation has stated that States need to conduct impact assessments “in line with human rights standards” when they plan projects that may have an impact on water quality (A/68/264, para. 73).23 33. Regional bodies have also concluded that States must provide environmental information and provide for assessments of environmental impacts on human rights. For example, on the basis of the right to respect for private and family life as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (art. 8), the European Court has stated: Where a State must determine complex issues of environmental and economic policy, the decision-making process must firstly involve appropriate investigations and studies in order to allow them to predict and evaluate in advance the effects of those activities which might damage the environment and infringe individuals’ rights and to enable them to strike a fair balance between the various conflicting interests at stake. The importance of public access to the conclusions of such studies and to information which would enable members of the public to assess the danger to which they are exposed is beyond question.24 34. International instruments illustrate the importance of providing environmental information to the public. Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration states: “At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment 22 23 24 ICESCR report, sect. III.A.1. For other statements by special rapporteurs on access to information and assessment of environmental impacts, see Report on special procedures, sect. III.A.1. Taşkin v. Turkey, 2004-X European Court of Human Rights 179, para. 119. See also Öneryildiz v. Turkey, 2004-XII European Court of Human Rights 1, para. 90 (applying the right to information in connection with the right to life); Ogoniland case, para. 53 (deriving obligations from the right to health and the right to a healthy environment); Inter-American Court, Claude-Reyes et al. v. Chile, Judgement of 19 September 2006 (ordering State to adopt necessary measures to ensure right of access to State-held information). 9