A/HRC/25/53 46. Despite differences in the language setting out the general obligations, however, they have given rise to remarkably similar interpretations when applied to environmental issues. Although the contours of the specific environmental obligations are still evolving, some of their principal characteristics have become clear. In particular, States have obligations (a) to adopt and implement legal frameworks to protect against environmental harm that may infringe on enjoyment of human rights; and (b) to regulate private actors to protect against such environmental harm. 1. Obligation to adopt and implement legal framework 47. States have obligations to adopt legal and institutional frameworks that protect against, and respond to, environmental harm that may or does interfere with the enjoyment of human rights. These obligations have been derived from a number of human rights, including the rights to life and health. 48. The Human Rights Committee has long held the view that the right to life protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “cannot properly be understood in a restrictive manner, and the protection of this right requires that States adopt positive measures” (general comment No. 6 (1982) on the right to life, para. 5). Although the Committee has not described in detail the steps required to protect the right to life from environmental harm, other human rights bodies have. In particular, the European Court has held that States have a primary duty to put in place a legislative and administrative framework that protects against and responds to infringements of the right to life as a result of natural disasters and of dangerous activities, including the operation of chemical factories and waste-collection sites.41 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has also urged States to adopt environmental protection measures in order to comply with their obligations to protect rights, including the rights to life and health.42 49. With respect to the right to health, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 12, para. 2(b)) provides that the steps to be taken by States to achieve the full realization of that right “shall include those necessary for… the improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene”. Interpreting this language in its general comment No. 14 (2000), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated that “the right to health embraces a wide range of socioeconomic factors that promote conditions in which people can lead a healthy life, and extends to the underlying determinants of health, such as… a healthy environment” (para. 4). The Committee has interpreted the phrase “the improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene” in article 12.2(b) to include “the prevention and reduction of the population’s exposure to harmful substances such as radiation and harmful chemicals or other detrimental environmental conditions that directly or indirectly impact upon human health” (para. 15). To that end, States are required to adopt measures against environmental health hazards, including by formulating and implementing policies “aimed at reducing and eliminating pollution of air, water and soil” (para. 36). Where environmental harm to human rights occurs, including from natural disasters, States are obliged to respond by assisting the victims.43 41 42 43 Council of Europe, Manual, pp. 18, 36–40. See, for example, Öneryıldız v. Turkey, No. 48939/99, 30 November 2004; and Budayeva and others v. Russia, No. 15339/02, 20 March 2008. The European Court has also derived such an obligation from the right to private and family life; see Tatar v. Romania, No. 67021/01, 6 July 2009, para. 88. See Inter-American report, sect. III.B. See generally ICESCR report, sect. III.B. 13