A/HRC/25/53 C. Obligations relating to members of groups in vulnerable situations 69. The human rights obligations relating to the environment include a general obligation of non-discrimination in their application. In particular, the right to equal protection under the law, which is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 7) and many human rights agreements, includes equal protection under environmental law.67 States have additional obligations with respect to groups particularly vulnerable to environmental harm. The following sections describe obligations specific to three groups in particular: women, children and indigenous peoples.68 1. Women 70. In construing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has emphasized that States should ensure that public participation in environmental decisionmaking, including with respect to climate policy, includes the concerns and participation of women.69 Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health has stated that “even though women bear a disproportionate burden in the collection of water and disposal of family wastewater, they are often excluded from relevant decision-making processes. States should therefore take measures to ensure that women are not excluded from decisionmaking processes concerning water and sanitation management” (A/62/214, para. 84). 71. With respect to substantive obligations to develop and implement policies to protect human rights from environmental harm, the Committee has called on States to ensure that the policies are aimed at protecting the rights of women to health, to property and to development. Moreover, it has urged States to conduct research on the adverse effects of environmental contamination of women, and to provide sex-disaggregated data on the effects.70 Where environmental harm has disproportionate effects on women, States are obliged to adopt and implement programmes accordingly. The Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes, for example, has stated that “due to the harmful effects of mercury on the female reproduction function, international human rights law requires States parties to put in place preventive measures and programmes to protect women of childbearing age from mercury exposure” (A/HRC/21/48, para. 33, citing the Convention, art. 11, para. 1 (f)). 72. Some groups of women are particularly vulnerable for various reasons, including because they are poor, older, disabled and/or of minority status, which may give rise to the need for additional protection. For example, in its general recommendation No. 27 (2010) on older women and protection of their human rights, the Committee found that they are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change (para. 25), and stated that therefore “States parties should ensure that climate change and disaster risk-reduction measures are gender-responsive and sensitive to the needs and vulnerabilities of older women. States parties should also facilitate the participation of older women in decisionmaking for climate change mitigation and adaptation” (para. 35). 67 68 69 70 See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Mossville Action Now v. United States, No. 43/10, 17 March 2010 (construing article II of the American Declaration). This should not be taken as an exhaustive list of groups in vulnerable situations; on the contrary, other such groups could include minorities, those in extreme poverty and displaced persons. However, these groups have been the subject of the most detailed attention from the sources reviewed. CEDAW report, sect. III.A.1. CEDAW report, sect. III.A.2 and III.B. 19