Role of Science in Addressing Hazardous Substances and Human Rights | HRC63 Side Event

This side event to the 63rd session session of the Human Rights Council (HRC63) will how the right to science relates to the struggle for the rights of victims of PFAS contamination, to the experience of local communities and to the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The side event is organized within the framework of the Geneva Toxic Free Talks, and is organized by Earthjustice, with the support of the Geneva Environment Network.

About this Event

Today, chemicals are everywhere: in our buildings, in our clothes, in our cars and even in our medicines and food. This is a striking result of industrial progress. The problem that comes with it is that, because of the ubiquity of chemical pollutants in so many aspects of daily life, we have reached thresholds threatening health and dangerously disrupting the Earth systems, leading UNEP to describe it as the Triple Planetary Crisis (UNEP & ISC, 2024) interconnecting pollution with the two other major threats, biodiversity loss and climate change.

The human rights impacts of chemical pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change remind us that development at the expense of the environment leads to a dangerous road: growing first and cleaning up later cannot be an option.

But as human beings we cannot detect the exact chemical composition of the air we breath or the water we drink. Scientific instruments are needed to accurately measure pollution.

This was what motivated the former UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, in 2021, to dedicate a report to the human right to science (A/HRC/48/61), examining the dynamics and interconnections between scientific progress, the flow of scientific information and the science-policy interface with the life cycle of hazardous substances and wastes.

The right to science is the right of all people to benefit from scientific progress and its applications, as recognized in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in Article 15 (1) (b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, highlighting the need of evidence-informed decision-making process. Upholding this right requires adequate and sufficient public funding for science and education, guarantees for academic freedom, data transparency, meaningful participation of diverse knowledge holders and mechanisms to address conflicts of interest.

The report presented at this 63rd session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/63/27), which examines how the PFAS class of chemicals impairs the effective enjoyment of human rights, illustrates how crucial is the right to science when facing such profound threats to human rights and the environment.

In this side event, the UN Special Rapporteur, Bethanie Carney-Almroth, with her career in ecotoxicology, will introduce the issue and discuss with the panellists how the right to science relates to the struggle for the rights of victims of PFAS contamination, to the experience of local communities and to the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Environment @ HRC63

The 63rd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC63) will take place in Geneva from 7 September to 7 October 2026. Consult this regularly-updated page that highlighted the environmental-related activities of this session.

Geneva Toxic Free Talks

Though integral to almost all sectors of society, the lack of environmentally sound management of chemicals and waste can have long-lasting negative impacts on human health, society and the environment.

The UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights reports every autumn to the Council and to the UN General Assembly on issues related to her mandate. The Geneva Toxic Free Talks aim to harness the opportunity of this moment of the year to reflect on the challenges posed by the production, use and dissemination of toxics and on how Geneva contributes to bringing together the actors working to reverse the toxic tide.

On the margins of HRC63, the 2026 edition of the Geneva Toxic Free Talks is taking place, with conferences and discussions, highlighting the work of the Special Rapporteur and of organizations in the struggle for the right to live in a toxic-free environment.

Speakers

Bethanie CARNEY ALMROTH

UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights

Emily DONOVAN

Co-Founder, Clean Cape Fear

Mickaël REPELLIN

Co-founder and Executive Director, Interdisciplinary Institute for Environmental Health Research and Information (IEHRI-PIRSE) and University of Lausanne

Jean WILLEMIN

Senior Water-Peace Programme Manager, Geneva Water Hub

Rochelle DIVER

UN Environmental Treaties Coordinator, International Indian Treaty Council

Yves LADOR

Representative of Earthjustice to UN Geneva | Moderator

Participation

This event is open to participants accredited to the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council.

Video

Live from Palais des Nations.