A comprehensive report from the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics showcases plastics’ harms to human rights and why global responses must be rights-based.
October 20, 2021
New York, NY — Following the release of the Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Professor Marcos A. Orellana’s report, “The stages of the plastics cycle and their impacts on human rights” at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Jane Patton, Plastics & Petrochemicals Campaign Manager at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) released the following statement:
“Every day headlines show the myriad ways that plastics pose an urgent threat to climate, health, the environment, and biodiversity at every stage of its life cycle. Increasingly, analyses show that the entire plastic cycle has profound impacts on the enjoyment of human rights. Taken together, there is overwhelming evidence that solutions to the plastics crisis must go beyond solutions that are limited to waste. The best way forward is a comprehensive, binding, global plastics treaty regulating every stage, from oil and gas extraction to production, transportation, waste management, and disposal.
In addition, Andrés Del Castillo, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) commented on the presentation of the report:
“The stages of the plastics cycle and their impacts on human rights” only adds to the call. From incorporating the precautionary principle to providing mechanisms for remedy to guaranteeing stakeholder participation, human rights must be at the center of any international framework to the plastics crisis. We urge States to incorporate a rights-based approach in quickly-moving global plastics treaty negotiations.”
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Media contact:
Cate Bonacini, Center for International Environmental Law, press@ciel.org, +1-202-742-5847