A/HRC/RES/45/30 Reaffirming that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, that the best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his or her nurture and protection, and that families’ and caregivers’ capacities to provide the child with care and a safe environment should be promoted, including in the context of natural disasters, the adverse impacts of climate change or other forms of environmental harm, Recognizing the particular vulnerability of children, due to their unique metabolism, physiology and developmental needs, to the effects of environmental harm, especially to pollution of the air, soil and water, and exposure to hazardous substances and wastes, and that exposure to those effects can have a lifelong impact on children, as their health outcomes, well-being and development are compromised from early age, Deeply concerned that, each year, more than 1.7 million children under the age of 5 lose their lives as a result of avoidable exposure to the effects of environmental harm, while 12 million children in developing countries experience permanent brain damage due to lead poisoning and approximately 85 million children worldwide work in hazardous conditions and are regularly exposed to toxic substances, which cause brain damage and disease and an array of other forms of harm, some of which can result in irreversible and lifelong effects, such as impairment, Recognizing that environmental harm, including climate change, exacerbates environmental disasters, which can deprive affected persons of essential livelihoods and generate displacement and migration, including of unaccompanied children and young persons, Deeply concerned that the effects of environmental harm may undermine the full enjoyment of a vast range of the rights of the child, inter alia the right to life, the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, the right to education, the right of the child to be cared for by his or her parents, the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities, and the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development, Recognizing that close interlinkages exist between intersecting forms of discrimination and the inequalities faced by children and their level of exposure to the effects of environmental harm, and the unequal exposure to environmental health risks across countries and regions, with a higher burden in developing countries, Recognizing also that girls may be disproportionately affected by the effects of environmental harm, inter alia concerning the enjoyment of their rights to education and of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health, and stressing the importance of protecting them from violence, exploitation and harmful practices, including, inter alia, child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and of ensuring their full, equal and meaningful participation in decision-making affecting their lives, in accordance with the evolving capacities of the child, Recalling that discrimination against girls violates the principle of equality, and that all measures designed and implemented to prevent and address environmental harm should adhere to the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination, including by taking into account and addressing pre-existing gender inequalities, Recognizing that children with disabilities may be disproportionately affected by the effects of environmental harm and that specific measures may be required to ensure their protection and safety on an equal basis with others, while recognizing also the need to support the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities, and their representative organizations, in the development of and decision-making processes relating to such measures, Recalling that every child has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, which includes States taking measures to combat and prevent disease and its impact on health and to ensure access to health-care services, and inter 3