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Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- WHO, in its study on the legal status of traditional medicine, details the status of traditional medicine in 123 countries around the world, showing the diverse approaches taken by States with respect to the practice. In sub-Saharan Africa, some States recognize traditional medicine as part of the national health system while others are silent on the issue. There are also variations between States in the level of regulation of traditional medicine practitioners. Some countries have established registers of practitioners, or exercise control by issuing government licences at the central level; in others, local officials are able to authorize the practice of traditional medicine in their administrative and/or health subdivisions. In certain countries, unlicensed practising of traditional medicine is a punishable offence. In other countries, including those with records of attacks, there is no licensing or registration process for practitioners of traditional medicine.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Lack of harmonized standards also results in more toxic, and even banned, pesticides being used extensively in developing countries because they are cheaper alternatives. In many cases, highly hazardous pesticides that are not or no longer permitted for use in industrialized countries are exported to developing countries. Some pesticide companies fail to register or reregister products intended for export to developing countries, or increase exports of products that have been banned or restricted to use up existing stocks, fully aware that they would not be authorized for sale in the country where the company is based. To subject individuals of other nations to toxins known to cause major health damage or fatality is a clear human rights violation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- From the production of pesticides to their disposal, the impacts of pesticides go beyond their application to crops and exposure through food and water.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Unused pesticides may accumulate and deteriorate for a variety of reasons. For example, purchased or donated pesticides may be unsuitable to local conditions or quantities received may exceed demand. This can occur because of pressure from agrochemical industries and corruption, leading to more pesticides being procured than needed. Also, when pesticides are banned, managing existing stocks is a problem. According to FAO, “good practice requires regulatory authorities to allow a phase-out period when products are banned or restricted so that existing stocks can be used up before the restriction is fully applied”. This is, of course, a highly problematic suggestion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The oligopoly of the chemical industry has enormous power. Recent mergers have resulted in just three powerful corporations: Monsanto and Bayer, Dow and Dupont, and Syngenta and ChemChina. They control more than 65 per cent of global pesticide sales. Serious conflicts of interest issues arise, as they also control almost 61 per cent of commercial seed sales. The pesticide industry’s efforts to influence policymakers and regulators have obstructed reforms and paralysed global pesticide restrictions globally. When challenged, justifications for lobbying efforts include claims that companies comply with their own codes of conduct, or that they follow local laws.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Companies often contest scientific evidence of the hazards related to their products, with some even standing accused of deliberately manufacturing evidence to infuse scientific uncertainty and delay restrictions. There are also serious claims of scientists being “bought” to restate industry talking points. Other egregious practices include infiltrating federal regulatory agencies via the “revolving door”, with employees shifting between regulatory agencies and the pesticide industry. Pesticide manufacturers also cultivate strategic “public-private” partnerships that call into question their culpability or help bolster the companies’ credibility. Companies also consistently donate to educational institutions that conduct research on pesticides, and such institutions are becoming dependent on industry owing to shrinking public funding.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- In ecological farming, crops are protected from pest damage by enhancing biodiversity and encouraging the presence of natural enemies of pests. Examples include developing habitats around farms to support natural enemies and other beneficial wildlife or applying functional agrobiodiversity, using scientific strategies to increase natural enemy populations. Crop rotation and usage of cover crops also help protect the soil from various pathogens, suppress weeds and increase organic content, while more resistant crop varieties can help prevent plant disease.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Meanwhile, the activities of certain non-governmental organizations have made a significant impact on recent policies. Pesticide Action Network International, for example, has developed a list of highly hazardous pesticides based on its own definition, which has been useful in advocacy efforts. A recent civil society initiative, the International Monsanto Tribunal, held in The Hague in October 2016, dealt with human rights violations stemming from widely used hazardous pesticides. Eminent judges heard testimonies from victims and will deliver an opinion, following procedures similar to those at the International Court of Justice. While these efforts are helpful to publicize the problem and help to develop laws in the future, they cannot provide remedy to victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Measuring the success of agroecology in comparison with industrial agricultural systems requires further research. Studies using short time frames and focusing on individual crop yields underestimate the potential long-term productivity of agroecological systems. Comparative studies are increasingly showing that diversified systems are advantageous and even more profitable when looking at total outputs, rather than specific crop yields. Aiming to build balanced and sustainable agroecosystems, agroecology is more likely to produce constant yields in the longer term owing to their greater ability to withstand climate variations and naturally resist pests.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- While the present report has illustrated that there is no shortage of international and national legislation, as well as non-binding guidelines, such instruments are failing to protect humans and the environment from hazardous pesticides. These instruments suffer from implementation, enforcement and coverage gaps, and generally fail to effectively apply the precautionary principle or meaningfully alter many business practices. Existing instruments are particularly ineffective in addressing the cross-border nature of the global pesticide market, as proven by the widespread and often legally permitted practices of exporting banned highly hazardous pesticides to third countries. These gaps and inadequacies should be confronted on the basis of human rights mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 107r
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Eliminate pesticide subsidies and instead initiate pesticide taxes, import tariffs and pesticide-use fees.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 103
- Paragraph text
- Implementing the right to adequate food and health requires proactive measures to eliminate harmful pesticides. Corporations have the responsibility to ensure that the chemicals they produce and sell do not pose threats to these rights. There continues to be a general lack of awareness of the dangers posed by certain pesticides, a condition exacerbated by industry efforts to downplay the harm being done as well as complacent Governments that often make misleading assertions that existing legislation and regulatory frameworks provide sufficient protection.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The responsibility of corporations is specified in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In addition to setting out States’ existing obligations to protect against business-related human rights abuse and ensure access to remedy for victims, the Guiding Principles specify the independent responsibility of businesses to respect human rights, that is to avoid and address adverse human rights impacts linked to their operations. While businesses are not directly bound by international human rights treaties, the Guiding Principles provide a broadly agreed normative basis to assess corporate activity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has suggested that the obligation to fulfil incorporates both an obligation to facilitate and an obligation to provide. In the context of the critical relationship between housing and financial markets, the articulation of a State's fulfilment obligation to not only provide housing when needed but also to facilitate the implementation of the right to housing is helpful in capturing the wide range of States' obligations to ensure that financial markets and the actions of private investors work towards the realization of the right to adequate housing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The mere threat of those kinds of claims can have a directive effect on State housing policy. Investment treaty arbitration frequently involves millions of dollars in damages, and thus acts as a disincentive for States to enact and enforce any regulatory measures restricting the profitability of housing or real estate assets purchased by foreign investors. Those whose right to adequate housing may have been infringed by States' failures to regulate the activities and speculative profits of foreign investors, on the other hand, have few if any avenues of redress, and certainly no ability to seek damages in the amounts claimed by private investors. The imbalance in access to remedies creates an imbalance in State accountability and priorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Housing and urban real estate have become the commodity of choice for corporate finance, a "safety deposit box" for the wealthy, a repository of capital and excess liquidity from emerging markets and a convenient place for shell companies to stash their money with very little transparency. In addition, corporate tax havens that generate massive amounts of profit immune from taxation, estimated at 30 per cent of global gross domestic product, are particularly attracted to housing and real estate. In most countries, residential investment provides many tax advantages, so that the housing system itself provides a tax haven for the rich (see A/67/286, pp. 11-12).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In many developing and emerging economies, the World Bank and other international and regional financial institutions continue to actively promote the financialization of housing as the dominant strategy for addressing the critical need for housing, despite evidence that such strategies fail to provide housing options to the households that are most in need, and lead to greater socioeconomic inequality. World Bank development programmes concentrate on what they consider to be the building blocks of housing finance such as title registration, foreclosure procedures, lending regulations, long-term funding instruments, and improving the liquidity of mortgage assets in order to reduce the costs of credit-risk underwriting for investors. Those policies, combined in many cases with austerity measures that reduce social protection and housing programmes, have meant that development programmes frequently support the emergence of a financialized housing system that may be at odds with States' obligations to prioritize the needs of those in the most desperate circumstances.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The excessive financialization of housing is directly related to systemic patterns of inequality in investment treaties and in domestic law that fail to recognize the paramountcy of human rights over investor interests and deny access to justice for those whose right to housing is at stake. Ensuring meaningful accountability of financial institutions and private actors to the right to housing will require a significant transformation of current systems of law and accountability and new avenues of access to justice at the local, national and international levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Massive investment of capital into housing markets and rising prices should not be confused with the production of housing and the benefits that accrue from it. The bulk of real estate transactions of that sort do not create needed housing or long-term secure employment. When rented homes or mortgages are owned by remote investors, money mostly flows out of communities and simply creates greater global concentration of wealth. The new corporate interest in developing rental properties from homes sold in foreclosures has also raised concerns that there is a greater incentive to pursue foreclosures rather than modify a loan agreement to avoid an unnecessary eviction. The proliferation of foreign and domestic investment in short-term rental properties, such as for Airbnb, in countries like Portugal, has contributed to escalating prices of housing and changes to the make-up of neighbourhoods, without creating affordable housing or other benefits for the local population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 77d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur suggests that the way forward requires a shift to take hold so that States ensure that all investment in housing recognizes its social function and States' human rights obligations in that regard. That requires a transformation of the relationship between the State and the financial sector, whereby human rights implementation becomes the overriding goal, not a subsidiary or neglected obligation. The Special Rapporteur believes that can be achieved with more constructive engagement and dialogue between States, human rights actors, international and domestic financial regulatory bodies, private equity firms and major investors. In order to create those new conversations and achieve that shift, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Business and human rights guidelines should, on a priority basis, be developed specifically for financial actors operating in the housing system;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Increased prices of housing and real estate assets have become key drivers in the creation of greater wealth inequality. Those who own property in prime urban locations have become richer, while lower-income households confronting the escalating costs of housing become poorer. Surveys of ultra-high-net-worth individuals show that more than half have increased the proportion of their investments allocated to residential properties, with the most common reasons being in order to sell at a later date and to provide a safe haven for wealth. The "economics of inequality", in fact, may be explained in large part by the inequalities of wealth generated by housing and real estate investments. Buying a home with a mortgage becomes a speculative investment depending on volatile financial markets, which may generate considerable wealth on leveraged equity or, alternatively, deprive households of a lifetime of savings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Despite the growing attention to the importance of business and human rights and despite the fact that housing represents the largest global business sector, very little attention has been paid to the obligations of business enterprises and financial corporations operating in the real estate and housing sector with respect to the right to adequate housing. The "Practical guide to ESG integration for equity investing", for example, makes no reference to human rights in relation to investments in housing and other real estate. The International Organization of Securities Commissions, whose members regulate more than 95 per cent of the world's capital markets, has not addressed the central role that human rights in general and the right to housing in particular should play in the regulation of capital markets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Work in progress, challenges and the way forward 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur also believes that efforts and resources must be directed at ensuring that States respect the commitments that they have made. In recent decades, many standards of human rights protection have been adopted at the international level. The Special Rapporteur has observed that these standards, for the most part, are not implemented on the ground and that, when they are, they are too often applied haphazardly. In time, if these standards remain ineffective, we risk seeing entire populations lose hope and turn away from the struggle for human rights. As a matter of urgency, these standards must therefore become a reality on the ground.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Although certain multinational treaties and non-binding initiatives offer some limited protections, a comprehensive treaty that regulates highly hazardous pesticides does not exist, leaving a critical gap in the human rights protection framework.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 107m
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Impose penalties on companies that fabricate evidence and disseminate misinformation on the health and environmental risks of their products;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Study on illegal adoptions 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Private and independent adoptions are initiated and processed without the oversight of competent authorities, and therefore often involve illicit practices. They are incompatible with the 1993 Hague Convention. Many such adoptions, however, occur in countries of origin that are not parties to the Convention, where procedures and systems may fall below international standards. Some receiving States also permit private and independent adoptions when they are carried out from countries of origin that are not parties to the Convention. This may spur those determined to adopt at any cost to turn to non-States parties to the Convention.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Working methods, thematic priorities and vision for a meaningful anti-torture advocacy 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur welcomes the proposal put forward by his predecessor in his last report to the General Assembly (A/71/298) in which he advocated for the development of universal guidelines for investigative interviewing practices. These would be grounded in fundamental principles of international human rights law and would identify a set of standards for non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards that ought, as a matter of law and policy, to be applied at a minimum to all interviews by law enforcement officials, military and intelligence personnel and other bodies with investigative mandates.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The reflections that follow are an initial response regarding the key elements under the mandate.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Internet and telecommunications shutdowns involve measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online in violation of human rights law (see A/HRC/32/13, para. 10). Governments typically conduct or order shutdowns, often with the assistance of private actors that operate networks or facilitate network traffic. Large-scale attacks on network infrastructure committed by private parties, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, may also have shutdown effects. While shutdowns are frequently associated with total network outages, they may also arise when access to mobile communications, websites or social media and messaging applications is blocked, throttled or rendered “effectively unusable”. Shutdowns may affect towns or regions within a country, an entire country or even multiple countries and may last for periods ranging from hours to months.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Shutdowns ordered pursuant to vaguely formulated laws and regulations also fail to satisfy the legality requirement. In Tajikistan, the amended Law on the State of Emergency authorizes the Government to block mobile services and Internet access without a court order following the declaration of a state of emergency. The law fails to define when and for what purposes a state of emergency may be declared. Such ambiguity enables authorities’ unfettered discretion to implement shutdowns. In some countries, authorities rely on antiquated laws to justify shutdowns. Laws and regulations adopted and implemented in secret also violate the legality requirement. In the United States of America, the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications has largely redacted public release of standard operating procedure 303, an executive regulation that establishes “detailed procedures” on the “disruption of cellular service.” While these procedures have not been publicly invoked, the potential for authorities to evade legal scrutiny and public accountability runs contrary to article 19 of the Covenant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph