Mr Marcos A. Orellana, the UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, will visit Ghana from November 30 to December 13, 2022, to assess the country’s human rights situation in relation to toxins and hazardous substances.
A statement issued by the UN Ghana Public Information Centre in Accra on Tuesday said the visit of the Special Rapporteur was at the invitation of the Government.
It quotes Mr Orellana as saying, “I am particularly interested in identifying good practices and examining the use and management of chemicals and hazardous waste.”
He also said, “the prevention from toxic exposure through the sound management of hazardous substances has direct consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, impacting people’s life, health and livelihood.”
In Ghana, the Special Rapporteur would visit sites affected by toxic substances and hold meetings with government authorities, civil society and other stakeholders, it said.
He will hold a news conference strictly with journalists, at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra, on 13 December 2022, to share his preliminary findings and recommendations.
The Special Rapporteur will present a comprehensive report with his findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.
Marcos A. Orellana is the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, which constitutes the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system.
Thus, the Special Procedures is the general name for the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that deal with specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.
Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis because they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are also independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacities.
