On September 23, experts from our Association Borys Babin and Anna Prykhodko (online) took an active part in the meeting of the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Professor Marcos Orellana, organized by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine as part of the work of the Office’s International Advisory Board.
The UN Special Rapporteur told the staff of the Office and members of the Board about his mandate, emphasizing its relevance in the context of the ongoing interstate conflict in Ukraine, and announced his new report to the UN General Assembly for 2025, dedicated to the impact of toxic substances on human rights in a situation of armed conflict.
Professor Babin in his speech recalled that since 2020 our Association has sent the Special Rapporteur several submissions, published by the UN, in which Professor Orellana was repeatedly invited to Ukraine and the topic of the consequences of toxic pollution in the context of armed conflict was consistently proposed for his subsequent research, thanking the Special Rapporteur for the visit and for the decision taken on the new research topic.
The ARC expert also recalled the challenges that the Special Rapporteur can study within the framework of his mandate, including pollution from the occupiers-controlled chemical industry of Northern Crimea, the consequences of the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station by Russian troops and the discharge of especially toxic substances into the waters of the Azov and Black Seas by the aggressor’s Black Sea fleet.
Among other important aspects of the discussion, the participants of the Advisory Board raised the issue of the status of victims of toxic pollution, correlated with criminal proceedings, with compensation mechanisms and with international human rights protection.
