HRC42 - Iceland statement - Special rapporteur on water and sanitation and special rapporteur on hazardous wastes

Clustered interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on water and sanitation and special rapporteur on hazardous wastes

9 September 2019

Statement by Iceland

Thank you Mr. President,

Iceland thanks both Special Rapporteurs for their comprehensive report.

We also want to welcome their additional efforts by submitting a summary of their reports as it will hopefully contribute to focus our discussion.

Allow us to particularly highlight the summary produced by the SR on water and sanitation as not only is a summary like this helpful for this dialogue but brings forward the issue and recommendations forward in a way that should be accessible to all stakeholders. It will make the work of the Council more applicable in the form of easily accessible conclusions and recommendations.

Iceland is of the firm belief that having access to safe drinking water and sanitation is central to living a life in dignity and the report highlights an often-forgotten aspect of that right, making this summary even more pertinent.

Mr. President,

Turning to the report on hazardous waste we welcome the outlining of the 15 principles to help States, businesses and other key actors to protect workers from toxic occupational exposures and to provide remedies for violations of their rights. We look forward to examining them in further detail.

We particularly welcome the consultations undertaken by the rapporteur and efforts to align these principles with ILO standards to ensure coherence and effectiveness in our work to address the impact of toxic waste. 

We would like to ask the special rapporteur, how does he plan to continue to engage with ILO and other agencies to further the recognition of these principles?

Thank you.