Press Release

Ghana: UN expert on toxics and human rights to conduct fact-finding visit

29 November 2022

The UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, will visit Ghana from 30 November to 13 December 2022 to assess the country’s human rights situation in relation to toxics and hazardous substances. The Special Rapporteur will visit at the invitation of the Government.

“I am particularly interested in identifying good practices and examining the use and management of chemicals and hazardous waste,” he 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 will visit sites affected by toxic substances and hold meetings with government authorities, civil society and other stakeholders.

The UN expert will hold a news conference on 13 December 2022 at 15:00 in Ghana Journalists Association premises (Ghana International Press Centre, Ringway, Accra, Ghana) to share his preliminary findings and recommendations. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur will present a comprehensive report with his findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

ENDS

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 what are known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, 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; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page - Ghana

For additional information and media requests, please contact during the mission: Frédérique Bourque, Human Rights Officer at OHCHR (+41-79-4444-552/frederique.bourque@un.org) or Cynthia Prah, Public Information Officer (prah@un.org) United Nations Information Centre Ghana +233 (0) 55 678 3033.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Renato Rosario De Souza (renato.rosariodesouza@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.