15 August 2018: UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights welcomed the ruling of a US court, which awarded US$289 million in compensation and punitive damages to cancer patient Dewayne Johnson on 10 August 2018. The Superior Court of California in San Francisco ordered the payment on the basis that the company Monsanto had failed to warn users of the possible ill effects of using its weedkiller product.

In making its ruling, the court referred to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2015 assessment of glyphosate, an ingredient in the product, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and Dainius Pūras, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, issued a joint statement saying that the decision is a significant recognition of the human rights of victims, and the responsibilities of chemical companies. They note that the court decision is not final, but nevertheless is “a substantial warning” to companies to put human health and rights before profit.

Elver submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council in 2017 about the impacts of exposure to pesticides on human health and ecosystems, and will present another to the UN General Assembly in 2018 about the rights of agricultural workers. She has highlighted the dangers of pesticides for child workers in particular, and the lack of provision in international agreements for regulating pesticide use.

SDG target 3.9 commits to substantially reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. [UN Press Release] [UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) Press Release]