GENEVA — The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has announced that UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, is soliciting global input on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” to prepare a thematic report for the UN Human Rights Council in 2026.
Call for Submissions
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 54/10, the Special Rapporteur will focus on the human rights implications of PFAS. The deadline for submissions is January 9, 2026, at 18:00 Geneva time.
PFAS are a class of human-made chemicals notorious for their extreme persistence and bioaccumulation properties. These substances can remain in the environment for decades or even millennia, causing widespread contamination of drinking water supplies, food chains, and ecosystems worldwide.
Health and Human Rights Impacts
Scientific studies have linked exposure to certain PFAS with numerous adverse health outcomes, including:
- Increased risks of various cancers
- Immune system suppression
- Thyroid and metabolic disorders
- Reproductive and developmental harm
- Altered hormone regulation
- Reduced vaccine effectiveness
Alarmingly, PFAS have been detected in human blood across all populations, including pregnant women and children. These chemicals can cross the placenta and accumulate in breast milk, posing particular risks to vulnerable groups and creating potential intergenerational impacts.
The Special Rapporteur notes that PFAS contamination can compromise fundamental human rights, including the rights to physical integrity, the highest attainable standard of health, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, and a healthy environment, including a safe and healthy working environment.
Environmental Justice Concerns
PFAS pollution raises significant environmental justice issues. While high-income countries have historically produced and used the largest volumes of PFAS, the downstream consequences adversely affect developing countries as well. Low-income communities, developing nations, Indigenous Peoples, and workers in certain industries bear disproportionate exposure risks and remediation burdens.
Due to PFAS’s virtual indestructibility, environmental burdens continue to accumulate even after production and use cease, leading to proliferation of contaminated sites and “sacrifice zones” globally. This persistence undermines the integrity of natural systems that support human life and well-being, signaling a deepening planetary toxic crisis.
International Progress
Recent years have seen notable multilateral and national progress in addressing PFAS:
- The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants has listed certain PFAS substances for global restriction (PFOS) and global elimination (PFOA, PFHxS, long-chain PFCAs)
- UNEP, the OECD, and other international entities have intensified work on PFAS risk management and monitoring
- Several U.S. states and the European Union have adopted measures to restrict certain PFAS uses
- The EU is working toward banning the manufacturing, import, and use of all PFAS, except for certain “essential uses”
- In 2021 and 2022, the Human Rights Council and General Assembly respectively recognized the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment
Report Objectives
The thematic report aims to:
- Document adverse impacts from forever chemical exposures and identify prevention policies and measures
- Outline how PFAS exposure may violate human rights
- Clarify ethical and legal responsibilities of PFAS producers and the present generation
- Support States in implementing good practices to prevent adverse toxic impacts from PFAS
- Explore existing domestic, regional, and multilateral response measures
Topics for Input
The Special Rapporteur welcomes contributions from all stakeholders on the following topics:
- PFAS exposure pathways and adverse impacts on human rights
- Environmental justice impacts on vulnerable communities and developing countries
- Ethical responsibilities involved in PFAS production and release
- Best available scientific evidence regarding PFAS risks and impacts
- Transboundary movements of PFAS, products containing PFAS, and PFAS-laden waste
- Response measures by governments and multilateral institutions
- Efforts to secure accountability for entities responsible for causing toxic harm from PFAS exposure
Submission Details
Deadline: January 9, 2026, 18:00 Geneva time
Email: [email protected]
Subject Line: Forever chemicals and human rights report (submission)
Word/Page Limit: 2,500 words / 5 pages
Format: Word documents
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Unless otherwise specified, submissions will be published on the Special Rapporteur’s website. Contributors who do not wish their input to be published should explicitly state this in their email.
Source: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Related Information: UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures – Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights
Official Website: www.ohchr.org
Contact: [email protected]
Social Media: X (Twitter) @SRtoxics | Bluesky @srtoxics.bsky.social
