AYSDN Participates in Youth Consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights
The Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network (AYSDN) participated in a youth consultation held with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Dr. Bethanie Carney Almroth, on 7 September 2026, held online.
The consultation provided a platform for direct dialogue between young people, youth organizations, and the Special Rapporteur to discuss their experiences, priorities, and recommendations concerning pollution, chemicals, and waste, and their impacts on the environment, health, and human rights.
AYSDN was represented during the session by Maram Sadiq, who highlighted the long-term impacts of pollution in conflict-affected areas. Her intervention drew attention to damaged infrastructure, contaminated debris, and toxic waste resulting from armed conflicts, emphasizing the importance of identifying pollution hotspots, monitoring them, and taking action to address their impacts.
The Network also called for stronger protection of communities living in conflict and humanitarian contexts, where environmental monitoring and regulatory capacities are often limited. The intervention further emphasized the need to invest in national and regional scientific capacities and environmental data, while ensuring the meaningful participation of young people and affected communities in accountability and remediation efforts.
The consultation brought together young people from diverse regions and backgrounds. A total of 362 participants registered for the consultation, with 208 attending the online session. Participants shared experiences and recommendations addressing pollution, environmental health, human rights, environmental justice, and conflict-related pollution.
The Special Rapporteur emphasized the importance of preventing pollution before harm occurs and adopting a life-cycle approach to materials and chemicals, covering all stages from extraction and production to use, transportation, waste, and remediation. She also highlighted the importance of transparency, access to information, accountability, and justice for affected communities.
AYSDN’s participation in the consultation forms part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen Arab youth engagement in international discussions on the environment and sustainable development, and to amplify the voices and experiences of Arab communities—particularly those affected by conflict and pollution—in international decision-making spaces.