Modern International Legal Discourse Regarding the Use of Lead

Abstract

The problems of environmental protection are still one of the most pressing international legal issues. Among the causes of environmental pollution, and hence the violation of human rights and harm to public health, is the use of lead. The presence of lead in the human body increases the risk of cognitive decline, disruption of the endocrine and reproductive systems, etc. However, young children are most at risk of lead poisoning. Issues of regulating the handling of lead (individually or as part of a group of heavy metals) are the subject of special attention in international law. One of the burning issues is the limitation of the use of lead in paints, implemented through a global partnership of governmental, non-governmental and private organizations and actors. According to the author, this way of solving environmental problems involves the development of a «multi-level» international legal management in the field of handling chemicals. The paper emphasizes the need to take coordinated measures to limit the use and eliminate lead-containing paints, which implies the abandonment of voluntaristic approaches by states to the establishment of regulatory limits for the content of lead in paints. Two ways of resolving the problem are proposed: the creation of an international agreement of a binding nature (following the example of the UN Convention on Mercury), and the prolongation of the practice of global partnership. The main measure of the effectiveness of such a method should be recognized as a sufficient degree of protection of human rights and, in a broader sense, compliance with the principles of international law as a whole.