Failure to Ban Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) Violates Human Rights

In Satkhira’sKolaroaupazila, beekeepers in Sonabaria village lost 180 boxes of bees due to toxic pesticide spraying. Similarly, in litchi orchards of Bijora, Chokmara, and Madhobbati villages in Dinajpur’sBiralupazila, millions of bees were killed. This is not simply a loss of pollinators; it threatens livelihoods, food security, health, biodiversity, and cultural rights. When bees are poisoned, our human rights especially the right to life, health, and a safe environment are directly violated.

 

For decades, Bangladesh has used pesticides internationally classified as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). According to the WHO, FAO, and Pesticide Action Network (PAN International)  guidelines, these chemicals pose severe risks to human health, soil, water, rivers, pollinators, and food safety. Continued use of HHPs is therefore both an environmental and human rights concern.

 

The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees citizens’ rights to life, health, safe food, and public health (Articles 32, 15(a), and 18(1)). Yet, farmers handling HHPs suffer poisoning, hospitalizations, and even deaths. Toxic residues in crops increase risks for children, women, and consumers, while soil, rivers, and air remain polluted. By allowing HHPs in agriculture, the state fails in its constitutional duty to protect citizens.

 

Under the Environment Conservation Act 1995, Labor Act 2006, and Pesticide Management Act 2018, the government is legally obliged to control harmful substances. International obligations, including the Stockholm Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and FAO-WHO codes, further compel Bangladesh to phase out pesticides that harm human health and the environment.

 

Research by Bangladesh Agricultural University identifies over 25 HHPs registered in Bangladesh. Investigations by BARCIK show that banned chemicals such as Carbofuran are still available in markets. Other commonly used HHPs include Paraquat, Glyphosate, Chlorpyrifos, Abamectin, Glufosinate Ammonium, Carbendazim, Propiconazole, Zinc Phosphide, and Bromadiolone. Many of these appear under multiple trade names, misleading farmers into continued use of toxic substances.

 

While many countries have phased out HHPs, Bangladesh lags behind. Each year, countless farmers are poisoned, pollinators die, fish populations decline, ecosystems degrade, and toxic residues contaminate food quietly eroding biodiversity and violating human rights. Proven alternatives, such as organic farming, biopesticides, Indigenous farming technic and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), exist, making continued HHPs use unjustifiable.

 

The failure to ban HHPs is not only an environmental lapse but a direct assault on human life, health, and the right to a safe environment. It represents a violation of Bangladesh’s constitutional and international obligations. Immediate prohibition of all Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) is now an urgent national imperative.

 

 

Author:
Md Shahidul Islam

Anthropologist & Environmental Law Researcher

rshahid_546@yahoo.com

01716497227