B. States have obligations under international human rights law to address threats to the right to life215 States have an affirmative duty to protect the right to life and the environmental conditions upon which life depends. The Human Rights Committee is drafting a new General Comment that states that the right to life requires positive measures “to protect life from all possible threats, including from threats emanating from private persons and entities.” 216 The draft mentions the duty of States to take affirmative action: The duty to take positive measures to protect the right to life derives from the general duty to ensure the rights recognized in the Covenant . . . as well as from the specific duty to protect the right to life by law . . . . State parties are thus required to undertake positive measures in response to foreseeable threats to life originating from private persons and entities, which do not impose on them unreasonable or disproportionate burdens . . . 217 The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently issued a General Comment echoing a broad interpretation of the right to life under the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights. General Comment No. 3 states in part: “The State has a positive duty to protect individuals and groups from real and immediate risks to their lives caused either by actions or inactions of third parties. . . . Such actions include, inter alia, preventive steps to preserve and protect the natural environment and humanitarian responses to natural disasters, famines, outbreaks of infectious diseases, or other emergencies.” 218 Similarly, the IACtHR has asserted that the right to life “includes not only the right of every human being not to be arbitrarily deprived of his life, but also the right that conditions that impede or obstruct access to a decent existence should not be generated.” 219 The IACtHR explained: 215 This sub-section is a summary of the ELAW brief and has additional input from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). 216 United Nations Human Rights Committee, Draft General Comment No. 36 on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life (2017), http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CCPR/Pages/GC36-Article6Righttolife.aspx (available in “outcome” section). 217 Id. at ¶ 28 (internal citations omitted). The document further states: “The duty to protect life also imposes on States parties a due diligence obligation to take long-term measures to address the general conditions in society that may eventually give rise to direct threats to life. . . . States parties should also take adequate measures to protect the environment against life-threatening pollution, and work to mitigate other risks associated with natural catastrophes, such as droughts. When adopting long-term measures designed to ensure the enjoyment of the right to life, States parties should aim to facilitate and promote adequate conditions for a dignified existence for all individuals. Longterm measures required for ensuring the right to life may include facilitating access by individuals to basic goods and services such as food, health-care, electricity, water sanitation, and [others]. Furthermore, States parties should adopt action plans for attaining long-term goals designed to realize more fully the right to life of all individuals . . . . States parties should also develop contingency plans designed to increase preparedness for natural and man-made disasters, which may adversely affect enjoyment of the right to life, such as hurricanes, tsunamis, industrial pollution, radio-active accidents and cyber-attacks.” 218 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, General Comment No. 3 on the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, ¶¶ 41-43 (2015). 219 Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, Judgment (Merits, Reparations, and Costs), Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. ¶ 161 (June 17, 2005), http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_125_ing.pdf. 46