WUNRN
GOOD PRACTICES - WOMEN & WATER
& SANITATION - UN QUESTIONNAIRE
Website Gives Link to Questionnaire
in French, Spanish, & English.
Send Completed Questionnaires to: UN
Independent Expert on Water & Sanitation: iewater@ohchr.org
Deadline for Questionnaire
Submissions: 30 June 2010.
Independent
Expert on the Issue of Human Rights Obligations
Related to
Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
‘Good
Practices’ related to Access to
Questionnaire
February, 2010
Introduction
The Independent Expert on the issue of human
rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, Ms.
Catarina de Albuquerque, has been mandated by the Human Rights Council in 2008
to:
- Further clarify the content of human rights
obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation;
- Make recommendations that could help the realization
of the Millennium Development Goals (
- Prepare a compendium of good practices related to
access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
While the work of human rights bodies has often
focused on the violations of human rights, the Independent Expert welcomes the
opportunity to identify good practices that address the question of how human
rights obligations related to sanitation and water can be implemented.
Methodology of the Good Practices consultation
process
In a first step, the Independent Expert
undertook to determine criteria for identifying ‘good practices’. As ‘good’ is
a subjective notion, it seemed critical to first elaborate criteria against
which to judge a practice from a human rights perspective, and then apply the
same criteria to all practices under consideration. Such criteria for the
identification of good practices were discussed with various stakeholders at a
workshop convened by the Independent Expert in
After this consultation and the consolidation
of the criteria, the Independent Expert wants to use these to identify good
practices across all levels and sectors of society. To that end, she will
organize stakeholder consultations with governments, civil society organisations,
national human rights institutions, development cooperation agencies, the
private sector, UN agencies, and perhaps others. By bringing people from the
same sector together to talk about good practices related to human rights,
water and sanitation, she hopes to facilitate exchange of these good practices.
In order to prepare the consultations through the identification of potential
good practices, the present questionnaire has been elaborated. The
consultations will be held in 2010 and 2011. Based on the answers to this
questionnaire, and the stakeholder consultations, the Independent Expert will
prepare a report on good practices, to be presented to the Human Rights Council
in 2011.
The
Good Practices Questionnaire
The questionnaire is structured
following the normative and cross-cutting criteria, mentioned above; hence the
Independent Expert is looking for good practices in the fields of sanitation
and water from a human rights perspective. Therefore, the proposed practices do not only have to be
judged ‘good’ in light of at least one normative criterion depending on their
relevance to the practice in question (availability, accessibility,
quality/safety, affordability, acceptability), but also in view of all the
cross-cutting criteria (non-discrimination, participation, accountability,
impact, sustainability). At a minimum, the practice should not undermine or
contradict any of the criteria.
Explanatory note: Criteria
Criteria 1-5: Normative
criteria (availability, accessibility, quality/safety, affordability,
acceptability). All these criteria have to be met for the full realization of
the human rights to sanitation and water, but a good practice can be a specific
measure focussing on one of the normative criterion, and not necessarily a
comprehensive approach aiming at the full realization of the human rights.
Hence, not all the criteria are always important for a given practice. E.g., a
pro-poor tariff structure can be judged very good in terms of the affordability
criterion, whilst the quality-criterion would be less relevant in the context
of determining whether that measure should be considered a good practice.
Criteria 6-10:
Cross-cutting criteria (non-discrimination, participation, accountability,
impact, sustainability). In order to be a good practice from a human rights
perspective, all of these five criteria have to be met to some degree, and at
the very least, the practice must not undermine or contradict these criteria.
E.g., a substantial effort to extend access to water to an entire population,
but which perpetuates prohibited forms of discrimination by providing separate
taps for the majority population and for a marginalized or excluded group,
could not be considered a good practice from a human rights perspective.
Actors
In order to compile the most critical and
interesting examples of good practices in the field of sanitation and water
from a human rights perspective, the Independent Expert would like to take into
consideration practices carried out by
a wide field of actors, such as States, regional and municipal
authorities, public and private providers, regulators, civil society
organisations, the private sector, national human rights institutions,
bilateral development agencies, and international organisations.
Practices
The Independent Expert has a broad
understanding of the term “practice”, encompassing both policy and
implementation: Good practice can thus cover diverse
practices as, e.g., legislation (
international, regional, national and sub-national ), policies, objectives,
strategies, institutional frameworks, projects, programmes, campaigns, planning
and coordination procedures, forms of cooperation, subsidies, financing
mechanisms, tariff structures, regulation, operators’ contracts, etc. Any activity that enhances people’s
enjoyment of human rights in the fields of sanitation and water or
understanding of the rights and obligations (without compromising the basic
human rights principles) can be considered a good practice.
The Independent
Expert is interested to learn about practices which advance the realization of
human rights as they relate to safe drinking water and sanitation. She has
explicitly decided to focus on “good” practices rather than “best” practices,
in order to appreciate the fact that ensuring full enjoyment of human rights
can be a process of taking steps, always in a positive direction. The practices
submitted in response to this questionnaire may not yet have reached their
ideal goal of universal access to safe, affordable and acceptable sanitation
and drinking water, but sharing the steps in the process towards various
aspects of that goal is an important contribution to the Independent Expert’s
work.
|
Please describe a good practice from a human rights perspective
that you know well in the field of
Please relate the described practice to the ten defined criteria. An explanatory note is provided for each of the criteria. |
Description of the practice:
Name of the practice:
Aim of the practice:
Target group(s):
Partners involved:
Duration of practice:
Financing (short/medium/long term):
Brief outline of the practice:
|
1. How does the practice meet the criterion
of availability? Explanatory note: Availability Availability
refers to sufficient quantities, reliability and the continuity of supply. Water must be continuously available in a sufficient quantity for
meeting personal and domestic requirements of drinking and personal hygiene
as well as further personal and domestic uses such as cooking and food
preparation, dish and laundry washing and cleaning. Individual requirements
for water consumption vary, for instance due to level of activity, personal
and health conditions or climatic and geographic conditions. There must also
exist sufficient number of sanitation facilities (with
associated services) within, or in the immediate vicinity, of each household,
health or educational institution, public institution and place, and the
workplace. There must be a sufficient number of sanitation facilities to
ensure that waiting times are not unreasonably long. |
Answer:
|
2. How does the practice meet the
criterion of accessibility? Explanatory
note: Accessibility Sanitation and water facilities must be physically
accessible for everyone within, or in the immediate vicinity, of each
household, health or educational institution, public institution and the
workplace. The distance to the water source has been found to have a strong
impact on the quantity of water collected. The amount of water collected will vary depending on the terrain, the
capacity of the person collecting the water (children, older people, and
persons with disabilities may take longer), and other factors.There
must be a sufficient number of sanitation and water facilities with
associated services to ensure that collection and waiting times are not
unreasonably long. Physical accessibility to sanitation facilities must be
reliable at day and night, ideally within the home, including for people with
special needs. The location of public sanitation and water facilities must
ensure minimal risks to the physical security of users. |
Answer:
|
3. How does the practice meet the
criterion of affordability? Explanatory note: Affordability Access to
sanitation and water facilities and services must be accessible at a price
that is affordable for all people. Paying for services, including
construction, cleaning, emptying and maintenance of facilities, as well as
treatment and disposal of faecal matter, must not limit people’s capacity to
acquire other basic goods and services, including food, housing, health and
education guaranteed by other human rights. Accordingly, affordability can be
estimated by considering the
financial means that have to be reserved for the fulfilment of other basic
needs and purposes and the means that are available to pay for water and
sanitation services. Charges
for services can vary according to type of connection and household income as
long as they are affordable. Only for those who are genuinely unable to pay for sanitation and water through
their own means, the State is obliged to ensure the provision of services
free of charge (e.g. through social tariffs or cross-subsidies). When
water disconnections due to inability to pay are carried out, it must be
ensured that individuals still have at least access to minimum essential
levels of water. Likewise, when water-borne sanitation is used, water
disconnections must not result in denying access to sanitation. |
Answer:
|
4. How does the practice meet the criterion
of quality/safety? Explanatory note: Quality/Safety Sanitation
facilities must be hygienically safe to use, which means that they must
effectively prevent human, animal and insect contact with human excreta. They
must also be technically safe and take into account the safety needs of
peoples with disabilities, as well as of children. Sanitation facilities must
further ensure access to safe water and soap for hand-washing. They must
allow for anal and genital cleansing as well as menstrual hygiene, and
provide mechanisms for the hygienic disposal of sanitary towels, tampons and
other menstrual products. Regular maintenance and cleaning (such as emptying
of pits or other places that collect human excreta) are essential for
ensuring the sustainability of sanitation facilities and continued access.
Manual emptying of pit latrines is considered to be unsafe and should be
avoided. Water
must be of such a quality that it does not pose a threat to human health.
Transmission of water-borne diseases via contaminated water must be avoided. |
Answer:
|
5. How does the practice meet the
criterion of acceptability? Explanatory note: Acceptability Water and
sanitation facilities and services must be culturally and socially
acceptable. Depending on the culture,
acceptability can often require privacy, as well as separate
facilities for women and men in public places, and for girls and boys in
schools. Facilities will need to accommodate common
hygiene practices in specific cultures, such as for anal and genital
cleansing. And women’s toilets need to accommodate menstruation needs. In
regard to water, apart from safety, water should also be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste. These
features indirectly link to water safety as they encourage the consumption
from safe sources instead of sources that might provide water that is of a
more acceptable taste or colour, but of unsafe quality. |
Answer:
|
6. How does the practice ensure non-discrimination? Explanatory note: Non-discrimination Non-discrimination is central to human rights. Discrimination on
prohibited grounds including race, colour, sex, age, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth,
physical or mental disability, health status or any other civil, political,
social or other status must be avoided, both in law and in practice. In order
to addresss existing discrimination, positive targeted measures may have to
be adopted. In this regard, human rights require a
focus on the most marginalized and vulnerable to exclusion and
discrimination. Individuals and groups that have been identified as
potentially vulnerable or marginalized include: women, children, inhabitants
of (remote) rural and deprived urban areas as well as other people living in
poverty, refugees and IDPs, minority groups, indigenous groups, nomadic and
traveller communities, elderly people, persons living with disabilities,
persons living with HIV/AIDS or affected by other health conditions, people
living in water scarce-regions and sanitation workers amongst others. |
Answer:
|
7. How does the practice ensure active,
free and meaningful participation? Explanatory note: Participation Processes related to planning, design,
construction, maintenance and monitoring of sanitation and water services
should be participatory. This requires a genuine opportunity to freely
express demands and concerns and influence decisions. Also, it is crucial to
include representatives of all concerned
individuals, groups and communities in participatory processes. To allow for participation in that sense,
transparency and access to information is essential. To reach people and
actually provide accessible information, multiple channels of information
have to be used. Moreover, capacity development and training may be required
– because only when existing legislation and policies are understood, can
they be utilised, challenged or transformed. |
Answer:
8. How does the practice ensure accountability? Explanatory note: Accountability The realization of human rights requires
responsive and accountable institutions, a clear designation of
responsibilities and coordination between different entities involved. As for
the participation of rights-holders, capacity development and training is
essential for institutions. Furthermore, while the State has the primary
obligation to guarantee human rights, the numerous other actors in the water
and sanitation sector also should have accountability mechanisms. In addition
to participation and access to information mentioned above, communities
should be able to participate in monitoring and evaluation as part of
ensuring accountability. In cases of violations – be it by States or non-State actors –, States
have to provide accessible and effective judicial or other appropriate
remedies at both national and international levels. Victims of violations
should be entitled to adequate reparation, including restitution, compensation,
satisfaction and/or guarantees of non-repetition. Human rights also serve as a valuable
advocacy tool in using more informal accountability mechanisms, be it
lobbying, advocacy, public campaigns and political mobilization, also by
using the press and other media. |
Answer:
|
9. What is the impact of the practice? Explanatory note: Impact Good practices – e.g. laws, policies,
programmes, campaigns and/or subsidies - should demonstrate a positive and
tangible impact. It is therefore relevant to examine the degree to which
practices result in better enjoyment of human rights, empowerment of
rights-holders and accountability of duty bearers. This criterion aims at
capturing the impact of practices and the progress achieved in the fulfilment
of human rights obligations related to sanitation and water. |
Answer:
|
10. Is the practice sustainable? Explanatory note: Sustainability The human rights obligations related to water and sanitation have to
be met in a sustainable manner. This means good practices have to be
economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. The achieved impact
must be continuous and long-lasting. For instance, accessibility has to be
ensured on a continuous basis by adequate maintenance of facilities.
Likewise, financing has to be sustainable. In particular, when third parties
such as NGOs or development agencies provide funding for initial investments,
ongoing financing needs for operation and maintenance have to met for
instance by communities or local governments. Furthermore, it is important to
take into account the impact of interventions on the enjoyment of other human
rights. Moreover, water quality and availability have to be ensured in a
sustainable manner by avoiding water contamination and over-abstraction of
water resources. Adaptability may be key to ensure that policies, legislation
and implementation withstand the impacts of climate change and changing water
availability. |
Answer:
Final remarks,
challenges, lessons learnt
Submissions
In order to enable the Independent Expert to consider submissions for discussion in the stakeholder consultations foreseen in 2010 and 2011, all stakeholders are encouraged to submit the answers to the questionnaire at their earliest convenience and no later than 30th of June 2010.
Questionnaires can be transmitted electronically to iewater@ohchr.org
(encouraged) or be addressed to
Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
ESCR Section
Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division
OHCHR
Palais des Nations
CH-1211
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06
Please
include in your submissions the name of the organization submitting the
practice, as well as contact details in case follow up information is sought.
Your contact details
Name:
Organisation:
Email:
Telephone:
Webpage:
The Independent Expert would like to thank you for
your efforts!
For more information on the
mandate of the Independent Expert, please visit
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/Iexpert/index.htm
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