WUNRN
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RIGHT TO
SAFE DRINKING WATER & SANITATION - VAST GENDER INEQUALITIES
Website of the Special Rapporteur:
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See
Below - List of States/Countries which have enshrined the right to water within
their national constitutions, or have framed the right explicitly or implicitly
within national legislation. Click on a country to see the country position and
how the legal basis has been used to fight for and claim community and
individuals’ rights.
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Evolution
of Draft Version of a Forthcoming SR Water & Sanitation HANDBOOK to
provide practical guidance to States and other stakeholders on how the rights
to water and sanitation can be incorporated into law, policy, budgets, and
service provision. http://www.righttowater.info/handbook-sections/
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Direct Link to Full Special
Rapporteur Report:
F. A pattern of neglect of the most vulnerable and
marginalized
50. What emerges is a pattern of neglect of the needs
of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society across planning,
institutional responsibilities and resource allocation. Disadvantaged groups
can often be identified along ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic divides
(see, for example, A/HRC/18/33/Add.4, para. 79). Indigenous peoples, Dalits and
Roma are among such groups facing discrimination with whom the Special
Rapporteur has met during the course of her mandate.60 Moreover,
there are vast gender inequalities – in many poor communities, the task of collecting water overwhelmingly
falls to women and girls (see, for example, A/HRC/15/31/Add.3 and Corr.1, para.
22). Persons with disabilities are also disproportionately represented among
those lacking access to water and sanitation (A/HRC/15/55, para. 21). Neglect
can occur for a variety of reasons: groups and individuals may experience
stigmatization, they may live in remote areas making serving them costly, or
politicians may be indifferent to their needs.
51. Such inequality tends to become even more
aggravated during crises. With a decrease in budget and personal incomes,
people are confronted with the need to prioritize among different human rights.
Furthermore, in times of crisis there will be an even greater temptation for
States and service providers to focus on those who are relatively easy to
reach, and no efforts will be made to reach the most marginalized people
living, for instance, in remote rural areas.
52. Neglecting the rights of marginalized people
violates human rights law and its fundamental principle of non-discrimination.
Moreover, doing so might render services unsustainable. When a water and
sanitation system is designed for a city or town with a certain number of
inhabitants, ignoring the affordability challenges faced by poorer people will
mean these people will eventually be disconnected from services. Those numbers
can rise significantly in times of crisis; in such cases the system becomes
unsustainable and underfunded, unless tariffs increase for those who stay
connected (which in turn might lead to more disconnections). On the other hand,
the inclusion of those previously excluded from water and sanitation networks,
such as slum dwellers, will bring more revenues to the system and promote a
more sustainable use of water resources, as everybody will contribute to paying
for the system. In many instances, paying regular tariffs will be significantly
more affordable to people than paying for informal services at often exorbitant
prices. Finally, from an environmental perspective, extending networked
provision also contributes to sustainability as unauthorized abstraction from
groundwater sources will be significantly reduced.
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Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque Summary |
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The Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation submits the present report in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions 16/2 and 21/2. Focusing on sustainability in the realization the human rights to water and sanitation, the Special Rapporteur examines how the rights to water and sanitation can and must be met for present and future generations. She highlights challenges to sustainability and particularly aggravated risks in times of economic and financial crisis. After addressing the relevance of sustainability to the core human rights concepts of "progressive realization" and "non-retrogression", the Special Rapporteur explains how the normative content and principles of the human rights to water and sanitation contribute to ensuring sustainability. |
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Using the human rights framework, the Special Rapporteur analyses States’ common approaches to water and sanitation, particularly in adopting measures both during times of normalcy and during economic and financial crises, and shows how those approaches often fail to incorporate sustainability. She then demonstrates that the human rights framework can and should facilitate improvement in such policies. A key finding of the report is that developing policies and programmes in accordance with human rights standards and principles will ensure that such measures will last for future generations – they will stand the test of time. |
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires States Parties to formally recognise the rights within their national legislation, to provide laws and regulations to fulfil these essential human rights.
Recognising the right to water and sanitation domestically is intrinsic to fulfilling the right, it entitles individuals to demand it politically, administratively and judicially. As a result of constitutional recognition, development and interpretation of legislation and policies must be in accordance to the right.
Below are those countries that have enshrined the right to water within their national constitutions, or have framed the right explicitly or implicitly within national legislation. Click on a country to see the country position and how the legal basis has been used to fight for and claim community and individuals’ rights.
Africa
Algeria
Morocco
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Mozambique
South Africa
Zambia
Angola
Madagascar
Democratic
Republic of the Congo
Gambia
Mauritania
Asia
India
Indonesia
Bangladesh
Sri
Lanka
Philippines
Middle East
Iran
Kazakhstan
Latin America
Nicaragua
Panama
Uruguay
Costa
Rica
Honduras
Paraguay
Peru
Venezuela
Bolivia
Columbia
Ecuador
Dominican
Republic
Guatemala
Chile
Brazil
Europe
United
Kingdom
Netherlands
Belgium
France