A/71/302
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe
drinking water and sanitation
Summary
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur discusses development
cooperation in the water and sanitation sector, assessing the roles that it can and
should play in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation.
Development cooperation can impact the human rights situation of a State or
region in a positive or a negative way. In the present report, an exploratory work that
will be complemented by a more in-depth report in 2017, the Special Rapporteur
clarifies the relevant human rights obligations of bilateral and multilateral funders,
including United Nations agencies. Subsequently, he assesses how dev elopment
cooperation has been evolving in the water and sanitation sector. The Special
Rapporteur presents a critical examination of relevant patterns and tendencies,
drawing attention to the current approaches of funders and partner States in that
field, with a focus on the related human rights principles and normative content. A
number of key issues are addressed, with emphasis on measures that mitigate
negative impact and maximize positive impact on human rights.
Contents
Page
I.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
II.
Human rights in development cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
III.
Patterns and trends in development cooperation for water and sanitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
IV.
The human rights to water and sanitation in development cooperation policies . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
V.
Stakes in development cooperation for water and sanitation based on the human rights
framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
Conclusion and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
VI.
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