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Water as an argument for peace, twinning and cooperation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2023
- Document code
- A/78/253
Document
Fulfilling the human rights of those living in poverty and restoring the health of aquatic ecosystems: two converging challenges
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2023
- Document code
- A/HRC/54/32
Document
Outlining the impacts of climate change on the human rights to water and sanitation around the world
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
Document
Partnering with organizations
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
- Document code
- A/HRC/48/50/ADD.1
Document
The impacts of climate change on the human rights to water and sanitation of groups and population in situations of vulnerability
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
Document
A rights-based approach to adaptation, mitigation, finance, and cooperation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
Document
Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: state of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
- Document code
- A/HRC/51/24
Document
Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of people living in impoverished rural areas.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2022
- Document code
- A/77/167
Document
Planning and vision for the mandate from 2020 to 2023
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2021
- Document code
- A/HRC/48/50
Document
Risks and impacts of the commodification and financialization of water on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2021
- Document code
- A/76/159
Document
Progress report (2010–2020)
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2020
- Document code
- A/HRC/45/11
Document
Progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2020
- Document code
- A/HRC/45/10
Document
Human rights and the privatization of water and sanitation services
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2020
- Document code
- A/75/208
Document
Impact of mega-projects on the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2019
- Document code
- A/74/197
Document
Human rights to water and sanitation in spheres of life beyond the household with an emphasis on public spaces
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2019
- Document code
- A/HRC/42/47
Document
Forcibly displaced persons
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2018
- Document code
- A/HRC/39/55
Document
Principle of accountability
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2018
- Document code
- A/73/162
Document
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2017
- Document code
- A/HRC/36/45
Document
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2017
- Document code
- A/72/127
Document
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2016
- Document code
- A/HRC/33/49
Document
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2016
- Document code
- A/71/302
Document
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2015
- Document code
- A/70/203
Document
Affordability of water and sanitation services
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2015
- Document code
- A/HRC/30/39
Document
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2014
- Document code
- A/69/213
Document
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2014
- Document code
- A/HRC/27/55
Document
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2013
- Document code
- A/68/264
Document
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2013
- Document code
- A/HRC/24/44
Document
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2012
- Document code
- A/HRC/21/42
Document
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2012
- Document code
- A/67/270
Document
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2011
- Document code
- A/66/255
Document
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2011
- Document code
- A/HRC/18/33
Document
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2010
- Document code
- A/65/254
Document
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Year
- 2010
- Document code
- A/HRC/15/31
Document
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- However, international human rights commitments constitute prerequisites for the realization of the Goals, providing a wider set of complementary standards and mechanisms for accountability. Human rights monitoring institutions and expert bodies add important additional accountability dimensions to monitoring and reporting processes. These include courts, national human rights institutions and informal justice systems, as well as international mechanisms including the treaty bodies and special procedures. As emphasized earlier, the fact that human rights entitlements apply to all people everywhere - in richer, as well as poorer countries - fills an important gap in the Millennium Development Goals framework.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Under international human rights law, States are obliged to put in place mechanisms for accessible, affordable, timely and effective remedies for any breaches of economic, social or cultural rights. These requirements convey a different idea about accountability than that embodied in the Millennium Development Goals framework. The consequences for the non-realization of the Goals and the incentives for better performance are determined largely in the court of public opinion on the basis of the content of periodic reporting processes. This is not to be discounted: in countries with democratic and responsive governing institutions and a free and pluralistic media, a relatively poor scorecard - particularly when contrasted with countries with comparable per capita GDP - may provide welcome stimulus for improved performance. However, human rights standards and monitoring bodies go further by assessing compliance with specific legal obligations for the realization of human rights as well as responsibilities for violations, including with respect to discrimination, exclusion and unjustifiable retrogression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- National accountability mechanisms are naturally the most familiar with the needs of the poorest communities, although in some countries and contexts, they may not be the most responsive institutions. The role of the judiciary and public interest litigation deserve highlighting as courts worldwide are increasingly dealing effectively with economic, social and cultural rights claims. Public interest litigation can be linked to development strategies based on the Millennium Development Goals. For example, UNDP Turkey recently initiated a project called "Linking the MDGs to Human Rights" involving the production of a toolkit for city councils. The aim is to provide guidance on claiming rights and monitoring progress towards the Goals at the local level. The project explored the potential for public interest litigation in administrative courts to remedy human rights violations associated with inadequate progress, avoidable retrogression or discrimination in connection with efforts to realize the Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The enforcement of human rights claims can have preventive as well as reactive or corrective impacts and, through a range of feedback channels, exert enduring influence on legislative reform and policymaking. Recent empirical research in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa has found that "legalizing demand for socio-economic rights might well have averted tens of thousands of deaths in the countries studied ... and has likely enriched the lives of millions of others". Litigation of course has its limitations and risks, and we are still learning about the preconditions for effective claims in any given context. Nevertheless, the role of human rights adjudication should be accorded a more explicit and prominent place in strategies to strengthen accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In the first instance, human rights law requires that water and sanitation services be available. Water supply for each person must be sufficient for personal and domestic uses. In determining what is sufficient, human rights ultimately go beyond minimum targets such as 20 litres of water per person per day as referred to in the official guidance on the Millennium Development Goal indicators, which is considered insufficient to ensure health and hygiene. The Millennium Development Goal indicators do not explicitly refer to the availability of services, but use access to an improved water source as a proxy assuming that such sources are likely to provide a sufficient quantity of water. For sanitation, availability is implicitly addressed in the indicator framework since shared facilities are not considered improved. However, from a human rights perspective, facilities such as those shared with neighbours (i.e., only a small number of people), which are accessible, safe, hygienic and well kept, may be acceptable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- With regard to sanitation, the safety criterion is implicit in the Millennium Development Goal indicator insofar as avoiding contact with excreta is concerned, but the indicator does not refer to water necessary for personal hygiene. Moreover, the indicator is silent on the question of safe disposal of excreta, which in turn can affect water quality. Where the collection, treatment, disposal or re-use of excreta is not carried out with adequate care, leakage into groundwater, which is often a source of drinking water, may occur. Similarly, sewage from flush toilets that is not treated may end up in water used by downstream communities. In such cases, leakage of sewage from "improved" sanitation facilities then results in polluting water sources which are nevertheless considered "improved" sources under the Millennium Development Goal framework.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Fourthly, water and sanitation services must be accessible to everyone in the household or its vicinity on a continuous basis. Physical security must not be threatened when accessing facilities. Again, the Millennium Development Goals indicator on water is used as a proxy, on the assumption that "improved" sources are likely to be within the dwelling or a convenient distance from it. Accessibility could be measured more explicitly by using the time a round trip, including waiting time, takes. This could also serve as an indirect measurement of the amount of water people collect, as the distance to the water source has an impact on the quantity that can be collected. In fact, this is an indicator available from the surveys used by the Joint Monitoring Programme and has been reported on sporadically by the Joint Monitoring Programme as an additional criterion. The independent expert considers that this should be done systematically, including examination of accessibility in schools, workplaces and other spheres of life.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- States must realize their human rights obligations in a non-discriminatory manner. They are obliged to eliminate both de jure and de facto discrimination on grounds of 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 including the social and economic situation. They are obliged to pay priority attention to groups and individuals particularly vulnerable to exclusion and discrimination. Depending on the circumstances, they may need to adopt positive measures to redress existing discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- To a large extent, the debate has focused on the relative advantages and disadvantages of formal public or private provision, too often losing sight of this de facto commercialized service provision. While such services differ greatly depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for people to have no choice but to rely on services (often low quality) which are exorbitantly priced. Due to the high number of intermediaries involved in providing the service, high transport costs and a lack of regulation, water bought from informal private vendors is frequently 10 to 20 times as expensive as water provided by a utility. When looking beyond networked water supply and sewerage, adding in informal small-scale providers, a completely different picture of the characteristics of the private sector emerges. Overall, there is a need for a more nuanced debate, which recognizes the various forms of private sector participation, the wide range of non-State actors involved, the role of State-owned companies, as well as differences between networked provision of water and sanitation vs. on-site solutions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises is especially relevant to the subject of this report as it is concerned with States' obligations and business responsibilities. In his 2008 report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Representative set out a three-part policy framework entitled "Protect, Respect and Remedy" (A/HRC/8/5). It consists of the States' obligation to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, the responsibility of companies to respect human rights, and the need for access to effective remedies and grievance mechanisms to address alleged human rights violations. The Human Rights Council welcomed the framework by consensus in its resolution 8/7. The Special Representative is now in the process of further operationalizing the framework. To some extent, the work of the independent expert builds on the framework and is aimed at contributing to its operationalization by applying it specifically to the provision of water and sanitation services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 63l
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework does not call for any particular form of service provision. It is well established that, from a human rights perspective, States can opt to involve non-State actors in sanitation and water services provision. But the State cannot exempt itself from its human rights obligations and hence remains the primary duty-bearer. Therefore, also when involving other actors in services provision, the role of the State is crucial. The obligations of States and the responsibilities of non-State actors are complementary. The latter can and should support the State in the realization of human rights. In line with these conclusions, the independent expert offers the following recommendations:] States must put into place supplementary social policies to ensure inclusiveness, such as safety nets and subsidies. These measures must be well targeted to actually reach those who need it most;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 63m
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework does not call for any particular form of service provision. It is well established that, from a human rights perspective, States can opt to involve non-State actors in sanitation and water services provision. But the State cannot exempt itself from its human rights obligations and hence remains the primary duty-bearer. Therefore, also when involving other actors in services provision, the role of the State is crucial. The obligations of States and the responsibilities of non-State actors are complementary. The latter can and should support the State in the realization of human rights. In line with these conclusions, the independent expert offers the following recommendations:] To ensure accountability, States and other actors involved should clearly designate roles and responsibilities;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Even the best contracts and regulatory frameworks will not serve any purpose if they are not monitored and enforced. Monitoring compliance with the established standards is therefore essential. Benchmarking - against the best performing company, a model company, across different regions, or comparable cities - might be a suitable instrument to assess whether standards are met. It is critical that Governments have the commitment and the capacity for enforcement. The regulator must be endowed with the power to enforce existing regulations and the contractual agreements. Mechanisms for contract enforcement must include adequate incentives, serious penalties for non-compliance, such as fines, and the possibility of revocation of the contract.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The capacity to regulate effectively does not only depend on the institution itself, but is embedded in the broader context. Regulation will be undermined in a situation where corruption is rampant or when there is no functioning independent judiciary to enforce the regulatory framework and decisions taken by the regulator. Accountability and access to effective remedies are essential for closing the circle, as service providers and the State can be held accountable for deteriorating services, unmet performance standards, unjustified tariff increases, inadequate social policies or other breaches.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- To ensure accountability, roles and responsibilities have to be clearly designated and made transparent. Also, the coordination between different entities involved - public and private - has to be ensured. Water and sanitation users must be able to identify who is responsible in order to hold the relevant actor to account. Corruption presents an additional challenge to building responsive and accountable institutions. Fighting it requires, above all, strong political will. Transparency, in particular, will help to reduce the risk of corruption, for instance, by ensuring that bidding is competitive and contracts are made public. Where a State-owned company is formed to deliver water and sanitation services, the legislative process for the establishment of the company should be the product of a participatory and transparent process. In all cases, clearly defined performance targets and disclosure of information help to reduce the risk of corruption.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- States are encouraged to build human rights impact assessments into the process of deciding on the means of service provision and monitoring such provision, as well as to adopt legislation that imposes on service providers the obligation to carry out a human rights impact assessment. Service providers have a responsibility to undertake these assessments as part of exercising due diligence to become aware of the actual and potential impact of their action on the human rights to water and sanitation. On that basis, the State and service providers can work together to integrate human rights into water and sanitation policies, thereby ensuring compliance with human rights law, preventing human rights violations and maximizing positive effects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 45c
- Paragraph text
- [Depending on the scale and expected impact of the decision and the size and capacity of the actor carrying out the assessment, the human rights impact assessment does not necessarily have to be very formal in nature. To facilitate the process, it could also be integrated with social or environmental impact assessments. While there is no agreed template for conducting a human rights impact assessment, some principal elements can be identified that should be taken into account:] The process of carrying out the assessment itself should be in line with human rights principles, including active, free and meaningful participation, non-discrimination, gender equality, transparency and accountability;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Where household contributions and government spending are insufficient to realize the rights to water and sanitation, international aid frequently contributes to financing. In order to employ the maximum available resources in compliance with the principle of progressive realization, countries have an obligation to turn to international support when necessary. In turn, countries in a position to assist have an obligation to provide support in a manner consistent with human rights principles. This obligation of international cooperation applies to States parties to relevant human rights treaties in general and does not pertain to any particular State (E/CN.4/2006/WG.23/2, para. 50).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- This process begins with strong sectoral planning, including the articulation of both a uniform, sector-wide policy and specific targets. Evidence shows that without a clear national policy framework, effective and efficient service delivery is particularly difficult to achieve. Moreover, when international donors consider which sectors to prioritize they regularly cite the existence of strong sectoral plans as a crucial factor influencing their decision-making. Sectoral planning, meanwhile, should begin with a comprehensive assessment of available resources and the current status of the realization of the rights to water and sanitation, both in terms of overall access as well as affordability, acceptability and quality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
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- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The long-term success of the realization of the rights to water and sanitation also requires investment in governmental and human capacity, particularly at the local level. Decentralizing responsibility for managing water and sanitation services may boost their efficiency, and thus their sustainability, while also enhancing transparency, accountability and sensitivity to local needs. These attributes of decentralization, however, are not automatic and the central Government maintains an important monitoring role in respect of human rights. In particular, the central Government must ensure that the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups are prioritized, and adopt the necessary measures (e.g. through tied or earmarked transfers to local authorities), so as to avoid funding being diverted to, or captured by, privileged segments of the population or other sectors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Even transparent budgeting can seldom account for the additional off-budget resources spent on water and sanitation by international donors and non governmental organizations, which often wish to manage their projects independent of Governments. The resources expended on these projects are then almost never recorded in national budgets. In cases in which States rely on international contributions for the majority of their work in the water and sanitation sector, this means that Governments and communities have little knowledge of how much funding is actually available. In Malawi in 2006, for example, it is estimated that off-budget spending by non-governmental organizations was as much as three times the reported annual budget for water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- A lack of transparency may also impede accurate measurement of resources when States enter into contracts for service delivery with the private sector, particularly as bidding processes and contracts tend not to be made public. The Special Rapporteur has emphasized the importance of transparency in private sector participation, particularly noting that the final contract and terms of reference must be available for public scrutiny and comment (A/HRC/15/31, para. 36). Private contractors have also sometimes intentionally underbid, artificially lowering costs in order to win contracts and then securing more favourable terms in bilateral renegotiations of contracts, a practice which the Special Rapporteur has highlighted as contrary to human rights requirements.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- National planning provides opportunities to ensure more coordinated and consistent responses to broader concerns such as climate change and water scarcity. Good planning will also identify and address incompatibilities with human rights as well as overlaps and gaps in laws and policies. Successful planning is based on broad participation, which further contributes to effective implementation and sustainability. Effective national planning frequently leads to improved data on water and sanitation as well as to clarified responsibilities for more efficient and effective management of water and sanitation, thus contributing to enhanced accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- States must ultimately ensure that all people under their jurisdiction have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable and affordable water and sanitation services. While a water and sanitation strategy may adopt the overall framework, plans should be action oriented and list the measures to be adopted as specifically as possible. For instance, with regard to the affordability of service provision, States must, among other measures, design a tariff structure that considers the needs of all people, including those in poverty; designate an institution responsible for setting tariffs, regulating service providers and monitoring affordability; adopt supplementary social policies if necessary; consider operation and maintenance as well as connection costs in the case of networked supply, but also individual contributions for other forms of services; and set standards and safeguards for disconnections due to non-payment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- States should monitor whether the set targets have been reached within the envisaged time frame. To enable monitoring of the realization of the rights to water and to sanitation, States should develop relevant indicators, taking into account human rights criteria. These indicators can relate, for example, to reduction of the time spent in collecting water, improvement of water quality and increases in the percentage of treatment of wastewater. Such indicators should be designed not only to measure the outcome in terms of access, but also to capture the progress made and Government efforts. Moreover, data must be disaggregated according to prohibited grounds of discrimination to capture whether the specific targets set for marginalized and vulnerable populations have been reached.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 81d
- Paragraph text
- [Human rights law provides a framework for ambitious, but realistic planning. While the ultimate goal must be universal coverage, the notion of progressive realization tailors this goal to the country situation and allows for the time frame that proves to be realistic in a given context. States must go to the maximum of available resources in the realization of the rights to water and to sanitation, turning to international assistance where needed. Progressive realization also implies gradually higher levels of service. In line with this:] States should formulate and design the necessary measures to meet the set targets;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Responsibilities in the water and sanitation sectors are often horizontally fragmented among different ministries and departments and vertically fragmented between the national/central and local levels. This reality makes coordination between different sectors, such as health, education, agriculture and social welfare, and at different levels of Government, including municipalities and regions, essential. The roles and responsibilities of these different institutions should be defined clearly in planning and all of these stakeholders should be involved in the process of elaborating and implementing the plan. Where local governments are responsible for delivering services, it is essential that they are involved in planning from the beginning. Moreover, civil society must also be involved in the planning process, as should the private sector where relevant. Finally, while donors and international organizations will often take part, it must be ensured that the process is country-driven. To gain authority and legitimacy, the plan should be endorsed at the highest political level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Determining the costs of service provision should cover not only capital expenditures for infrastructure, but also costs associated with the life cycle of the system, including operation and maintenance, labour and managerial costs. Additionally, expenditure for on-site sanitation should be taken into account, but as it occurs mostly at the household level, it is difficult to quantify. UNDP is undertaking interesting work on costing, such as its development of the Millennium Development Goals needs assessment model. This model, which integrates the rights to water and to sanitation, provides a framework for national Governments to assess the costs of reaching the water and sanitation targets over the period to 2015.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Apart from assessing budget allocations from a human rights perspective, it is also essential to track expenditures, that is, determine whether the allocated budget has been utilized. If the projected budget has not been spent, this can indicate capacity problems. Such under-expenditure could be justified, though, with efficiency gains, that is, when the envisaged results have been achieved with fewer resources. Likewise, it will be important to track whether the resources have been spent in line with the priorities identified in the plan, and where this is not the case, to ascertain the reasons. These could relate to lack of capacity to spend resources, corrupt practices or other explanations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Any plan for the realization of the rights to water and to sanitation must be developed through a participatory and transparent process. Systematic participation is crucial in every phase of the planning cycle, from diagnosis through target setting and the formulation of responses and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Sanitation, in particular, cannot just be delivered, but requires behavioural change, which can be achieved only through the active involvement of interested beneficiaries. Opportunities for participation, including community needs assessments, must be established as early as possible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Transparency and access to information are essential for enabling participation. Relevant information and drafts of the plan should be made publicly available. Transparency is also needed regarding existing policies and measures. Only when, for instance, current priorities in the allocation of resources are understood can these be scrutinized and assessed for eventual necessary changes. Information should be widely disseminated and made available in all relevant languages via multiple channels to ensure accessibility. This can include websites, but also local radio, billboards and information in the local press. In India, for instance, right to information legislation has had a significant impact on improving transparency by providing a tool to seek information and demand accountability from governments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The overall targets on increasing access to water and sanitation must therefore be complemented by targets to reduce inequalities. As a first step, this requires States to identify vulnerable and marginalized populations, patterns of discrimination, and their underlying structural causes. In terms of access to water and sanitation, groups and individuals who have been identified as potentially vulnerable or marginalized include, inter alia, women, children, inhabitants of rural and deprived urban areas and others living in poverty, nomadic and traveller communities, refugees, migrants, people belonging to ethnic or racial minorities, elderly people, indigenous groups, persons living with disabilities, people living in water-scarce regions and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- In their monitoring activities, States must specifically pay attention and report on the measures taken to reach the most disadvantaged and excluded. They must also include information on the programmes and resources specifically devoted to these purposes; that is, disaggregated data is not only necessary at the level of outcome, but likewise in measuring Government efforts, for instance, to determine whether resources have been increased to reach people living in slums. The Tanzania Water and Sanitation Network monitors equity in the sector through annually published equity reports focusing on the inclusion, accountability, participation and sustainability of policies. It found considerable equity fault lines in the water sector of the United Republic of Tanzania, for example, a gap between access in rural and urban areas and disproportionately high budgets for urban services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- There is no doubt that future goals, targets and indicators in the post-2015 development framework will influence fundamental decisions on legislation, policymaking and budgeting in the coming decades. The compromises made in the development of the Millennium Development Goals, such as the failure to address water safety, must not be repeated. The new framework must be comprehensive and must ensure that Governments address the most pertinent issues and target the populations most in need. For the next set of goals, it is not enough to attempt to resolve tensions by disregarding development challenges simply because they do not fit into certain definable categories or reshaping them to fit with comfortable limits of knowledge. The way forward requires a leap towards changing the status quo to improve the lives of those most affected by these policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 83d
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework puts a strong emphasis on accountability. Legal frameworks provide the basis for accountability by allowing people to base their claims on legally binding entitlements. These should be complemented by targets backed by relevant and reliable data and reflecting State commitment for which Governments can be held accountable. In this regard:] Where service provision is decentralized, the State must set minimum standards at the national level in order to ensure coherence and countrywide compliance with human rights. As part of the State, local authorities are also bound by human rights law. States must regulate the activities of local governments, and monitor and control their performance in order to ensure that they comply with international human rights obligations. Moreover, States must ensure that these authorities have the necessary financial, human and other resources to effectively discharge their responsibilities. Clear allocation of responsibilities between levels of government is crucial;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The current development framework already calls for the disaggregation of data according to different stratifiers, such as sex, to the greatest extent possible. Experience has shown, though, that such calls are not sufficient by themselves - they need to be linked to goals and targets that offer an incentive for progress in reducing inequalities. At the technical level, the challenge of capturing the distributional dimensions of inequality is exacerbated by data constraints that make it difficult to track them. However, with the necessary political commitment, these challenges can be overcome, as will be further outlined below in the examination of some proposals to address inequalities in access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 82b
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework requires a coherent and comprehensive approach to planning that emphasizes the underlying structural causes and systemic biases for the lack of access to water and sanitation. It requires considering how laws, social norms, traditional practices and institutional structures and actions affect access. As such, the human rights framework helps to not only cure the symptoms, that is, the lack of access, but aims at addressing the underlying reasons, leading to more sustainable results. In this regard:] Strategies and plans must be developed through a participatory and inclusive process ensuring, in particular, that disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable people and communities are represented. Participation must go beyond mere information sharing and superficial consultation, and provide real opportunities for influence throughout the planning process;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Identifying and defining slums can pose a challenge for monitoring, but significant advances have been made in recent years, including by groups working with slum dweller organizations and through spatial analysis. Assessing slums by their spatial dimension - their location - could both yield more accurate data and serve as an effective link to planning. Indicators should be designed specifically for capturing the difference between slum and non-slum households. In addition, the definition of slums needs improvement; the best approach may be to use country definitions themselves. Those responsible for implementing major household surveys are encouraged to undertake special slum surveys, commit to oversampling in slum areas, and explore the use of data gathered by slum dweller organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The challenge is to set such an overall goal on equality that does justice to its cross-cutting nature, relevance to all fields of development and different grounds and manifestations of inequalities. To address these challenges, the future development agenda could include an overall goal on achieving equality accompanied by targets for different sectors for reducing inequalities. Since it might not be necessary, feasible or advisable to relate all targets to all different grounds of discrimination, the pertaining indicators could focus on the dominant inequalities as relevant for different sectors relating to sex, disability, age, income/wealth, ethnicity, and geographic location, among other stratifiers. The overall framework would have to ensure that all different types of inequalities are captured. Optionally, if indicators with ordinal values were selected, the different sectoral indicators could be combined for a composite score that would yield an overall measure of equality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Foremost in the post-2015 framework debate is the fact that the Millennium Development Goals are silent on discrimination, inequalities and unjustifiable disparities. At least in theory, many of the targets can be achieved without benefiting a single person with a disability, a single person belonging to an ethnic minority, or a single person living in poverty because their focus on average attainments creates a blind spot in the achievement of equality. In practice, the Special Rapporteur has consistently witnessed this reality and she is not alone in her observations. UNICEF has taken a lead role by placing equity at the centre of its development agenda, recognizing that reaching the poorest and most marginalized communities within countries is pivotal to the realization of the Goals. Likewise, UN-Women has also cautioned that, with the target date of 2015 in sight, it is increasingly clear that progress towards meeting many of the Goals is off track. Inequality, including gender inequality, is holding back progress.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In her country missions, the Special Rapporteur has noted that specific groups are excluded from access to water and sanitation, often reflecting patterns of discrimination, marginalization and limited political will to ensure substantive equality. These groups can be identified along ethnicity and socioeconomic divides. In some countries, indigenous peoples living on reserves do not have access to water or sanitation services. Dalits often suffer discrimination in accessing water and sanitation, while Roma are most disadvantaged in many European countries. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur's attention has repeatedly been drawn to vast gender inequalities and multiple discrimination, or the compounded impact of various grounds of discrimination on the same individual or group. For instance, women and girls are overwhelmingly tasked with collecting water and are physically and sexually threatened when they fetch water. Persons with disabilities are also disproportionately represented among those who lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Often, inequalities intersect and their effects accumulate over time. Without an explicit focus on multiple discrimination, these effects can continue unabated and stifle progress. Social, cultural, economic and political inequalities all have reinforcing effects that perpetuate social exclusion. Hence, a focus on intersectional inequalities is indispensable. In fact, the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights speaks to this crucial point in paragraph 17 of its General comment No. 20, stating that "cumulative discrimination has a unique and specific impact on individuals and merits particular consideration and remedying".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76a (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] General recommendations on equality, non-discrimination and equity: The future framework should aim at reducing inequality gaps while focusing on the most economically and socially deprived members of society. The equity approach should not be used alone; rather it should be complemented with the principles of non-discrimination and equality. Embracing both approaches provides an important political foothold by emphasizing areas where human rights law has traditionally been less robust - especially in relation to wealth inequities and global disparities - while also underlining the legal obligation to eliminate discrimination;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Stigma relates closely to power and inequality, and those with power can deploy it at will. Stigma can broadly be understood as a process of dehumanizing, degrading, discrediting and devaluing people in certain population groups, often based on a feeling of disgust. Put differently, there is a perception that "the person with the stigma is not quite human". Stigma attaches itself to an attribute, quality or identity that is regarded as "inferior" or "abnormal". Stigma is based on a socially constructed "us" and "them" serving to confirm the "normalcy" of the majority through the devaluation of the "other".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- What is considered "abnormal" changes over time and place, while the targets of stigma are always those who do not fit the "social norm". In some instances, stigma is attached to a person's social identity, especially in relation to one's gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, caste or race. Many ethnic groups experience very pronounced stigma. Stigma is also a common reaction to health conditions such as HIV/AIDS and some forms of disabilities. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights explicitly calls on States to "adopt measures to address widespread stigmatization of persons on the basis of their health status, such as mental illness, diseases such as leprosy and women who have suffered obstetric fistula". Indeed, stigma is often closely linked to the body as a site of the "normal" and the "different" and as a vehicle of contagion, especially in terms of sexuality and disease. Furthermore, stigma is frequently attached to activities that are considered "immoral", "detrimental to society" or "dirty", affecting, for instance, sex workers, sanitation workers, prisoners and homeless people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- In many instances, stigma is compound, multiple or intersectional, meaning that a single person can possess different attributes to which stigma are attached, such as in the case of an ex-prisoner who is homeless. Individuals experiencing compound stigma are often the ones who are most marginalized and discriminated against. The concept of intersectionality recognizes that individuals have multiple identities, attributes and behaviours, and that the intersections of these multiple aspects give shape to experiences of stigmatization and discrimination. Individuals falling into a particular category do not all inhabit the same social positions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- People who are stigmatized can find it is almost impossible to escape the stigma. Similarly, some may experience stigma by association, that is, extending beyond a person with a particular attribute. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has found that people may be discriminated against by being associated with or by being perceived as part of a particular group. For example, during her mission to Bangladesh, the Special Rapporteur found that the occupation as "sweeper" is passed down through generations and that people in that occupation feel "trapped" (A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, paras. 26, 75 and 76).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The invisibility created by stigma also has negative impacts on the situation of some persons with disabilities. The World Health Organization estimates that over 1 billion people worldwide live with some kind of physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment. However, due to the silence and shame created by stigma, persons with disabilities and their needs are often rendered invisible, making it impossible for them to enjoy a range of human rights, as most practices, services and facilities are biased against them. In some societies, persons with disabilities are perceived as "problems to be fixed" or as a "burden". According to information received by the Special Rapporteur, in extreme cases, children and adults with mental disabilities have literally been tied up inside the home-with no access to sanitation-to hide them from the community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Stigma is also manifest in the rejection, avoidance and marginalization of certain groups, quite literally pushing people to the margins of society. Racist and similar attitudes demean, degrade and dehumanize groups of people because of their racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic or caste identity. Many racial and ethnic groups or castes experience stigma, including indigenous peoples, pastoralists, (semi-)nomadic tribes such as the Bedouins, persons with albinism, Roma in Europe and Dalits in South Asia. They may suffer from pervasive negative stereotyping, social exclusion and denial of fundamental human rights. In some instances, people are forced to live at the outskirts of cities and villages, sometimes being relocated to more remote areas, subjected to an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In some situations, indigenous peoples may be stigmatized as "primitive" and pursuing an "uncivilized" lifestyle. In her missions to Costa Rica and to the United States of America, the Special Rapporteur observed that indigenous communities are disproportionately excluded from access to water and sanitation. Similarly, pastoralist communities and (semi-)nomadic tribes are often neglected in terms of access to services. State policies may seek to "civilize" indigenous, pastoralist or nomadic communities, pushing them to live on reserves or in urban slums, with substandard water and sanitation services even in these areas, highlighting how attitudes, stigmatization and public policies mutually reinforce each other to the detriment of these communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The situation is similar for many ethnic groups across the globe. Access to water and sanitation for Roma is notoriously precarious. It is not uncommon for Roma communities, including those living in countries where non-Roma communities have universal access to water and sanitation, to lack even rudimentary access, as found by the Special Rapporteur during her mission to Slovenia (A/HRC/18/33/Add.2, paras. 33-36). This situation highlights one of the insidious qualities of stigma: it has a self-fulfilling and circular nature. Roma are stereotyped as being "dirty", "smelly" and "unclean" while being denied access to water and sanitation. Sometimes, well-meant interventions can reinforce their stigmatization. Reportedly, some municipalities in Eastern Europe have implemented shower programmes in schools, encouraging Roma children to take a shower before entering the classroom-with the unintended effect of identifying them as being too "dirty" to receive education and as such further entrenching their stigmatization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, caste systems are closely related to stigma and patterns of human rights violations. Caste systems across the world are deeply rooted in social segregation, based on ideas of purity and pollution and lending traditional "legitimacy" to discrimination. The International Dalit Solidarity Network underlines that Dalits "are considered 'lesser human beings', 'impure' and 'polluting' to other caste groups. They are known to be 'untouchable' and subjected to so-called 'untouchability practices' in both public and private spheres". In terms of water and sanitation provision, Dalit habitations are often systematically excluded (A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, para. 76).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Dalits are regularly forced into the most menial, socially degrading, dirty and hazardous jobs. Some Dalits, in particular women, work as manual scavengers or sweepers; the terminology varies across countries, but generally refers to those who clean faeces from dry toilets. As a result of their direct contact with human faeces, manual scavengers suffer from a range of health problems (A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, para. 75) that are for the most part left untreated and add further to their stigmatization. Manual scavengers and sweepers suffer extreme forms of social exclusion, even within their own caste. These practices are not only deeply rooted in society, but also institutionalized through State practice, with municipalities themselves employing sweepers (ibid.). Moreover, patterns of stigmatization are perpetuated in schools, being reflected in the nature of cleaning duties, namely, through the assignment of toilet cleaning to the "lower" castes. Instead of breaking caste barriers, teachers perpetuate stigmatization, limiting the rights of young people to be free from discrimination and to access education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The human rights perspective strengthens those obligations. The Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, recently adopted by a group of experts in international law and human rights, underscore the obligation of States to avoid causing harm extraterritorially, stipulating that States must desist from acts and omissions that create a real risk of nullifying or impairing the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights extraterritorially. The principles also affirm the obligation of States to protect human rights extraterritorially, i.e., to take necessary measures to ensure that non-State actors do not nullify or impair the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. This translates into an obligation to avoid contamination of watercourses in other jurisdictions and to regulate non-State actors accordingly.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- To curb water pollution effectively, regulation must target all sectors and cover the whole country, giving priority to the elimination of the most urgent and serious challenges, which vary from country to country and within countries. They might stem from the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture in rural areas, the non confinement and non-treatment of sludge and septage in densely populated urban areas, or from industrial wastewater in areas that experience sudden economic growth. States have to assess the situation at the microlevel and prioritize addressing the most urgent challenges.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Regulations must aim both at managing wastewater to reduce the impact of pollution as well as preventing pollution. Regulation can set standards with numerical limits for certain substances or entirely ban particularly dangerous substances. It can also foresee the issuance of permits for discharges of a certain volume and quality. Regulation can, and must, set standards for improving the collection, treatment and reuse of wastewater, while incorporating sludge management. The precautionary principle must be enshrined with regard to water pollution threats, which are not well understood but have the potential to endanger human rights. Another approach, which is used to ensure that drinking water is not contaminated, is to establish safeguard zones. Many European countries have done so based on the European Water Policy Framework Directive. Such zones usually impose limitations on certain activities, such as agriculture and tourism, among others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- One of the biggest incentives for improved wastewater management is the increasing understanding that wastewater is a resource. In the agricultural sector, an estimated area of between 4 million and 20 million ha worldwide (i.e., the surface area of Switzerland and Senegal, respectively) is irrigated with wastewater or fertilized by sludge. While this use is welcome, when the use is unregulated, it exposes producers, residents and consumers to health risks. Therefore, the risks and benefits of irrigation with wastewater need to be balanced. The Guidelines on the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater in Agriculture and Aquaculture provide useful standards. In Namibia, the Special Rapporteur witnessed efforts to treat wastewater to the standard of drinking water (see A/HRC/21/42/Add.3, para. 15).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Frameworks must include fines and penalties as a way of enforcement. In cases of serious breaches, countries may also turn to criminal law. Finally, successful regulation depends not only on standard-setting, but also on strong independent regulators. Currently, most agencies are underfunded and poorly trained, which demonstrates an urgent need for improvement. Regulators need to have the capacity, in terms of human resources, skills, funding and independence from interference, to monitor whether regulations are being complied with, carry out on-site inspections, and impose fines and penalties in the case of breaches.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- In other instances, the institutional frameworks exist and assign responsibilities to municipalities, but they lack endowment with financial, technical and human resources. As such, delegation results in dispersal of effort and inaction. Therefore, institutional decentralization must be accompanied by necessary budgets and capacity. States must ensure that local authorities have the necessary financial, human and other resources to discharge their duties effectively. More broadly, institutional development and capacity-building are essential to ensure that laws and policies can be implemented and enforced.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Just as important as the absolute amount of resources is how those resources are targeted. The priority must be to achieve basic levels of service for everyone before moving to higher standards, in particular by targeting the most disadvantaged. Current spending patterns are not always aligned with those priorities, and often benefit those who are relatively well-off (ibid., paras. 41 and 42). Funding is disproportionately targeted towards large systems in urban areas (e.g., wastewater treatment facilities and sewerage pipelines) compared with basic services in rural areas and deprived urban areas (e.g., latrines, boreholes and hand pumps). Currently, 62 per cent of all sectoral aid goes to developing large systems, while only 16 per cent goes to basic systems. Because of the limited reach and high costs associated with sewerage systems, very few people benefit from them, and the ones who do are likely to be the better-off. In order to eliminate inequalities, financing less cost-intensive and more context-appropriate systems should be given higher priority, as should other approaches to prioritize coverage in poorer and marginalized areas.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Finally, the costs of adequate wastewater management are certainly an issue; however, the Special Rapporteur urges policymakers to consider the costs of inaction. Remaining inactive and letting contamination continue unabated means that the huge economic benefits of reducing water pollution and associated health impacts as well as increased productivity and school attendance would not be reaped. While requiring large initial investments, the costs of prevention and treatment by far outweigh the costs of inaction in the long term. Studies on the economic returns of sanitation interventions show that both septic tanks with treatment and sewerage with treatment have a positive cost-benefit ratio, for instance of about 1:4 in the Philippines. Another study in Indonesia that examined the impact of downstream water pollution found that the benefits of treating domestic and industrial wastewater offset the costs by a factor of 2:3.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- When States plan projects for wastewater management or projects that may have an impact on water quality, they need to carry out impact assessments in line with human rights standards and principles. While the Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that companies undertake impact assessments of their projects, she also sees challenges when the findings are not publicly accessible. Moreover, Government institutions need to be able to not only access such studies, but also to analyse and assess them independently, or carry out their own assessments, as the basis for determining whether licences for a given project will be granted. This requires capacity in terms of human, technical and financial resources and expert knowledge (see A/HRC/21/42/Add.2, para. 22).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Technically, wastewater treatment is possible to almost any standard. However, water of extremely high quality is required only for drinking or certain human uses; other livelihood activities and certain industrial and agricultural uses can do with water of lower quality. This allows for a phased approach to wastewater management, as even preliminary or primary treatment can bring significant benefits. The PRODES programme in Brazil provides an interesting example in this context. It starts by stipulating a minimum requirement for primary treatment and continues with increasing standards, determined according to the specific context (see www.ana.gov.br/prodes/).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- In times of crisis, accountability may weaken even further when existing regulatory institutions become underfunded. Examples exist of independent regulators receiving reduced funding to perform more functions, creating concerns about how the regulator could effectively fulfil its mandate and ensure accountability. This can happen in times of either growth or crisis, but the consequences are greater when other accountability mechanisms are removed due to financial pressures. For example, under various different austerity measures, judges are paid less, civil servants are laid off, and resources for courts, police, and national human rights institutions, which are all important for accountability, are decreased.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- States cannot expect to meet the obligation to progressively realize human rights with minimal investments in the water and sanitation sectors that merely enable countries to make "some" progress over time. Human rights standards demand that States invest the "maximum available resources" in the sectors. They also require the use of resources in ways that have the greatest possible impact on achieving universal realization of these rights, by prioritizing essential levels of access to the most marginalized. In times of prosperity, spending on water and sanitation has to include planning, independent monitoring, establishment of accountability mechanisms, and operation and maintenance, so as to enable the progressive realization of the rights even during times of crisis, hence preventing slippages and retrogression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- From a human rights perspective it is crucial to balance economic and social sustainability. The human rights framework does not require that water and sanitation services be provided free of charge, and State revenues have to be raised in order to ensure universal access to services. If everyone obtained water and sanitation at no cost this would actually harm low-income households by depriving governments and service providers of the revenue needed to expand and maintain the service, jeopardizing the overall economic sustainability of the system and the State's capacity to protect and fulfil other human rights. However, implementing the human rights to water and sanitation has important implications as to how to raise revenues while ensuring social sustainability. They oblige States to ensure that the cost of accessing water and sanitation remains affordable and appropriately reflects the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups, and that there is a safety net in place for those who cannot afford to pay full costs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur considers sustainability to be a fundamental human rights principle essential for realizing the human rights to water and sanitation. She understands sustainability as the direct counterpart to retrogression; it requires that services be available and accessible to everyone on an almost permanent basis, without discrimination, while ensuring beneficial change through quality services and sustained behavior change. Water and sanitation must be available for present and future generations, and the provision of services today should not compromise the future ability to realize these human rights. Understanding sustainability from a human rights perspective greatly contributes to achieving lasting solutions to water and sanitation challenges for present and future generations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Article 25 (a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right "to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives". In interpreting this provision, the Human Rights Committee, in paragraph 5 of general comment No. 25 (1996), states that "the conduct of public affairs … relates to the exercise of political power, in particular the exercise of legislative, executive and administrative powers. It covers all aspects of public administration, and the formulation and implementation of policy at international, national, regional and local levels".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Treaties adopted subsequent to the International Covenant expand the understanding of participation. Article 7 (b) and (c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women guarantees women's equal rights to "participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof" and to "participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country". Article 14 (2) (a) specifies that women living in rural areas have the right to "participate in the elaboration and implementation of development planning at all levels".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization identifies participation as its cornerstone in articles 6 and 7. Article 6 (1) (b) states that Governments shall "establish means by which these [indigenous] peoples can freely participate, to at least the same extent as other sectors of the population", in applying the provisions of the Convention. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides for a more far-reaching standard, requiring "free, prior and informed consent" on various matters that are the subject of the Declaration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Monitoring and data collection are essential in giving States a basis for planning and budgeting, and ensuring informed decisions. In a large number of States, information systems for financial planning and reporting are still inadequate. Monitoring the sustainability of interventions is generally insufficient, including in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. This creates a major gap in the ability of States to understand what policies, infrastructure and service delivery practices are able to last and be effective in the long term, as well as the negative consequences of certain (in)action.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Participants must be involved in determining the terms of participation, the scope of issues and the questions to be addressed, their framing and sequencing, and rules of procedure. The power to take part in setting the terms of the engagement plays a big role in shaping the conversation. Having no say over the design of the very process of engagement can result in some issues being tacitly decided beforehand and excluded from the participatory space altogether. The choice of mode of engagement determines whether people will be willing and able to participate. Efforts should be made, for instance, to involve residents in deciding venues, meeting times, and what balance of electronic and face-to-face interaction should be struck.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Participatory processes will not automatically include everyone. Assuming that they do would not only be naïve, but also carry the risk of entrenching inequalities. Men, majority ethnic groups, wealthier and more educated households, and people with higher social status tend to participate to a disproportionate degree. For instance, the Special Rapporteur raised concerns about the lack of opportunities for indigenous peoples in Canada to participate in decision-making on funding for water and sanitation. Communities cannot be considered a coherent and integrated whole; rather, inherent hierarchies and entrenched patterns of inequalities must be acknowledged.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Meaningful participation entails ensuring that people's views are considered and influence the decision. Often, consultations are oriented towards securing people's consent rather than involving them in the design of measures. If people are allowed "voice without influence", i.e., they are involved in processes that have no impact on policy-making, the potential for frustration is enormous. The Aarhus Convention requires that public bodies take due account of the outcome of public participation and notify the public of the decision made, along with reasons and considerations on which the decision is based (art. 6 (8) and (9)). In relation to child rights, it is required that children have an "audience" and "influence", i.e., that their views be listened to and acted upon as appropriate. The child must be informed of the outcome and how her or his views were considered.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Meaningful participation must be ensured in any situation where people's access to water or sanitation is (potentially) affected by a project. Mining, for instance, can have serious consequences on both water quantity and quality that can extend across generations (see, for example, A/HRC/24/41, para. 15). Such situations are often marked by an atmosphere of mistrust and power imbalances. Environmental and social impact assessments are needed not only to assess the impact of a project, including on human rights, but are also invaluable for the community to gain clarity. Ideally, impact assessments should be undertaken collaboratively with the community. At a minimum, there must be full disclosure of the findings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- More broadly, social accountability mechanisms refer to mechanisms through which residents or civil society hold State officials or service providers to account. Social accountability has the power to increase the pressure on officials to explain and justify their decisions; fear of damage to one's reputation can sometimes be a stronger deterrent or incentive than legal proceedings. The Equitable Access Score-Card developed by ECE and the World Health Organization (WHO) offers a tool that can help Governments and other stakeholders establish a baseline, discuss actions to be taken and evaluate progress through self-assessment. This process, as shown by the experiences of France, Portugal and Ukraine, can enable an objective debate and generate input for policy processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- For social accountability mechanisms to work, people must be able to access the relevant information, whether from Government or service providers. The linkage with formal accountability mechanisms such as regulators, ombudspersons and judicial review strengthens social accountability. For instance, the national human rights commissions in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru play an active role in monitoring the relevant government bodies and service providers to ensure that water and sanitation services are delivered in a non-discriminatory manner. This role could be made more participatory by linking it up with social accountability initiatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- In many instances only token attention has been paid to participation. All too often, only the well off and powerful, as determined by gender, ethnicity, income and other factors, "participate" in decision-making, to the exclusion of marginalized members of society. The greatest challenge may lie in ensuring participation on the basis of equality. When participatory processes do not unveil and address entrenched power structures and marginalization, they carry the risk of being manipulative and of reinforcing and "legitimizing" inequalities. Equality and non-discrimination demand structural transformation to remove barriers to meaningful participation for all. They also require deliberation and redistributive action to remedy past patterns of resource allocation that have reinforced marginalization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur embraces a comprehensive understanding of violations of the rights to water and sanitation. Even though all types of violations of rights to water and sanitation are serious, denial of access to services due to discrimination or disconnection from services may be more easily identified as violations. Situations where States have failed to adopt reasonable measures or to allocate appropriate resources are less familiar to many courts and raise additional challenges in determining whether a violation has occurred. Yet such types of violations often involve the greatest number of victims and the most intolerable deprivations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Under the category of direct interference, common violations take the form of (a) unjustifiable or discriminatory denial of access to water or sanitation; (b) unjustifiable disconnection from services (including from prepaid water meters), for example when people are unable to pay and are left without access to even basic services; (c) unjustifiable restrictions on access to water or sanitation, such as latrines and toilets being locked at night or fenced-off water sources; (d) unaffordable increases in pricing; (e) land grabbing or other measures resulting in forced relocation that deprive the affected persons of access to water or sanitation services without an adequate alternative; and (f) destroying or poisoning water facilities or infrastructure during armed conflict, which would violate international humanitarian law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Violations also result from decisions to deprive stigmatized groups, such as homeless people, undocumented migrants, occupiers of informal settlements or prisoners, of water and sanitation as a form of punishment for unlawful or undesired activity. The Special Rapporteur on torture has documented that detainees have been forced to rely on water to drink delivered by their families, or on water from toilets. The Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation has also voiced concerns that limiting access to water and sanitation may be used as a, sometimes excessive, form of punishment for prisoners. In cases of secret detention, Special Rapporteurs and the Council of Europe have expressed concern about detainees being forced to wear diapers, which is "offensive to the notions of dignity".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect requires States to enact and enforce necessary protections of the rights to water and sanitation to protect individuals from human rights abuses by third parties. Such obligation is generally considered to be of immediate effect, although in some cases it will take time and resources to develop the necessary institutional capacity and frameworks. Non-State actors, including private actors and international organizations, also contribute to the realization of human rights and, conversely, their action or inaction may also lead to human rights abuses. Where private actors are involved in the provision of water and sanitation services, their role comes with human rights responsibilities. Where States fail to provide services, private actors may be the only ones who step in as providers. Other private actors may have an impact on the rights to water and sanitation through their industrial or agricultural activities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Article 2(1) of the Covenant stipulates that States must take steps to achieve progressively the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights by all appropriate means. Steps must be deliberate, concrete and targeted as clearly as possible towards the full realization of human rights. Where resource constraints prevent a State from fully realizing the rights to water and sanitation immediately there is an immediate obligation to adopt a strategy for the realization of those rights. To assess progress towards the full realization of human rights, States must monitor progress. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regularly calls on countries to put into place mechanisms for that purpose.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 26b
- Paragraph text
- [Violations of the obligation to protect can be grouped under several categories:] Failure to protect necessary resources or infrastructure from pollution or interference;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83k
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur therefore focuses her recommendations on how to more effectively ensure that violations are identified, prevented and remedied, with an emphasis on those areas which have been most neglected. She recommends that States:] Ratify or otherwise accept all optional communications procedures, including the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women , and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including their inquiry mechanisms;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The human right to water requires services to be available, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Hygiene facilities and services must be culturally acceptable. Personal hygiene is a highly sensitive issue across regions and cultures. Differing perspectives on the acceptability of hygiene practices must be taken into account regarding the design, positioning and conditions of use for sanitation, hand-washing and menstrual hygiene facilities. Facilities should accommodate hygiene practices in specific cultures, such as anal and genital cleansing, and women's toilets must accommodate menstruation hygiene management needs, particularly with respect to privacy. Menstruation is taboo in many countries, which makes menstrual hygiene a major concern for the health and well-being of women, and particularly of girls, who may not have sufficient knowledge about managing menstruation to be able to develop good practices. Education is necessary at schools, for boys as well as girls, to start to address the social taboos associated with menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Achieving equality does not mean that everyone should be treated identically. With respect to water, sanitation and hygiene, human rights requires that everyone has equal access to services; but this does not mean that everyone must enjoy the same type of service, such as flush toilets, as these are not appropriate in all circumstances and contexts. Also some individuals or groups have specific needs such as menstrual hygiene for women and girls. However, States may need to adopt affirmative measures, giving preference to certain groups and individuals in order to redress past discrimination. Social, cultural, economic and political inequalities perpetuate social exclusion, and this needs to be carefully considered in the development of water, sanitation and hygiene service delivery options (see E/C.12/2002/11, para. 17).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- [People need to have access to information:] For democratic engagement, such as through community councils and participatory budgeting;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Water must be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste, beyond the issues of quality mentioned above (see E/C.12/2002/11, para. 12).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Many cultures have certain prescriptions for women's and girls' behaviour during menstruation which may amount to harmful traditional and cultural practices, violating not only the right to sanitation but, more broadly, women's and girls' human rights and gender equality. In Nepal, the Supreme Court issued an order to eliminate the practice of chaupadi, which forces menstruating women and girls to sleep in isolation from the rest of the family, in a hut or shed, with risks to their health and security. The Court declared that the practice was discriminatory and violated women's rights. It ordered the Government to conduct a study on the impact of the practice, to create awareness and to take measures to eliminate the tradition.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Progressive realization has two components: progressively moving towards universal access by reaching more people and progressively moving towards better levels of service that fully meet human rights standards. Human rights do not include minimum standards such as access to a latrine at a particular distance from the home or a minimum essential amount of water. The human rights to water and sanitation must ensure an adequate standard of living, which could, for instance, require a latrine or toilet on the premises and an adequate quantity of water supplied within the home. With regard to hygiene, human rights also do not include minimum standards such as a "tippy-tap" in a household's back yard. The requirement of an adequate standard of living may include a tap within the home for hand-washing, as well as adequate facilities to practice menstrual hygiene. States that have already achieved an essential level of service have to move beyond this in order to ensure the full realization of the human rights to sanitation and water.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Hygiene facilities, such as hand-washing stations or disposal units for sanitary products, must be safe to use and easy to clean. Sanitation facilities must ensure access to safe water for hand washing, menstrual hygiene, and anal and genital cleansing. They must also include mechanisms for the hygienic disposal of menstrual products and nappies. Good hygiene practices require hygiene promotion and education to ensure good hand-washing, proper use of toilets and menstrual hygiene, encouraging individuals to prepare and consume food in a hygienic manner that respects the safety and well-being of others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Problems often arise with piped water supplies in terms of quality (where the water is not adequately treated) or with continuity, where limited water availability leads to rationing of water supplies. All too often, rationing will take place in poorer areas rather than in well-to-do areas. This creates a double inequality, as poorer households often lack the necessary resources to adequately store water, or find an acceptable alternative supply. A lack of continuity also puts the quality of the water at risk by increasing the chance of contaminated water entering the system. Where piped water is not safe to use, households must rely on household water treatment, which can be costly and may still be unsafe.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Sanitation shared between a few households, where all residents know each other and maintenance and cleaning is shared, is a common form of access in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This form of access can contribute to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, where the construction and maintenance of the toilet or latrine is adequate, and where everyone within the households has access to the toilet or latrine, regardless of their age, physical ability or status within the household. There may be particular concerns for persons with disabilities, children, older persons, people with a chronic illness (which may be stigmatized, such as HIV), renters or those who do not belong to the main household. In some cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to use a latrine shared by other people, and this problem may be compounded when the latrine is shared by several households (see A/67/270, para. 73).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- All too often, the immediate needs of those who lack access to even basic services lose out over improvements in service for those who already enjoy an essential level of service. The most recent report by WHO and UN-Water finds that funding for basic services is even decreasing and only 21 per cent of water and sanitation aid is directed to basic systems, while overall aid to the sector is increasing. Investing in basic systems can be seen as a proxy for reaching unserved populations. The human rights framework demands that States reverse these trends and put greater emphasis on achieving at least essential levels of service for everyone, while keeping in mind that the goal must be to achieve an adequate standard of living for everyone, using the maximum available resources efficiently to achieve that goal.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Limiting corruption requires focused efforts by States, regulatory bodies and service providers. Introducing a strong legal structure based on human rights can provide for anti-corruption measures such as strengthening transparency and accountability mechanisms. For instance, one city in South-east Asia recognized the importance of addressing corrupt practices in order to increase access to water and sanitation for the poor, and instituted specific measures, including focused training for employees, the establishment of public offices so that customers could pay their bills directly rather than going through bill collectors, and the introduction of meters for all connections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Poorly managed service provision can also have a significant impact on the cost of service provision. States must work to ensure that the right incentives are in place such that providers improve the management of water and sanitation services, including through appropriate organizational structure, optimized running costs, efficient service delivery (e.g. low water losses), among other measures. It also includes strengthening the human rights principles of participation, access to information and accountability in governance structures and decision-making processes. Further, where the provision of services is intended to provide profits for the provider or shareholders (whether publicly or privately owned), this imperative to extract profits can also increase costs for the user beyond levels of affordability, and prevent the company from reinvesting in the service (see Special Rapporteur's mission report for Brazil (2014), A/HRC/27/55/Add.1, para. 68).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Studies have shown evidence of a positive cost-benefit ratio. One analysis estimated that for each dollar invested in achieving universal access to basic drinking water at home, the average return is $4. For universal access to basic sanitation at home, the estimated benefit is $3, while the return on eliminating open defecation in rural areas is $6 per dollar spent. The safe management and treatment of wastewater has received less attention in cost-benefit analyses. While requiring large initial investments, in the long term the price of inaction is far greater than the cost of ensuring adequate wastewater management. Studies on the economic returns of sanitation interventions show that both septic tanks with treatment as well as sewerage networks with treatment have a positive cost-benefit ratio, for instance about 1:4 in the Philippines and about 1:3 in Vietnam.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Disconnection of services due to an inability to pay for the service is a retrogressive measure and constitutes a violation of the human rights to water and sanitation (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 15 (2002) (E/C.12/2002/11), para. 44a). Disconnections are only permissible if it can be shown that households are able to pay but are not paying. The South African 1997 Water Services Act states that disconnections may not result in a lack of access to services for non-payment where the individual is unable to pay for basic services. More recently, France adopted the Brottes Law, which prohibits disconnections for inability to pay.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Pre-paid water meters are suggested as an option for service providers to ensure that households and individuals pay for the water that they use, as they require payment in advance. This may lead to "silent disconnections" due to lack of ability to pay, and can be a violation of the human rights to water and sanitation. Therefore, plans to use pre-paid meters must be carefully examined before they are installed. Some pre-paid water meters will allow for access to a limited quantity of water even where the individual or household has not paid. The quantity, continuity and quality of water would need to be carefully assessed for human rights compliance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Almost all large-scale water and sanitation systems receive some level of public financing. For sanitation in particular, while it has long been known that the costs of not having access far exceed the actual cost of providing access, it has been hoped that private sector participation would be sufficient to improve access to sanitation. However, more recently, research by the World Bank and others is beginning to show that it is unrealistic for the private sector to fill the service gap alone. States must be the driving force in investments in sanitation, in particular to cover the costs of constructing and maintaining infrastructure, and in some cases also for operation, for example where pit-emptying is prohibitively expensive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Residents of informal settlements often do not enjoy formal service provision, receiving their services from a range of different, often informal and/or small-scale providers or through self-supply. For water services, this can include water kiosks, water vendors that come to a user's home, as well as piped water delivered to the household. For sanitation, there is an even larger range of types of service, from no service at all through substandard pit latrines (seldom emptied and often overflowing) to shared or community-level toilets, to connections to a rudimentary sewage system, where wastes are not treated, to small-scale sewage systems with adequate treatment plants. Given this range of services that exists outside the formal system, any pricing, subsidy or tariff system can seem irrelevant to an often substantial part of the population. In many cities, tariff structures, subsidy systems or other special measures are only accessible for households with a formal address or to a registered household or individual.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Local governments often lack the capacity to support sustainable access to water and sanitation services, in particular in rural areas. As a result, donors and local governments have often turned to promoting community management approaches. Unfortunately, there continues to be a high rate of failure under community management. One study estimated that an average of 30 per cent of rural hand pumps in sub-Saharan Africa are not working, with the figure rising to as high as 65 per cent in some countries. Explanations for these situations include a lack of local technical skills, management capacity, spare parts, or funds to pay for the necessary repairs. Further, as people are understandably unwilling to pay for services that are unreliable, there is inadequate funding for repairs. Institutional reform, developing communities' capacity, and increased financial and human resources are therefore required to realize the human rights to water and sanitation in rural areas.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- A few funders have implemented projects aiming explicitly to improve the situation with respect to the human rights to water and sanitation. One of the very few examples of a project with a specific human rights focus is a German Cooperation-funded project in Kenya on ensuring the right to water for the poorest. Considering the need to supply drinking water to the urban poor, the project set up a network of water kiosks to sell water at regulated prices and created water action groups to improve participation. Consequently, the Government of Kenya requested funders to align their programmes to reflect the human rights to water and sanitation. Another example is the creation of a manual on the right to water and sanitation, a tool to assist policymakers and practitioners in developing strategies for implementing the human rights to water and sanitation, which was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), that includes recommendations for development cooperation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Another evolution of those policies was related to the integration of development cooperation into the Millennium Development Goals, which created the expectation that international transfers would play an important role in helping developing countries to meet the targets. It is important to note that the targets of the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation were not as ambitious as those in the Sustainable Development Goals, as the former sought only to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation based on the world population in 1990 and 2015, and moreover did not define which "half" of the countries' populations should be prioritized.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The broad conclusion is that explicit commitments to human rights in the development cooperation policies of funders constitute a heterogeneous patchwork. There are some notable cases in which the overall approach to cooperation policy, at least as set forth in official documents, is based on the human rights framework. For example, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland published a policy document that stated that the Government's development policy programme for 2012 required that a human rights-based approach be implemented in all development policy and development cooperation practiced by Finland. Similarly, a framework document of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, contained an affirmation of human rights as one of the guiding principles for German development policy. The Federal Ministry also stated that its human rights strategy was complemented by operational guidelines specifying how to assess human rights-related risks and impact in the appraisal phase of all development programmes commissioned by the Ministry. A pioneering document from the Federal Ministry on translating theory into practice with respect to the human rights to water and sanitation indicated that its policy was based on a review of experience in Kenya in 2007 and that the experience in Kenya showed that a human rights-based approach to water and sanitation could be successfully pursued, gradually leading to sustainable benefits for all. Other relevant approaches include that of the Republic of Korea of laying the foundation for reflecting a human rights-based approach in the whole programme cycle from the design to implementation phases; that of Denmark of affirming that poverty reduction and promotion of human rights are the core of development cooperation; and that of Austria of ensuring that development cooperation does not risk violating human rights and that a human rights-based approach is applied in programmes, projects and in political and policy dialogues. There are other countries that recognize the human rights framework in their policies, including Canada, whose Official Development Assistance Accountability Act establishes that official development assistance must be consistent with international human rights standards; and France, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a document on democratic governance and human rights, stated its commitment to concretely and holistically promoting human rights across the board in all sectors of French cooperation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- In other States, policies specifically concerning the water and sanitation sector contain formulations that reflect the human rights framework in rather distinct ways. For example, the water supply and sanitation assistance strategy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency reflects recognition of the declaration by the General Assembly in 2010 that access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation are basic human rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands indicated that the Netherlands recognized the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as basic human rights and that such recognition granted it the ability to point out, during policy discussions with partner countries, the responsibilities of the Government and the rights of the population, in particular vulnerable groups. The Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation indicated that its new water strategy also set a rights-based approach to water. An official document from Belgium on development cooperation mentioned that human rights principles, including the rights to water, health and decent work and the rights of women, children and indigenous peoples, were all important components of its normative framework. In a reference document on realizing the human rights to water and sanitation, the Government of Sweden recalled its declaration of full support for the human rights to water and sanitation and that richer States had an obligation to assist other States in fulfilling the right to water and sanitation. Spain also has strongly integrated human rights language into its development cooperation policies, aiming to adopt a rights-based approach in its cooperation policy and supporting the implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- A particular model, which can be part of increasing block tariffs, involves the provision of a first block free of charge. Cities and countries such as South Africa with the Free Basic Water Policy, some Colombian cities and the minimum provided by the Delhi Jal Board are examples of such policies. Still, the same challenges remain in terms of setting the amount of free water at the right volume to ensure the overall financial sustainability of the system. The key challenge is that households connected to the formal network are likely to benefit more from such policies than households relying on informal service provision. Even where utilities or municipal authorities provide for additional water services through truck deliveries in informal areas, huge disparities in terms of the quantity and accessibility of water remain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Charges to a household to connect to a service can be a barrier to gain access to an existing networked service. Some countries have decided to remove these charges for all or some households in order to reduce the barriers. The costs of extending the services are then financed by incorporating them into standard service charges. Historically, many countries have used surcharges on existing users to finance the extension of the network in rural areas. Removing the connection charge is particularly relevant for low-income households to gain access to a sewerage network, as the connection charge is often a significant barrier to affordable sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The fact that in many instances women and girls risk being harassed when they relieve themselves in the open or in public facilities is partly due to the structural and systematic use of stereotypes and stigma. The promotion of awareness-raising campaigns, targeted education programmes and discussion groups, among other measures, to transform both men's and women's perceptions of gender roles is therefore encouraged. Gender-based violence must be prevented and investigated, and those responsible must be prosecuted, in order to break patterns of societal acceptance of exclusion and violence based on gender norms. Recognizing that young people may grow up to be change makers, curricula in all schools should challenge gender stereotypes and encourage critical thinking.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- People who do not conform to a fixed idea of gender may experience violence and abuse when using gender-segregated sanitation facilities. Gender non-conforming people face harassment in or avoid gender-segregated public toilets altogether out of fear. For example, transgender girls who use the boys' toilets and transgender boys who use the girls' toilet in schools are highly vulnerable to bullying, harassment and assault by other students. Research from India indicates that transgender persons face difficulties in finding rental housing and are often forced to live in remote slum areas, where access to water and sanitation facilities is poor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Human rights-based monitoring can be built on a framework of structural, process and outcome indicators that serve to monitor not only the commitments made by a State but also the State's ongoing efforts and whether progress is being made to achieve targets on gender equality. Useful examples of indicators to monitor gender equality in access to water, sanitation and hygiene can be found in the OHCHR framework on indicators and by the World Health Organization-United Nations Children's Fund Joint Monitoring Programme Task Force on monitoring inequalities. Indicators on menstrual hygiene facilities, for example, could be used to track gender equality and help to break related taboos.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- It is notable that some important multilateral funders, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, view water as a socially vital economic good and aspire to similar goals of creating inclusive economic growth and equity and reducing poverty. As indicated previously, such goals may claim to produce outcomes that contribute to improved access to water and sanitation. However, it may result in part from a lack of concrete human rights consistency that programmes and projects are oriented to hastily pushing money out of the door (see A/70/274, para. 36). A framework with solid grounding in human rights, backed by the commitment of the staff and boards of those institutions, would provide safeguards against such risks, ensuring that loans for water and sanitation projects and programmes do not produce negative outcomes for some individuals or groups, but rather increase the realization of the rights of the most disadvantaged.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The Dublin Conference report sets out principles for action at the local, national and international levels. One of the very influential principles contained therein is relatively ambiguous regarding the role of the human rights to water and sanitation in development cooperation and supports the strongly criticized policies of multilateral agencies. According to the principle, on the one hand, it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price; on the other hand, managing water as an economic good is an important way of achieving efficient and equitable use of water resources and of encouraging conservation and protection of those resources. The definition of water as an economic good has led to a set of cooperation programmes in developing countries with radical conditionalities that impose privatization of services and commodification of water, with little consideration for the human rights framework. In a sense, the second part of the principle, the "economic side", has triumphed over the first part, the "rights side".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Gender equality refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities between genders taking into consideration the different interests, needs and priorities and recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Gender equality means that everyone must be able to enjoy the rights to water and sanitation equally. In order to attain substantive equality, therefore, it is necessary to address the specific gendered circumstances that act as barriers to the realization of those rights for women and girls in practice. States must assess existing legislation, policies and strategies, and find out to what extent the enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation between men and women are equally guaranteed. On the basis of that review, remedies should be provided and gender-responsive strategies should be developed that guide policymaking and the corresponding allocation of budgets. Temporary affirmative measures will in many cases be necessary.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- In humanitarian situations, including in times of conflict or natural disaster, when water and sanitation sources are at a minimum, the specific needs of women and girls are often not taken into account. It is vital to better understand and share experiences about the kinds of responses that can be deployed across the diverse range of emergencies, including the most adequate and effective adaptations and interventions. It further requires an integrated approach and ongoing coordination among all sectors concerned. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people face additional challenges in areas affected by disaster. A recent United Nations assessment found that, in Europe, women and girls who are refugees are vulnerable to violence and lack services that specifically meet their needs, such as private bathing and sanitation facilities. Some women have reported having stopped eating or drinking to avoid going to the toilet where they felt unsafe. The reaction of Governments and others to these situations is considered inadequate and there is an emphasis on the urgent need to scale up such response efforts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The human rights to water and sanitation are binding on the State as a whole. All public or governmental authorities, or separate State bodies exercising regulatory functions at national, regional or local levels, have the responsibility to realize the State’s human rights obligations. To that end, regulatory actors must ensure that their policies, procedures and activities are compliant with the State’s international human rights obligations in relation to the rights to water and sanitation. Their obligations also include ensuring human rights compliance by the municipalities and other entities that they regulate (see A/HRC/36/45/Add.1, para. 31).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Regulatory frameworks may also be characterized by a broad spectrum of contractual arrangements between governments which formally delegate service provision, and third parties. In such cases, the instrument delegating service provision defines the relationship between the public asset owner and the service provider and sets service standards. In the case of State-owned companies, management will usually be delegated via legislation, decrees or contracts, while public authorities will often enter into contracts with private providers. Contracts may differ according to the ownership of assets, the responsibility for capital investments, the allocation of risks, the responsibility for operations and maintenance, and the typical contract duration. France is a country with a long history of this type of regulation, established through private-sector participation contracting with local government.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Regulatory frameworks are often only applied to formal service providers, which may range from large-scale utilities to small municipal and cooperative providers. Where formal provision exists, it is expected that there will be available data on standards and targets set, which can be monitored by a regulatory actor. However, small municipal and cooperative providers often have more difficulties in living up to quality standards than large-scale utilities do. Regulatory actors can play a proactive role in enhancing small-scale providers’ performance by monitoring them, providing them with information and recommending strategies that might help them improve their standards.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- According to Investing in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing Inequalities (UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water, 2014 report), less than half of countries report a functioning process whereby formal rural drinking-water service providers report the results of their internal monitoring to regulatory authorities and also use the results to trigger corrective action. Moreover, performance results are not typically made public for a majority of service providers. Only for urban formal service providers were performance results made public for over 60 per cent of respondent countries. Countries indicated that the extent of independent surveillance of water quality was far greater in urban areas: nearly 70 per cent of countries reported surveillance in urban areas, compared to only 40 per cent in rural areas.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The situation becomes far more complex when monitoring informal small-scale providers. Piped systems are often not available to rural households or to those living in informal settlements in urban areas (see A/70/203, para. 64). This represents a significant problem of inequality in access, as people living in these areas, who are often poorer, have to rely on alternatives that are often of lower quality and that tend to cost far more. In these situations, some types of services, such as informal shared or communal facilities and unregulated individual on-site solutions, are seen as necessary short- to medium-term solutions. However, without suitable regulation and monitoring, none of these services can be guaranteed to comply with human rights standards.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations are taking on an important role in informal service provision, stepping in where the State is not involved in such activities. Many of the same challenges in relation to regulation and accountability apply to the activities of such organizations, for instance ensuring consistent standards as regards quality of services and ensuring that organizations are accountable to the people they serve. Population groups in many countries are served by community and informal service providers, which rarely report internal monitoring results to authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- One approach to monitoring in informal settlements that has shown positive results is the use of participatory geographic information systems, which merge technical spatial information with a local community’s location-specific knowledge, often producing rich data including on land use, water sources, differentiated access to resources and sites of actual or potential environmental hazards. For instance, OpenStreetMap initiatives in informal settlements in Nairobi have generated detailed data indicating how many households share a toilet, whether there are gender-specific toilets, whether the toilets have disability access and whether the toilets provide sanitary bins for women (see A/69/213, para. 82).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Water Resources Sector Strategy, published in 2004, contains some relevant provisions and guidelines related to the human rights to water and sanitation. For instance, it establishes that communities should be vested “with ownership rights and authority to select service providers”, contributing to the enjoyment of the right to participation. Projects and programmes should strengthen “regulatory oversight capacities, institutions and processes to provide greater transparency and predictability”. Moreover, financially disadvantaged people are to be ensured “access to safe, affordable water supply and sanitation services by reducing costs and increasing accountability”. However, the World Bank’s pro-poor focus is not equivalent to a human rights-based approach, since it does not embody the full spectrum of the human rights framework.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Infrastructure projects that rapidly prove to be unsustainable are widespread in water and sanitation. This was evidenced, for example, by the European Court of Auditors review of European Union development assistance for the sector in sub-Saharan countries. According to a review of 23 projects in six countries, despite infrastructure being properly installed, fewer than half of the projects delivered results meeting the beneficiaries’ needs and the majority of projects were considered to be unsustainable in the medium and long term unless non-tariff revenue could be ensured or operational institutions (that is, service providers) could be strengthened.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The UNICEF Strategy for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (2016-2030) integrates the full normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation in its vision for the sector and targeted outputs. The strategy outlines multiple “programming principles” — aspirational, outcome-based objectives to be considered throughout project design and implementation — that incorporate several human rights principles. Some of those programming principles include reducing inequality, delivering quality services at scale and strengthening accountability at all levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The general development cooperation policy of Japan is found in its development cooperation charter, revised in 2015. The charter reaffirms the country’s obligations to promote human rights through its international development activities. According to the charter, activities in the water supply and sanitation sector fall under the country’s policy umbrella of promoting development for human security. In the charter, “quality growth” and poverty eradication through such growth is designated as a priority policy issue, encompassing water supply and sanitation. Indeed, Japan adopts a cross-sectoral approach, that is, the approach to strengthening health systems also includes the strengthening of water services and other infrastructure (CRC/C/JPN/3, para. 68).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Funders employ a variety of practical instruments directed to project managers and operational teams to administer development cooperation activities in ways that comply with their policies and goals. Such tools are key to translating policy provisions into actual methods to realize the human rights to water and sanitation. Examples of such instruments include toolboxes, manuals and technical guidelines, which provide the particular benefit of being more adaptable and renewable than policy frameworks. Thus, such instruments fulfil the purpose in the human rights development cycle of instructing funders’ operational teams on how to maximize positive contributions to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. Yet, given the frequent absence of an obligation for funders and implementers to apply those instruments, their effectiveness can be limited.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The European Union has in place a regulation establishing a financing instrument for democracy and human rights worldwide. The most recent specific policy document on the water and sanitation sector was endorsed in 2002 by the Council of the European Union. It emphasizes the importance of relevant principles and standards related to participation, gender equality, transparency and access to information, financial and environmental sustainability in service provision, affordability, and improving service levels for the poorest populations and rural, urban and peri-urban areas.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Acceptability of services can be achieved by taking users’ distinct characteristics, habits, preferences, needs and beliefs into account during project design and implementation. Attention to acceptability was observed in a project that used participatory methods to inform the design of several schools’ sanitation facilities. Occurring in a majority Muslim community, the project took into consideration the community members’ particular preferences for the design of toilet facilities, in addition to the needs of persons with disabilities, who were also included in the participatory processes. Activities to promote awareness throughout the implementation of projects can also encourage behavioural change and lead to greater acceptability of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- From a broader perspective, ensuring the public’s access to information on development cooperation projects enhances transparency and enables more effective monitoring of a funder’s contribution to reducing inequalities and achieving the aims of its development agenda. Adequate access to information relies on the availability and accuracy of information. For instance, the majority of development projects registered in the relevant database of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development do not clearly indicate whether rural or urban areas have been targeted (ibid., para. 20). In the research for the present report, it was apparent that many funders’ self-reported data differed greatly from data in the Creditor Reporting System of that organization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Excluding people from water and sanitation facilities creates a vicious circle of further entrenching stigmatization. For instance, not providing homeless persons with the opportunity to use public facilities forces them to resort to urinating and defecating in public, without being afforded any privacy. In being so exposed, people are stigmatized even further.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 59a
- Paragraph text
- [Since stigma is so complex and so deeply engrained in society, permeating different spheres, preventing and combating it requires holistic approaches and systemic solutions:] Stigma must be addressed at different levels, to ensure change at the level of individual behaviours, as well as at the broader social and cultural levels. It is crucial to recognize the extent to which States perpetuate stigma and address this at the institutional and structural levels;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Incorporating human rights principles, such as accountability, participation and non-discrimination, into financing mechanisms will enhance their impact by ensuring that resources are distributed so as to focus on improving access to water and sanitation services for those who currently have no or inadequate access.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- As discussed below, various forms of government support, for instance, direct or cross subsidization, can have a positive impact on affordability. Sound, transparent indicators for measuring and monitoring affordability help to further promote accountability in the sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- In discussing the costs of investing in water and sanitation it is easy to lose sight of the benefits. Indeed, the economic costs of not spending more on water and sanitation are potentially much higher. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, in sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The purpose of a more focused consideration of violations of the rights to water and sanitation is to promote more concerted action to ensure access to justice. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights points out that "all victims of violations of the right to water should be entitled to adequate reparation, including restitution, compensation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations System Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda has noted that, in developing countries, access to water and sanitation, among others, are much worse for low-income and rural families. Despite progress in poverty reduction in the overall picture, the report argues, major inequalities persist.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, two projects assessed employed community workers and local committees of residents tasked, inter alia, with ensuring that beneficiaries could accompany the project implementation process and relay their opinions or concerns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- [It also considers four broad categories of management models:] Utilities (large scale, formal entities that provide predominantly piped water and sanitation systems)
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 6a
- Paragraph text
- [While target 7.C itself is of critical importance, it is also indispensable for achieving the other Millennium Development Goals:] Access to clean water and sanitation can reduce the risk of child mortality (Goal 4) by 50 per cent;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 6b
- Paragraph text
- [While target 7.C itself is of critical importance, it is also indispensable for achieving the other Millennium Development Goals:] Clean water supply and sanitation services reduce diseases such as anaemia and vitamin deficiency that undermine maternal health (Goal 5);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- In all cases, it is critical that any sort of public financing is transparent, clearly explained and widely promoted to ensure that those entitled to it receive it, to reduce the scope of corruption, and to analyse whether the mechanism has been effective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- In some cases, household income or expenditure data is not available. In such cases, other indicators such as the type of access (for example, whether a small-scale facility is used), property value, size of the residence or geographical location can be used to evaluate the economic capacity of users.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 87a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations. States should take the following measures:] Assess what financing mechanisms and subsidies are in place, including hidden subsidies, and who benefits from them;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Household contributions for water and sanitation services in rural areas and in informal settlements can differ quite substantially from household contributions for standard piped water and sewerage provision. In these cases, user costs can range from the construction of communal or individual household provision (a well, communal or household toilet), through the storage of water (buckets, jerry cans, tanks), treatment of water (boiling, chlorine, filters etc.), cleaning, maintenance, emptying of latrines or septic tanks, to the disposal of excreta.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In any event, the human rights framework obliges States to ensure, first, that the cost of accessing water and sanitation remains affordable and appropriately reflects the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups and, second, that there is a safety net in place for those who cannot afford to pay or who can only afford to pay a minimal fee. In this context, affordable means that the costs should not significantly detract from a household's ability to pay other essential costs, such as food, housing or health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 47f
- Paragraph text
- [One of the key roles of regulation is to set and monitor performance standards. The regulatory framework has to set specific standards for providers to comply with in line with the human rights to water and sanitation and the obligation to progressively realize these rights in particular with regard to:] Accessibility of services. Services must be available within or in the immediate vicinity of each household as well as schools, workplaces, health-care settings and public places. Access must be ensured in a sustainable manner;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 75a
- Paragraph text
- [Based on the findings of the present report, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Prioritize funding, both in the national budget and for official development assistance, for water and sanitation with a particular focus on extending access to the unserved or under-served. This should include measures to identify the most marginalized, excluded and disadvantaged populations in terms of access to water and sanitation and specific initiatives to improve their situation;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- In any case, non-State service providers must not obstruct access to State-based accountability mechanisms, including court proceedings. Such mechanisms are essential, since an appropriate solution might not be found between the individual who has allegedly been harmed and the service provider. Grievance mechanisms provided by service providers are an important first step, but they may not settle the issue conclusively. In contentious cases, settlement via an independent institution such as the judiciary is required.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- From a human rights perspective, it is imperative to determine whether service delivery contributes to or undermines the realization of human rights. Therefore, the provision of services must be assessed against the standard of the human rights to sanitation and water. While all aspects of these rights, that is, availability, safety, acceptability, accessibility, affordability, participation, non-discrimination and accountability, have to be met, some will become more relevant than others in the following discussion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Currently, household surveys do not collect information about intrahousehold differences in access such as by sex, age, or disability. However, they could be amended to capture this dimension by focusing on the actual use of water, sanitation and hygiene by all individuals within a household which would allow for such monitoring. The Special Rapporteur's experience notes that interviewing women, children or persons with disabilities often draws a different picture of actual use of existing facilities, as well as of the existing barriers that explain lack of use.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 83h
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework puts a strong emphasis on accountability. Legal frameworks provide the basis for accountability by allowing people to base their claims on legally binding entitlements. These should be complemented by targets backed by relevant and reliable data and reflecting State commitment for which Governments can be held accountable. In this regard:] States must put into place mechanisms and remedies to hold the relevant actors accountable for following the plan and achieving the targets it has set;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- To start planning for the implementation of the rights to water and to sanitation, Governments need to identify and designate the responsible ministry or ministries and department(s). Often, a range of institutions are responsible for different aspects, including the departments of health, infrastructure, environment, education, agriculture and water resources. Moreover, different entities may be involved in the regulation of the water and sanitation sectors. For instance, regulating water quality may rest with the department of health or environment, while responsibility for regulation of tariffs may lie elsewhere. Yet another ministry might be responsible for implementing social policies necessary to ensure affordability for certain parts of the population. The plan should therefore clearly allocate responsibilities and spell out which actor is to undertake which activity as well as provide for coordination among ministries. Apart from the relevant line ministries, strengthening cooperation with planning and finance ministries is crucial. The experience of the Sanitation and Water for All initiative has shown that the involvement of finance ministers makes a significant difference in ensuring adequate budgetary support to realizing the rights to water and to sanitation. For instance, in Chad, the initiative helped to bring together the Ministers of Finance and Water. Their discussions on the need for a sound sanitation strategy resulted in the disaggregation of the previously consolidated budget line for water and sanitation in order to better track investments in sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Not all prohibited grounds of discrimination will be relevant in all States. In the process of identifying groups and individuals who are disadvantaged, States need to survey the population based on these grounds and investigate further when they find that certain groups are discriminated against. While, for instance, gender-based discrimination or disparities between formal and informal settlements will be a common issue in many countries, identifying and addressing other forms of discrimination will require a more contextualized approach.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Moving beyond the direct link to sanitation and wastewater from households, the Special Rapporteur sees the need to consider wastewater from other sources, including the industrial and agricultural sectors, because contamination from those sources has a significant impact on water quality, and the impact of domestic wastewater cannot be considered in isolation. As long as wastewater is generated, whether it be from agriculture, industry, or settlements, and is not confined and appropriately treated, human rights will be at risk of being violated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 87i
- Paragraph text
- [In line with this, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] Donors, international organizations and other non-State actors, including the private sector, should meet their human rights obligations and responsibilities respectively, and support States in improving wastewater management and pollution control, in particular through targeting resources to address the most urgent and serious challenges and improve the lives and livelihoods of the most excluded and disadvantaged populations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Figures on wastewater treatment are difficult to interpret, as statistics often measure only the percentage of collected wastewater that is treated, leaving aside wastewater and resulting pollution that are not collected in networks, as well as large volumes of groundwater that users extract in a private manner which then contributes to wastewater production. Systematic monitoring of small wastewater treatment systems, including cesspools and septic tanks is challenging (see A/HRC/18/33/Add.2, para. 21). Moreover, wastewater from diffuse sources is almost impossible to quantify and monitor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Differential pricing can also be used for different sectors, for instance using higher tariffs for industrial, commercial and public users to cross-subsidize residential users. In practice, however, such cross-subsidization is often discouraged and agricultural and industrial water use may be highly subsidized. Where such public financing is not necessary to secure livelihoods and is not directly related to the realization of human rights, existing pricing and subsidy policies should be revised to use the maximum amount of available resources for the realization of human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Above all, regulation of informal and small-scale service provision should assist in increasing access to water and sanitation for poor and marginalized households, and not hinder such access. Formalization and regulation of informal service provision must pay due attention to the impact of this process on levels of access, affordability and quality of service provision. Where States seek to replace informal service provision with formal providers, they must ensure that people can actually afford these alternatives and do not experience retrogression in the realization of their human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The importance of effective planning has been elucidated many times, but a lack of planning and institutional coordination for the long-term realization of the rights to water and sanitation persists. Competencies for water and sanitation are often spread both horizontally (falling within the auspices of many national authorities) and vertically (shared between central, regional and local governments). Other actors also have a relevant role to play - as public or private service providers, international donors, regulators or civil society organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The costs of ensuring access to water and sanitation may be high. Yet, the price of not investing is even higher. The lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene underlies severe human costs such as poor health and high mortality rates, as well as major economic losses - globally, an estimated $ 260 billion is lost yearly due to lack of access to sanitation alone. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Public finance is very common in large-scale piped water and sewerage systems, with governments (and other funders, such as multilateral and bilateral donors) investing significantly in networks, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants and trunk sewers. Provided that all households within a city are able to connect to use these services, this may be an efficient approach to ensuring that public finances are used well for water and sanitation service provision, even if it also results in subsidizing service provision for those who would not need such support to ensure affordability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- There are, however, concerns from a human rights perspective. The construction of such systems may be technically difficult to install in and around existing buildings and infrastructure where urban settlements have not been adequately planned, such as in most informal settlements. In many developing countries, the sewerage network is only available in middle and high income areas. Leaving residents of low income areas and informal settlements without access to this service often entrenches inequalities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- It is clear that the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals will require unprecedented cooperation between countries and the development of strong cooperation strategies and actions. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda, adopted at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and endorsed by the General Assembly in 2015 (resolution 69/313), provides a comprehensive set of policy actions by Member States, with a package of over 100 concrete measures to finance sustainable development, transform the global economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Accountability refers to the relationship of duty bearers towards rights holders, as the latter are affected by the decisions and actions of the former. It demands that individuals and groups have access to courts and other mechanisms and that remedies be provided. Accountability mechanisms also determine which aspects of a gender-sensitive policy or service are functioning well or need to be adjusted. Monitoring is essential to track progress and assess whether the State is meeting its goals and targets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The rapid development of technology has made it possible to leverage data from new sources. There is a great opportunity to connect official statistics to citizen-generated data. States must therefore support the crucial role played by civil society, women's organizations in particular. In addition to developing innovative ways of collecting data, civil society also brings qualitative value in analysing and interpreting results to make sure that gaps in monitoring are detected and that gender-specific needs are taken into account.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- A number of human rights challenges arise when regulating service provision by contract, particularly when non-State actors are involved. Such challenges include guaranteeing transparent and democratic decision-making, addressing power asymmetries in the bidding and negotiation process, ensuring affordable services, avoiding disconnections in cases of inability to pay, ensuring monitoring and accountability, and addressing corruption. It is also important that contracts, which are normally valid for decades, can be reviewed and adapted over time.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Monitoring is essential for understanding current levels of access to water and sanitation services — by focusing on issues such as affordability and water quality, identifying barriers to access for unserved or underserved populations, and ensuring that participatory processes are inclusive. National and local monitoring processes gather information that helps identify drivers and bottlenecks, highlight gaps, and assess strengths and challenges, and as such are essential for the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Regulatory actors play a key role in ensuring service providers’ accountability for non-compliance with the human rights to water and sanitation. To ensure accountability, regulatory frameworks must clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in service provision and provide clear and accessible information on the complaint mechanisms available at different levels. A growing number of independent regulatory bodies have complaint mechanisms for the resolution of disputes between service providers and users.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 63b
- Paragraph text
- [In line with these conclusions, the independent expert recommends the following:] States must have a vision of how to fully realize the rights to water and sanitation for all, and elaborate national strategies and action plans to implement this vision. These should be endorsed at the highest political level and integrated within national poverty reduction strategies and expenditure frameworks to ensure their operationalization, sustainability and comprehensiveness;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 83f
- Paragraph text
- [The human rights framework puts a strong emphasis on accountability. Legal frameworks provide the basis for accountability by allowing people to base their claims on legally binding entitlements. These should be complemented by targets backed by relevant and reliable data and reflecting State commitment for which Governments can be held accountable. In this regard:] States should build arrangements for monitoring and evaluation into the strategy and plan from the outset;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (iii) d.
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: Future goals, targets and indicators on water, sanitation and hygiene must: Address group-related inequalities that vary across countries, such as those based on ethnicity, race, nationality, language and religion;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 82c (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] Such study and its findings should, in particular: Serve as the basis for the design of specific policies and programmes, the allocation of financial and human resources, targeted evidence-based measures and, where needed, temporary special measures for groups and individuals facing stigma in relation to the rights to water and sanitation;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 87j
- Paragraph text
- [In line with this, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] States should promote the integration of human rights into the post-2015 sustainable development agenda through, inter alia, incorporating the elimination of inequalities, drinking water safety, the collection and treatment of wastewater, especially addressing faecal sludge management, and putting particular emphasis on monitoring informal settlements.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur therefore focuses her recommendations on how to more effectively ensure that violations are identified, prevented and remedied, with an emphasis on those areas which have been most neglected. She recommends that States:] Raise awareness on economic, social and cultural rights and the human rights to water and sanitation in particular so that individuals know their rights and will be able to claim them in the case of violations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83j
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur therefore focuses her recommendations on how to more effectively ensure that violations are identified, prevented and remedied, with an emphasis on those areas which have been most neglected. She recommends that States:] Provide comprehensive information in their periodic reports to treaty-monitoring bodies, the universal periodic review process and relevant regional mechanisms for the prevention of violations of the human rights to water and sanitation;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Planning processes in line with human rights contributes to ensuring a coherent approach that accords sufficient priority to water and sanitation, helps to ensure more sustainable results, and strengthens accountability. A clearly articulated vision has the advantage of serving as a firm foundation for prioritizing funding to the sector, both within the domestic budget as well as through international assistance. This vision can inspire confidence that funds can be absorbed and spent in line with the stated goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Non-discrimination is a core concept in human rights law, and in this regard, the assessment must pay particular attention to marginalized and vulnerable groups to determine their levels of access and specific barriers they may face. Such an assessment must analyse why people do not have access, identifying existing gaps, exclusions, barriers and constraints. Only when the discriminatory impact of laws and policies is identified can adequate responses be designed to address the root causes for the lack of access.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Violations of the obligation to fulfil may be the most critical category. Such violations are often complex and affect a large number of victims, yet they have generally received the least attention. Potential claimants face considerable challenges in relation to gaining access to justice for alleged structural or systemic violations. Jurisprudence, including the standards of review developed by courts in recent years, has demonstrated, however, that violations of the obligation to fulfil can indeed be adjudicated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- A particular concern relates to private sector participation and withdrawal of State regulation, oversight and provision in times of austerity. The Portuguese auditing institution found that private-public partnerships - by not sharing risks and benefits equally - benefit largely the private sector, that they are detrimental to the people and that services are often of lower quality while higher prices are charged. The Special Rapporteur has raised related concerns in a series of communications.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The water used by households and individuals for domestic and personal uses must be of sufficient quality to protect their health (see E/C.12/2002/11, para. 12). Pollution of water by any means, including by agriculture, industry and wastewater must therefore be prevented. WHO has published guidelines for drinking water quality, which define relevant limits for a wide range of potentially harmful substances to prevent "significant risk to health over a lifetime of consumption".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, it has been rightly pointed out that recent uprisings have highlighted the need for development to go hand-in-hand with the defence of human rights and freedoms. It is in that vein that the African Development Bank, in its strategic plan for delivering basic water supply and sanitation to rural Africa for the period 2012-2015, explicitly referred to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation as a component of an enabling environment for the improvement of governance in the subsector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Already in 2010, States committed to improved systems for monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals so as to allow for the collection of disaggregated data to capture inequalities by recognizing: "all countries require adequate, timely, reliable and disaggregated data, including demographic data, in order to design better programmes and policies for sustainable development" (see General Assembly resolution 65/1, para. 68).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- [It also considers four broad categories of management models:] Self-supply.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Violations of rights to non-discrimination and equality infuse other rights violations. What has become increasingly clear to the Special Rapporteur is that systemic and widespread denials of access to water and sanitation are first and foremost driven by patterns of discrimination, stigmatization and exclusion. Challenging violations of rights to water and sanitation invariably confronts endemic patterns of inequalities. More efforts are needed, in particular with regard to challenging discrimination faced by persons with disabilities, inequalities based on socioeconomic status, and discrimination and stigmatization deeply entrenched in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Article 25 (a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the right to participate in public affairs. Participation must be active, free and meaningful. While it is often stressed that participation has significant instrumental value in ensuring more sustainable results, participation is a human right in itself, and non-compliance with the relevant human rights obligations may give rise to violations. Such violations may arise from direct denial of participation as well as indirect, by failure to take reasonable steps to facilitate participation, including by ensuring the right to access to information.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Courts have found that denying the right to participation constitutes a violation. The South African Constitutional Court developed the concept of "meaningful engagement" in the 51 Olivia Road case , holding that rights holders have a right to participate in decisions affecting the enjoyment of social rights, including in the development of plans. The Court found that the City of Johannesburg had made no effort to engage and hence had not met its obligations. The concept of meaningful engagement has since been taken up by courts in other countries, for instance in Kenya. In the Beja case, a South African court found that a denial of meaningful engagement and effective community participation in decision-making regarding the design and installation of toilets violated constitutional rights. The Special Rapporteur recommends that increased attention be paid to the obligation to ensure participation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Current water and sanitation budgets may not reflect maximum available resources, as they may have been developed on the basis of budget decisions or fiscal policy that failed to prioritize the rights to water and sanitation. Existing budgets must therefore not be equated with available resources. In the Blue Moonlight case, the South African Constitutional Court demonstrated the role that courts can play in determining whether budgets comply with human rights obligations using the standard of reasonableness, holding that "it is not good enough for the City to state that it has not budgeted for something, if it should indeed have planned and budgeted for it in the fulfilment of its obligations".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Use of hygiene facilities and services must be available at a price that is affordable to all people. The main costs, other than for installation, are associated with supplying water, soap and cleaning products for hand-washing, food hygiene, home hygiene and washing clothes, and for sanitary napkins or other products required for menstrual hygiene. Paying for these services must not limit people's capacity to acquire other basic goods and services guaranteed by human rights, such as food, housing, health services and education. Assistance should be provided to households or individuals who are unable to afford soap and cleaning products, or sanitary products for women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- [People need to have access to information:] To make decisions about their daily use of water, sanitation and hygiene services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Communal or shared sanitation options, especially between many households, should never be seen as an adequate long-term solution. However, in some contexts, they are a short- to medium-term solution, necessary owing to limited urban planning and insufficient resources. Where communal or shared latrines are used, States should take measures to ensure privacy, safety and hygiene, affordability and sustainability. They should also ensure that there is a plan with set targets to upgrade this form of sanitation to options that comply fully with the right to sanitation within a fixed time-frame. Without this long-term commitment and planning, solutions that are considered to be short-term often end up being long-term solutions. Without suitable regulation, none of these services can be guaranteed to comply with human rights, for quality, affordability, safety or acceptability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Sanitation workers frequently face serious health risks, stigmatization, violence and exploitation. In India, the Parliament adopted an act requiring that sanitation systems be overhauled so as to eliminate the need for manual scavengers and seeking to eradicate stigma, inter alia by arranging for alternative jobs. The Supreme Court of India observed that "manual scavengers are considered as untouchables by other mainstream castes and are thrown into a vortex of severe social and economic exploitation". It held that the continuation of manual scavenging violated human rights and ordered the State to fully implement the new act and take appropriate action in response to any violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- As long as on-site sanitation facilities are constructed, maintained and managed according to human rights standards and principles, there is no dichotomy between human rights and self-supply. However, some of these solutions may be inadequate, especially in terms of cleaning, maintenance and sludge management, which can have strong negative impacts on human health and the environment. In some countries, the State may not recognize its obligation to ensure that self-supply solutions comply with human rights obligations and are appropriate and affordable. States need to put appropriate systems in place, including regulation and financial support for those who need it.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Piped systems usually ensure accessibility, acceptability and convenience for the user, quality and privacy. The health benefits for those connected to a sewerage network are clear, as faeces and wastewater are transported away from the household in a way that avoids human contact. While the user has to clean the toilet and ensure that the flush mechanism works properly, all other aspects of maintenance and wastewater treatment are the responsibility of someone else. A regulatory framework and standards for piped systems are generally available, while these are not always effectively put in place and monitored.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- An alternative sewerage system (often referred to as simplified, condominial or small-bore sewerage systems, owing to the smaller size of the pipes), can imply more affordable construction costs, but generally transfers its management from the State to the community and requires more user maintenance, which can be problematic in the long term. Small-scale, community-managed service providers may also construct piped sewerage systems. They will often be limited to a small community, providing sewerage service connected to a simplified wastewater treatment plant. While these can be very effective, without appropriate management and regulation there is a risk that the service is not constructed adequately, that the treatment plant is not properly maintained, is not affordable and does not provide a consistent and sustainable service.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to target the most disadvantaged in order to achieve substantive equality provides a powerful tool for prioritization in policy-making, resource allocation and service provision. This prioritization is reinforced by the concept of core obligations used by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It requires States to ensure the realization of an essential level of the human rights to water and sanitation as a matter of priority (see E/C.2/2002/11, para. 37 and E/1991/23-E/C.12/1990/8, annex III). Hence States' actions have to prioritize service provision to the unserved and underserved. Where parts of the population do not even have access to an essential level of service, States must prioritize this. When everyone has access to at least an essential level of service, States have the obligation to progressively realize the human rights to water and sanitation in order to achieve an adequate standard of living for all.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Public or communal latrines are less likely to be well-managed than privately shared latrines. They also tend to be located at a greater distance from the home, raising concerns in terms of quality, hygiene and accessibility. One particular drawback of a communal service is a lack of privacy and an increased risk of violence or assault for people leaving the house, particularly at night. Women and children are particularly at risk of violence in such conditions. Challenges also exist in terms of ensuring hygiene in these types of facilities, in assigning responsibilities for operation, maintenance and cleaning and hence to ensure their sustainability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Hand-washing is often seen as the key aspect of hygiene. It requires both adequate quantities of water at necessary places (in the kitchen and bathroom) and critical times (after using the toilet, before preparing food and before eating), as well as soap (or an alternative, such as ash). In many households, both of these resources may be in short supply, for accessibility or affordability reasons. A typical example of a hand-washing station is a tap connected to piped water, but there are also other solutions, such as the "tippy tap", that are at least acceptable as an interim solution. As with all water use, it is essential that there be an adequate wastewater disposal system to prevent the local (and in some cases broader) environment from being flooded with excess water.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- In principle, States are obliged to progressively realize economic, social and cultural rights, although there are some immediate obligations, such as non discrimination. The human rights framework acknowledges that the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights takes time in many States. However, States have to move towards the goal of full realization as expeditiously and efficiently as possible. Where they have the capacity to realize the human rights to water and sanitation in full, they have an obligation to do so. All States must undertake deliberate, targeted and concrete steps to that end. The concept of progressive realization does not leave the realization of human rights to the States' discretion. It is qualified by an obligation to devote the maximum of available resources towards the realization of human rights. While difficult to measure in concrete terms, the principle of using the maximum available resources sets an objective standard for compliance with human rights obligations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Resolution 24/18 of the Human Rights Council recognized "that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use and to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure and acceptable, and that provides privacy and ensures dignity." Building on this definition, the earlier work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see E/C.12/2002/11 and A/HRC/12/24) and of the former Special Rapporteur (see A/HRC/12/24), this section seeks to clarify the meaning of human rights standards and principles for sanitation, water and hygiene, in the light of different types of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The discussion on ensuring affordability has repeatedly pointed out the crucial role of regulation and monitoring.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Particular challenges arise for regulation in the context of small-scale and informal provision, as governments often do not have any control over the operation of these providers. Governments may formalize the informal sector while keeping the small-scale nature of the provision through effective regulation, such that the small-scale providers serve as contractors to the government. This is the strategy that is being initiated in Nairobi, Kenya, where water kiosks in informal settlements are supplied by and registered with the utility, and the tariff is fixed by the regulatory body. However, this tariff is not always complied with. Where households rely on informal service provision, governments should also provide support in terms of management and technical support to increase the quality and affordability of their services. A similar approach is taken in Maputo, Mozambique, where the regulator supports informal service provision in the absence of the capacity of the utility, in the short-to-medium term, to deliver services to all residents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Overall, notwithstanding growing levels of development cooperation, it is still insufficient in quantity and questionable in terms of targeting when it comes to meeting the world's needs for water and sanitation. For example, commitments of funds for basic systems, a proxy indicator for the extent to which the urban poor and rural populations are being reached, are consistently less than those for large systems. In 2013, 24 per cent of funds went to basic systems, compared with 50 per cent for large systems, with a decrease in funds for those projects from 26 per cent to 21 per cent between 2010 and 2012. Moreover, development cooperation still does not appear to be allocated with priority to the least developed countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Affordability is key for the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. Ensuring affordable service provision for all people requires a paradigm shift - starting from the perspective of human rights. Economic sustainability and affordability for all people are not impossible to reconcile, but human rights require rethinking current lines of argumentation and redesigning current instruments. The main challenge is to ensure that targeted measures and instruments do, in fact, reach the people who rely on them most. For instance, tariffs must be designed in such a way that the most disadvantaged of those connected to formal utilities receive the assistance they need. It also requires ensuring that public finance and subsidies reach the most marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and communities, who are often not (yet) connected to a formal network, who may live in informal settlements without any formal title or in remote rural areas where self-supply is common, and who are often overlooked or deliberately ignored in current policymaking and planning.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The approach, or its implementation in particular cases, has encountered some criticism from the perspective of human rights, including concerns about the affordability of adequate sanitation for the most disadvantaged due to the lack of subsidies. Without external support, people living in extreme poverty may only be able to build very basic latrines and do not always have the means to afford maintenance and improvements. Some variants of Community-Led Total Sanitation are open to using external subsidies for the most disadvantaged in communities. Some suggest a sequencing approach to the use of public finance. While the initial investments in hardware are expected to be made by the community, public finance should be used in the long term to create the enabling environment for sustainable sanitation and ensuring public health, for instance for maintenance and pit emptying, or through public health interventions that promote sanitation and good hygiene practices. Some schemes have provided microfinance for the construction of latrines, which is then paid off over a two- or three-year time frame. This can be an effective way of spreading the cost, but affordability concerns will remain for the poorest households.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- More generally, Community-Led Total Sanitation encourages community support and assistance from better-off households to people living in greater poverty. Yet many communities are not a coherent whole; there are entrenched power asymmetries and inequalities. People not only experience different levels of poverty and deprivation, but may be marginalized on grounds of ethnicity, caste or other factors. There may be instances where community support is not forthcoming. In other instances, people may feel that they have to rely on the charitable benevolence of others rather than feel entitled to the realization of their right to sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has reviewed relevant policy documents from the State funders who have dedicated the greatest amount of funds to development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector. The review was not intended to be exhaustive nor was it intended to make a critical judgment, but rather provides an overview of the approaches and points of view of the funding States, based on relevant official documents. Some funding States mention the human rights to water and sanitation or a human rights-based approach at the framework level in their policy documents. However, there is no evidence that funding States systematically apply the human rights approach to water and sanitation as a necessary criterion in the selection of projects to be financed. The choice of financing a specific activity seems to depend much more on the funder's global strategy and the country's demand. Even when the human rights to water and sanitation are exceptionally mentioned in the initial project assessment documents, once the project is implemented, those rights are not specifically referred to in the main planning and assessment tools, such as the annual operating plans and the project monitoring documents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Another issue is that some stakeholders may consider certain human rights-based approaches to represent an unnecessary diversion of funds, demonstrations of "excesses of zeal" or a restriction on the flexibility of funding entities. Such concerns could be brought on by the participation by multiple stakeholders in the design phase of a programme, which may lead to lengthier processes that require a greater number of opinions to be taken into consideration. The Special Rapporteur does not fully share the preceding points of view. In agreement with the conclusions reached in an evaluation carried out by the United Nations Inter-agency Mechanism on All Freshwater-related Issues, Including Sanitation (UN-Water), the Special Rapporteur is of the view that raising awareness of rights-holders by strengthening participatory processes can lead to greater ownership, more involvement in operations and maintenance and improved sustainability of sanitation and water services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Although part of the literature on conditionalities in development cooperation identifies positive and negative outcomes, there is a relevant body of research in the water and sanitation sector that highlights the negative aspects of imposing conditionalities. Various types of conditionalities, including ex ante or ex post, policy-based, output-based and tied aid, are commonly used in development cooperation projects in the water and sanitation sector. For example, a funder could condition aid for a collective water supply system on the raising of tariffs paid by users, a policy of full-cost recovery or the privatization of service provision. There is a growing call to end those practices in the interest of ensuring country ownership. For example, the intergovernmental International Conference on Freshwater declared that private sector participation should not be imposed on developing countries as a conditionality for funding, and that priority should be given to catalysing other forms of financing, building capacity and targeting the poor, especially in rural areas. The Special Rapporteur received several statements in response to the above-mentioned questionnaire that reinforced such calls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations stressed that implementing development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector does not only mean making financial arrangements, but also establishing constructive relationships that coordinate to produce regionally and culturally specific policy and programme frameworks. Those affirmations embody serious, well-founded concerns that the orientation of some projects and programmes in the sector continue to be towards profit-based priorities. Civil society organizations also called for both funding and partner States to be responsible for the adverse effects of development cooperation projects on human rights. For example, when conditionalities imposed by funders requiring full-cost recovery through tariffs have raised the cost of access to water and sanitation services and cut off recourse for affected residents to petition those measures, civil society may rightly criticize public authorities for not protecting users from the adverse impact of unaffordable services, as well as the funder for facilitating the creation of such circumstances.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The available general policy documents of the main funding States and multilateral funders show that in most cases they implicitly recognize some of the human rights principles, including equality and non-discrimination, access to information, participation and accountability, in their policy frameworks for development cooperation. In general, a number of human rights principles are accepted and some funding agencies use compatible indicators and similar principles. However, those organizations do not yet recognize such principles as obligations under international human rights law or necessarily observe them as such in project implementation and reporting. Some elements of the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation, such as water quality and availability, are addressed by development cooperation projects, while others, such as affordability of services and accessibility, are systematically absent from policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Persons must be made aware of the human rights to water and sanitation and the enforceability of those rights. Women must be able to hold the State to account regarding its obligations to provide adequate sanitation facilities in, for example, public spaces like market places and transport hubs. Impunity for perpetrators of gender-based violence must be eliminated and remedies must be provided. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has recommended that all cases of violence and discrimination against women be brought under the jurisdiction of a criminal court rather than be settled through mediation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Conversely, other major multilateral funders do not incorporate human rights into their policy frameworks, sometimes intentionally. The most remarkable such case concerns the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, which form part of the World Bank Group, as thoroughly discussed in 2015 by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/70/274). Notwithstanding references in policy analyses and public relations statements to the importance of the human rights framework, which in any case are non-committal, the World Bank has controversially abstained from including human rights-related criteria in its operational policies, except with respect to the rights of indigenous peoples. Several official World Bank statements have expressed the view that human rights are matters of political concern that, in accordance with the institution's articles of agreement, cannot be considered as criteria for the disbursement of funds. The recently established multilateral development banks, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, include nearly identical terms in their articles of agreement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Many women and girls risk their health using unhygienic sanitary methods, for example by using dirty rags or newspapers to collect menstrual fluids, as other methods are unaffordable, unavailable or unknown owing to stigma and taboos relating to menstruation. Although women in western countries use, on average, at least 12,000 tampons during their lifetime, there is no extensive and publicly available knowledge on the safety of tampon usage. States are required to enact regulations on the safety of industrially produced menstrual products. Different women prefer different menstrual products, which include cloths and menstrual cups. Information must be provided so women can use the product they feel most comfortable with, with the knowledge and skills to manage their menses hygienically. States must further ensure affordable health care for all women and girls, including for menstrual issues and incontinence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Water, sanitation and hygiene needs are critical to prevent high maternal and newborn mortality rates. In its recently adopted general comment No. 22 (2016) on the right to sexual and reproductive health, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes that access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, as well as access to health-related education and information, are the underlying determinants to that right. Collaboration among sectors makes it possible to exchange information on how to deliver education on culturally taboo topics and to give greater priority to female-specific needs, in a manner that the water, sanitation and hygiene sector alone cannot achieve.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Infants
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Affordability is of special concern to women and girls, who often have less access to financial resources than men. Women and girls need toilets for urination, defecation and menstrual hygiene management as well as for assisting younger children. Combined with women's lower access to financial resources, pay-per-use toilets with the same user fee for men and women are in practice often more expensive for women. Besides, public urinals are often free for men but not for women. To tackle this, the municipal government of Mumbai is currently constructing several toilet blocks the maintenance of which is financed through family passes instead of by charging a fee for each use. Some public toilets can be used free of charge by women and other groups that often lack access to economic resources, such as children and older people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- According to international human rights law, States must allocate their maximum available resources to the progressive realization of human rights, paying particular attention to the rights and needs of the most marginalized segments of the population. Progressive policies and plans will be rendered worthless, however, without a proper budget. A gender analysis supports Governments in making better budget-related choices by highlighting existing gender inequalities and the impact of public expenditures on women and girls. States should promote gender mainstreaming in budgeting activities for water sanitation and hygiene, and increase women's participation in budgeting processes. Specialized units throughout government can be tasked with oversight.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Employment codes and standards that explicitly require the inclusion of facilities for menstrual hygiene management in the workplace are currently limited or do not exist. Such regulations must be developed, promoted and enforced and must serve to hold businesses and Governments to account. It is important that Governments determine these responsibilities within their administrative structures, so they can be held to account. In addition, private companies and employers have a responsibility to prioritize this issue and take action. Trade unions too have the potential to encourage good practices and support workers' rights in this area.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Water, sanitation and hygiene policies and laws must proactively and deliberately enable the active, free and meaningful participation of women at all stages of planning, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. As a principle, the participation of women must be fully integrated in both the legislative and the executive branches of government, and in initiatives by implementing entities, such as non-governmental organizations and service providers. Participation must take place at the micro, meso and macro levels. This includes community-level initiatives, as well as initiatives and decision-making at the national, regional and international levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 27/7 of 2014 and 33/10 of 2016, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller, was mandated to work on identifying challenges and obstacles to the full realization of those rights, as well as protection gaps, good practices and enabling factors. The subject of the present report is the regulation of water and sanitation services in the context of realization of human rights and the report aims to discuss the essential role that regulatory frameworks can play in the implementation of these human rights at the national level. In this respect, it outlines the legal obligations and responsibilities of States, regulatory actors and service providers in progressively realizing the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation through regulatory frameworks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- As part of the consultation process, the Special Rapporteur invited States and non-State actors to contribute their views and perspectives in writing, through a questionnaire. A total of 43 submissions were received. Eighteen submissions were received from States, and 25 submissions were received from non-State actors including civil society organizations, private service providers, academia and international organizations. Furthermore, in order to collect the views of other stakeholders, the Special Rapporteur convened an expert consultation which was held on 22 and 23 May 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- All service providers, whether public, State-owned or private, must comply with the State’s legal and regulatory framework. In cases where the State is the service provider, at central level or often through its municipalities, it must act in compliance with the laws and regulations of the State and in line with its international human rights obligations. Where service provision is formally delegated by the State to non-State actors, the State cannot exempt itself from its human rights obligations and retains the obligation to regulate and monitor their activities. Non-State service providers (formal and informal), on the other hand, have human rights responsibilities, which include complying with the national regulatory framework and respecting the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- As part of their human rights responsibilities, service providers should establish legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, rights-based and transparent grievance and remedy mechanisms that allow individuals to bring alleged human rights abuses to their attention (see A/HRC/8/5, paras. 82 and 92). This should be required by the regulatory framework as it is part of exercising human rights due diligence, since accountability mechanisms enable the service provider to become aware of its human rights impacts. Equally important is the responsibility of service providers to provide regulatory actors with the necessary information regarding service provision, especially information on their performance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation depends heavily on national legal and regulatory frameworks. While constitutional recognition of these rights shows a strong national commitment to their realization, and facilitates their inclusion in domestic laws, it does not constitute a conditio sine qua non for their inclusion in national legal frameworks. Kenya, for example, underwent a process of legal and regulatory reform before enshrining these rights in its Constitution. Laws give voice to national policies, and aspire to achieving universal realization of the rights, while rules and regulations set performance standards and determine how services should be provided to the population, as they encapsulate the technical and scientific requirements needed to give meaningful content to the general terms contained in laws. The fact that the provision of water and sanitation services must be adequate for human dignity, life and health, in accordance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, places concrete human rights obligations on national regulatory frameworks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Regardless of the regulatory model chosen, currently most water and sanitation regulatory frameworks typically incorporate aspects of economic regulation (asset management planning and tariff-setting), of quality of service regulation and of drinking water quality regulation. Some may also include aspects of environmental regulation, mainly water abstraction and wastewater discharges, of user interface regulation or of legal and contractual regulation. The fact that different forms of regulation have been adopted for specific purposes without explicit mention of the human rights to water and sanitation standards or principles does not necessarily mean that those forms of regulation do not take into consideration at least partially these standards and principles. In this context, it is essential to emphasize a distinction between fully incorporating the human rights to water and sanitation into regulatory frameworks and choosing some selected aspects of it to comply with. For States to fulfil their human rights obligations, the whole human rights to water and sanitation framework must be reflected in States’ regulatory norms and activities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The International Water Association’s Lisbon Charter underscores the importance of ensuring an adequate level of institutional, functional and financial independence of regulatory bodies. Some of the features that would characterize independent regulatory bodies include: (a) a stable mandate, which does not depend on either the electoral cycle or changes of government; (b) autonomy in exercising their regulatory functions; (c) the definitive nature of their decisions, which can only be challenged in the courts; and (d) substantial administrative autonomy in their human and budgetary resource management.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- However, some argue that independence from the government may be both unrealistic and in some situations undesirable. In essence, regulatory bodies must ensure the implementation of public policies defined by the government for the regulated sectors. This means that in situations where water policy needs to be reconciled or balanced with social and public policy in order to pursue human rights standards (e.g. affordability) or comply with the government’s international human rights obligations, regulatory decision-making processes should encourage the meaningful participation of the relevant governmental sectors (see A/HRC/36/45/Add.1, para. 36). Governments should be able to legitimately influence both the process of regulatory decision-making and its outcomes in cases where regulation by itself is not sufficient to meet the standards of the human rights to water and sanitation. While the independence of regulatory bodies from governments should not be understated, particularly in countries where corruption is rampant, the question should not be considered in isolation from human rights considerations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- One example of relevance to the present report is the European Union, which has human rights obligations as a part of treaty obligations. Article 21 (2) of the Treaty on the European Union establishes a mandate for the organization to support human rights in all fields of international relations. The European Union is also directly bound by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which it ratified in 2010, particularly article 28, relating to the human right to water, and article 32, relating to international development. Therefore, the obligation to implement human rights in the European Union’s development cooperation applies to European Union institutions responsible for formulating development policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Within the framework of international human rights treaties, all levels of government, including development cooperation agencies, have obligations to adopt specific policies aimed at the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation in legislative form or in other measures (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations, paras. 6-7). Outside of the human rights treaty framework, myriad funders have expressed their commitment to realizing human rights through various international instruments. For instance, in the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action, most funders committed themselves to establishing and implementing development cooperation policies and programmes that respect human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- However, the scant existence of specific, universal policy guarantees for water and sanitation projects reflecting human rights standards effectively grants officials from the World Bank and from partner States the liberty of determining a project’s goals and methods on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, one senior official of the Bank understands that “any project that improves access to improved [water supply and sanitation] is a step towards universal access” and that this is enough not to be negligent of the human rights framework. In the light of this discretionary approach, while some projects funded by the Bank could possibly be aligned with the human rights framework, others risk neglecting human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- A variety of operational tools was observed among the different funders, some with greater relevance to the human rights to water and sanitation than others. The extent to which those tools can guarantee that development cooperation projects will have positive impacts on human rights depends on at least two factors. First, tools based explicitly on the human rights framework will naturally be more apt to incorporate all relevant standards and cause minimal negative impacts. Recognizing that water and sanitation projects are parts of broader, dynamic contexts that can limit a given project’s results, such tools must ensure adaptability in order to maximize the progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation and other related rights. Second, mainstreaming the use of such tools by operational teams involved in project implementation will avoid the risk of standards being applied selectively.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- One project, in which the funder provided budget support to the partner State, consists of maintaining dialogue among government authorities with the aim of supporting sector reform. However, the process seemed to apply a non-participatory approach as relevant stakeholders, including local governments and civil society organizations, were apparently excluded from the discussion of key decisions. That may be a source of future conflict and could jeopardize the legitimacy of the agreements that will be made. The human rights to water and sanitation require funders to take measures to ensure meaningful participation by all stakeholders and to support partner States in developing methods to promote participation (for example, multi-stakeholder dialogues involving the authorities concerned, civil society organizations, private sector entities and marginalized groups). Such dialogues can contribute to building political will, to planning a more appropriate restructuring in the sector recognizing the diverse needs of various groups and their rights, and to creating opportunities to hold public authorities accountable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Post-project assessments can be conducted either by funders themselves, through internal or external sources or by partner States. The Japan International Cooperation Agency employs evaluations conducted by the Governments of partner States, consultants, think tanks, academic institutions or non-governmental organizations with professional competence in the field. Such assessments are meant to ensure greater transparency and fairness in Japanese development cooperation. Formulating development policies based on evidence confirmed by partner State-led evaluation processes rather than evaluations performed solely by funders may enrich and legitimize those funders’ policies. To that end, it is important to offer support where necessary to enhance the evaluation capacities of the partner State in an impartial and independent manner.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Finally, NGOs and community-based organizations are also taking on an increasingly important role in service provision, stepping in where the State is not involved in such activities. While their motivation may be different, as they often operate on a not-for-profit basis, many of the same issues arise in that context, for instance how to apply consistent standards for the quality of services and how to ensure that organizations are accountable to the people they serve.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- While there is scope for increasing wastewater charges in many areas, removing subsidies for industries and agriculture and introducing the "polluter pays" principle more stringently, it is unlikely that the necessary sums can be fully recovered from users. In many countries, wastewater management is still financed through budget allocations or donor support. The Special Rapporteur has previously called for resource allocation to the sector to be increased (see A/66/255, paras. 11 and 12).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Examples of common violations include (a) raising prices excessively so that poor people can no longer afford even basic services; (b) reducing social benefits on which poor people rely; (c) allowing infrastructure to deteriorate due to a failure to ensure operation and maintenance; and (d) implementing austerity measures that create long-term retrogression not limited to the period of crisis or which disproportionately impact marginalized or vulnerable groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Certain parts of the planning process will require technical expertise. However, these inputs must be balanced with the needs and preferences of people across the country, taking into account local solutions. The authorities leading the planning process must be accountable for seriously considering the various contributions and designing and implementing the necessary measures conducive to ensuring the rights to water and to sanitation for everyone.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 56b
- Paragraph text
- [Examples of violations of the right to equality and non-discrimination can be grouped in the following categories:] Failure to reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities and take into account particular requirements;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2014
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- It is important that measures be taken not only to build new facilities, but also to meet the challenges of coping with dysfunctional infrastructure. It is crucial that measures are taken to ensure operation and maintenance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 63n
- Paragraph text
- [In line with these conclusions, the independent expert recommends the following:] States are particularly encouraged to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Any of these systems may be owned and operated by public or private entities, and working for-profit or not-for-profit. These aspects of service management models will not be considered in the report (see A/HRC/15/31).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Apart from these substantive criteria, human rights principles provide vital guidance on how human rights must be realized and applied to particular types of services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Inextricably linked to the question of setting affordability standards for water and sanitation services is the issue of disconnections. Regulatory frameworks should set an outright prohibition on disconnections due to inability to pay.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 89g
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Prohibit disconnections due to inability to pay, in law and in regulatory frameworks;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 89h
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Ensure that instruments delegating service provision, including contracts, reflect the national regulatory framework and human rights standards;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 89k
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Establish the necessary mechanisms to ensure accountability of regulatory actors;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The indicator for target 7.C is the proportion of the population having sustainable access to an improved water source. The definition of an improved water source is not specified in detail but refers mainly to specific types of water supply such as piped water or protected wells. With regard to sanitation, the indicator refers to "the percentage of the population with access to facilities that hygienically separate human excreta from human, animal and insect contact. […] To be effective, facilities must be correctly constructed and properly maintained".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- While some aspects of the rights to water and sanitation are subject to progressive realization, human rights law also contemplates obligations of immediate effect that should dictate State priorities and decision-making in the short term. In the context of the rights to water and sanitation, this involves, inter alia, prioritizing access to minimum essential levels of water and sanitation on a non discriminatory basis; adopting and implementing a national water and sanitation strategy; and beginning to monitor the extent of the realization of the rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 45b
- Paragraph text
- [Depending on the scale and expected impact of the decision and the size and capacity of the actor carrying out the assessment, the human rights impact assessment does not necessarily have to be very formal in nature. To facilitate the process, it could also be integrated with social or environmental impact assessments. While there is no agreed template for conducting a human rights impact assessment, some principal elements can be identified that should be taken into account:] The human rights impact on the most excluded and marginalized should specifically be addressed;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- In order to give full meaning and practical expression to "participation," it is vital for States to transcend ad hoc and project-level participatory processes, and seek to encourage a more fundamental and sustainable culture of participation and transparency. Active, free and meaningful participation should be internalized within democratic institutions and political culture. Human rights are, of course, ends in themselves; however, studies have also shown the vital importance of transparency and freedom of information in reducing corruption in the delivery of basic services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 63h
- Paragraph text
- [In line with these conclusions, the independent expert recommends the following:] Data collection at the global level and human rights-based monitoring must disaggregate progress according to different grounds of discrimination. Gender and wealth quintiles must be prioritized for that purpose. In addition, a contextualized approach to disaggregation is required. States must identify groups and individuals under their jurisdiction who face discrimination and specifically monitor progress in improving their access to sanitation and water;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- It is not possible for States to make realistic assessments of where and how resources should be spent until they can accurately take stock of available resources. For a variety of reasons, including institutional fragmentation, a lack of transparency and the absence of mechanisms for monitoring individual contributions, it is currently difficult to accurately measure or track the amount of resources flowing into, or leaking out of, the sector. The present section briefly addresses these obstacles and offers some preliminary recommendations for improvement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Limited transparency within the water and sanitation sectors represents another key challenge to accurately taking stock of resources. Transparent budgeting for water and sanitation is essential to the sustainability and long-term success of improvements in the sector as it supports predictability, planning and the equitable distribution of resources and facilitates coordination among various agencies. Transparent budgeting can also serve as a platform for advocacy and accountability within vulnerable or unserved communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- The independent expert considers that a more nuanced approach is needed in the debate on the participation of non-State actors in water and services provision, namely, one that overcomes the simplistic public vs. private debate and acknowledges the existence of a wide variety of actors and arrangements for the delivery of water and sanitation services. These are rarely exclusively public or private, and they also involve both the formal and informal sectors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Existing strong strategies and/or plans for the water and sanitation sectors should be re-examined, revised and fully aligned with human rights standards and principles. Often, such strategies already implicitly include human rights principles such as non-discrimination - while not necessarily couched in the language of human rights - and can be built upon. Where no such planning exists, or where sanitation and water do not enjoy sufficient priority, the development of a new strategy and/or plan based on the human rights to water and to sanitation will be necessary.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Bangladesh, for example, is currently in the process of carrying out an assessment regarding the status of sanitation in the country. A national sanitation conference entitled BanglaSan took place in January 2011 and gathered together about 700 representatives of government, non-governmental organizations, experts, elected representatives and professionals. The Government of Bangladesh committed to a carry out a national sanitation census to identify gaps and prepare an action plan that includes the necessary allocations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Silence is a major component of stigma. The first step is to speak openly about what seems "unpleasant" or "unmentionable" or deviates from dominant public opinion, and to recognize the stigma attached-be it obstetric fistula, homelessness, intersexuality, menstrual hygiene or another issue. Stigma is often based on ignorance, fears and misconceptions that can be tackled through awareness-raising. The voice of the stigmatized must be amplified, and their space must be broadened to clearly articulate their needs and rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Probably the greatest challenge in combatting stigma is the fact that it is deeply entrenched in sociocultural norms and attitudes. Tackling it requires raising awareness of stigmatizing practices that are pursued under the umbrella of culture, religion and tradition. The interpretations of culture on which such practices are based are neither immutable nor homogenous and must therefore be challenged, including by questioning the legitimacy of those who perpetuate stigmatizing practices in the name of culture and uncovering the underlying power dynamics (E/CN.4/2006/61, para. 85).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Legislation can protect people and enable them to claim their rights, but it can also create barriers and perpetuate stigmatization. States must develop and reform laws and policies to ensure non-discrimination and equality. They must enact protective legislation, and ensure that laws are implemented and enforced. The more explicitly legislation addresses specific instances of discrimination, the more it can contribute to combatting the related stigma. Legislative measures need to be accompanied by other measures that can achieve changes in institutions, practices, patterns and customs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- While the focus in combating stigma must be on bringing about societal change and changes in attitude, technical measures are still crucial to ensure accessibility, for instance for persons with disabilities or older persons, as are public health measures to prevent and cure neglected tropical diseases. Sanitation systems should be adjusted to avoid manual sanitation work. The provision of adequate facilities is crucial for menstrual hygiene management, since it is often the lack of a safe and clean space that prevents women and girls from exercising proper hygiene.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (iii) e.
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: Future goals, targets and indicators on water, sanitation and hygiene must: Address the impacts of individual-related inequalities, present in every country of the globe, such as those based on sex/gender, age, and disability - as they are experienced in the public and private spheres;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76c (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding data sources and methodology: Disaggregation of data is a powerful tool for the collection of detailed and accurate information, but it does not automatically result in the reduction of inequalities. Incentives to reduce inequalities and target the most disadvantaged must be incorporated in the definition of goals, targets and indicators;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Stigmatized people frequently face threats to their privacy; they experience people staring at them, in particular when they look physically different from what is considered "normal". They are verbally insulted, harassed or threatened or experience physical abuse and violence, for instance, when attempting to access water and sanitation facilities. Such threats directly affect people's access to services and have a detrimental effect on their health, dignity and livelihoods. In many instances, the perpetrators are not held accountable, but rather enjoy impunity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The stigmatization of homeless persons is starkly apparent in their criminalization, for instance through the adoption of local ordinances criminalizing proxy behaviours, that is, common behaviours among homeless people, including public urination and defecation. While such laws are seemingly neutral, they disproportionately affect homeless people, who rely on public places for these activities. Homeless people often have limited access to water, toilets and showers, thus the enforcement of such regulations results in them being denied the rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 87f
- Paragraph text
- [In line with this, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] States should put in place stronger regulations and independent regulators. They should assign clear institutional responsibilities for all aspects of wastewater management and pollution control, including faecal sludge management. They should develop capacity, including for overseeing and coordinating the sector. They must ensure participation by concerned communities and stakeholders in decision-making on wastewater management in order to promote sustainable solutions;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Year
- Item does not have this property
Paragraph