Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 959 entities
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Paragraph