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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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- 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. 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- 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. 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- 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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
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
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph