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The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Having identified appropriate right to water indicators, States parties are invited to set appropriate national benchmarks in relation to each indicator. During the periodic reporting procedure, the Committee will engage in a process of "scoping" with the State party. Scoping involves the joint consideration by the State party and the Committee of the indicators and national benchmarks which will then provide the targets to be achieved during the next reporting period. In the following five years, the State party will use these national benchmarks to help monitor its implementation of the right to water. Thereafter, in the subsequent reporting process, the State party and the Committee will consider whether or not the benchmarks have been achieved, and the reasons for any difficulties that may have been encountered (see General Comment No.14 (2000), para. 58). Further, when setting benchmarks and preparing their reports, States parties should utilize the extensive information and advisory services of specialized agencies with regard to data collection and disaggregation.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- In determining which actions or omissions amount to a violation of the right to water, it is important to distinguish the inability from the unwillingness of a State party to comply with its obligations in relation to the right to water. This follows from articles 11, paragraph 1, and 12, which speak of the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health, as well as from article 2, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, which obliges each State party to take the necessary steps to the maximum of its available resources. A State which is unwilling to use the maximum of its available resources for the realization of the right to water is in violation of its obligations under the Covenant. If resource constraints render it impossible for a State party to comply fully with its Covenant obligations, it has the burden of justifying that every effort has nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal in order to satisfy, as a matter of priority, the obligations outlined above.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 44a
- Paragraph text
- [While it is not possible to specify a complete list of violations in advance, a number of typical examples relating to the levels of obligations, emanating from the Committee's work, may be identified:] Violations of the obligation to respect follow from the State party's interference with the right to water. This includes, inter alia: (i) arbitrary or unjustified disconnection or exclusion from water services or facilities; (ii) discriminatory or unaffordable increases in the price of water; and (iii) pollution and diminution of water resources affecting human health;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Where water services (such as piped water networks, water tankers, access to rivers and wells) are operated or controlled by third parties, States parties must prevent them from compromising equal, affordable, and physical access to sufficient, safe and acceptable water. To prevent such abuses an effective regulatory system must be established, in conformity with the Covenant and this General Comment, which includes independent monitoring, genuine public participation and imposition of penalties for non-compliance.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 37f
- Paragraph text
- [In General Comment No. 3 (1990), the Committee confirms that States parties have a core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights enunciated in the Covenant. In the Committee's view, at least a number of core obligations in relation to the right to water can be identified, which are of immediate effect:] To adopt and implement a national water strategy and plan of action addressing the whole population; the strategy and plan of action should be devised, and periodically reviewed, on the basis of a participatory and transparent process; it should include methods, such as right to water indicators and benchmarks, by which progress can be closely monitored; the process by which the strategy and plan of action are devised, as well as their content, shall give particular attention to all disadvantaged or marginalized groups;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that the right to water is given due attention in international agreements and, to that end, should consider the development of further legal instruments. With regard to the conclusion and implementation of other international and regional agreements, States parties should take steps to ensure that these instruments do not adversely impact upon the right to water. Agreements concerning trade liberalization should not curtail or inhibit a country's capacity to ensure the full realization of the right to water.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Existing legislation, strategies and policies should be reviewed to ensure that they are compatible with obligations arising from the right to water, and should be repealed, amended or changed if inconsistent with Covenant requirements.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- States parties should adopt comprehensive and integrated strategies and programmes to ensure that there is sufficient and safe water for present and future generations. Such strategies and programmes may include: (a) reducing depletion of water resources through unsustainable extraction, diversion and damming; (b) reducing and eliminating contamination of watersheds and water-related eco-systems by substances such as radiation, harmful chemicals and human excreta; (c) monitoring water reserves; (d) ensuring that proposed developments do not interfere with access to adequate water; (e) assessing the impacts of actions that may impinge upon water availability and natural-ecosystems watersheds, such as climate changes, desertification and increased soil salinity, deforestation and loss of biodiversity; (f) increasing the efficient use of water by end-users; (g) reducing water wastage in its distribution; (h) response mechanisms for emergency situations; (i) and establishing competent institutions and appropriate institutional arrangements to carry out the strategies and programmes.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 44b
- Paragraph text
- [While it is not possible to specify a complete list of violations in advance, a number of typical examples relating to the levels of obligations, emanating from the Committee's work, may be identified:] Violations of the obligation to protect follow from the failure of a State to take all necessary measures to safeguard persons within their jurisdiction from infringements of the right to water by third parties. This includes, inter alia: (i) failure to enact or enforce laws to prevent the contamination and inequitable extraction of water; (ii) failure to effectively regulate and control water services providers; (iv) failure to protect water distribution systems (e.g., piped networks and wells) from interference, damage and destruction; and
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The duty to take steps clearly imposes on States parties an obligation to adopt a national strategy or plan of action to realize the right to water. The strategy must: (a) be based upon human rights law and principles; (b) cover all aspects of the right to water and the corresponding obligations of States parties; (c) define clear objectives; (d) set targets or goals to be achieved and the time frame for their achievement; (e) formulate adequate policies and corresponding benchmarks and indicators. The strategy should also establish institutional responsibility for the process; identify resources available to attain the objectives, targets and goals; allocate resources appropriately according to institutional responsibility; and establish accountability mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the strategy. When formulating and implementing their right to water national strategies, States parties should avail themselves of technical assistance and cooperation of the United Nations specialized agencies (see Part VI below).
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- States parties may find it advantageous to adopt framework legislation to operationalize their right to water strategy. Such legislation should include: (a) targets or goals to be attained and the time frame for their achievement; (b) the means by which the purpose could be achieved; (c) the intended collaboration with civil society, private sector and international organizations; (d) institutional responsibility for the process; (e) national mechanisms for its monitoring; and (f) remedies and recourse procedures.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- States parties should also consider the use of administrative sanctions to discourage conduct by business entities that leads, or may lead, to violations of the rights under the Covenant. For instance, in their public procurement regimes, States could deny the awarding of public contracts to companies that have not provided information on the social or environmental impacts of their activities or that have not put in place measures to ensure that they act with due diligence to avoid or mitigate any negative impacts on the rights under the Covenant. Access to export credit and other forms of State support may also be denied in such circumstances, and in transnational contexts, investment treaties may deny protection to foreign investors of the other party that have engaged in conduct leading to a violation of Covenant rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Environmental hygiene, as an aspect of the right to health under article 12, paragraph 2 (b), of the Covenant, encompasses taking steps on a non-discriminatory basis to prevent threats to health from unsafe and toxic water conditions. For example, States parties should ensure that natural water resources are protected from contamination by harmful substances and pathogenic microbes. Likewise, States parties should monitor and combat situations where aquatic eco-systems serve as a habitat for vectors of diseases wherever they pose a risk to human living environments.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The formulation and implementation of national water strategies and plans of action should respect, inter alia, the principles of non-discrimination and people's participation. The right of individuals and groups to participate in decision-making processes that may affect their exercise of the right to water must be an integral part of any policy, programme or strategy concerning water. Individuals and groups should be given full and equal access to information concerning water, water services and the environment, held by public authorities or third parties.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The national water strategy and plan of action should also be based on the principles of accountability, transparency and independence of the judiciary, since good governance is essential to the effective implementation of all human rights, including the realization of the right to water. In order to create a favourable climate for the realization of the right, States parties should take appropriate steps to ensure that the private business sector and civil society are aware of, and consider the importance of, the right to water in pursuing their activities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that since the General Assembly adopted the Covenant in 1966, other international instruments have further elaborated the objectives to which education should be directed. Accordingly, the Committee takes the view that States parties are required to ensure that education conforms to the aims and objectives identified in article 13 (1), as interpreted in the light of the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990) (art. 1), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 29 (1)), the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (Part I, para. 33 and Part II, para. 80), and the Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (para. 2). While all these texts closely correspond to article 13 (1) of the Covenant, they also include elements which are not expressly provided for in article 13 (1), such as specific references to gender equality and respect for the environment. These new elements are implicit in, and reflect a contemporary interpretation of article 13 (1). The Committee obtains support for this point of view from the widespread endorsement that the previously mentioned texts have received from all regions of the world.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The incorporation in the domestic legal order of international instruments recognizing the right to water can significantly enhance the scope and effectiveness of remedial measures and should be encouraged in all cases. Incorporation enables courts to adjudicate violations of the right to water, or at least the core obligations, by direct reference to the Covenant.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- While the Covenant provides for progressive realization and acknowledges the constraints due to the limits of available resources, it also imposes on States parties various obligations which are of immediate effect. States parties have immediate obligations in relation to the right to water, such as the guarantee that the right will be exercised without discrimination of any kind (art. 2, para. 2) and the obligation to take steps (art. 2, para.1) towards the full realization of articles 11, paragraph 1, and 12. Such steps must be deliberate, concrete and targeted towards the full realization of the right to water.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The right to water, like any human right, imposes three types of obligations on States parties: obligations to respect, obligations to protect and obligations to fulfil.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- States parties should make use of a wide range of administrative and quasi-judicial mechanisms, many of which already regulate and adjudicate aspects of business activity in many States parties, such as labour inspectorates and tribunals, consumer and environmental protection agencies and financial supervision authorities. States parties should explore options for extending the mandate of these bodies or creating new ones, with the capacity to receive and resolve complaints of alleged corporate abuse of certain Covenant rights, to investigate allegations, to impose sanctions and to provide for and enforce reparations for the victims. National human rights institutions should be encouraged to establish appropriate structures within their organizations in order to monitor States’ obligations with regard to business and human rights, and they could be empowered to receive claims from victims of corporate conduct.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Effectively acknowledge in their policies and actions the negative effects of the wrongs occasioned on people of African descent in the past, chief among which are colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, the effects of which continue to disadvantage people of African descent today.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Various underpinnings are singled out for particular attention to help prevent and overcome the negative elements of that environment and these will be dealt with in greater detail in future reports of the Independent Expert.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Various elements interrelate closely with the root causes and environment behind the violence and discrimination. On that matter, the underpinnings outlined in the following paragraphs will be dealt with progressively by the Independent Expert as part of a workplan and mapping exercise, in the coming years. They are discussed succinctly in the present report, as a precursor to other more detailed reports that will follow in the future.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Another issue is the lack of coherence and harmonization among the multiplicity of laws and regulations bearing upon urban security of tenure, leading to legal uncertainty, lack of implementation of key provisions, even unwanted impacts such as evictions. Rights of adverse possession provided for by law might also be limited or denied by subsequent regulations, or in implementation. In addition, even when planning laws provide for the regularization of informal settlements, questions of sustainability relating to the increase of land prices and full availability of services remain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Brazil was a pioneer in establishing a City Statute, Law 10.257 of 10 July 2001, creating the basis to tackle urban inequalities, and introducing the concept of the social function of the city and property. According to the Statute, the municipalities have broad capacities to set the basis for an urban order that addresses social exclusion and spatial segregation, focusing on housing but also on a wider range of social and environmental issues faced by cities. While its implementation has not always appeared to live up to the expectations originally created, the Statute has shown the importance of shifting the paradigm around urban reform towards a people-centred perspective, with local governments having a central role, and combining social mobilization, legal reform and institutional change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- IASC has further asserted that "Human rights have to be the legal underpinning of all humanitarian work pertaining to natural disasters. There is no other legal framework to guide such activities, especially in areas where there is no armed conflict". This shift is also about longer-term sustainability. It helps the relevant actors to plan for what follows beyond the initial relief and stabilization operations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- In response to these systemic patterns of inequality and social exclusion with respect to land, human rights movements have emerged in cities with proposals for a reorientation of land and property rights that prioritizes the social function of land and its central role in the realization of the right to adequate housing. Ensuring more equitable access to land and property and the prevention of land grabbing is central to many struggles for housing rights in cities. The human rights agenda of Habitat III must be informed by these creative approaches to urban land and property. Unless the primacy of human rights over market forces and private profit is entrenched, a new urban agenda that reduces inequalities and is based on inclusion and sustainability will be unachievable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- One step further are "community" or "participatory" enumeration practices. Such participatory processes have been implemented in various countries for various aims, for instance to determine and strengthen tenure rights in informal settlements or for land adjudication. In the absence of land records, in case of their destruction following disaster, or in context of multiple tenure arrangements, community enumerations offer promising and flexible alternatives to identify the state of occupancy and tenure pre-disaster or pre-conflict, thus ensuring a certain level of certainty and security of tenure in informdurable solutions. Community enumeration projects were implemented in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami, and have been started in Haiti. Lessons should be drawn from experience in defining key elements and prerequisites of successful community mapping processes, applied to post-disaster situations, including their relationship with more formal or Government-led validation or land management processes, and the need to complement them with conflict resolution mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Habitability, location and accessibility problems have led South Africa to alter its subsidy programme and increase Government intervention. Under the Breaking New Ground subsidy implemented beginning in 2004, supply-side components were included in an attempt to mitigate the adverse impact on subsidy housing habitability and location that unfolded during the first stage; in 2005 the Government announced that land would be funded outside the housing subsidy amount, and then in 2007 that services would also be additional, funded directly by municipalities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- If potential adverse impacts are identified, business enterprises should take all relevant measures to prevent them. They should ensure full disclosure of information, in accessible formats, about potential impacts on security of tenure; and transparent, free and fair negotiations regarding any interference with or transfers of tenure rights, whether or not legally recognized, with full respect for the right of people or communities to accept or reject offers. Other measures include making adjustments to project design, locations, and planned business relationships. Businesses should communicate through an appropriate channel with potentially affected groups in order to explain the risks and consult on prevention strategies. If a business enterprise finds that it is not possible to prevent adverse impacts, it should abandon or terminate the proposed or active operation, investment or business relationship. For example, a proposed business venture that would foreseeably result in forced eviction should be either adapted to avoid human rights violations or abandoned altogether.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph