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African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance 2007, para. undefined
- Paragraph text
- State Parties shall implement policies and strategies to protect the environment to achieve sustainable development for the benefit of the present and future generations. In this regard, State Parties are encouraged to accede to the relevant treaties and other international legal instruments.
- Body
- African Union
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals 2009, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon Governments, in cooperation with the international community, to reaffirm their commitment to promote an enabling environment to achieve sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development and to eradicate poverty, with a special emphasis on gender, reducing the debt burden and ensuring that structural adjustment programmes are responsive to social, economic and environmental concerns in order to achieve the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals 2009, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon Governments to take into account the linkages of population dynamics, including population growth, changing age structures and spatial distribution, with economic growth and sustainable development in formulating and implementing national development policies and strategies, including those addressing climate change and the current food and financial crises;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that sustainable development is a central goal in itself and that its economic, social and environmental dimensions constitute key elements of the overarching framework of United Nations activities,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that development is a central goal in itself and that sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental aspects constitutes a key element of the overarching framework of United Nations activities,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Health, morbidity, mortality and development 2010, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to continue to address the environmental causes of ill health and their impact on development by integrating health concerns, including those of the most vulnerable populations, into strategies, policies and programmes for poverty eradication, sustainable development, and climate change adaptation and mitigation;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Notes with concern that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and that the population of all countries, particularly those in developing countries, are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, which threatens their food security and efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development, and urges Governments to strengthen efforts to address climate change, including mitigation and adaptation;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals 2009, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming that development is a central goal in itself and that sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental aspects constitutes a key element of the overarching framework of United Nations activities,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Women and the environment 1997, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Political parties should be encouraged to incorporate environmental goals with a gender dimension into their party platforms.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
Women and the environment 1997, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Such assistance should also be rendered to the countries with economies in transition at the bilateral and multilateral levels.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 1997
Paragraph
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