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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The costs of ensuring access to water and sanitation may be high. Yet, the price of not investing is even higher. The lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene underlies severe human costs such as poor health and high mortality rates, as well as major economic losses - globally, an estimated $ 260 billion is lost yearly due to lack of access to sanitation alone. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, sanitation. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 52 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Indian Supreme Court ordered schools to provide adequate toilet facilities in schools. Relying on empirical research showing that "parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools" wherever sanitation facilities are not provided, the Court found that a lack of toilets violated the right to education. Failure to provide water and sanitation to those deprived of liberty has been addressed by courts and international bodies primarily as constituting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The High Court of Fiji held that prisoners' right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment was violated by lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities. The Human Rights Committee has found human rights violations, as have regional human rights bodies, in a number of cases in which prisoners have been denied access to sanitation. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 59 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Failure to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities has far-reaching effects and may amount to violations of the rights to water or sanitation. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised concerns about water and sanitation service provision not taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the lack of reasonable accommodation in sanitation facilities for children with disabilities in schools, in extreme instances forcing parents to stay at school with their children to allow them to meet their sanitation needs. Moreover, inadequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management have been shown to prevent girls from attending school, as well as creating serious health consequences. People with health conditions also often require particular protection. The Colombian Constitutional Court found that the disconnection of water services to a woman with chronic kidney failure violated the right to life, and ordered the reinstatement of the service. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 19 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Another example is UNICEF, which as part of the United Nations system is bound by the Charter. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 45) explicitly refers to UNICEF as a source of expert assistance and advice, and therefore human rights obligations of UNICEF can be traced back to its special relationship with the Convention. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2017 | ||
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 44 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The current UNICEF Strategic Plan (2014-2017) outlines a water, sanitation and hygiene indicator framework including targets for access in households and schools. It designates several outcomes and outputs that express an ample integration of issues of particular relevance to human rights. Some of those targets include enhanced support for children and families leading to sustained use of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene practices; increased national capacity to provide access to those services; strengthened political commitment, accountability and national capacity to legislate, plan and budget for the scaling up of interventions; and increased capacity of Governments of partner States to identify and respond to key issues for the human rights to water and sanitation. Most of the outcomes and outputs in the strategy rely on country-wide measurements, that is, “countries with an established target to provide access to drinking water to underserved populations”. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2017 | ||
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 43 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In other States, policies specifically concerning the water and sanitation sector contain formulations that reflect the human rights framework in rather distinct ways. For example, the water supply and sanitation assistance strategy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency reflects recognition of the declaration by the General Assembly in 2010 that access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation are basic human rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands indicated that the Netherlands recognized the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as basic human rights and that such recognition granted it the ability to point out, during policy discussions with partner countries, the responsibilities of the Government and the rights of the population, in particular vulnerable groups. The Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation indicated that its new water strategy also set a rights-based approach to water. An official document from Belgium on development cooperation mentioned that human rights principles, including the rights to water, health and decent work and the rights of women, children and indigenous peoples, were all important components of its normative framework. In a reference document on realizing the human rights to water and sanitation, the Government of Sweden recalled its declaration of full support for the human rights to water and sanitation and that richer States had an obligation to assist other States in fulfilling the right to water and sanitation. Spain also has strongly integrated human rights language into its development cooperation policies, aiming to adopt a rights-based approach in its cooperation policy and supporting the implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 8 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Sanitation facilities must be physically accessible for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, health or educational institution, public institutions and places, and the workplace (see A/HRC/12/24, para. 75). Sanitation facilities should be designed in a way that enables all users to physically access and use them, including, especially those with special access needs, such as children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, pregnant women, parents accompanying children, chronically ill people and those accompanying them. Considering the needs of these individuals has implications for the entrance size, the interior space, handrails or other support mechanisms and the position of defecation, as well as other aspects. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 10 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Where the sanitation facility is not located on the premises, the path leading to it should be secure and convenient for all users. The risk of attack or assault from animals or people, particularly for women and children, must be minimized. Public or shared latrines in residential areas must be safely accessible in the night, as well as in the day. Any form of sanitation for domestic use that is situated outside the premises should only be a short-term measure. Focussed efforts must be made to replace these with adequate sanitation within the premises. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 20 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Certain human rights obligations related to hygiene can be inferred from the rights to water and sanitation, as well as the right to health, the right to food, the right to privacy, human dignity and other human rights. This report focuses on the human rights obligations related to hand-washing at appropriate times, menstrual hygiene, management of child faeces and domestic food hygiene. A working group created under WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation explained that "… various components are considered essential to menstrual hygiene management. The first is that women and adolescent girls use clean materials to absorb or collect menstrual blood, and are able to change them in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of their menstrual period. It also involves using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. Further, women and girls need access to basic information about the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear." | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Facilities to meet hygiene requirements must be available wherever there are toilets or latrines, where water is stored and where food is prepared and served. These are required particularly for hand-washing, menstrual hygiene, the management of children's faeces and the preparation and consumption of food and drink. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Hygiene facilities must be physically accessible for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, health or educational institution, public institutions and places, and the workplace. Ideally, they should be located adjacent to toilets. Women, persons with disabilities, children and others may have particular hygiene requirements. Access to hygiene facilities should be secure and convenient for all users, including children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, women, including pregnant women, and chronically ill people. Moreover, hygiene facilities need to be accessible on a reliable and continuous basis, at home, work and school, and in public places, as to satisfy all needs throughout the day. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 53 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Sanitation shared between a few households, where all residents know each other and maintenance and cleaning is shared, is a common form of access in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This form of access can contribute to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, where the construction and maintenance of the toilet or latrine is adequate, and where everyone within the households has access to the toilet or latrine, regardless of their age, physical ability or status within the household. There may be particular concerns for persons with disabilities, children, older persons, people with a chronic illness (which may be stigmatized, such as HIV), renters or those who do not belong to the main household. In some cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to use a latrine shared by other people, and this problem may be compounded when the latrine is shared by several households (see A/67/270, para. 73). | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 54 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Public or communal latrines are less likely to be well-managed than privately shared latrines. They also tend to be located at a greater distance from the home, raising concerns in terms of quality, hygiene and accessibility. One particular drawback of a communal service is a lack of privacy and an increased risk of violence or assault for people leaving the house, particularly at night. Women and children are particularly at risk of violence in such conditions. Challenges also exist in terms of ensuring hygiene in these types of facilities, in assigning responsibilities for operation, maintenance and cleaning and hence to ensure their sustainability. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 72 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Hygiene practices include hand-washing, personal hygiene, domestic hygiene, hygienic use and management of toilets or latrines, the hygienic disposal of child faeces, menstrual hygiene and food hygiene. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 74 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Many cultures use water for genital and anal cleansing, and again require sufficient quantities of water at the point of use. Water and cleaning materials are also required for keeping the toilet and surrounding area clean. Cleaning materials and disposal facilities are also necessary for managing child faeces hygienically. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2015 | ||
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Contrasting with these substantial costs, the reality is that neither governments nor donors are committing sufficient resources to water and sanitation services. In 2008, the total international aid commitment to water and sanitation was just US$ 7.4 billion, or 5 per cent of all reported international aid. Compared to spending on health and education, the proportion of international aid devoted to water and sanitation has dwindled over the past decade, even though investments in water and sanitation have a crucial impact in achieving other Millennium Development Goals, such as reduction of maternal mortality, achievement of universal primary education, empowerment of women and reduction of child mortality. Water and sanitation must figure more prominently in the priorities of Governments, both domestically and internationally, if all of the Goals are to be achieved and the rights to water and sanitation fully realized. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 37 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In discussing the costs of investing in water and sanitation it is easy to lose sight of the benefits. Indeed, the economic costs of not spending more on water and sanitation are potentially much higher. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, in sanitation. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 39 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Universal access to water and sanitation combined could produce benefits of US$ 170 billion in countries non-members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. These benefits are particularly felt in improved health: for instance, through averted cases of diarrhoea and savings in the treatment of illnesses caused by lack of access to water and sanitation. Indeed, the total global disease burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years could be reduced by at least 10 per cent through investment in improvements to water and sanitation services. The benefits of a household connection also have considerable positive impacts on reducing child mortality; one study carried out in Argentina found that increased household connections reduced child mortality in the poorest municipalities by 24 per cent. The economic benefits of improved access to water and sanitation include increased productivity of adults and school attendance of children, both of which may be affected by chronic illness that stems from poor hygiene. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 37 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Affordability is of special concern to women and girls, who often have less access to financial resources than men. Women and girls need toilets for urination, defecation and menstrual hygiene management as well as for assisting younger children. Combined with women's lower access to financial resources, pay-per-use toilets with the same user fee for men and women are in practice often more expensive for women. Besides, public urinals are often free for men but not for women. To tackle this, the municipal government of Mumbai is currently constructing several toilet blocks the maintenance of which is financed through family passes instead of by charging a fee for each use. Some public toilets can be used free of charge by women and other groups that often lack access to economic resources, such as children and older people. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 47 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Human rights law requires that a sufficient number of sanitation facilities be available with associated services to ensure that waiting times are not unreasonably long. Many public facilities have an identical number of stalls for men and women, although in practice women and girls often have to wait in long lines to use the toilet, while men have much quicker access. The clothes women tend to wear and have to take off using the toilet require more time than for men, and women spend time assisting children using the toilet. Some States have adopted legislation in which equality requires a ratio of two women's cubicles for every cubicle provided for men. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 60 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women are sometimes unable to participate in meetings because of cultural norms against women speaking on their own behalf or cannot talk about sanitation and menstrual hygiene management needs because of taboos or social norms. For example, a recent study on Myanmar revealed that leadership and politics were strongly associated with masculinity, which is why women who do attend meetings rarely speak up. A gender analysis lowers the risk of excluding women if special measures are taken accordingly, for example through specially targeted consultations such as women-only spaces. In carefully determining the location and meeting times and arranging transport, child care and translators, other barriers may be overcome. Any initiative that seeks to ensure the participation of women must also include a component of empowerment, including in economic terms, and address gender stereotypes. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 75 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Safe, adequate and affordable access to water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as the promotion of women's empowerment, can serve as an entry point to ensure that women and girls can enjoy their right to have and make choices, their right to have access to opportunities and resources, and their right to control their own lives, both inside and outside the home. Gender equality in respect of the human rights to water and sanitation will not only empower women individually but will also help women overcome poverty and empower their children, families and communities. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Access to water and sanitation is not only a human rights entitlement but it also has an enormous impact on human health: it is central to the reduction of child mortality, malnutrition, neglected tropical diseases, opportunistic diseases for people living with HIV/AIDS, and a number of other health conditions. It contributes to ensuring gender equality, inter alia, by reducing the time spent by girls and women in collecting and managing household water. As such, access to water and sanitation also impacts on education, both through freeing children's time to attend school and through improving health. Moreover, improving access to water and sanitation reduces the burden of inadequate menstrual hygiene management. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 69 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Much has been learned through questions in household surveys about intrahousehold inequalities related to water collection. Much less is known about such inequalities concerning sanitation and hygiene, and about water, sanitation and hygiene-related household inequalities concerning age and disability. Given that not all households share resources and assets equally among their members and that some may be relatively more privileged than others, commanding more income and accessing greater consumption opportunities, it is imperative to accurately disaggregate intrahousehold data regarding household resources such as water and sanitation. There is evidence that intrahousehold inequality and poverty may disproportionately affect women, persons with disabilities, children and older persons. Targets and indicators should be phrased to require monitoring of intrahousehold inequalities. They should shine a powerful light on areas that need change and ensure that monitoring is in line with the human rights imperative to overcome inequalities wherever they occur. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 70 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Currently, household surveys do not collect information about intrahousehold differences in access such as by sex, age, or disability. However, they could be amended to capture this dimension by focusing on the actual use of water, sanitation and hygiene by all individuals within a household which would allow for such monitoring. The Special Rapporteur's experience notes that interviewing women, children or persons with disabilities often draws a different picture of actual use of existing facilities, as well as of the existing barriers that explain lack of use. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2012 | ||
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the child's right to be heard and to have his or her views taken into account. By requiring not only that children be given the opportunity to express their views in all matters affecting them but also that those views be given due weight, the Convention seeks to ensure that children's participation is meaningful. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 17 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The right to participation is firmly grounded in human rights law. Starting from rather general provisions on participation in the conduct of public affairs, recent developments spell out the requirements in more detail. Instruments on child rights, the rights of persons with disabilities and indigenous rights respond to particular challenges faced by certain groups. They also mark a trend towards a broader and more robust understanding of participation that demands inclusive, active, free and meaningful participation in all areas at all stages. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States not only have to create or promote spaces for participation, but also must enable people to eliminate barriers to accessing deliberative processes. People must have information on how to access these spaces and the procedures for getting involved. One expert has interpreted article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to require "space" and "voice", i.e., the child must have the opportunity to express his/her views with adequate facilitation. The Committee on the Rights of the Child points out that "[t]hose responsible for hearing the child have to ensure that the child is informed about her or his right to express her or his opinion in all matters affecting the child.… The decision maker must adequately prepare the child before the hearing, … and has to take account of the views of the child in this regard". Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States parties to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in public life and actively promote an adequate environment for that purpose. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Meaningful participation entails ensuring that people's views are considered and influence the decision. Often, consultations are oriented towards securing people's consent rather than involving them in the design of measures. If people are allowed "voice without influence", i.e., they are involved in processes that have no impact on policy-making, the potential for frustration is enormous. The Aarhus Convention requires that public bodies take due account of the outcome of public participation and notify the public of the decision made, along with reasons and considerations on which the decision is based (art. 6 (8) and (9)). In relation to child rights, it is required that children have an "audience" and "influence", i.e., that their views be listened to and acted upon as appropriate. The child must be informed of the outcome and how her or his views were considered. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 43 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Efforts must enable effective participation. For example, a mode of engagement that relies on writing would marginalize the illiterate. Where approaches such as questionnaires are used, it is essential to recognize the risks of elite capture and counter it with other opportunities such as simple versions of a questionnaire and oral discussions. Even when they are able to take part in meetings, marginalized groups often exercise self-censorship, being intimidated either by the presence of others with "higher" status or formal procedures. One approach to avoid this is starting the process with more homogenous groups for discussing particular issues, e.g., groups of women or of young people, and then bring their input into the larger process. At the international level, the United Nations Environment Programme engages with "major groups" rather than civil society as a whole, including children and youth, farmers, indigenous peoples, women, and workers and trade unions. | Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 |