A/HRC/57/48 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 31 July 2024 Original: English Human Rights Council Fifty-seventh session 9 September–9 October 2024 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Water and economy nexus: managing water for productive uses from a human rights perspective Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo Agudo* Summary The crucial role of water requires managing aquatic ecosystems, the water cycle and water itself in a fair and sustainable way, involving local, regional and global populations in a nested governance structure. Water and aquatic ecosystems should be managed as commons in the public domain. Priorities should be set for water use, and strategies should promote efficient and responsible water use based on principles such as non-deterioration, restoration, cost recovery and cost-effectiveness. Key strategies include non-profit tariff systems, precautionary-based planning and public financing strategies to ensure autonomy at different levels, and public-public and public-community partnership strategies. * Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to circumstances beyond the submitter’s control. GE.24-13383 (E) 300724 300724