A/67/270 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. 28. In purely economic terms, it makes sense to stress the importance of access to water, and particularly to sanitation. According to a recent report, there is a global economic return of $5.50 for every dollar spent on sanitation, and $2 for every dollar spent on water, with total economic benefits of $60 billion annually for meeting the relevant target of the Millennium Development Goals. The corresponding economic loss owing to the inadequate delivery of water and sanitation amounted to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product of the countries included in the study. 10 III. Integrating equality and non-discrimination in the post-2015 framework 29. Non-discrimination, equality and equity must be understood before discussing their integration into goals, targets and indicators: • Non-discrimination. Non-discrimination is one of the pillars of international human rights law and a central feature of all treaties. Discrimination is defined as any distinction, exclusion or restriction which has the purpose or the effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. 11 In terms of monitoring, this principle requires States to look beyond average attainments and to disaggregate datasets in order to allow for identification of disparate impacts or less favourable treatment over time. • Equality. Equality before the law and equal protection of the law without any discrimination, constitute a basic and general principle relating to the protection of human rights, and to their enjoyment. It requires a focus on all groups experiencing direct or indirect discrimination. Substantive equality requires the adoption of affirmative action or temporary special measures where barriers exist and persist, and which lead to denial of rights to individuals and groups. However, it must be emphasized that equal does not mean the same. Equality does not imply treating what is unequal equally; under human rights law, there is a necessary distinction, as equality does not indicate identical treatment in all cases. While universality is about ensuring access for all — even the hardest to reach — equality is about “levelling up” or progressively working to improve the quality and levels of service for groups that lag behind. In relation to water, sanitation and hygiene, equality presumes, for example, gradual improvements to close gaps in unequal __________________ 10 11 12-45653 WHO, “Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the Millennium Development Goal target and universal coverage” (Geneva, 2012), pp. 4-5. See, for example, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 1.1; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 1; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 2. 9