A/HRC/27/55
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
30 June 2014
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twenty-seventh session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe
drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation*
Summary
The Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation
submits the present report in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions 16/2 and
21/2. She focuses on common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation, as
identifying violations of those rights is critical to ensure their realization, to prevent further
violations and to ensure that concerted action is taken to remedy them. The report is based
on a comprehensive understanding of the human rights violations which occur when States
fail to meet any human rights obligation. All components of human rights are justiciable,
and any violation must be subject to effective remedies.
The Special Rapporteur develops a typology of violations, examining breaches of
the obligations to respect, to protect, to fulfil, to refrain from discrimination, to ensure
substantive equality and to ensure active, free and meaningful participation, as well as
extraterritorial obligations. The report then briefly discusses the importance of access to
justice for these violations before ending with conclusions and recommendations.
*
The annex to the present report is circulated as received, in the language of submission only.
The annex and footnotes have not been edited and remain in the language of submission only.
GE.14-06910 (E)
*1406910*