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Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In its general comment No. 15 (2003) on the right to water, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights builds on a comprehensive understanding of violations, applying the categories of human rights obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to water. While the Committee has not yet adopted a general comment on the right to sanitation, it has issued a formal statement recognizing that similar obligations apply, following an approach taken by the Special Rapporteur in her 2009 report to the Council. The present report applies this framework and develops a typology of common violations of the rights to water and sanitation. In addition to the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil, it puts a particular emphasis on equality and non-discrimination, as well as on participation, and also examines extraterritorial obligations. The latter obligations cut across the "respect, protect, fulfil" framework. This typology is not proposed as a rigid classification, being utilized as a framework for surveying the range of violations which must be addressed, with inevitable overlaps in the categories. What is most important is to ensure that no type of violation is ignored and that no victim is denied access to effective remedies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, often forgotten in development projects are the safe management of on-site sanitation and faecal sludge, hygiene promotion and menstrual hygiene management. In the projects assessed, it was observed that hygiene management is often absent, particularly menstrual hygiene management, under the pretext that it is “culturally” difficult to address.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Large infrastructure projects are not necessarily contrary to the rights to water and sanitation, but the crucial question is whether such projects improve access for those who already enjoy some degree of access, or whether they take the challenging step of extending access to those who continue to be excluded from even basic access, especially in peri-urban areas and informal settlements (see A/HRC/18/33/Add.3).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 77f
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Increase collaboration between entities operating in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector and those operating in other sectors, including the health sector, to address gender inequalities and culturally taboo topics more effectively and in a comprehensive manner;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 99c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Take into account the social, economic, political, cultural and environmental context in assessing the compliance of types of services with human rights;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 82e
- Paragraph text
- [To emphasize a comprehensive understanding of violations of the human rights to water and sanitation resulting from failure to meet any human rights obligation, the Special Rapporteur stresses that:] Violations may result from immediate deprivations or from failures to implement comprehensive plans and strategies to ensure full realization of rights in the long term;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Violations of the human rights to water and sanitation are often complex and interrelated. For instance, victims of violations of the obligations to respect rights, such as those living in informal settlements, are often in precarious situations caused by violations of the obligation to fulfil rights. Many violations can be traced to unequal power relationships and systemically entrenched patterns of discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- A retrogressive measure is one that leads to a backward movement in the enjoyment of the human rights to water and sanitation. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated that the burden of proof rests with the State to show that the adoption of retrogressive measures was based on the most careful consideration of alternatives, that disadvantaged groups have been prioritized and that the measures can be justified by reference to the totality of the rights and by the fact that full use was made of available resources. The Committee has mainly expressed concern about measures that are deliberately retrogressive, in particular in the context of austerity measures. The Special Rapporteur has previously stated that even if not deliberately retrogressive, some acts and omissions may have a retrogressive effect, for instance where States fail to ensure operation and maintenance and services are unsustainable as a result. Even where retrogression is non-deliberate, the human rights framework obliges States to act with care and deliberation, to assess the impacts of their actions and omissions, and to adjust their policies and measures as soon as they become aware that current policies might lead to unsustainable results. States' failure to meet this obligation may result in human rights violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Developments over recent decades have brought greater clarity to the identification of violations of economic, social and cultural rights. The Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights draw on the typology of obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, clarifying that failures to comply with any obligation - be it failures to utilize maximum available resources, or deliberate actions - constitute violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Participation in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The most persistent barrier to participation may lie in surmounting a culture of low expectations and cynicism, beliefs harboured both by individuals and public officials. States should revise the incentive structures for public officials so that they are rewarded for facilitating genuine participation rather than regarding it merely as an item to be mechanically ticked off on a checklist. This may require training on facilitation and inter-personal skills.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 86h
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Adopt social protection floors nationally and agree on including social protection floors as a post-2015 development goal;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- One mechanism for achieving this is to establish social protection floors. Adequate planning must ensure that basic social security guarantees exist to enable access to essential social services. Social protection floors need to be a priority in periods of economic and financial growth and sustained in times of crisis. At the same time, when economic and financial crises strike, special measures to protect the most vulnerable must be set in place.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76c (iv)
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding data sources and methodology: Disaggregation between rural and urban should be maintained, as called for in the current monitoring framework, while improving the methodology to capture the special situations of people living in slums;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (iii) b.
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: Future goals, targets and indicators on water, sanitation and hygiene must: Address geographic inequalities, such as those experienced by communities in remote rural areas and slums;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Under the current structure, the target for water and sanitation comes under the broader environmental goal, which also includes protection of natural resources, reduction of biodiversity loss and improvement of the lives of slum dwellers. The post-2015 development agenda should dedicate a stand-alone goal to water, sanitation and hygiene, considering that access to these services plays a central role in social and economic development.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Social protection policies can be expected to feature prominently in an intersectoral, rights-based analysis of the water and sanitation sectors. There have been strengthened calls for "social protection floors" and numerous cases of successful implementation with impressive poverty reduction impacts. While social policy priorities are of course country-specific, the "social protection floor" concept includes water and sanitation within the scope of essential services, along with a set of social transfers to provide a minimum income and livelihood security to ensure continuing access to essential services for the poorest. In practice, however, these minimum packages of affordable social protection guarantees do not frequently appear to have prioritized water or sanitation, as distinct from basic health, nutrition, education and income security objectives. The fundamental importance of water and sanitation, in their own right and also for the realization of health, food, education and other Millennium Development Goals and their corresponding human rights, establishes a strong case for increasing priority attention to water and sanitation. Such an integrated and intersectoral analysis within a broader social protection framework offers a compelling and potentially important means of addressing affordability constraints.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur considers the concept of sustainability to be non-dissociable from human rights law, in particular from the scope and content of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Along with the core human rights principles of participation and empowerment, accountability, non-discrimination and equality, transparency and access to information, she deems sustainability to be a human rights principle fundamental for the realization of human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur therefore focuses her recommendations on how to more effectively ensure that violations are identified, prevented and remedied, with an emphasis on those areas which have been most neglected. She recommends that States:] Raise awareness on economic, social and cultural rights and the human rights to water and sanitation in particular so that individuals know their rights and will be able to claim them in the case of violations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (iii) d.
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: Future goals, targets and indicators on water, sanitation and hygiene must: Address group-related inequalities that vary across countries, such as those based on ethnicity, race, nationality, language and religion;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- A human rights-based approach to development cooperation requires that the main objective should be to fulfil human rights; that policies and programmes identify rights-holders and their entitlements, as well as duty-bearers and their obligations, with the aim of strengthening the capacities of right-holders to claim their rights; and that human rights principles, notably the principles of equality and non-discrimination, accountability, access to information, participation and sustainability, be integrated into policies and programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 83g
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur therefore focuses her recommendations on how to more effectively ensure that violations are identified, prevented and remedied, with an emphasis on those areas which have been most neglected. She recommends that States:] Ensure that judges, prosecutors and decision-makers have adequate human rights education and training, including on economic, social and cultural rights, by making training on those rights part of law school curricula and providing ongoing training;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory and stigmatizing practices frequently occur in the private sphere. States have an obligation to prevent and combat stigmatization and to protect against human rights abuses in the private sphere. Where States fail to adopt appropriate measures, this may amount to human rights violations. More directly, human rights are violated where States endorse, perpetuate and reinforce discriminatory and stigmatizing practices, for instance through the criminalization of homelessness or employing manual scavengers or sweepers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- One way to minimize reliance on social protection floors during times of crisis is to ensure that inequalities are dealt with during times of growth as a matter of priority, ensuring that the sustainability of existing services is not an excuse to continue prioritizing provision to middle-class, urban formal residential areas to the detriment of extending coverage to informal settlements, remote or rural areas, and ensuring that existing gaps between the haves and have-nots are eliminated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has addressed retrogression mainly in the context of decisions by States to adopt austerity measures that may have a negative impact on the realization of human rights. Hence, its focus has been on criticizing measures that are deliberately retrogressive. However, in line with the scope of her report, which examines not only times of crisis, but also broader challenges of ensuring sustainability in times of economic growth, the Special Rapporteur considers it necessary to look at retrogression more broadly. Even if not deliberately regressive, some State acts, as well as omissions, may have a retrogressive effect. Where States fail to ensure adequate operation and maintenance, where they fail to implement adequate mechanisms for regulation, monitoring and sector oversight, or where they fail to build and strengthen their capacity in the long term, the result may be unsustainable interventions that lead to slippages in access to water and sanitation and retrogression in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. While such retrogression cannot always be avoided, the human rights framework puts forward certain requirements for States even where retrogression is non-deliberate: States must act with care and deliberation, exercise due diligence to assess the impacts of their actions and omissions on the realization of human rights, and adjust their policies and measures as soon as they become aware that current policies might lead to unsustainable results.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 82b
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations:] In order to better understand this phenomenon, States must undertake a comprehensive study on stigma, through a widely participatory process, to identify stigmatized populations, as well as to analyse the drivers of stigma in relation to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. This process should be based on the experience of people who face stigmatization, giving them space for articulation and empowering them to claim their human rights;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Probably the greatest challenge in combatting stigma is the fact that it is deeply entrenched in sociocultural norms and attitudes. Tackling it requires raising awareness of stigmatizing practices that are pursued under the umbrella of culture, religion and tradition. The interpretations of culture on which such practices are based are neither immutable nor homogenous and must therefore be challenged, including by questioning the legitimacy of those who perpetuate stigmatizing practices in the name of culture and uncovering the underlying power dynamics (E/CN.4/2006/61, para. 85).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene 2012, para. 76b (i)
- Paragraph text
- [Against this background, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Recommendations regarding goals, targets and indicators for water, sanitation and hygiene: The post-2015 development agenda should incorporate a stand-alone goal on water, sanitation and hygiene, to ensure that universal access to these services will be treated as a vital feature of social and economic development, on equal footing with health or education. Water, sanitation and hygiene should not be neglected in the global priority-setting for development goals;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Household contributions for water and sanitation services in rural areas and in informal settlements can differ quite substantially from household contributions for standard piped water and sewerage provision. In these cases, user costs can range from the construction of communal or individual household provision (a well, communal or household toilet), through the storage of water (buckets, jerry cans, tanks), treatment of water (boiling, chlorine, filters etc.), cleaning, maintenance, emptying of latrines or septic tanks, to the disposal of excreta.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- National mechanisms should be seen in the context of their interactions with regional and international human rights bodies and instruments. In particular, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (General Assembly resolution 63/117, annex) will likely generate a wealth of case law that will in turn promote adjudication at the national and regional levels and influence judicial and quasi-judicial case law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- State funders have obligations to respect human rights in other countries, to refrain from actions that interfere with the enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water, para. 31) and to facilitate the realization of those rights through the provision of water supply and sanitation services, financial and technical assistance and necessary aid (A/71/302, para. 11). Accordingly, as part of the Governments of those States, development cooperation agencies (for example, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the French Development Agency) have the obligation to comply with the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph