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Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Human dignity is the foundation of all human rights. The International Covenants on Human Rights proclaim that the rights enshrined therein derive from the inherent dignity of the human person. Human dignity is an intrinsic and universal quality of the human person. Behaviour and activities that violate human dignity can include activities or statements that "demean and humiliate individuals or groups because of their origins, status or beliefs", as well as negative stereotyping that implies that members of a particular group are inferior. Stigma is, by its demeaning and degrading nature, antithetical to the very idea of human dignity. Stigma as a process of devaluation, of making some people "lesser" and others "greater", is inconsistent with human dignity, which is premised on notions of the inherent equality and worthiness of the human person. It undermines human dignity, thereby laying the groundwork for violations of human rights. Human dignity is closely linked to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, and to various related rights such as non-discrimination, the right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to privacy.
- 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
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- A broader mechanism for achieving access to water and sanitation services for people living in poverty is to put in place "social protection floors". These are nationally defined basic social security guarantees that ensure access to essential services, including water and sanitation, as well as providing basic income security to those in need. Human Rights Council resolution 28/12 of 9 April 2015 acknowledged "that social protection floors may facilitate the enjoyment of human rights… safe drinking water and sanitation, in accordance with the human rights obligations of States" and encouraged "States to put in place social protection floors as part of comprehensive social protection systems" (A/HRC/RES/28/12, paras. 6 and 8). Social protection floors can be particularly relevant for achieving gender equality and protecting marginalized or disadvantaged individuals and groups. At the national level, for instance, Cambodia has made support for sanitation and water in times of emergency and crisis a key intervention under the National Social Protection Strategy for the Poor and Vulnerable. In Mexico, the federal budget for social spending, which contributes to building a social protection floor, includes water supply and sewerage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law defines the obligations of States with respect to taking appropriate measures, including through international assistance and cooperation, to the maximum of their available resources, towards the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Use of sanitation facilities and services must be available at a price that is affordable to all people (see A/HRC/30/39). This must include all associated costs, ranging from regular tariffs to connection fees in the case of networked provision, to costs of on-site solutions such as the construction or maintenance of pit latrines and septic tanks. There are often costs that go unrecognized when planning for technical solutions. For example, on-site technologies may require regular maintenance, including the emptying of pits or septic tanks and the sludge management. Sanitation based on a flush toilet generally requires payment for additional quantities of water. Paying for these services must not limit people's capacity to acquire other basic goods and services guaranteed by human rights, such as the right to food, housing, health and education. Affordability does not necessarily require services to be provided free of charge. People are generally expected to contribute according to their means. However, when people are unable, for reasons beyond their control, to access sanitation through their own means, the State is obliged to find solutions for ensuring their access to sanitation free of charge.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Wastewater management in the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In 2010, the human right to water and sanitation was explicitly recognized by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, and is guaranteed as a component of the human right to an adequate standard of living. The Special Rapporteur, in her capacity as an independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, defined sanitation from a human rights perspective as a system for the collection, transport, treatment and disposal or reuse of human excreta and associated hygiene. The Special Rapporteur has stated that States must ensure without discrimination that everyone has physical and economic access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, which is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable, provides privacy and ensures dignity. She further considers that domestic wastewater, which flows from toilets, sinks and showers, should be included in the description of sanitation insofar as water regularly contains human excreta and the by-products of the associated hygiene (see A/HRC/12/24, paras. 63 and 87). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights endorsed this definition at its forty-fifth session in its statement on the right to sanitation. (E/C.12/2010/1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Therefore, in regulating water and sanitation services, it should be recognized, as a starting point, that water and sanitation are human rights derived from the right to an adequate standard of living (see art. 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and are inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (see art. 12 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), as well as to the right to life (see art. 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and the right to human dignity (see arts. 1 and 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). According to international human rights law, the human right to water entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use. The human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure and socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity. From a human rights perspective, the ultimate objective of regulation is to give practical meaning to the normative content of these rights, as follows:
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Service regulation and human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The State is the primary duty bearer for the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. While the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in article 2, provides for progressive realization and acknowledges the constraints due to limits of available resources, it also imposes on States various obligations of immediate effect. In the context of service regulation, the obligations under article 2 include: (a) the obligation to take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps to put in place a regulatory framework for water and sanitation service provision that is aligned with human rights; and (b) the obligation to ensure that the rules and regulations set and the activities of those exercising regulatory functions contribute to the enjoyment of the human rights to water and sanitation without discrimination of any kind. For example, the exercise of the human rights to water and sanitation should not be conditional on, or determined by, a person’s place of residence (e.g. whether a person lives or is registered in an urban or a rural area, or in a formal or an informal settlement). The State’s failure to take the necessary regulatory measures in order to adequately prevent and remedy discriminatory conduct either by service providers or by regulatory actors constitutes a violation of the State’s obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
- 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
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 87d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations. States should take the following measures:] Set affordability standards at the national and/or local level, based on a participatory process, involving in particular people living in poverty and other marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups, that consider all costs associated with water, sanitation and hygiene;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 99a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Use the human rights framework for water, sanitation and hygiene to identify appropriate types of services and to ensure that services are available, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable to all;
- 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
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Human rights require that where sanitation facilities are shared, including at the work place or health and other public institutions, there be a sufficient number of sanitation facilities with associated services to ensure that waiting times are not unreasonably long. Sanitation facilities must be reliably accessible to satisfy all needs throughout day and night, whether at home, the workplace or in public institutions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Beyond an individual's access to a latrine or toilet, sanitation also has an important public health dimension. Adequate sanitation not only guarantees an individual's access, but also protects the human rights of others, including their rights to life, health, water and a healthy environment, by ensuring that the environment in which they live is not contaminated with faeces (see A/68/264).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Other violations arise from the criminalization of activities linked to access to water or sanitation, such as the prohibition of public defecation or urination when no other options are available - partially as a result of increasing closures of public facilities. The criminalization of homelessness frequently leads to serious violations of the right to sanitation, but these are rarely taken to court by affected groups, as they often face serious stigma and a constant battle to survive. However, a court in the United States struck down ordinances preventing homeless people from engaging in life-sustaining activities linked to the right to sanitation: "The harmless conduct for which they are arrested is inseparable from their involuntary condition of being homeless. Consequently, arresting homeless people for harmless acts they are forced to perform in public effectively punishes them for being homeless". On her mission to the United States, the Special Rapporteur observed circumstances among homeless people who had devised a makeshift "toilet" from which one individual carried bags of human waste to dispose of in public toilets. The Special Rapporteur noted that this may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Human Rights Committee in its review of the United States also expressed concern with respect to the criminalization of behaviours related to homelessness.
- 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
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 86i
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Ensure meaningful participation in order to make sure that water, sanitation and hygiene solutions are socially and culturally acceptable, as well as sustainably used and practiced;
- 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
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 86g
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Carefully assess and justify any retrogression that might occur in the context of adopting austerity measures. This should be done in a manner that ensures that those already disadvantaged do not suffer the greatest impact and according to the criteria developed by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 86e
- Paragraph text
- [In line with the above, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States:] Carefully balance obligations to ensure non-discrimination and sustainability (for everyone and forever) as well as economic and social sustainability in access 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- These drivers of stigma in the individual, social and cultural spheres find their reflection at the institutional, structural and policy levels. Politicians often win votes by proposing populist policies reflecting public attitudes. Instead of combating stigma, legislative, policy and institutional frameworks may reflect stigmatizing attitudes, further entrenching stigma by institutionalizing, formalizing and legitimizing it.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Stigma can also be felt as personal shame, guilt and embarrassment, referred to as internalized stigma. It manifests itself in self-exclusion from services or opportunities, low self-esteem, negative self-perceptions, social withdrawal, and fear of disclosure of one's stigmatized status.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Power relationships result in the marginalization and exclusion of certain groups and individuals from decision-making processes, access to resources and services, and the ability to shape social life. Stigma supplies the world view for marginalization by "legitimizing" the process of setting up and perpetuating an "us and them" divide, and through the devaluation and dehumanization of those seen as being outside the "us".
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 8e
- Paragraph text
- [The normative content of the rights to water and to sanitation provides the standard to be achieved in terms of the following criteria:] Affordability. Access to sanitation and water must not compromise the ability to pay for other essential necessities guaranteed by human rights, such as food, housing and health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 8d
- Paragraph text
- [The normative content of the rights to water and to sanitation provides the standard to be achieved in terms of the following criteria:] Accessibility. Water and sanitation services must be accessible to everyone in the household or its vicinity on a continuous basis, as well as in schools, health-care facilities and other public institutions and places. Physical security must not be threatened during access to facilities;
- 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
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 8c
- Paragraph text
- [The normative content of the rights to water and to sanitation provides the standard to be achieved in terms of the following criteria:] Acceptability. Sanitation facilities, in particular, must be culturally acceptable. This will often require gender-specific facilities, constructed in a way that ensures privacy and dignity;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 8b
- Paragraph text
- [The normative content of the rights to water and to sanitation provides the standard to be achieved in terms of the following criteria:] Quality. Water must be safe for consumption and other uses and not threaten human health. Sanitation facilities must be hygienically and technically safe to use. To ensure hygiene, access to water for cleansing and hand washing after use is essential;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation 2011, para. 8a
- Paragraph text
- [The normative content of the rights to water and to sanitation provides the standard to be achieved in terms of the following criteria:] Availability. The human right to water is limited to personal and domestic uses and foresees a supply for each person that must be sufficient for these purposes. Likewise, a sufficient number of sanitation facilities must be available;
- 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
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation 2010, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The lack of security of tenure, in particular in informal settlements, is one of the critical underlying issues in this context. Utility networks often do not extend to informal settlements, while currently more than one billion people live in unauthorized urban and peri-urban areas. Service providers often do not extend services to these areas due to the lack of legal tenure. At the same time, people themselves do not have a strong incentive for investing in ensuring access to water and sanitation in their homes when they face the constant threat of forced eviction. Appropriate measures by the State to facilitate provision will depend on the local context and might include steps to formalize the legal status of settlements, guarantees that people will not be forcibly evicted, the provision of financial assurances, and, in some circumstances, resettlement to an alternative area as long as human rights standards are respected. Where the issue of the lack of security of tenure has not yet been resolved, States should at least take measures to ensure that the informal service provision that often prevails in such areas meets minimum human rights standards, as further outlined below, or that innovative solutions to providing formal services are implemented.
- 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
- Year
- 2010
- 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
The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation 2010, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Among the defining attributes of human rights is their indivisible, interrelated and interdependent nature. The human rights to water and sanitation are intimately linked to the rights to health, housing, education and political participation, among others (E/C.12/2002/11, para. 3, and A/HRC/12/24), as well as the right to life and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in extreme cases.
- 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
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Affordability, as a human rights criterion, requires that the use of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and services is accessible at a price that is affordable to all people. Paying for these services must not limit people's capacity to acquire other basic goods and services guaranteed by human rights, such as food, housing, health, clothing and education. Affordability standards must be considered together with standards of an adequate quantity and quality of water and sanitation to ensure that human rights standards are met.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- 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
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- The human rights framework is very clear in stating that States must not allow their investment strategies to favour better-off neighbourhoods over more disadvantaged communities. In many instances, disadvantaged communities that do not even enjoy an essential level of water, sanitation and hygiene services have needs that must be met immediately. Meeting these immediate needs may require more basic solutions at initial stages, even if that implies a second investment later to upgrade these services. However, such planning decisions must take great care for double investments to not represent an irresponsible use of public funds and a possible compromise of other human rights. The human rights framework does not allow States to ignore the immediate needs with promises of a long-term strategy that will eventually reach the entire population, including the most marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and communities. The human rights framework conveys an urgency to meet and prioritize these needs. In a judgement on the right to housing and related socioeconomic rights, including water and sanitation, the South African Constitutional Court articulated that the Government must adopt programmes that are balanced and flexible, and take account of short-, medium- and long-term needs. In balancing these requirements, States must not neglect the parts of the population whose needs are most urgent, but must take these needs into account immediately, and must ensure that a significant number of people in desperate need are afforded relief.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph