Centre On Housing Rights and Evictions – Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere The right to water and sanitation: Legal framework and implications.

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Centre On Housing Rights and Evictions – Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere

The right to water and sanitation:Legal framework and implications for

development cooperation

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs31 October 2007Ashfaq Khalfan

Coordinator, COHRE Right to Water Programme

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Legal Sources and Recognition

• Implicit in the ‘right to adequate standard of living’ in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – ratified by 157 States

• In Cairo (1994), States recognised that water and sanitation is part of right to adequate standard of living

• Council of Europe and Non-Aligned Movement recognised the right to water

• Entitlements to water and sanitation in several treaties• National legislative recognition of right to water: From 7

in 2002 to 24 in 2007• Also grounded in universal shared values of dignity and

equality

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The water and sanitation situation – acceptable?

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Where is the right defined?

• General Comment No. 15 by UN CESCR (expert body mandated by UN GA to interpret ICESCR)

• UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights (expert body advising UN Human Rights Council) Guidelines on the right to water and sanitation

• United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 2007 study for UN Human Rights Council on human rights obligations on equitable access to water and sanitation

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Substance of the right

Progressive realisation of:• sufficient and safe water for essential personal

and domestic uses • adequate and culturally acceptable water and

sanitation facility accessible in/near each home, school, health institution and workplace, and which is conducive to public health and protection of environment

• affordable water and sanitation (taking into account ability to secure all essential goods and services)

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Process of realising the right: Human rights principles

• Non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups: equitable allocation of resources, address needs of each group

• Genuine participation and access to information: at all levels

• Transparency and accountability: redress mechanisms, complaints mechanisms

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Types of State obligations in relation to the right

• Obligations to Respect: Not interfere with current access to water and sanitation e.g. deprivation of the minimum essential amount

• Obligation to Protect: Regulate third parties to ensure they do not interfere with the right e.g. public or private providers

• Obligation to Fulfil: Progressively realise the right to water expeditiously and using maximum available resources

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Implementation: Political framework

• Sufficient financing of the sector• Targets in line with right, broken down to regional and

local level (e.g. South Africa)• Particular attention to excluded groups/areas: e.g.

informal settlements, semi-arid areas• Ensuring adequate complaints mechanism (regulator,

human rights commission)• Ensure that representatives of marginalised groups

participate and have an influence on national and local decision-making (Porto Alegre, Quito, Kerala). (Requires significant capacity development)

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Implementation: Water supply and sanitation

• Service delivery targets for extension of basic access and for provision of assistance for small-scale facilities

• Subsidies for connection/construction facilities (e.g. Venezuela)

• Re-allocating consumption subsidies to target the poor (systems in Colombia)

• Flexible payments schemes – instalment payments, waive or reduce deposit requirements

• Process obligations on disconnections

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Water resource management in Accra, Ghana

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Implementation: Water resource management, quality and hygiene

• Priority to essential needs in water resource allocation

• Ensure equitable water rationing policies• Prioritise the hygiene awareness and provide

assistance to households and providers using small-scale facilities

• Prioritise control of pollution of water resources utilised as primary source of water

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Contributions of human rights to MDG on water and sanitation

• Promotes water and sanitation as a legal entitlement, allowing for all levels of government and others to be held accountable

• Requires attention to vulnerable and the marginalised groups – recognises exclusion as a cause of lack of access

• Emphasises people’s participation in decision-making and access to information – more effective development

• Contributes new national and international accountability institutions The Small Print: Implementation requires politically committed government and/or well organised civil society movement (e.g. Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa). Technocratic approaches to rights might open the door to either of these conditions or achieve incremental progress

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Kiosk targeting the poor – no involvement of intended users in decision

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Implications for development cooperation

• Provision of assistance focused on the realisation of the right. Re-target the focus of assistance to the poor

• Refrain from actions that may undermine right e.g. accepting donor-government policy formulation that marginalise civil society

• Ensure all aspects of foreign policy are coherent with the right: trade and investment rules, economic sanctions, climate change (mitigation and assistance to affected groups)

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Looking forward: Roles for Netherlands government and civil society

• Ensure Dutch foreign and development policy consistent with right

• Increasing openness to the right in many countries: promote reforms through partner dialogues and capacity building

• Emerging national civil society actors promoting the right – requires support as an essential ingredient

• Human Rights Council initiative to strengthen the right and implementing mechanisms, e.g. Special Procedure

• Growing interest among European development and UN agencies: possibility for partnerships and coalition

• Emerging examples of attempts to implement right: identify good practise and lessons and promote these

Centre On Housing Rights and Evictions – Housing Rights for Everyone, Everywhere The right to water and sanitation: Legal framework and implications.

Documents

evictions housing rights

human rights obligations

human rights commission

contributions of human

equitable water

water resources

acceptable water

safe water