Rights-based indicators regarding non-discrimination and equity in access to water and sanitation

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urooj Quezon Amjad ◽  
Georgia Kayser ◽  
Benjamin Mason Meier
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Chapel Hill ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Significant Achievement ◽  
The University

The declaration of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation by the UN General Assembly in 2010 is a significant achievement. Successfully implementing, enforcing and monitoring this right in various countries, contexts and scales will be an even greater achievement. Facilitating accountability for water and sanitation as a human right, The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights hosted a workshop to examine the translation of public health data into human rights indicators. Experts in water and sanitation policy and human rights law discussed and debated the challenges and ways forward in developing indicators for equity and non-discrimination that would assist with meaningful practice of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. The discussion was framed by three main questions: what should be measured, where to find this information, and what additional information is needed. The workshop was convened at The Water Institute's annual conference, Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy on October 4, 2011.

Water for Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Right

Chapter 5 provides a case study of the human rights-based approach to water policy through an analysis of the Bolivian government’s attempts to implement the human right to water and sanitation. It explores these efforts at the local and national level, through changes to investments, institutions, and policies. The analysis reveals that while Bolivia meets the minimum standard for the human right to water and sanitation in some urban areas, access to quality water is low in poor and marginalized communities. While the Bolivian government expresses a strong political will for a human rights approach and is increasing state capacity to fulfill rights, the broader criteria for the right to water and sanitation, including citizen participation and democratic decision-making, remain largely unfulfilled. This case suggests political will and state capacity might be necessary but are not sufficient to fulfill the human right to water and sanitation broadly defined.

scholarly journals The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Palmer ◽  
Damien Short ◽  
Walter Auch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue.

scholarly journals Sustainable access to safe drinking water: fundamental human right in the international and national scene

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celso Maran de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Government

Access to potable water is absolutely essential to the maintenance of life, as well as to provide regular exercise of other human rights. The lack of access to water in sufficient quantity or access to non-potable water may cause serious and irreparable damage to people. This paper investigates the evolution of international and national recognition of this fundamental human right, whether implicit or explicit. This was accomplished by the study of international human rights treaties, bibliographic information on water resources and their corresponding legal systems, national and international. The results suggest that sustainable access to drinking water is a fundamental human right in the context of international relations and the State. Further, even without explicitly stating this right in the Constitution of 1988, Brazil has incorporated the main international provisions on the subject, but this right must be acknowledged according to the principles of non-typical fundamental rights and the dignity of the human person. This right should be universally guaranteed by the Government in sufficient quantity and quality, regardless of the economic resources of individuals.

scholarly journals Water and sanitation are not gender-neutral: human rights in rural Brazilian communities

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-120
Author(s):  
Bárbarah Brenda Silva ◽  
Bárbara Sales ◽  
Ana Carolina Lanza ◽  
Léo Heller ◽  
Sonaly Rezende
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Physical Effort ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The North ◽  
Labor Division ◽  
Access To Water

Abstract The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), adopted as UN Resolutions since 2010, contemplates key elements that seek to ensure equal and non-discriminatory access to water and sanitation, including the elimination of gender inequalities. Working in populations with socio-environmental vulnerabilities, this study aims to assess gender division of labor in households of two rural communities in the North and Northeast Brazilian macroregions and identify why greater impacts occur on the lives of women when compared to men, resulting in human rights concerns. A qualitative analysis was carried out through semi-structured interviews and direct observation. The study showed that in the two rural Brazilian communities there is a clear labor division for water and sanitation access from a gender perspective. Men undertake more specialized work, sometimes requiring greater physical effort. As for women, they are assigned functions related to the domestic environment, including activities concerning water and sanitation. When facilities are inadequate, there is a disproportionate impact on women's health and quality of life, showing that the non-compliance with the human rights to water and sanitation often results in more harmful consequences for them.

scholarly journals New Approaches to Monitor Inequalities in Access to Water and Sanitation: The SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor Carvalho Queiroz ◽  
Rodrigo Coelho de Carvalho ◽  
Léo Heller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Regional Heterogeneity ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Normative Content

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Targets 6.1 and 6.2 show, in their formulation, some alignment with the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation (HRWS). However, the principle of equality and non-discrimination, which applies to all human rights, was not clearly incorporated into the indicators adopted to assess and monitor these targets. This paper contributes to bridging this gap by proposing two methodological strategies to address inequalities in analyses of access to water and sanitation services. The first consists in adjusting the indicators of access to these services according to inequality. The second proposes an assessment of intersecting forms of inequality. An application of these methods in Latin America and the Caribbean highlights significant regional heterogeneity and elevated inequality in access to services in the countries of this region. The methods demonstrate their potential in contributing to assessment and monitoring of the SDGs, but outdated or lacking data are obstacles to more in-depth analyses.

Urban homelessness and the right to water and sanitation: experiences from India's cities

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Walters
Keyword(s):  
Homeless People ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Right ◽  
Indian Cities

Improving access to water and sanitation for vulnerable groups has been a significant development priority in recent decades and this has been coupled with calls for water and sanitation to be recognised as fundamental human rights. However, to date there has been very limited attention on the right to water and sanitation for homeless people, despite their high vulnerability to a range of water and sanitation insecurities. Drawing on empirical data from the Indian cities of Delhi and Bangalore, this paper examines homelessness and the right to water and sanitation. It highlights the everyday practices and experiences of homeless people in their efforts to access water and sanitation, and sheds light on some of the factors that contribute to their water and sanitation insecurity. It concludes that addressing the human right to water and sanitation for homeless people will require going beyond a technical and sector approach, to the more challenging task of tackling the complex factors that create and sustain their vulnerability and marginality in urban spaces.

scholarly journals Inclusive development as an imperative to realizing the human right to water and sanitation

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86
Author(s):  
Pedi Obani ◽  
Joyeeta Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Governance Process ◽  
The Right ◽  
Governance Instruments

There are a plethora of governance instruments for operationalizing human rights obligations on water and sanitation at multiple levels of governance. The realization that the human right to water and sanitation depends on the discourses and approaches used in a country to implement it implies that it is not self-evident that implementing the right will lead to inclusive development. The inclusive development aims at not only social inclusion but also ecological and relational inclusion, where the latter aims at ensuring that the structural causes of inequality are also addressed. Relying on an extensive literature review and jurisprudence on the human right to water and sanitation, we develop an ideal-typical conceptual framework for assessing the human right to water and sanitation with inclusive development as an imperative. Our framework is based on the premise that governance instruments are valueladen tools which can steer social changes depending on the contextual political paradigm which can be garnered from the goals, ownership models, accountability mechanisms and incentives of actors involved in the governance process. We, therefore, propose a simple model for assessing whether the governance instruments for operationalizing the human right to water and sanitation will, in fact, lead to inclusive development.Keywords: Human Rights, Governance, Water and Sanitation

scholarly journals The human right to water and sanitation: a new perspective for public policies

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Brown ◽  
Priscila Neves-Silva ◽  
Léo Heller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The recognition of the human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS) by the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council in 2010 constituted a significant political measure whose direct consequences are still being assessed. Previous to this date, the HRtWS and its link to a healthy life and adequate standard of living had been recognised in diverse legal and judicial spheres worldwide, in some cases under the pressure of the initiatives of strong social movements. However, while the HRtWS is recognised by the UN State Members, it constitutes a concept in construction that has not been approached and interpreted in consensual ways by all concerned stakeholders. The present article presents a formal definition of this right with a base in human rights regulation. It attempts to dialogue with the different existing perspectives regarding the impact of its international recognition as a human right. It then elucidates the progressive development of the HRtWS in law and jurisprudence. Finally, it considers the urgency and challenge of monitoring the HRtWS and discusses important implications for public policies.

scholarly journals Implementing an evolving human right through water and sanitation policy

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mason Meier ◽  
Georgia Lyn Kayser ◽  
Urooj Quezon Amjad ◽  
Jamie Bartram
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Global Water ◽  
National Water

With water and sanitation vital to the public's health, there have been growing calls to accept water and sanitation as a human right and establish a rights-based framework for water policy. Through the development of international law, policymakers have increasingly specified water and sanitation as independent human rights. In this political development of human rights for water and sanitation, the authors find that the evolution of rights-based water and sanitation policy reached a milestone in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly's 2010 Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. By memorializing international political recognition of these interconnected rights and the corresponding obligations of national governments, states provided a normative framework for expanded efforts to realize human rights through water and sanitation policy. Examining the opportunities created by this UN Resolution, this article analyzes the implementation of the human right to water and sanitation through global water governance, national water policy and water and sanitation outcomes. While obstacles remain in the implementation of this right, the authors conclude that the UN Resolution could have lasting benefits for public health.

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