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3.2 The Right to Water: Moving from International Recognition to National Action David R. Boyd Adjunct Professor, School of Resources and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Introduction It is widely recognized that a minimum supply of potable water is a vital prerequisite for life, health, dignity, and the realization of other human rights (Gleick, 1996; Howard and Bartram, 2003; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2007). Yet there are approximately 1 billion people who currently do not enjoy safe drinking water, there are thousands of children who die every day from water-related illness, and climate change is expected to exacerbate these crises (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2006; World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund, 2010). Even in the wealthiest nations on Earth, such as the United States and Canada, there are thousands of people who lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation (de Albuquerque, 2011; Boyd, 2011). Many experts agree that legal recognition of the human right to water is a significant step towards increased access to safe drinking water (Smets, 2006; United Nations Development Programme, 2006; World Water Council, 2010; Sultana and Loftus, 2011). Therefore, prominent individuals, governments, and civil society organizations have campaigned vigorously for recognition of this right at both the international and national levels (Dubreuil, 2006; Barlow, 2007; Gorbachev, 2010). Examples include Mikhail Gorbachev, the Government of Bolivia, and NGOs such as Green Cross International, the Council of Canadians, WaterAid, Rights and Humanity, and the Freshwater Action Network. Given recent progress in recognizing the right to water as a fundamental human right (described below), the focus must now shift to implementing and fulfilling this right (Barlow, 2011; World Health Organization, 2011). 1. Defining the Right to Water The right to water requires that all persons have affordable access to a supply of safe water in quantities adequate for essential personal and domestic uses, which include drinking, sanitation, clothes washing, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene (UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, 2002). An adequate supply requires a minimum of 50 to 100 litres per person per day (Gleick, 1996; Howard and Bartram, 2003). Establishing the right to water requires governments to satisfy three aspects, namely, to respect, protect, and fulfill the right. Respecting the right requires states to refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the right (e.g. government cannot deny water services to individuals who cannot afford to pay). Protecting the right means ensuring that third parties do not interfere with or violate the right (e.g. through enacting and enforcing legislation that prevents water pollution). Fulfilling the right requires positive state action, such as investment in water treatment and distribution infrastructure, to ensure that the right is universally enjoyed (de Albuquerque, 2010). The benefits, for people and states, of recognizing that water is a legally protected human right include: • Triggering stronger water laws, regulations, and policies; • Prioritizing resources for investment in water infrastructure, governance, and management; • Empowering citizens and communities to take part in decision-making processes related to water; • Clarifying the appropriate priorities in allocating scarce water supplies; • Providing a potential remedy for those whose right is being or may be violated; • Protecting water from pollution and other adverse impacts; • Preventing discrimination or neglect of under-privileged or marginalized communities; and, • Providing a means of holding governments and corporations accountable (Bluemel, 2004; McCaffrey and Neville, 2009; Sultana and Loftus, 2011). It can be argued that the right to water does need not to be explicitly recognized because it is implicit in other widely acknowledged rights, such as the rights to life, health, a healthy environment, and an adequate standard of living (Tully, 2005). However, a more compelling argument is that ensuring sufficient attention and resources for the right to water requires that it be given the prominence and visibility of an explicit and distinct right (Langford, 2006; Khalfan and Kiefer, 2008). There are many misconceptions regarding the right to water (Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2007). It does not entitle everyone to an unlimited supply of water at all times, in any place, under any circumstances. It may be limited by the concept of progressive implementation, i.e. that a state’s obligation is contingent on the availability of adequate The Right to Water: Moving from International Recognition to National Action Part 3 129
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The Global Water Crisis: Addressing
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About the InterAction Council Estab
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Acknowledgements
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Foreword
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The undeniable seriousness of the g
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Foreword xiii
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The Global Water Crisis: Framing th
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Ethical considerations also need to
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3. Support Ratification of the UN W
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1 Water and Global Security
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Introduction Since the serious stat
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Jury and Vaux project that the numb
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5. The Potential for Conflict and t
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References Cullen, H., 2010. The We
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Introduction Water is an integral p
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shortage Statewide Regional Local N
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summer months. To alleviate the con
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References Department of Energy, 20
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Introduction Water, economic and en
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Economic analyses of ecosystem good
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• Managing for sustainability. De
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Richter, B.D., M.M. Davis, C. Apse
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Introduction Water is an essential
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early post-Cold War period, from a
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2.4. Water, conflicts, and institut
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Renaud et al. (2011) proposed a pre
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Carius, A., D. Tänzler and A. Maas
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Turton, A.R., 2004. “The Evolutio
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Introduction In the West Asia and N
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2. Water in the WANA Region 2.1. De
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Following on this, during a persona
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Below are some suggestions for how
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plants through evapo-transpiration)
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WANA Forum, 2010b. Toward Supra-nat
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Introduction “The trouble with wa
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• Upgrading current water infrast
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60,000 ventilation improved pit lat
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5. The Bottom Line It is widely ack
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The Blue Economy: Risks and Opportu
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2.1 A Human Development Approach to
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apparatus assists nation-states in
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By ensuring that the international
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2.2 Water and Health Security Ganes
Page 92 and 93: 1.1. Human-induced Pollutants Domes
Page 94 and 95: Table.1. Water pollutants and human
Page 96 and 97: In many urban and semi-urban areas,
Page 98 and 99: 2.3 Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and
Page 100 and 101: 1. The Impacts of Poor Water, Sanit
Page 102 and 103: 77 64 2015 MDG target Coverage (%)
Page 104 and 105: 3. The Neglect of the WASH Sector a
Page 106 and 107: References Checkley, W., G. Buckley
Page 108 and 109: 2.4 Water, Food and the Development
Page 110 and 111: 2. Keeping Pace with Change Since t
Page 112 and 113: one and has yet to attain widesprea
Page 114 and 115: 2.5 Investing in Women’s Particip
Page 116 and 117: of agriculture resulting mainly fro
Page 118 and 119: their substantial contribution is p
Page 120 and 121: Although cultural constraints still
Page 122 and 123: UNEP, 2009. Water Security and Ecos
Page 124 and 125: 2.6 Water Governance Reform in Afgh
Page 126 and 127: 1.2. The Extreme risk of food secur
Page 128 and 129: Furthermore, within each basin, lan
Page 130 and 131: 3.2. Early doubts vis-à-vis progre
Page 132 and 133: transboundary water management conc
Page 135 and 136: 3 Will the Right to Water Alleviate
Page 137 and 138: Introduction A growing number of ar
Page 139 and 140: 2. Ethical Perspectives on State Ob
Page 141: References Barlow, Maude, 2007. Blu
Page 145 and 146: Later in 2010, the UN Human Rights
Page 147 and 148: 3.2. Legislative Recognition Dozens
Page 149 and 150: Mandela, M., 2002. No Water, No Fut
Page 151 and 152: Introduction South Africans have a
Page 153 and 154: water per person per day. The appli
Page 155 and 156: References Bluemel, E. B., 2004.
Page 157 and 158: Introduction Water conflicts are nu
Page 159 and 160: 4. Water Policies and Their Impact
Page 161 and 162: y its interconnection to encompass
Page 163 and 164: Access to Water and Conflict: An In
Page 166 and 167: Response from the InterAction Counc
Page 168 and 169: As former U.S. President Mr. Bill C
Page 170 and 171: The InterAction Council Québec Dec
Page 172: List of Participants
Page 175 and 176: List of Participants: 29 th Annual
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