the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

- Part 3 - Advocacy on the right to water and sanitation in emergencies
The Committee attaches great importance to cooperation with NGOs at local, national and international
levels whether or not they have been accorded advisory status within the Economic and Social Council.
It constantly encourages these organizations to take part in its activities with the aim of reinforcing the effectiveness
of international follow-up of the implementation of the Covenant. 132 The Committee recognizes
the important contribution that NGOs can make in providing information about the status of the Covenant
within States parties. On the first day of each session of the Committee, the afternoon meeting is set aside
for NGOs who can present either written or oral declarations. The active participation of NGOs in the work
of the Committee has proved essential in ensuring wide distribution of information about the Covenant
and the Committee at the national level. However, it is obvious that this process, which only takes place
once every five years for the States parties having ratified the Covenant, is not really adapted to emergency
situations, which often demand rapid intervention, even in terms of advocacy. Nevertheless, it is important
to know that this option is available.
Moreover, if at present there is no procedure allowing individuals or groups to submit a complaint for violation,
a number of organizations are recommending that such a procedure be set in place 133 . But finally, on
a more informal basis, whilst the CESCR is free to consider a letter from an individual, it is unlikely to study
such a letter formally, except as part of the documents it reviews when gathering evidence about economic,
social and cultural rights in a particular State. If serious and widespread abuses of Covenant rights
are seen to be occurring in a particular country, an NGO may wish to immediately inform the CESCR, by
fax, letter, or e-mail message to its Secretariat. In rare cases the CESCR or its Chair may decide to contact
an offending State without waiting for its next periodic review. An NGO is more likely to receive a rapid
response to an emergency appeal if it contacts several individuals and organizations. Possibilities include
the following: sources inside the country where the violations are occurring (Ministers responsible; Attorney
General/Minister of Justice; Foreign Minister; receptive politicians and relevant parliamentary committees;
supportive NGO coalitions; the courts (to seek an injunction or other order halting harmful activity); embassies
of countries known to champion relevant human rights; print, broadcast and media journalists) and
sources outside the country (OHCHR, NGOs such as Amnesty International, etc., which operate urgent
action networks or services); human rights supervisory bodies of regional organizations; the foreign ministries
of countries known to champion the relevant human rights 134 .
14.3.8. Alert other un monitoring bodies
Other monitoring bodies, such as the CEDAW or the CRC, can also be alerted, particularly when specific
groups such as women or children are being subjected to violations of their right to water and sanitation.
The treaties monitored by these two committees provide the most substantial guarantees for the various
components of the right to water and sanitation.
132/ With the aim of guaranteeing the most effective and widest possible participation of NGOs in its work, in 1993 the
Committee adopted a document entitled “Participation of NGOs in the Activities of the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights”, which sets out the salient points of such participation
133/ Under the provisions of this Optional Protocol, any State that ratified the Covenant would have the option of taking on
extra duties by ratifying the proposed Optional Protocol as well. By doing this, a country would be agreeing that its people
have the right to make individual complaints to the UN about human rights violations for which that State Party is responsible.
These complaints, known as “petitions”, would be reviewed by the CESCR on a case-by-case basis. An Optional Protocol
permitting individual complaints of Covenant violations has been drafted, but not approved
134/ For more information, please refer to: Promoting and Defending Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; available on-line
at the following address: http://shr.aaas.org/escr/handbook
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