the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

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tarian ideals ignore this fundamental right, they are failing to use the very powerful tool that is advocacy
that could help them realize the objective of access to water and sanitation for all, even in emergency
situations. However, if the right to water is not a magic solution to complex water and sanitation issues, it
nonetheless has a crucial and constructive role to play, especially in terms of advocacy. Emergencies are
prone to exposing a population to human rights violations, and especially violations of the right to water
and sanitation. For this reason advocacy work should be:
- Rights-based: Emergency action should protect and promote the human rights of those affected;
- Evidence-based: Build on reports, surveys, accurate data and information, and discussions with
communities affected. Advocacy must be objective, based on real violations and target those whose
rights are denied, bearing in mind that this is a sensitive issue within the framework of the right to water
and sanitation, which is a right recognized only as a right which is a component of one or several
other human rights.
- Always based on recognized legal and ethical principles.
- Undertaken only after ensuring the safety of people affected by emergencies and local and expatriate
personnel on the ground. Questions raised can be of a political nature and thus endanger the security
of staff, and a fortiori humanitarian assistance in the field for populations caught up in an emergency.
Finally, to facilitate the achievement of “rights-based advocacy”, we recommend that the
following steps be taken:
- Provide humanitarian staff with training that will inform them about and make them conversant
with international legal standards;
- Provide humanitarian staff with training on how to incorporate human rights principles into their
work by, for example, widely distributing this handbook;
- Develop existing relationships with the research community and create and develop a research
agenda to improve understanding of the links between the right to water, the right to sanitation
and other human rights. In all likelihood, the future role of the research community may include
the identification of best practices on the ground and the analysis of the effectiveness of different
forms of advocacy.
Case Study 4 - How is the right to water and sanitation of the Palestinian population
being denied? Some examples of advocacy initiatives 135
Situation:
Israel’s imposition of severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods at Gaza’s border
crossings and its reduction of supplies of fuel and electricity triggered a humanitarian crisis in the
Gaza Strip unseen since the Israeli occupation in 1967. Despite the fact that these measures were
largely taken as a response to indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli communities, they were
widely condemned as constituting collective punishment of the 1.5 million civilian population both
in intention and effect, leading to the widespread denial of economic and social rights including
severe retrogression in realization of the right to water and sanitation. These measures exacerba-
135/ The author of this case study is Ms Lara El-Jazairi, Legal Officer, Right to Water Programme, Centre on Housing Rights
and Evictions (COHRE) – for more information on COHRE activities, refer to www.cohre.org
© ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS