the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

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of people who do not have access to safe drinking water or have no means to obtain it (as stated in the
main points in the Millennium Declaration) and the proportion of people who do not have access to basic
sanitation services.”
In november 2002, the CESCR adopted General Comment 15 146 on the Human Right to Water interpreting
articles 11 and 12 of the ICESCR, which defines the standard-setting content of this right, as well
as the obligations of States Parties. With its adoption, General Comment 15 has become a powerful tool
for inducing debate on the possibility of recognising the right to Water as a human right.
During the 3rd World Water Forum (Kyoto, 2003), the Report of the World Panel on Financing Water
Infrastructure, the so called “Camdessus Report”, proposing a financing plan for attaining Goal 7, Target
10 on water and sanitation, was first presented. The report stated that Public Private Partnerships
“would make water more attractive in the eyes of investors; they require an adapted regulation and legal
framework, transparent contracting procedures, reliable cost recovery systems and public acceptance”.
This report also confirms that “access to water is a right and a basic necessity” and that “water and
sanitation must be accessible to all at an affordable price”. However, the Kyoto policy statement contains
no mention of the right to Water.
In 2003, “un-Water” was set up to monitor progress during the period following UNCED 2 and to establish
World Water Days (WWD), which would be celebrated on 22 March each year as of 2005.
They would provide the occasion for multiple activities on a global scale to focus attention on water and
sanitation issues. UNESCO then proclaimed 2003 as International Year of Freshwater 147 . The role of
UN-Water was to coordinate all activities of the 23 UN agencies working on water issues, though in fact
it had no real power.
During its 58th General Assembly 148 , the UN proclaimed 2005/2015 as the International Decade for
Action, “Water for Life” as well as the 22nd of March 2005, as World Water Day. Coordinated by UN-
Water, its main purpose was to support and coordinate action towards meeting the MDGs on water and
sanitation. The first World Water Day on 22 March 2005 officially launched the Decade for Action. These
events concern all civil society, international organisations and governments, who were invited to take action
to promote and attain the MDGs.
The purpose of the united nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, 11 to
22 April 2005, New York) was to draw up a policy document proposing a series of concrete measures
to tackle the lack of progress in reaching the MDGs concerning access to water and sanitation. Certain
misunderstandings of the concept of the right to water by stakeholders resulted in its being excluded from
the final text: sometimes wrongly assimilated with exemption from payment for water by some developing
countries, who considered that it would represent too heavy a financial burden at the time of its implementation;
some developed countries, the USA and certain members of G77 found the concept to be too
restrictive. Civil society and private enterprise, however, called for recognition of the right to water.
146/ Adoption of Comment No.15 during the 29th session of the United Nations General Assembly
147/ http://www.wateryear2003.org/fr
148/ Resolution A/RES/58/217
149/ During the Mexico Forum, 3 official sessions were held on the right to water: FT3.35 “Securing the right to water, from
the local to the global, civil society perspectives”; FT 3.36 “The right to water: what does it mean and how to implement it”,
FT 3.47 “Human right to water”
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