the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

118
ANNExE 5
SOME COMMON MISUNDERSTANDINGS AbOUT THE RIGHT TO WATER
AND SANITATION
Does the right to
water signify
individual connection
for each person?
Does the right to
water mean water
for free?
Does the right to
water mean public
management of
water?
Does the right to water
call into question
State sovereignty?
The right to water does not mean that each household or each habitation must
be individually connected. Moreover, there is a difference between the
right to water in urban areas and in rural settings. In rural areas, it means that
each person has access to drinking water in the vicinity of his or her dwelling,
which does not necessarily mean that each rural dwelling must be connected
to a distribution network.
The right to water does not mean exemption from payment for water. On the
contrary, as a consequence of water having been defined as an economic
good, it is clear that water now has an economic value (the resource does not
have a price, but services do). However, governments are obligated to make
water affordable and no one should be deprived of the minimum essential
levels of water (so people can not be deprived of this for reasons of money -
state may have option to subsidise or provide).
The right to water does not mean a return to public management of water and
sanitation services. It means that public authorities must exercise a regulatory
role and effectively monitor access to water and sanitation services. Moreover,
this does not mean that free trade in the water sector will be tampered with;
it simply means that the obligations of public water services will require clear
definition and have to be respected in order to guarantee the right to water
for all.
The right to water, as defined by General Comment 15, does not mean that
States lose any of their sovereign rights over their water resources. In fact, in
accordance with the principles of international law set out in Principle 21 of
the Stockholm Declaration 151 (1972) “States have the sovereign right to utilise
their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and development
policies.” Ultimately, the right to water means that, subject to its international
engagements, each State may authorize or not export of drinking water and
consent or not to supplying water to neighbouring populations.
151/ Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, Sweden 5-16 June 1972
© ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS