the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

Foreword
fOREWORD
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is fundamental for survival. And yet vast portions of the global population
do not have such access, and suffer incredibly as a result. The statistics are staggering. Every year, more than
5 million people die as a result of lack of access to safe drinking water; 84% are children under the age of 14. The
majority of illnesses in the world are caused by faecal matter. At any given moment, half of the people in hospitals
are suffering from diseases caused by lack of access to clean water or adequate sanitation. The poorest and most
vulnerable segments of society are the most affected by these realities. The risk of disease and death caused by dirty
water and unhygienic environments is considerably heightened in emergency situations.
The international community increasingly recognizes the desperate situation of much of the world with regard to lack
of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The Millennium Development Goals set a target to halve, by 2015,
the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Despite this commitment,
assessments of progress in achieving the MDGs indicate that more efforts will be required to meet the targets
on water and sanitation. Particularly alarming is the news from the UNICEF and WHO Joint Monitoring Programme
that if current trends on sanitation continue, the world will miss the MDG sanitation target by half a billion people.
In March 2008, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution expressing deep concern about the fact that
“over one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and that 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation.” This
was the resolution that created my mandate as Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations attached
to access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The resolution calls on the Independent Expert to carry out
further conceptual work to clarify the right to water and sanitation. Whilst access to water and sanitation is widely
understood as a basic need, there is still some uncertainty amongst States as to whether it is a human right, and if it
is, the scope and content of that right.
Prioritizing the human rights obligations attached to access to safe drinking water and sanitation is crucial for humanitarian
actors and other stakeholders working in emergency situations if they are to ensure that the rights of all those
affected are fully respected. Human rights analysis emphasizes inclusion and participation, non-discrimination, empowerment,
and accountability. This publication highlights the value of understanding water and sanitation as human
rights issues, and it provides very useful guidance on implementing this right within the context of humanitarian emergencies.
Ensuring improved access to drinking water and sanitation in emergency situations is a critical step towards
better enjoyment of human rights, as well as contributing towards meeting the MDGs on water and sanitation.
I welcome the release of this publication, and express my hope that it will provide an impetus for increased attention
to important human rights issues related to water and sanitation in humanitarian emergencies. I look forward to the
contribution this and similar efforts will make to ongoing discussions between and within States to recognize and
clarify the right to water and sanitation.
Since this is a preliminary version of this Advocacy Tool, I hope that between now and the publication of the final
version, there will be even more contributions from stakeholders and experts working in the area of water and sanitation
to this Manual.
Catarina de Albuquerque
United Nations Human Rights Council Independent Expert on the issue of human
rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation
© ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
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