the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

72
Table 10 - Definition of the human right to water and sanitation according to Sphere
Standards
Definition given
by Sphere
Standards
Recognition
in other legal
instruments
Relationship
between the
right to water
and other
human rights
Key
components
of the right to
water
Sphere adopts the same definition of the right to water as GC 15, describing it as a
right that concerns only water for personal and domestic use (defined as water for
drinking, cooking and personal and domestic hygiene).
As in GC 15, it highlights that “An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to
prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water related disease and
to provide for consumption, cooking and personal and domestic hygiene requirements”.
It is recognized that “This right is recognized in international legal instruments (…)“,
such as human rights law and International Humanitarian Law.
It is recognized that the right to water is inextricably related to other human rights,
such as the right to life, the right to health, the right to housing, and the right to
food.
As in GC 15, 3 key parameters are defined: availability (sufficient); quality (safe and
acceptable); and accessibility (physically accessible and affordable).
“This right (…) provides for sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and
affordable water for personal and domestic uses.”
Sanitation Sphere standards accord considerable importance to sanitation by defining three
standards and a valuable set of corresponding indicators. However, sanitation is not
included in the normative definition of the right to water proposed by Sphere.
Sphere has also defined some key indicators and guidance notes for use in both humanitarian fieldwork
and in advocacy to assess whether the right to water is – or is not – respected and how to put this right
into practice. Chapter 2 of the Sphere Standards entitled “Minimum Standards in Water Supply, Sanitation
and Hygiene Promotion” should be consulted for more practical guidance.
12.3. How is the human right to water and sanitation included in the
operational Guidelines on Human Rights and natural Disasters?
The United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is the principal inter-agency forum for coordination
and decision-making on humanitarian action issues. It brings together a broad spectrum of UN
and non-UN international humanitarian, human rights and development actors. The IASC draws up humanitarian
policies and tools, advocates for the respect of humanitarian principles, agrees on a division
of responsibility for various humanitarian actions, and works to bridge any identified gaps in the overall
response. Within that framework, the IASC prepared the Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and
Natural Disasters in 2006.
Based on the observation that guidance is lacking on how protect the human rights of individuals affected
by natural disasters, the intent of these guidelines is to offer operational advice to humanitarian staff on
© ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS