the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

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Focus on the
most in need
and equality
(B.2.2 & B.2.3)
Specific
attention to
vulnerable
groups
(B.2.5, 6, 7)
12.4. Conclusion
“If water and sanitation (…) services are not available in sufficient quantities, they
should be provided first to those most in need. The definition of need should be based
and assessed on non-discriminatory and objective criteria”.
“If the host population, which has not been directly affected by the natural disaster,
suffers from similar shortages of water and sanitation (…) services as those affected by
the natural disaster, relief should also be provided to it on an equitable basis”.
There must be a special focus on women, on victims of sexual and other abuses or on
people affected by HIV when implementing water and sanitation services.
It is clear from these operational guidelines that the right to water and sanitation is now implicitly recognized
and that the resources required to put this right into practice during emergency situations are
available to humanitarian aid workers on the ground. In addition to proposing the ways and means of best
implementing such action, these guidelines also serve as a reminder that human rights, and especially the
right to water and sanitation, are intrinsic to the work of humanitarian aid agencies specialized in the water,
sanitation and hygiene sectors.
Thus, in our work, we should:
- Ensure that all actors caught up in an emergency situation (States, NGOs, IGOs, etc.) are familiar
with and put these guidelines into practice;
- Advocate on a wide scale for the application of these guidelines;
- Ensure that programme interventions are based on a sound understanding of these resources
and of international humanitarian and human rights laws;
- Devise “rights-based” programmes that focus on and consider that people affected by emergency
situations are holders of rights rather than victims;
- Devise programmes that take into account special needs groups, such as women or children,
whose rights might be subject to abuse.
© ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS