the human right to water and sanitation in emergency situations

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92 In any situation it is essential to assess whether the State had the means to meet its obligations. Indeed, if a government is not unwilling but truly unable to respect, protect or fulfil the right to water, then this is not a violation. However, this is only true if the State actually attempted to use its resources as efficiently as possible. States especially have to demonstrate that they have effectively used all available resources when they fail to fulfil core obligations. Any measures that deliberately reduce people’s access to water are generally prohibited and state authorities have to justify any such retrogressive measures and prove that there was no alternative. Even if no resources are available to proceed with the realization of the right to water, States are at least required to acknowledge the situation and to address it, for example by developing a relief strategy or by requesting international assistance. Finally, it should be noted that even when States are actual transgressors, rights advocates may wish to refrain from labelling them as such, so as not to (further) antagonize the authorities. Furthermore, in many situations, whilst it may be difficult to establish whether a formal transgression has taken place –it may still be clear that the risk exists. 14.2.5. Identification of relevant legal standards: What rights do people have? Key question: What rights do people have under applicable national law and relevant international human rights standards? Once the nature of violations and their impact and effect on particular groups has been established, it becomes possible to measure the situation against exact standards in international law with a view to providing a formal description of identified abuses and violations. This can be achieved in the four main stages shown in the following figure. © ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Figure 3 - Checklist: rights and legal standards Checklist: rights and legal standards applicable - Part 3 - Advocacy on the right to water and sanitation in emergencies What applicable national and international standards are relevant to the situation under consideration? Who is responsible for enforcing the legal commitments identified above? What international mechanisms are in place to mitigate or address the violation identified? What can your own organization do? An attempt has to be made to determine which benchmarks of national, regional and international law can be used to measure the pattern of violations and identify the laws, conventions, declarations, and specific articles that clearly relate to the situation of identified groups. This lets us answer questions such as: Which of the existing human rights instruments has the country concerned ratified? Has the government ratified any regional human rights conventions? Is the government fulfilling its obligation to report to relevant monitoring bodies? And, at the national level: is the right to water expressly written into the constitution or other laws? Are human rights respected in the country’s constitution, laws and policies? Which authorities have primary responsibility for stopping the perpetrators under national and international law and which other States have particular responsibility for responding to and curtailing violations under international law? Which international organizations, humanitarian agencies and/or international human rights mechanisms are mandated to respond to such violations? Clarify the particular responsibilities of your own organization under these laws and decide on its position or mandate, if applicable, with regard to submitting evidence to current or future investigations or proceedings of international or national courts. © ACF - THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS 93
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THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITA
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ACkNOWlEDGMENTS Acknowledgments The
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Foreword fOREWORD Access to safe dr
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Table of contents 6.7. Responsibili
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lIST Of CASE STUDIES AND CONCRETE E
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IHL International Humanitarian Law
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ExECUTIvE SUMMARY Executive summary
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INTRODUCTION Introduction 1. What c
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Introduction dimension to the reali
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HOW TO MAkE THE bEST USE Of THIS DO
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The human - Part 1 right - Internat
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CHApTER 2 - INTERNATIONAl HUMAN RIG
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- Part 1 - International laws appli
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One of the purposes of the Conventi
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- Part 2 - Definition of the right
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- Part 2 - Definition of the right
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