The crisis in water supply: how different it can look through the lens of the human right to water?

Abstract

The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation was explicitly recognized through resolutions passed by the UN General Assem- bly 1 in July 2010 and Human Rights Council 2 in September 2010, with strong support from the Brazilian government. The General Assem- bly’s resolution states explicitly that this right “is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”, which can be understood in conjunction with other definitions of hu- man rights, for example, that “all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated” 3. This last statement means that access to safe drinking water and sanita- tion should be considered a fundamental pre- condition for the “enjoyment of several human rights, including the rights to education, hous- ing, health, life, work...” and should guarantee gender equality and non-discrimination 4. Spe- cifically, the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights acknowledged that the right to health extends to the underlying determi- nants of health, including access to safe drink- ing water and sanitation 5. The combination of these concepts results in citizens’ entitlement to these rights (including the right to claim them through the legal system) and obligations on the part of national states and service providers.