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Frequently asked questions about human rights
- What is the right to water?
- Is the right to water a ‘new’ human right?
- Is the right to water supported outside the UN?
- What is the impact of recognising water as a human right?
- Is the right to water enforceable?
- Does the right to water mean that water should be free?
- Are some human rights more important than others?
- How can the right to water be used?
- Does the right to water make a difference to people's lives?
- How does a right to water change the lives of those living in poverty?
- How much water is included in the right?
- How can enjoyment of the right to water be measured?
- How can communities use the right to water?
1. What is the right to water?
The right to water is the entitlement of everyone to access to sufficient, affordable, accessible and safe water supplies and sanitation services. It places an obligation on states progressively to realise the right to water for all people without discrimination and on the basis of equality between men and women.
The right to water is a fundamental human right in itself, necessary to fulfil basic needs such as hygiene and sanitation. It is also essential for the realisation of other human rights, including the right to food, the right to health, the right to an adequate standard of living and, perhaps most obviously, the right to life.
2. Is the right to water a new human right?
The right to water is a legal right enshrined explicitly in two UN human rights treaties - the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child – and one regional treaty – the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The right is also protected during armed conflict by the Geneva Conventions.[See Legislation for relevant texts.]
In addition, the right to water is implicit in the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, both of which are protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
However, a few states continue to deny the existence of this right. In the light of this and the widespread non-compliance of States Parties with their obligations regarding the right to water, in 2002, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights confirmed and further defined the right to water in its General Comment No. 15 on the right to water.
Adopted on 26 November 2002, this document provides guidelines for States Parties on the interpretation of the right to water under two articles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - Article 11 (the right to an adequate standard of living) and Article 12 (the right to health).
For more information, see General Comment No. 15.
3. Is the right to water supported outside the UN?
In addition to the UN and its related agencies such as the World Health Organization, some states, such as South Africa, have enshrined a right to water within their national constitutions, in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law.
Many non-governmental organisations, particularly those espousing a human rights approach to development, also support the right to water.
Some multi-national companies, such as Thames Water, the third largest water and sanitation provider in the world, also endorse the principle that access to water is a fundamental human right.
4. What is the impact of recognising water as a human right?
The right to water is a further tool for citizens and states to use to ensure that there is universal enjoyment of the right to water. This does not mean that overnight all people will gain access to water. Rather, it means that states must recognise the indisputable right of all people, without discrimination, to gain access to safe, affordable, sufficient water supplies.
States Parties to those instruments in which the right to water is enshrined have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the right to water, and their compliance with these obligations is monitored by the UN human rights system.
The international recognition of water as a human right provides citizens with an entitlement that can be used to lobby governments to deliver water. This does not imply that the other routes currently being used to access water should cease; the right to water is simply a further tool.
5. Is the right to water enforceable?
States Parties to international human rights treaties have the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights enshrined in those treaties, and in the case of economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to water, to take steps towards the progressive achievement of the full realisation of the right.
These obligations include the incorporation of those rights into national laws and policies and the need to ensure non-discrimination both in law and practice.
The incorporation of the right to water into the national law of a country should grant individuals and communities access to legal redress for violations of the right to water. There have been a number of cases worldwide in which the right to water has been recognised and enforced through national and local courts.
6. Does the right to water mean that water should be free?
The right to water does not mean that water must be provided free of charge. However, individuals are entitled to water that is safe, affordable, accessible and sufficient.
Water should be treated as a social and cultural good, and not primarily as an economic good, a point confirmed in General Comment 15. This means that any payment for water services must be based on the principle of equity, ensuring that these services, whether privately or publicly provided, are affordable for all, including socially disadvantaged groups.
Special arrangements should be made to ensure that disadvantaged groups, such as people living in poverty, have access to adequate water and sanitation.
7. Is sanitation included in the right to water?
Yes. Sanitation is included in the right to water. General Comment 15 states that
‘Ensuring that everyone has access to adequate sanitation is not only fundamental for human dignity and privacy, but is one of the principal mechanisms for protecting the quality of drinking water supplies and resources. In accordance with the rights to health and adequate housing (see General Comments No. 4 (1991) and 14 (2000)) States parties have an obligation to progressively extend safe sanitation services, particularly to rural and deprived urban areas, taking into account the needs of women and children.’
8. How can the right to water be used?
The right to water demonstrates the recognition of the entitlement of all people to access safe, affordable and sufficient water supplies. As such, those without access to water will be able to use the right to water in many ways. For example:
- To lobby governments and ensure their compliance with legal obligations regarding the right to water under international and regional human rights law
- In such a manner, the scope and understanding of human rights is developing. For example, a series of international conferences have helped to clarify the right to water and sanitation.
- To analyse existing water policies, develop alternative ones, and convince decision-makers to prioritise water services
- To educate and empower communities to seek enjoyment of their rights
- To take legal action to enforce the right
9. Does the right to water make a difference to people's lives?
The right to water is only powerful if governments and civil society recognise and publicise the right. If it does not become general knowledge that there is a right to water, people will not be able to use it to assist them to access water services.
The work of individuals, communities and human rights advocates has already had an impact and the right to water has been used to make a difference to people’s lives around the world.
10. How does a right to water change the lives of those living in poverty?
Confirmation of the right to water is not going to suddenly change the lives of poor people. In confirming and further clarifying the right to water, however, the UN is recognising the importance of water in the improvement of peoples' living conditions and development.
The right to water now needs to be publicised, and the implications for poor people must be fully understood by governments, civil society and any private sector operator responsible for the delivery of water services.
Over time, the right to water will be used in the same way that other rights, such as the right to housing, have been used, to protect communities from discrimination and ensure the realisation for all of the right.
11. How much water is included in the right?
The amount of water required for various needs is a technical, rather than legal issue. The amount of water that should be available is not specified in the General Comment on the Right to Water. Instead it states that water must be sufficient and continuous for personal and domestic uses and refers to the guidelines of the World Health Organization on water requirements. [These are outlined in the section General Comment No.15]
It is difficult to obtain consensus on the amount of water required to meet basic needs due to variation in requirements resulting from factors such as health, climate and work conditions. Some advocates fear that to specify a minimum requirement might lead to a reduction in the amount of water accessible by individuals living in societies where a higher minimum standard is already in place.
12. How can enjoyment of the right to water be measured?
Progress on achieving international consensus on standards relating to economic, social and cultural rights has been made at a series of international conferences, and by specialised agencies such as UNESCO and UNICEF. At the same time, UN human rights bodies and non-governmental organisations have started to develop indicators for measuring the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
However, progress in quantifying what is required for the realisation of the right to water has been relatively slow, due to various factors, such as the refusal of some states to recognise the existence of the right and differences of opinion on whether or not the right is limited to sufficient water for domestic uses or includes water for other uses such as agriculture.
A current priority for work on the right to water is to strengthen consensus on issues such as these and develop meaningful and realistic indicators for measuring enjoyment of the right to water.
13. How can communities use the right to water?
Communities should be educated on the right to water in order that they can use this as an extra tool in their demand for access to a safe, affordable and sufficient water supply.
The right to water adds to the tools available for a human rights approach to development. This approach emphasises the empowerment of communities, through people-centred development, where communities and individuals have the opportunities to act on their own behalf, and governments are accountable for ensuring that there are no barriers to access to services.
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