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Monitoring of compliance with state obligations regarding the right to water by treaty bodies
The right to water is enshrined in two of the six core human rights treaties: the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and it is implicit in 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).
The monitoring of compliance by States Parties with their obligations regarding the right to water is therefore undertaken by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These committees consider the right to water when examining the reports of States Parties to their respective Covenants.
Some examples of references on the right to water in the concluding observations and recommendations to States Parties of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are provided below.
Monitoring state obligations concerning the right to water:
concluding observations and recommendations of
the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
“The Committee urges the State Party to do whatever is necessary to reduce the current disparities between urban and rural areas, by improving access to water, electricity and sanitation in rural areas and ensuring that water and electricity remain affordable.”
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Benin. 05/06/2002. E/C.12/1/Add.78.
“The Committee urges the State Party to continue its efforts to improve the living conditions of its population, in particular by ensuring that the infrastructure for water, energy provision and heating is improved, and by paying priority attention to the needs of the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups of society, such as older persons, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, prisoners and persons living in poverty.”
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Right: Georgia. 19/12/2002. E/C.12/1/Add.83.
“The Committee urges the State Party to seek international cooperation and assistance with a view to ensuring access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation systems for all rural and urban communities.”
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Solomon Islands. 19/12/2002. E/C.12/1/Add.84.
“The Committee strongly urges the State Party to take immediate steps to ensure equitable access to and distribution of water to all populations living in the occupied territories, and in particular to ensure that all parties concerned participate fully and equally in the process of water management, extraction and distribution. In that connection, the Committee refers the State Party to its general comment No. 15 on the right to water.”
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Israel. 23/05/2003. E/C.12/1/Add.90
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A UN Fact Sheet on the Complaint Procedures, explaining the procedures in detail and outlining how to use them to submit complaints, can be found at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs7.htm
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