Human rights to safe drinking water, sanitation recognized

KOTA KINABALU: The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation have been explicitly recognized and reaffirmed by the United Nations (GA and HRC), said Regional Representative of UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia, Cynthia Veliko.

They are derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and inextricably related to other fundamental human rights such as the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as the right to life and human dignity, Veliko stressed.

In her welcoming address at the Regional Consultation on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in ASEAN (with emphasis on rural communities) in Karambunai here yesterday, Veliko pointed out that water is also the most immediate manifestation of the effects of climate change that we are seeing taking place across the globe, including in South-East Asia, often in extreme weather patterns such as floods and drought.

The poorest of people have contributed least to the drivers of climate change; yet it is they who bear the greatest burden of its impact, she lamented.

It is therefore, she opined, paramount that efforts to improve access to water and sanitation are guided by the principles of non-discrimination and equality, including geographic inequalities experienced by communities in remote rural areas, group related inequalities based on ethnicity, race, nationality, language and religion, and individual-related inequalities based on gender, age, and disability.

This includes groups with special needs such as persons living with health conditions, women and girls during menstruation and also for religious and cultural purposes, she added.

“This consultation places specific emphasis on rural communities. This is in full alignment with the imperative for sustainable development and inclusive development in the 2030 Agenda: leaving no one behind.

“In this regard, the realization of SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all), should be taken in conjunction with the two dedicated goals on combating inequality and discrimination (Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities within and between States),” she pointed out.

As with other human rights, Veliko said the States bear the primary obligation for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation.

“However, implementing these rights requires broader cooperation and partnership of a wide range of stakeholders, each respecting and upholding these rights. For instance, where services linked to access to safe drinking water and sanitation have been privatized, the state continues to have obligation to regulate and monitor the activities of those private service providers, and to provide for effective remedies when those rights have been violated.

“At the same time, private businesses also have responsibilities to respect human rights in conducting their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,” said Veliko.

According to her, the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Indonesia, where the court ruled against private water utilities for failing to protect the right to water of lowincome communities, provides a very positive illustration of accountability by the State to fulfill its obligation to protect and in upholding the principle of equality and non-discrimination in relation to access to water and sanitation.

She pointed out that in recent years, the UN human rights mechanisms provided a number of important recommendations to ASEAN member states in relation to the protection and promotion of the right to safe drinking water and sanitation.