Rights, freedoms to water and sanitation carry obligations, responsibilities

KOTA KINABALU: Water and sanitation are rights and freedoms which carry with them obligations and responsibilities.

They are not to be treated merely as needs which are based on charity or voluntary commitments by States, said Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), Edmund Bon.

Bon in his welcoming remarks at the ‘Regional Consultation on the Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation in ASEAN (with emphasis on rural communities)’ organised by the AICHR in Karambunai here yesterday, stressed that Article 28(e) of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration 2012 (AHRD) affirms the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as part of the right of every person to an adequate standard of living for himself or herself and his or her family.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) now seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, he pointed out.

“I commend the good work by ASEAN Member States in the area of water and sanitation. The statistics as we have set out in the Concept Note to this Consultation are encouraging. Surely the work of SOMRDPE, SOMHD, ASOEN and the AWGWRM has contributed much to the improvements in the delivery of safe drinking water and sanitation in the region. But we must always seek to do more and be better.

“I appreciate the fact that Member States have already in one form or another recognised the obligations to respect the right to water and sanitation by refraining from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the right; protect the right to water and sanitation by preventing third parties from interfering in any way with enjoyment of the right; fulfil the right to water and sanitation by adopting the necessary measures directed towards the full realisation of the right,” he said.

Further, the procedural content of the right to water and sanitation must include: the right to seek, receive, access and impart information; the right to free and meaningful participation in decision-making processes, particularly for affected, vulnerable and marginalised groups such as the indigenous communities; the right to enjoyment of the rights without discrimination; and, the right of present and future generations, namely, sustainability, he said.

Substantively, the right to water and sanitation demands that they be available, accessible, affordable, acceptable and be of quality, he said.

He pointed out that there are still operational challenges facing ASEAN.

“How do we align the work of the different sectoral bodies that separately deal with rural development and poverty eradication, health, social welfare, water resources management, environment, women and children, and other areas to ensure that no one is left behind with regard to water and sanitation?

“How do we institutionalise a framework that will allow for constructive feedback and efficient responses to handle shortcomings or limitations in the delivery of water and sanitation to those in need such as the poor, and marginalised or vulnerable groups?

“How are we to treat environmental human rights defenders who face numerous risks in their work? To what extent is the right to water and sanitation justiciable matters?” he questioned.

According to Bon, Article 4 of the AHRD declares that the rights of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, and vulnerable and marginalised groups are inalienable, integral and indivisible part of human rights and fundamental freedoms.