Short Update on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation EWP planning meeting Agnès Montangero Helvetas 10 January 2011 HELVETAS 1

Short Update on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation Legal recognition of water and sanitation affirmed by UN From international agreements into concrete actions Learning from good practices Human rights and MDGs Need for further advocacy 2

Legal recognition of water and sanitation Rights breakthrough: legal recognition of water and sanitation affirmed by UN September 2010 United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation “[T]he UN affirmed [...] by consensus that the right to water and sanitation is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living.” “This means that for the UN, the right to water and sanitation, is contained in existing human rights treaties and is therefore legally binding”. 3

How to translate these international agreements into concrete actions? From international agreements into concrete actions The challenge How to translate these international agreements into concrete actions? 4

Learning from good practices The UN independent expert launched a compilation of good practices A framework for assessing good practices from a human rights perspective: Normative criteria Cross-cutting criteria Availability Nondiscrimination Quality/safety Participation Acceptability Accountability Accessibility Impact Affordability Sustainability 5

Learning from good practices Lessons learnt from some of the good practices…. Clear allocation of responsibilities Clarifying responsibilities of the different institutions Effective State oversight and sector regulation Pro-poor orientation Policy (focus on disadvantaged groups) Financial instruments (cross-subsidies, pro-poor water tariff structure) Empowerment Increased participation Ensuring a voice for the disadvantaged (e.g. public audit) Setting targets and standards Targets and timelines in the national environmental plan Standards for minimum water quantity, water quality, maximum distance Monitoring and accountability mechanisms Independent regulatory body Utility customer service approach (complaints mechanisms) 6

Human rights and MDGs Integrating the rights to water and sanitation within MDG monitoring and policy-making can help to make progress towards the MDGs more inclusive and sustainable, while promoting equity, accountability and policy coherence. MDGs Human rights Universal access to water and sanitation 50% reduction Universal coverage (progressive realisation) Aligning MDG indicators with normative human rights criteria Access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation Improved sources (not necessarily safe); improved sanitation (not necessarily treat, dispose or reuse human excreta) Availability, quality, acceptability, accessibility, and affordability Non-discrimination – looking beyond averages “average” or aggregate progress Disaggregated data are indispensable for detecting and addressing discrimination (race, colour, sex, language, religion, etc.) Participation and empowerment Lack of adequate participation of many MDG-based planning processes for water and sanitation Participation as a way to empower people to challenge existing inequities and to transform power relations (e.g. CLTS) Strengthening accountability at national and global levels Help to promote accountability at national and global levels International human rights commitments provide a wider set of complementary standards and mechanisms for accountability 7

Need for further advocacy …to support the development of concrete actions Using lessons learnt from good practices e.g. ensuring the development of pro-poor policies (focusing on disadvantaged people, focusing on participation/empowerment) Improving aid targeting (focus on poorer countries / communities) Contributing to MDG debate based on a human rights perspective … 8