INTRODUCTION
Water is the essence of life. Safe drinking water and sanitation are
indispensable to sustain life and health, and fundamental to the dignity
of all. Yet, 884 million people do not have access to improved sources
of drinking water, while 2.5 billion lack access to improved sanitation
facilities.1 While these numbers shed light on a worrying situation,
the reality is much worse, as millions of poor people living in informal
settlements are simply missing from national statistics. The roots of the
current water and sanitation crisis can be traced to poverty, inequality
and unequal power relationships, and it is exacerbated by social and
environmental challenges: accelerating urbanization, climate change, and
increasing pollution and depletion of water resources.2
In order to address this crisis, the international community has increasingly
recognized that access to safe drinking water and sanitation must be
considered within a human rights framework. Such access is explicitly
referred to, for instance, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In
2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights adopted its general comment No. 15 on the right to water,
defined as the right of everyone “to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically
accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.” Four
years later, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights adopted guidelines for the realization of the
right to drinking water and sanitation. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), too, has underlined that the starting point and
the unifying principle for public action in water and sanitation is the
recognition that water is a basic human right. In 2008, the Human Rights
Council created the mandate of the “independent expert on the issue
of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and
sanitation” to help clarify the scope and content of these obligations.
Several national constitutions protect the right to water or outline the
general responsibility of the State to ensure access to safe drinking
water and sanitation for all. Courts from various legal systems have also
adjudicated cases related to the enjoyment of the right to water, covering
issues such as the pollution of water resources, arbitrary and illegal
disconnections, or lack of access to sanitation.
This publication is based on The Right to Water, issued by the World Health
Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
(COHRE), WaterAid, and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
in 2003. It starts by explaining what the right to water is, illustrates what
it means for specific individuals and groups, and then elaborates upon
State obligations with respect to the right. It concludes with an overview
of national, regional and international accountability and monitoring
mechanisms.
As chapter I will show, water and sanitation do not enjoy the same
status under international law. Yet, in many instances and international
declarations and commitments, including the Millennium Development
Goals, sanitation has been closely associated with the right to water. That
is why, in some parts of this publication, the two are mentioned together.
to read full report please click on
/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FactSheet35en.pdf
^
INTRODUCTION
Water is the essence of life. Safe drinking water and sanitation are
indispensable to sustain life and health, and fundamental to the dignity
of all. Yet, 884 million people do not have access to improved sources
of drinking water, while 2.5 billion lack access to improved sanitation
facilities.1 While these numbers shed light on a worrying situation,
the reality is much worse, as millions of poor people living in informal
settlements are simply missing from national statistics. The roots of the
current water and sanitation crisis can be traced to poverty, inequality
and unequal power relationships, and it is exacerbated by social and
environmental challenges: accelerating urbanization, climate change, and
increasing pollution and depletion of water resources.2
In order to address this crisis, the international community has increasingly
recognized that access to safe drinking water and sanitation must be
considered within a human rights framework. Such access is explicitly
referred to, for instance, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In
2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights adopted its general comment No. 15 on the right to water,
defined as the right of everyone “to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically
accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.” Four
years later, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights adopted guidelines for the realization of the
right to drinking water and sanitation.
The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), too, has underlined that the starting point and
the unifying principle for public action in water and sanitation is the
recognition that water is a basic human right. In 2008, the Human Rights
Council created the mandate of the “independent expert on the issue
of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and
sanitation” to help clarify the scope and content of these obligations.
Several national constitutions protect the right to water or outline the
general responsibility of the State to ensure access to safe drinking
water and sanitation for all. Courts from various legal systems have also
adjudicated cases related to the enjoyment of the right to water, covering
issues such as the pollution of water resources, arbitrary and illegal
disconnections, or lack of access to sanitation.
This publication is based on The Right to Water, issued by the World Health
Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
(COHRE), WaterAid, and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
in 2003. It starts by explaining what the right to water is, illustrates what
it means for specific individuals and groups, and then elaborates upon
State obligations with respect to the right. It concludes with an overview
of national, regional and international accountability and monitoring
mechanisms.
As chapter I will show, water and sanitation do not enjoy the same
status under international law. Yet, in many instances and international
declarations and commitments, including the Millennium Development
Goals, sanitation has been closely associated with the right to water. That
is why, in some parts of this publication, the two are mentioned together.
to read full report please click on
/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FactSheet35en.pdf
^
