Introduction

The number of people lacking access to safe drinking water is 884 million and more than 2.6 billion miss a basic sanitation.

When taken as human right, the right to water places certain responsibilities upon governments to ensure that people can enjoy "sufficient, safe, accessible and affordable water, without discrimination" (cf. GC 15, below). Most especially, governments are expected to take reasonable steps to avoid a contaminated water

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

 supply and to ensure there are no water access distinctions amongst citizens.

Given the fact that water access is a cross-border source of concern and potential conflict in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 amongst other places, some Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and scholars argue that the right to water also has a trans-national or extraterritorial aspect. They argue that given the fact that water supplies naturally overlap borders, States also have a legal obligation not to act in a way that might have a negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights in other States.. the formal acknowledgement of this further legal obligation could prevent the negative effects of the global "water crunch" (as a future threat and one negative result of human over-population).http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/pp091805.shtml

Right to water in international law

Several international human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 conventions state provisions which could amount to an explicit recognition of the right to water. For example the 1989 Convention on the rights of the child (CRC

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...

) states:
" Article 24
1. States parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health …
2. States parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures:
(c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, (…) the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water (…)"

The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) also states:
" Article 14 (2)
States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular shall ensure to women the right: …
(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications."

However the most detailed definition of the content of the right to water came in 2002 from an expert body (CESCR) assessing the implementation of the ICESCR (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), a treaty only recognizing "implicitly" the right to water. This definition is detailed in General Comment 15 (hereafter GC 15), in which the Committee asserts:
"The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements. "

Following the publication of GC 15, several States agreed and formally acknowledged the right to water to be part of their treaty obligations under the ICESCR (cf. e.g. in Europe: Germany; United Kingdom; Netherlands)

Political recognition of the right to water

This legal recognition must be distinguished from the international process promoting the recognition and the further definition of the right to water under international law. The main reason is that no legal obligation derives from a political acknowledgement (E.g. United Nations General assembly resolutions). However, it is important not to underestimate the political pressure which civil society might exercise towards governments while reminding them of their commitments (cf. the work of civil society in the field of Millenium Development Goals - MDGs which are only political commitments) as well as the fact that political acknowledgements might be used before courts so as to assess customary international law.

An initial step in 2006 was taken by the former United Nations Sub-commission on Human Rights which issued Guidelines .

These guidelines led the United Nations Human Rights Council to mandate in 2008, Ms Catarina de Albuquerque, as an Independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Eventually, on 28 July 2010, following an intense negotiation, 122 countries formally acknowledged the "right to water" in the General Assembly (GA) resolution (Ref. A/64/L.63/Rev.1). In September, 2010, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution recognizing that the human right to water and sanitation are a part of the right to an adequate standard of living.

Organizations involved in "right to water"

1. International organisations:

• OHCHR (UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights)
• UNDP
• UNICEF

2. Governmental cooperation agencies:

• DFID (United Kingdom's Cooperation Agency)
• GTZ (German Cooperation Agency)
• SDC (Swiss Development Cooperation)

3. Development NGOs: Freshwater Action Network (FAN), WaterAid

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation set up as a response to the UN International Drinking Water & Sanitation decade . WaterAid is dedicated to helping people escape the poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation. It is based in London, England and was...

, Transnational Institute

Transnational Institute

Transnational Institute is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1973 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists...

 with the Water Justice project

4. Humanitarian NGOs: Action against Hunger

Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with a focus on ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster...

 (ACF),

5. Human Rights NGOs: COHRE, WaterLex, UUSC

Further reading

• Gleick, Peter
  Peter Gleick
  Dr. Peter H. Gleick is a scientist working on issues related to the environment, economic development, and international security, with a focus on global freshwater challenges. He works at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, which he co-founded in 1987. In 2003 he was awarded a MacArthur...
  
  , 1999. The Human Right to Water. Water Policy, Volume 5, pp. 487–503. (1999). http://www.pacinst.org/reports/basic_water_needs/human_right_to_water.pdf
• Langford, Malcolm. "The United Nations Concept of Water as a Human Right: A New Paradigm for Old Problems?" Water Resources Development Vol. 21, No.2, 273-282, June 2005
• United Nations. General Comment 15. 2003. "The Right to Water". The Economic and Social Council, E/C.12/2002/11. http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/a5458d1d1bbd713fc1256cc400389e94?Opendocument

External links

• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
• World Health Organization and the right to water
• http://www.blueplanetproject.netBlue Planet Project, The Council of Canadians
  The Council of Canadians
  The Council of Canadians is a progressive citizens' organization that advocates on behalf of its members across the country. Founded in 1985 to oppose the Canada-U.S...
  
  ]
• The Right to Water
• Outcome of an international experts’ meeting on the Right to Water (UNESCO)
• The right to water and water rights in a changing world
• Right to Water on the Children's Rights Portal