The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

A/HRC/RES/16/2View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2011.

What else is in this group?

5 documents · 2011–2014

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2014).

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2014	A/HRC/RES/27/7	The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation	2,649	–
2014	A/RES/68/157	The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation	1,536	–
2013	A/HRC/RES/24/18	The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation	2,137	–
2011	A/HRC/RES/18/1	The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation	1,819	–
2011	A/HRC/RES/16/2	The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation	1,357	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2011

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2011	A/66/255	Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation report of the Secretary-General		A/HRC/RES/16/2

What subjects does this mandate have?

11 subjects

Drinking Water Experts Human Rights International Obligations Right to Drinking Water Right to Health Right to Life Sanitation Sanitation Services Special Rapporteurs Standard of Living

What’s in this document?

18 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the recognition of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, and the affirmation by the latter that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as the right to life and human dignity;

Also welcomes the work of the Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, including the progress in collecting good practices for her compendium,³ the comprehensive, transparent and inclusive consultations conducted with relevant and interested actors from all regions for her thematic reports and compilation of good practices, as well as the undertaking of country missions;

³A/HRC/15/31/Add.1.

Taking note with interest of the statement of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the right to sanitation,⁴ as a complement to the Committee’s general comment No. 15;⁵

⁴E/C.12/2010/1.

⁵E/C.12/2002/11.

Decides to extend the mandate of the current mandate holder as a special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation for a period of three years;

Encourages the Special Rapporteur, in fulfilling his or her mandate:

To promote the full realization of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation by, inter alia, continuing to give particular emphasis to practical solutions with regard to its implementation, in particular in the context of country missions, and following the criteria of availability, quality, physical accessibility, affordability and acceptability;

To pay particular attention to persons belonging to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including by respecting the principles of non-discrimination and gender equality;

To work on identifying challenges and obstacles to the full realization of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as protection gaps thereto, and to continue to identify good practices and enabling factors in this regard;

To monitor the way in which the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is being realized throughout the world;

To continue the mutual dialogue with Governments and where appropriate, with local authorities, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, other relevant international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and other concerned stakeholders, such as indigenous peoples;

To make recommendations for goals beyond the 2015 Millennium Development Goals process with special regard to the full realization of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and also to continue to make more recommendations that could help the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular of Goal 7, as appropriate;

To continue to work in close cooperation, while avoiding unnecessary duplication, with other special procedures and subsidiary organs of the Council, relevant United Nations bodies, the treaty bodies and regional human rights mechanisms;

To continue to report, on an annual basis, to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly;

To facilitate, including through engagement with relevant stakeholders, the provision of technical assistance in the area of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation;

Encourages all Governments to respond favourably to requests by the Special Rapporteur for visits and information, to follow up effectively on recommendations of the mandate holder and to make available information on measures taken in this regard;

Stresses the important role of the international cooperation and technical assistance provided by States, specialized agencies of the United Nations system, international and development partners, as well as by donor agencies, in particular in the timely achievement of the relevant Millennium Development Goals, and urges development partners to adopt a human rights-based approach when designing and implementing development programmes in support of national initiatives and action plans related to the enjoyment of access to safe drinking water and sanitation;

Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the Special Rapporteur with all the resources and assistance necessary for the effective fulfilment of his or her mandate;

Decides to continue its consideration of this matter under the same agenda item and in accordance with its programme of work.

The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its sixteenth session (A/HRC/16/2), chap. I.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What else is in this group?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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