The Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

A/HRC/RES/39/8View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2018.

What else is in this group?

14 documents · 2012–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

2025A/RES/80/216The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitationCompare with earlier document
2025A/HRC/RES/60/9The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitationCompare with earlier document
2024A/HRC/RES/57/13The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitationCompare with earlier document
2023A/RES/78/206The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitationCompare with earlier document
2022A/RES/76/153The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitationCompare with earlier document

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Grouped automatically by matching titles within the same organ.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Human Rights International Obligations Right to Drinking Water Sanitation Sustainable Development Water Management Women's Rights

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms that the human right to safe drinking water entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use, and that the human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity, while reaffirming that both rights are essential and components of the right to an adequate standard of living;

Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and takes note with appreciation of his report on the theme of the human rights to water and sanitation of forcibly displaced persons;

Reaffirms that States have the primary responsibility to ensure the full realization of all human rights and must take steps, nationally and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of their available resources, to achieve progressively the full realization of the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation by all appropriate means, including in particular the adoption of legislative measures in the implementation of their human rights obligations;

Also reaffirms that the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation are interrelated, but have features that warrant distinct treatment in order to address specific challenges in their implementation;

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

Underlines the importance of an effective remedy for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, including the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and in this regard of judicial, quasi-judicial and other appropriate remedies, including procedures initiated by or on behalf of individuals or, as appropriate, groups of individuals, and of adequate procedures to avoid infringements of such rights with a view to ensuring justice for all for violations in the context of the realization of the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation as essential and components of the right to an adequate standard of living, including taking the measures necessary to ensure that women and girls and persons at risk have equal access to effective remedies;

Notes with concern that, in spite of all efforts, gender inequalities still exist in the realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation;

Calls upon States:

To implement the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals and targets, including Goal 6 on ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, in accordance with their obligations under international law;

To ensure the progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation for all in a non-discriminatory manner while eliminating inequalities in access, including for persons at risk and marginalized groups, on the grounds of race, gender, age, disability, ethnicity, culture, religion and national or social origin or on any other grounds;

To monitor continuously and analyse regularly the status of the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation and to enhance efforts to improve the availability, accessibility, quality and use of water-related data at the local, national and regional levels, and to develop disaggregated and gender-responsive indicators and monitoring mechanisms;

To promote both women’s leadership and their full, effective and equal participation in decision-making on water and sanitation management, to ensure that a gender-based approach is adopted in relation to water and sanitation programmes, including measures to reduce the time spent by women and girls in collecting household water, in order to address the negative impact of inadequate water and sanitation services on the access of girls to education, to protect women and girls from being physically threatened or assaulted, including from sexual violence, while collecting household water and when accessing sanitation facilities outside of their home or practising open defecation, to protect women’s and girls’ equal access to water and sanitation and to take positive measures to guarantee the availability and accessibility of these rights;

To address the widespread stigma and shame surrounding menstruation and menstrual hygiene by ensuring access to factual information thereon, addressing the negative social norms around the issue and ensuring universal access to hygienic products and gender-sensitive facilities, including disposal options for menstrual products;

To make efforts to mitigate the disproportionate impact of water-, sanitation- and hygiene-related diseases on children and reduce child mortality, morbidity and stunting by ensuring the progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation;

To consult and coordinate with local communities and other stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, on adequate solutions to ensure sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation;

To provide for effective accountability mechanisms to ensure that all water and sanitation service providers, including private sector providers, respect human rights and do not cause or contribute to human rights violations or abuses;

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

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 the mandate;

Decides to continue its consideration of this matter under the same agenda item at its forty-second session.

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