scholarly journals Measuring disparities in access to water based on the normative content of the human right

2015 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 741-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Flores Baquero ◽  
A. Jiménez Fdez. de Palencia ◽  
A. Pérez Foguet
Keyword(s):  
Human Right ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Normative Content

scholarly journals The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Palmer ◽  
Damien Short ◽  
Walter Auch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue.

scholarly journals Sustainable access to safe drinking water: fundamental human right in the international and national scene

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celso Maran de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Government

Access to potable water is absolutely essential to the maintenance of life, as well as to provide regular exercise of other human rights. The lack of access to water in sufficient quantity or access to non-potable water may cause serious and irreparable damage to people. This paper investigates the evolution of international and national recognition of this fundamental human right, whether implicit or explicit. This was accomplished by the study of international human rights treaties, bibliographic information on water resources and their corresponding legal systems, national and international. The results suggest that sustainable access to drinking water is a fundamental human right in the context of international relations and the State. Further, even without explicitly stating this right in the Constitution of 1988, Brazil has incorporated the main international provisions on the subject, but this right must be acknowledged according to the principles of non-typical fundamental rights and the dignity of the human person. This right should be universally guaranteed by the Government in sufficient quantity and quality, regardless of the economic resources of individuals.

scholarly journals New Approaches to Monitor Inequalities in Access to Water and Sanitation: The SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor Carvalho Queiroz ◽  
Rodrigo Coelho de Carvalho ◽  
Léo Heller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Regional Heterogeneity ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
2030 Agenda ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Assessment And Monitoring ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Normative Content

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Targets 6.1 and 6.2 show, in their formulation, some alignment with the normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation (HRWS). However, the principle of equality and non-discrimination, which applies to all human rights, was not clearly incorporated into the indicators adopted to assess and monitor these targets. This paper contributes to bridging this gap by proposing two methodological strategies to address inequalities in analyses of access to water and sanitation services. The first consists in adjusting the indicators of access to these services according to inequality. The second proposes an assessment of intersecting forms of inequality. An application of these methods in Latin America and the Caribbean highlights significant regional heterogeneity and elevated inequality in access to services in the countries of this region. The methods demonstrate their potential in contributing to assessment and monitoring of the SDGs, but outdated or lacking data are obstacles to more in-depth analyses.

Urban homelessness and the right to water and sanitation: experiences from India's cities

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Walters
Keyword(s):  
Homeless People ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Right ◽  
Indian Cities

Improving access to water and sanitation for vulnerable groups has been a significant development priority in recent decades and this has been coupled with calls for water and sanitation to be recognised as fundamental human rights. However, to date there has been very limited attention on the right to water and sanitation for homeless people, despite their high vulnerability to a range of water and sanitation insecurities. Drawing on empirical data from the Indian cities of Delhi and Bangalore, this paper examines homelessness and the right to water and sanitation. It highlights the everyday practices and experiences of homeless people in their efforts to access water and sanitation, and sheds light on some of the factors that contribute to their water and sanitation insecurity. It concludes that addressing the human right to water and sanitation for homeless people will require going beyond a technical and sector approach, to the more challenging task of tackling the complex factors that create and sustain their vulnerability and marginality in urban spaces.

The Human Right to Water in South Africa and the Mazibuko Decisions

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 521-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Humby ◽  
Maryse Grandbois
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

The right of access to sufficient water in the South African Constitution has for long been regarded as progressive in a global context where the human right to water is still a subject of contention. In its recent decision handed down in the Mazibuko matter, the South African Constitutional Court interpreted the right of access to sufficient water for the first time and clarified the nature of the State’s obligations which flow from this right. It also commented upon the role of the courts in adjudicating the human right to water. This article describes the passage of the Mazibuko matter and the manner in which the lower courts interpreted the right of access to “sufficient water” as well as outlining the Constitutional Court’s decision in the context of access to water services provision in South Africa.

scholarly journals An Inconvenient Truth about Access to Safe Drinking Water

2021 ◽  
pp. 158-168
Author(s):  
A. W. Jayawardena
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
World Population ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
An Inconvenient Truth ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal 6 ◽  
The Right

The phrase inconvenient truth associated with global warming and climate change has received a great deal of publicity some years back. The objective of this article is to highlight a different kind of inconvenient truth which affects about 29% of the world population. It is about the lack of access to safe drinking water that results in over 1.2 million preventable deaths annually. The first two targets of UN sustainable development goal 6 (SDG6) aim at providing universal, affordable and sustainable access to “water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)”.  Recognizing the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a basic human right, issues related to this problem as well as possible options to alleviate the problem are discussed.

scholarly journals Reconfiguring urban waterscape: water kiosks in Delhi as a new governance model

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 996-1011
Author(s):  
Uma Dey Sarkar ◽  
Bikramaditya K. Choudhary
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Public Utility ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Public ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The City

Abstract International organizations firmly ratifying the human right to water though neoliberal reforms have pushed for increasing commodification and marketization of water. Accelerated urbanization in cities of the Global South have intensified problems associated with access to water and innovative solutions such as water kiosks are seen as the future of water access in underserved areas. This paper studies access to potable water in four resettlement colonies of Delhi with a focus on the water kiosks which operate in these colonies. Tracing the broader reforms which have been initiated in the public utility (Delhi Jal Board), the paper investigates the model of water kiosk of these colonies and the extent to which access to water has been impacted by the introduction of the water kiosks. Based on the processes of changes and continuities in the waterscapes of formal yet marginal spaces in the city and concomitant reconfigurations in urban governance, the paper argues that water kiosks serve to reproduce the uneven power relations embedded in the process of neoliberal urbanization.

Water as an Impure Global Public Good and the Impact of Procedural Rights on its Protection

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-160
Author(s):  
Fulvia Staiano
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Global Public Good ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Procedural Rights ◽  
The Impact

The achievement of ‘universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all’ is among the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This objective is related to the recognition of water as a human right, and to the qualification of water as a vital resource to preserve. This chapter reflects on the possibility of qualifying water as a global public good (albeit an impure one). To this end, and without any pretence of exhaustiveness, the chapter examines significant examples from international and domestic jurisprudence that show an emerging judicial awareness of the broader collective impact of questions related to the preservation of and access to water. In this context, specific attention is paid to the role played by environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in fostering such awareness, thanks to the recognition of procedural rights before international and domestic courts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document