Stemming the Tide

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
Global Dynamics ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Right

The human right to water and sanitation emerged as a rallying cry for protestors and a legal tool to challenge privatization of water services. This book explores how the right to water and sanitation is fulfilled in different contexts, whether neoliberal policies like privatization pose a threat to the right to water, and whether rights fulfillment leads to meaningful social change. It analyzes the global dynamics of water governance as well as two in-depth country case studies: Chile, the most extreme case of water privatization in the developing world, and Bolivia, the site of the “water wars” that sparked a global movement for the human right to water. An analysis of state capacity, political will, and citizen participation in the case studies reveals that the minimum standard for the right to water and sanitation can be achieved in the absence of political will, and even in a privatized setting. However, achieving this requires strong state capacity, which runs counter to neoliberal logics. Furthermore, the broader standard for the right to water and sanitation requires citizen participation, accountability, and respect for alternatives to the state/market binary. The book argues that a human rights-based approach to water policy will not necessarily lead to social transformation because of the limits of the rights frame itself and preexisting barriers in each local context. The analysis draws from and modifies an analytical framework for evaluating socioeconomic rights realization. In this way, the book builds theory on socioeconomic human rights realization and social transformation.

Water for Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Right

Chapter 5 provides a case study of the human rights-based approach to water policy through an analysis of the Bolivian government’s attempts to implement the human right to water and sanitation. It explores these efforts at the local and national level, through changes to investments, institutions, and policies. The analysis reveals that while Bolivia meets the minimum standard for the human right to water and sanitation in some urban areas, access to quality water is low in poor and marginalized communities. While the Bolivian government expresses a strong political will for a human rights approach and is increasing state capacity to fulfill rights, the broader criteria for the right to water and sanitation, including citizen participation and democratic decision-making, remain largely unfulfilled. This case suggests political will and state capacity might be necessary but are not sufficient to fulfill the human right to water and sanitation broadly defined.

Global Dynamics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transformation Model ◽  
Global Dynamics ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Water Justice

Chapter 3 explores how global actors promote the human right to water and sanitation at the global level, the venues in which they carry out their campaigns, and the resistance they face to redefining water and sanitation as human rights. The chapter analyzes how the water justice movement works to build political will for the human right to water and sanitation in the first stage in the “moments of social transformation” model, when abstract norms become accepted as held beliefs. The analysis focuses on three venues where activists advocate for the human right to water and sanitation: the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and the World Water Forum. The chapter explores the mechanisms at play in these campaigns, revealing a highly contested process pitting rights promoters against powerful adversaries in the global system, including representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

scholarly journals Inclusive development as an imperative to realizing the human right to water and sanitation

1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-86
Author(s):  
Pedi Obani ◽  
Joyeeta Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Governance Process ◽  
The Right ◽  
Governance Instruments

There are a plethora of governance instruments for operationalizing human rights obligations on water and sanitation at multiple levels of governance. The realization that the human right to water and sanitation depends on the discourses and approaches used in a country to implement it implies that it is not self-evident that implementing the right will lead to inclusive development. The inclusive development aims at not only social inclusion but also ecological and relational inclusion, where the latter aims at ensuring that the structural causes of inequality are also addressed. Relying on an extensive literature review and jurisprudence on the human right to water and sanitation, we develop an ideal-typical conceptual framework for assessing the human right to water and sanitation with inclusive development as an imperative. Our framework is based on the premise that governance instruments are valueladen tools which can steer social changes depending on the contextual political paradigm which can be garnered from the goals, ownership models, accountability mechanisms and incentives of actors involved in the governance process. We, therefore, propose a simple model for assessing whether the governance instruments for operationalizing the human right to water and sanitation will, in fact, lead to inclusive development.Keywords: Human Rights, Governance, Water and Sanitation

scholarly journals On the Changing Structure of International Investment Law: The Human Right to Water and ICSID Arbitration

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Marrella
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
International Investment Law ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
The People ◽  
Independent Expert ◽  
The Right

AbstractWater is the world’s third largest industry after oil and energy power. Although clean drinking water and sanitation are necessary for the health and development of individuals and communities, even today, billions of people lack access to either. In response to these concerns, the international community has set a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of providing, by 2015, clean water and improved sanitation to at least half of the people worldwide who now lack these services. Water is treated both as a public good and an economic good. In the last decade, we have witnessed the commoditisation through privatization and liberalisation of an essential good for each individual’s life. Transnational corporations may encounter water issues in at least three different contexts: a) as enablers of access to water; b) as providers or distributors of water and c) as a user or consumer of water. Many initiatives have been developed within the United Nations such as the Global Compact and the appointment of both an independent expert on human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation and a Special Representative of the Secretary General on business and human rights. Both of them are mainstreaming human rights in the business sector reconciling different forms of regulations. The right to water has come into discussion in a number of ICSID arbitrations and other cases are still pending. The purpose of this article is to discuss the advancement of the thinking in this field so that it could be applied in arbitration practice.

The European Court of Human Rights and the right to clean water and sanitation

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Franziska Braig
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Creative Development ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
European Court ◽  
Degrading Treatment ◽  
The Right

Abstract The human right to clean water and sanitation is currently under discussion in the European Union. During this discussion, it should not be forgotten that another European organisation, namely the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), is becoming increasingly active regarding pan-European minimum standards relating to the right to clean water and sanitation. Although it is widely recognised that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights, no such obligation can be found in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This article reviews the creative development of the jurisprudence of the ECtHR concerning the right to clean water and sanitation using two interpretation techniques, namely the ‘living instrument’ doctrine and the ‘practical and effective’ doctrine. Today, the ECtHR recognises, for example, that a breach of a State's obligation to respect the right to water can amount to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention on inhuman or degrading treatment. By failing to oblige companies to curb water pollution, the Court has also held that a State can be liable for a breach of Article 8 of the Convention, namely the right to respect for private and family life.

The Emergence of “New” Health-Related Human Rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 263-284
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mason Meier ◽  
Inga T. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Human Rights Advocacy ◽  
The Right

This chapter discusses the evolving understanding of human rights to encompass determinants of health through the human rights to water and sanitation, which are vital to the prevention of both communicable and non-communicable disease. In 2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights argued that the right to water is a distinct human right derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health. Solidified by the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, states have provided a normative framework for efforts to realize the human rights to water and sanitation. This recognition of the human rights to water and sanitation has provided a foundation to implement these rights through national policy and international organizations. With advocates now seeking accountability for these rights, human rights advocacy, litigation, and monitoring will be crucial for meeting water, sanitation, and hygiene needs.

s.Three Contemporary Applications, 12 The Emergence of “New” Health-Related Human Rights: Recognizing the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meier Benjamin Mason ◽  
Winkler Inga T
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Human Rights Advocacy ◽  
The Right

This chapter discusses the evolving understanding of human rights to encompass determinants of health through the human rights to water and sanitation, which are vital to the prevention of both communicable and non-communicable disease. In 2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights argued that the right to water is a distinct human right derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health. Solidified by the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, states have provided a normative framework for efforts to realize the human rights to water and sanitation. This recognition of the human rights to water and sanitation has provided a foundation to implement these rights through national policy and international organizations. With advocates now seeking accountability for these rights, human rights advocacy, litigation, and monitoring will be crucial for meeting water, sanitation, and hygiene needs.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Transformation Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

The conclusion synthesizes the main findings from the empirical chapters in response to the three research questions guiding the book, modifies the “moments of social transformation” model of rights realization, and proposes hypotheses to guide future research. The chapter reviews the key mechanisms, actors, and pathways that lead to acceptance of the right to water and sanitation at the global level, and to the fulfillment of these rights in Chile and Bolivia. The main contributions of the book are presented, including the finding that neoliberal approaches to water policy have the potential to weaken state capacity to fulfill the right to water and sanitation, and that implementing a human rights-based approach to water policy alone will not lead to social transformation. Rather, meaningful social transformation in the water sector requires mechanisms for citizen participation, accountability, and the creation of alternatives to the state/market binary.

Translating human right to water and sanitation into reality: a practical framework for analysis

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 943-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nandita Singh
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Right

The human right to water and sanitation has been most commonly approached from the perspective of legal machinery and mechanisms for its implementation. Perhaps an underlying assumption among human rights practitioners is that once action for implementing the right is undertaken, its realization will be achieved. Often ignored are factors and processes at the micro-level where action for implementing the right actually takes place. This paper aims to propose a practical framework for analyzing this context that influences the action undertaken for realizing the right. The framework derives from an empirical study in India and is based upon an understanding of the micro-level processes at the ‘interface’ where the duty-bearing agents implementing action come face-to-face with the right-holders in the community. Both are situated in their own local contexts – the ‘implementation’ and the ‘socio-cultural’ contexts respectively. The two contexts can in turn be understood as constituted of distinct ‘norm-triads’ and the interactions between these ultimately lead to ‘realization’ or ‘non-realization’ of the right. The paper further contends that in order to translate the human right to water and sanitation into reality, it is necessary to identify the gaps and contradictions between the two contexts and address these appropriately and adequately.

Private Water, Public Good

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Public ◽  
Strong State ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
State Interventions

Chapter 4 provides an in-depth case study of water policy in Chile from the 1970s to present, including an evaluation of the outcomes of water policy under the privatized system from a human rights perspective. The chapter interrogates Chile’s reputation as a privatization success story, finding that although Chile meets the narrow definition of the human right to water and sanitation in terms of access, quality, and price, it fails to meet the broader definition that includes citizen participation in water management and policy decisions. The chapter argues that Chile’s relative success in delivering water services is attributable to strong state capacity to govern the water sector in the public interest by embedding neoliberal reforms in state interventions. The Chile case shows that privatization is not necessarily antithetical to human rights-consistent outcomes if there is a strong state role in the private sector.

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