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.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Aproximación a la regulación y contenido del derecho a una alimentación adecuada

2018 ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Goig Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Right To Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
The Right

La alimentación adecuada constituye un derecho humano. Así lo han reconocido oficialmente la gran mayoría de los Tratados Internacionales sobre derechos humanos. Pero existe una gran diferencia entre que un Estado reconozca oficialmente la alimentación como un derecho fundamental en su constitución, o lo haga como un principio rector, puesto que ello dotará al derecho a la alimentación adecuada de una mayor protección, o lo convertirá en un principio de actuación de los poderes públicos. Se puede exigir a los gobiernos garantizar el ejercicio efectivo del derecho a la alimentación de conformidad con las disposiciones constitucionales para otros derechos humanos. Pero, la capacidad de la invocación indirecta de otros derechos humanos para lograr la protección efectiva del derecho a la alimentación en el plano nacional dependerá, en definitiva, de la interpretación jurídica que se haga de la Constitución.Adequate food is a human right. Thus the vast majority of treaties have officially recognized it human rights. But there is a big difference between that a State officially recognizes food as a fundamental right in the Constitution, or do it as a guiding principle, since this will provide the right to adequate food of greater protection, or the It will become a principle of action of the public authorities. You may require Governments to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to food in accordance with the constitutional provisions for other human rights. But the indirect invocation of other human rights capacity to achieve effective protection of the right to food at the national level will depend, ultimately, of the legal interpretation that is made of the Constitution.

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 Implementing an evolving human right through water and sanitation policy

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mason Meier ◽  
Georgia Lyn Kayser ◽  
Urooj Quezon Amjad ◽  
Jamie Bartram
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Global Water ◽  
National Water

With water and sanitation vital to the public's health, there have been growing calls to accept water and sanitation as a human right and establish a rights-based framework for water policy. Through the development of international law, policymakers have increasingly specified water and sanitation as independent human rights. In this political development of human rights for water and sanitation, the authors find that the evolution of rights-based water and sanitation policy reached a milestone in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly's 2010 Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. By memorializing international political recognition of these interconnected rights and the corresponding obligations of national governments, states provided a normative framework for expanded efforts to realize human rights through water and sanitation policy. Examining the opportunities created by this UN Resolution, this article analyzes the implementation of the human right to water and sanitation through global water governance, national water policy and water and sanitation outcomes. While obstacles remain in the implementation of this right, the authors conclude that the UN Resolution could have lasting benefits for public health.

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.

scholarly journals Reaffirming Individual Responsibility in Distributive Justice: A Case Study of the Chinese Healthcare System

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Ziyu Liu ◽  
Martin Buijsen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Free Rider Problem ◽  
Justice In Health Care ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

The human rights-based approach is widely employed in achieving distributive justice in health care. In the light of a common understanding of the approach, protecting the right to health as a human right relies heavily on addressing state accountability. However, the corresponding measures are put forward unevenly on the national level and generally achieve less than expected. Deficiencies, such as inefficient utilization and the free-rider problem, are increasingly obvious along with the aging population. In the context of the Chinese healthcare system, the paper suggests that drawing attention to the importance of individual responsibility is beneficial to improve the performance of the human rights-based approach in reforming healthcare systems towards more justice. Furthermore, raising the issue of individual responsibility can help to achieve equilibrium between the protection of individual rights and the sustainability of the healthcare system.

scholarly journals Constitutionalising the Right to Water in Kenya and Slovenia: Domestic Drivers, Opportunity Structures, and Transnational Norm Entrepreneurs

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3548
Author(s):  
Mathea Loen ◽  
Siri Gloppen
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
International Norm ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Transnational Actors ◽  
Political Opportunity Structures ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right

The international norm development that in 2010 culminated with the UN Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation changed international law. To what extent did this influence the parallel legal developments evident in many national constitutions across the globe? This article analyses the mobilisation for a constitutional right to water and sanitation in Kenya and Slovenia, identifying the main national and transnational actors involved and assessing their significance for the processes of constitutionalising the right. By analysing two very different cases, tracing their constitutionalisation processes through analysis of archival material, the article provides multifaceted insights into processes of norm diffusion from international norm entrepreneurs to the national level and the agency of domestic actors and their opportunity structures. We find that although the outcomes of the processes in Kenya and Slovenia are similar in that both constitutions contain articles securing the right to water, the framing of the right differs. Furthermore, we conclude that while there is involvement of international actors in both cases, domestic pro-water activists and their normative and political opportunity structures are more important for understanding the successful constitutionalisation of the right to water and differences in the framing of the right.

scholarly journals Le Droit À L’eau: Un Droit Fondamental Des Autres Droits De L’homme

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Ziad Tak
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Services ◽  
National Level ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Sanitation Services ◽  
Legal Texts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Right

The right to water is a right for all and must be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner in accordance with the conditions and limits laid down by some particular laws and regulations. In order to make the right to drinking water and sanitation a reality, water and sanitation services must be made affordable to the population as a whole. Property and access to other human rights such as the right to housing, food or health services should also be made available to the population. Internationally, several countries have recognized the right to drinking water and sanitation, but have not actually implemented it at the national level. The objective of this study is to show the importance of the implementation of the right to drinking water, so that it can be made available to all. Since the most widely traded studies on human rights were dominated by political and judicial character, I tried in this study to broaden the meaning of human rights and to provide more Rights. This is despite the fact that it has not been compensated by specific legal texts. As a result, the problem of the study is focused on water as a fundamental need of human, and access to water is part of its fundamental rights.

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.

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