Conference Presentation
Reference
Human rights and water
TIGNINO, Mara
TIGNINO, Mara. Human rights and water. In: Eight International Workshop on Law and Hydro-Hegemony, King's College, Londres, Royaume-Uni, 24-25 octobre 2015, 2015
Available at:
http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:78322
Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version.
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Eighth Interna,onal Workshop on Law
& Hydro-‐Hegemony
Human Rights and Water Mara Tignino
Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Pla6orm for Interna9onal Water Law
Faculty of Law, University of Geneva
London, 25 October 2015
Outline
1) The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2) Human needs and the law applicable to transboundary water resources
3) Emergence and recogniBon of a right to safe drinking water and sanitaBon
1. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – Goal 7
To halve, by the year 2015, the proporBon of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitaBon
-‐ Almost 750 million people lack access to an improved source of drinking water
-‐ Almost one billion people are sBll without access to basic sanitaBon
1. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2015 Sustainable Development Goals -‐ Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitaBon for all
-‐ 6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
-‐ 6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitaBon and hygiene for all and end open defecaBon, paying special aPenBon to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situaBons
1. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Principles of human rights law
-‐ Progressive eliminaBon of inequaliBes in access to water -‐ Water must be free from contaminaBon
-‐ Price for water and sanitaBon services must not present a barrier to accessing water
1997 UN Conven9on on the Law of Interna9onal Watercourses for Uses Other Than Naviga9on, 2008 ILC DraS Ar9cles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers, 1992 UNECE Conven9on on the Protec9on and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and Interna9onal Lakes
-‐ Principle of equitable and reasonable uBlisaBon -‐ ProhibiBon on causing significant damage
-‐ NoBficaBon of planned measures
2. Human needs and the law applicable to transboundary water resources
2. Human needs and the law applicable to transboundary water resources
1994 ILC Memorandum of Understanding (UN Watercourses Conven9on)
-‐ Priority of uBlizaBon for saBsfacBon of vital human water needs is defined as “sufficient water to sustain human life, including both drinking water and water required for the producBon of food in order to prevent starvaBon”
2004 Interna9onal Law Associa9on -‐ Rules on Water Resources -‐ Vital human needs means “waters used for immediate human survival, including drinking, cooking, and sanitary needs, as well as water needed for the immediate sustenance of a household”
Vital human needs, regional and river basin instruments
-‐ 1999 Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 ConvenBon on the ProtecBon and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and InternaBonal Lakes
-‐ Charters of the Senegal River (2002), Niger River (2008) and Chad Lake (2012)
2. Human needs and the law applicable to
transboundary water resources
General Comment No. 15 on the Right to Water – UN Commi]ee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2002)
“The human right to water enBtles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domesBc use”
-‐ Availability : sufficient and conBnuous water -‐ Quality : safe water
-‐ Accessibility : indiscriminate and affordable
3. Emergence and recogni9on of a right to drinking and safe water and sanita9on
Resolu9on adopted by the General Assembly 64/292: The human right to water and sanita9on (July 2010)
“Recognizes the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitaBon as a human right that is essenBal for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”
[122 in favour, 0 against and 41 abstenBons]
3. Emergence and recogni9on of a right to drinking and safe water and sanita9on
3. Emergence and recogni9on of a right to drinking and safe water and sanita9on
Resolu9on adopted by the Human Rights Council 15/9: Human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanita9on (October 2010)
“The human right to safe drinking water and sanitaBon is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and inextricably related to the right to the highest aPainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as the right to life and human dignity”
[Adopted without a vote]
3. Emergence and recogni9on of a right to drinking and safe water and sanita9on
Implica9ons of the right to water and sanita9on
-‐ ObligaBons with immediate effect: States must ensure that actors – public and private – comply with the requirements of the human right to water and sanitaBon
-‐ ObligaBons implying gradual implementaBon of the right to water and sanitaBon: development of naBonal laws depending on the means and capaciBes available
Final remarks: human rights and water
“The doctrine of human rights has aspired from the outset to be universal, to be a doctrine that applies everywhere to everyone, irrespecBve to naBonality, culture, tradiBon, ideology or social condiBons”
A. Cassese, “A Plea for Global Community Grounded in a Core of Human Rights” in A. Cassese (ed.) Realizing Utopia. The Future of Interna6onal Law, Oxford University Press, 2012.
Thanks!
Pla6orm for Interna9onal Water Law
www.unige.ch/droit/eau
