The Human Right to Water and Sanitation: Securing access to water for basic needs
18 noviembre 2010
Björklund, G and Sjödin, J (eds)
Swedish Water House Policy Brief Nr. 8
Copyright © 2010, Swedish Water House (SWH)
2010
Millions of lives are still claimed every year, and human development is held back on a massive scale by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and the lack of hygiene. Recent estimates by the World Health Organization and UN-Water indicate that improvements in sanitation and drinking water could reduce the number of children who die each year by 2.2 million (WHO and UN-Water, 2010). It is urgent to change the perception of these foundations for human life, from basic needs to entitlements.
The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. (…) The right of individuals and groups to participate in decision-making processes that may affect their exercise of the right to water must be an integral part of any policy, programme or strategy concerning water.
