Sustainable access to safe drinking water: fundamental human right in the international and national scene (original) (raw)
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Water for life: natural resource and essential human rights to sustainable development
Revista de Direito da Cidade, 2019
The alarming and increasing scarcity of drinking water on the planet adds a new paradigm in the international legal scene, in order to protect human life and ensure the promotion of quality of life for present and future generations as a form of sustainable development, that is, the paradigm of the human right to water. Thus, this article aims to present, through the evolution of the environmental theme in the international scenario, in view of the consideration of water as an objective of sustainable development in the UN 2030 Agenda, the new conception of the right to water, from the recognition of the right to the healthy environment, both being human rights, essential to the quality of life and the dignity of human life. Finally, to conclude that, although the right to water is not yet recognized as a human right in the Brazilian legal system, there is a growing mobilization in this regard in the national scenario. The methodology used was based on a qualitative approach to the problem, being a research of exploratory nature, using the methodological procedure of bibliographical and documentary research, through the analysis of doctrines, documents, legislation and other scientific texts related to the subject.
Indiana International & Comparative Law Review
philosophers, such as Grotius, helped develop the natural law upon which the HRtWS was founded. 5 In addition to its philosophical origins, the HRtWS also has theological roots based on religious scripture and sacraments. 6 Christian scripture mentions the importance of drinking water in several passages. 7 Other religions have stories that depict the importance of drinking water to deities and specific situations, such as bathing, sacrifices and purification. 8 These perspectives helped set the stage for crafting the HRtWS. Following Mar del Plata, the next mention of HRtWS principles came within the 1986 Declaration on the Right of Development. 9 Article 8 established that there should be an equal opportunity to access "basic resources." 10 Alhough Article 8 does not explicitly specify drinking water and sanitation as "basic resources," later rhetoric did correlate drinking water and sanitation as essential resources that should be enjoyed by all. 11 Next, the 1992 International Conference on Water and Environment ("Dublin Conference") concluded with a new view on drinking water. 12 At the Dublin Conference, four fundamental principles were established, which aim to emphasize affordability and the economic value of water. 13 The first principle establishes that freshwater is a finite resource essential to support life and the environment. 14 The second principle commemorates the importance of public participation in decision-making processes regarding 5. See generally EVELYNE FIECHTER-WIDEMANN, THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER: JUSTICE. .. OR SHAM?: THE LEGAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER (Andrene Everson trans., Pickwick Publications, 2017). 6. See generally JAMES SALZMAN, DRINKING WATER: A HISTORY (2nd ed. 2012). 7. Water is mentioned in the Bible 722 times. The importance of drinking water is illustrated in the Bible within, for example, Revelations 22:7: "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let everyone who hears say, 'Come.' And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift." The Biblical importance of water is also emphasized in John 4:14: "but if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life!"
The United Nations Concept of Water as a Human Right: A New Paradigm for Old Problems?
2005
Water history reveals millennia-old struggles over the ownership of water, the pollution and depletion of water sources, and conflicting water uses. What is new is the scale of these problems, particularly access to water for the poorest of the poor. This paper discusses the various conceptual responses to the water problématique, including the commodity, public and social approaches. The human rights aspects of the latter are analysed in some detail in light of the recent General Comment on the Right to Water by a United Nations body. The paper argues that countries have international legal obligations, to respect, protect and fulfil this right without discrimination, that carry clear implications for policy and practice. While the report does not argue that this human right requires the complete decommodification of water or that it provides a 'magic bullet' solution, it seeks to show the benefits of a human rights approach and provides some suggestions for implementing the right at the local, national and international levels.
The Human Right to Water in Latin America
Brill Research Perspectives in International Water Law, 2018
This monograph investigates the development of the right to water (RtW) and of water law in the Latin American context. Specifically, it examines the significance of Latin American (la) constitutional evolution, doctrine, and jurisprudential contribution in stimulating the social, political, and economic debate on the RtW, regionally and worldwide. Firstly, an overview on the RtW in la constitutions is provided and the impact of the findings is highlighted. The main la water management systems are then reviewed with an acknowledgment that an analysis of the RtW has to take account of its application in specific contexts. The intrinsic connection between the RtW and the role of the private sector is examined through specific insights into the highly privatized Chilean water services. Lessons learnt from the la experience are outlined in the conclusion and their relevance for the global debate on the RtW is illustrated.
THE POSITION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN MODERN LEGAL SYSTEMS, 2019
Human rights debates have attempted to establish water as an independent right to ensure maximum benefits and enforcement mechanisms for individuals. Although the approval of a large number of soft-law instruments attesting the importance of the right of access to water, it is not clearly established whether it has reached the status of a freestanding right under general international law. Indeed, the absence of an explicit reference to the right to water is a common feature of both universal human rights treaties and regional conventions, such as the European and the American Conventions on Human Rights and the African Charter. This study explores the legal framework for treating the right to water as an effective fundamental right by exploring the relevant conventions and international jurisprudence. It broaches the issue by looking at two different bodies of international law, namely International water law and International human rights law.
The right to water as a fundamental right
World Journal of Environmental Research
Water is a Human Right of first necessity. We verified that water resources have been used at a rate higher than their replacement capacity, causing problems of water scarcity. This study aims to draw attention of the world community to the need to implement measures to a real social responsibility and cooperative. A review of the literature and an analysis of the various international legal instruments on water resources will be carried out to highlight the absence of social and cooperative responsibility and the need to create sanctions. It is observed that states and international organisations have failed to develop measures to curb their misuse and to overcome the shortage of water in some regions. We believe that the current situation can only be improved through the implementation of policies in terms of social responsibility and cooperative and the companies or the organisations in general. Keywords: Environment, management, water, water shortage.
Protection of the Human Right to Water Under International Law:The Need for a New Legal Framework
The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements. Indeed, the right to water clearly falls within the category of guarantees essential for securing an adequate standard of living, particularly since it is one of the most fundamental conditions for survival. Thus, the human right to life doesn't have any sense without the right to water and other vital human rights that are a precondition for human life. Consequently, the enjoyment of the human right to water is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of other basic human rights such as the right to the highest attainable standard of health and the rights to adequate housing and adequate food etc. Nevertheless, today in this era of quasi irreversible clime changes as well as very extensive increase use of natural fresh water resources, their quantity and quality is significantly decreased. From this perspective, the future of the entire mankind depends mostly in the preservation of world natural water resources. However their preservation requires from mankind a new world approach that would include inter alia the following steps: the adoption of a new international treaty on world environmental protection, the establishment of the World Water Authority under UN that would deal with issues such as the protection, management and use of international waters, ICJ shall be empowered with biding jurisdiction to exanimate interstate disputes over international watercourses, a new international treaty on Artic shall be adapted at least to address environmental concerns, and finally International Humanitarian Law shall address other environmental protection issues raised by enormous development of weapons destruction power including avoidance of loopholes that allow derogations from these treaties obligations. Certainly, any failure to do so, will undoubtedly lead mankind to future massive wars that shall be mostly fought for water rather than for oil.
Social Science Research Network, 2022
The human right to water has been widely recognized in instruments of different legal status. Many consider that the right to water reached its apex with its recognition by the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council in 2010. However, while these resolutions are of great importance for the consolidation of this right under general international law, the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development brings a new dimension to the right to water. For the first time, the implementation of the right to water is monitored at the global level. This chapter examines the innovative dimensions that the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development brings to the interpretation and application of the right to water in its interfaces with Sustainable Development Goal 6 on access to water. Furthermore, it addresses the focus placed on nondiscrimination and on the role of the private sector in the implementation of the human right to water.