UNITED
NATIONS Press Release
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ADOPTS
GENERAL COMMENT ON RIGHT TO WATER
CESCR29th session26
12/03/2002
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted
this afternoon a General Comment on the right to water which
stresses that water is a limited natural resource and a
public commodity fundamental to life and health. General
Comment No. 15 notes that over 1 billion people lack access
to basic water supply, while several billion lack access
to adequate sanitation, a primary cause of water contamination
and diseases linked to water. The continuing contamination,
depletion and unequal distribution of water resources are
exacerbating existing poverty, the comment states.
The comment also emphasizes that States parties to the International
Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have the
duty to progressively realize, without discrimination, the
right to water. The human right to water entitles everyone
to sufficient, affordable, physically accessible, safe and
acceptable water for personal and domestic uses, the text
notes. The General Comment was adopted under the Committee's
agenda item on substantive issues arising in the implementation
of the International Covenant. On Friday, the Committee
held a one-day preliminary discussion of the draft general
comment.
Although the International Covenant does not expressly refer
to the word "water", the Committee determined that the right
to water is clearly implicit in the rights contained in
Covenant articles 11 and 12. The Committee is expected to
reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 29 November, to finalize its
work and to close its autumn three-week session. General
Comment on Right of Water The General Comment notes that
water is a limited natural resource and a public commodity
fundamental to life and health.
The Committee has been confronted continually with widespread
denial of the right to water in developing as well as developed
countries. Over 1 billion persons lack access to a basic
water supply, while several billion lack access to adequate
sanitation, a primary cause of water contamination and diseases
linked to water, the comment states. The continuing contamination,
depletion and unequal distribution of water resources is
exacerbating existing poverty. States parties have the duty
to progressively realize, without discrimination, the right
to water. The human right to water entitles everyone to
sufficient, affordable, physically accessible, safe and
acceptable water for personal and domestic uses, the text
states. While those uses vary between cultures, 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.
The right to water contains both freedom and entitlements;
the freedoms include the right to maintain access to existing
water supplies necessary for the right to water; and the
right to be free from interference, such as the right to
be free from arbitrary disconnections or contamination of
water supplies, the text states. The elements of the right
to water should be adequate for human dignity, life and
health. The adequacy of water should not be interpreted
narrowly, by mere reference to volumetric qualities and
technologies. Water should be treated as a social and cultural
good, and not primarily as an economic commodity. The manner
of the realization of the right to water should also be
sustainable, ensuring that the right can be realized for
present and future generations.
Further, the General Comment notes that States parties have
a constant and continuing duty, in accordance with the obligation
of progressive realization, to move expeditiously and effectively
towards the full realization to the right to water. Realization
of the right should be feasible and practicable, since all
States parties exercise control over a broad range of resources,
including water, technology, financial resources and international
assistance, as with all other rights in the Covenant.
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