Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, former Special Rapporteur (2008-2014)

Catarina de Albuquerque was the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation (formerly Independent Expert). She was appointed by the Human Rights Council in September 2008, having started her mandate on 1 November that year. Between 2004 and 2008 she presided over the negotiations of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which the UN General Assembly approved by consensus on 10 December 2008.

During the time of her tenure, Catarina de Albuquerque was an invited Professor at the Law Faculties of the Universities of Braga and Coimbra and a Senior Legal Adviser at the Office for Documentation and Comparative Law, an independent institution under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

She was awarded the Human Rights Golden Medal by the Portuguese Parliament (10 December 2009) for outstanding work in the area of human rights. Her work in human rights was also honored by the Portuguese President of the Republic (October 2009) with the Order of Merit, which is a recognition of an individual's personal bravery, achievement, or service.

She holds a Law Degree from the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and a DES from the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Geneva, Switzerland).

Publications and reports by the former Special Rapporteur

• Participation A/69/213
• Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation A/HRC/27/55
• Wastewater management A/68/264
• Sustainability and non-retrogression A/HRC/24/44
• Integrating non-discrimination and equality into post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene A/67/270
• Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation A/HRC/21/42
• Financing for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation A/66/255
• Planning for the realization of the rights to water and sanitation A/HRC/18/33
• The MDGs and the human rights to water and sanitation A/65/254
• Human Rights Obligations Related to Non-State Service Provision in Water and Sanitation A/HRC/15/31
• Human Rights Obligations related to Access to Sanitation A/HRC/12/24
• Preliminary Report laying out the Mandate Workplan A/HRC/10/6

	Book on good practices in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation English | Français | Español (PDF) (and related consultations)		Frequently Asked Questions on the rights to water and sanitation English | Français | Español
	Legal Obligations with Tangible Benefits on the rights to water and sanitation (PDF): English | Français | Español		Realizing the human rights to water and sanitation: A handbook (PDF): English | Français | Español | Portuguese | العربية