(approx. 10:15am, 4 mins, in an interview style format)

Moderator (Saúl Vicente): Based on your experience and expertise, what is the primary obstacle to the realization of the right to water for your constituency?

I would like to focus on the billions of people who lack access to safe and clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. We know the numbers: one-third of the world population lack access to safely managed drinking water and nearly half still lacks access to safely managed sanitation.

From a global perspective, a primary obstacle is the vast and growing inequality.^[1] Addressing it is a priority for the entire United Nations system. The Secretary General has called for a renewed social contract, anchored in human rights. What does this mean? It means putting people, particularly those living in most poverty and vulnerability, at the centre of the design and implementation of national plans and policies. It is a conscious effort to dismantle the architecture of inequalities, and rebuild our economies – including the economics and governance of water – with an architecture that protects and promote human rights – and therefore facilitates trust in government, sustainable development, and strengthens peace within and between States.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights has been calling for an economy at the service of people and their human rights. Let me expand: in many cases, while economic growth claims to be “pro-poor”, it may not be inclusive or sustainable, and it is definitely not sufficient to address structural injustices. Globally, too many remain marginalized, discriminated against, and left behind from the benefits of economic growth.^[2]

The framework of the human rights to water and sanitation requires governments to prioritize water for personal and domestic uses. The primary responsibility rests with countries themselves to give higher priority to the progressive realization of the rights to water and sanitation, as required under international human rights treaties. States are required to take all appropriate legislative and policy measures, with proper participation and consultation processes.

Human rights are not just empty words. If applied properly and concretely to public policy decisions, they provide useful safeguards to ensure the prioritization of the investment needed in water and sanitation. As the report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water launched yesterday^[3] cautions: “the global water crisis can only be addressed with transformational thinking and a new governance and financing framework.”

[Moderator: Can you provide one or two examples of the impacts?]

The rights to water and sanitation are absolutely essential for every human person. They are inextricably linked to all other rights, such as health, education, housing and the right to life and dignity. And yet, halfway to 2030, the world is off track to achieve SDG 6. In almost every country, patterns of marginalization and exclusion exist due to discrimination based on gender, disability or other prohibited grounds.^[4] This puts implementation of the entire Agenda for Sustainable Development at risk. At national and regional levels, lack of access to the rights to water and sanitation is exacerbating poverty, food insecurity and conflict.

Secondly, I wish to highlight the role of human rights defenders and environmental defenders to bring attention to and counter inequalities. They are also at the frontlines of water and environmental conservation and are essential to support the work of the United Nations. But to often their work is obstructed. In carrying out the mandate given to me by the Secretary-General to address and prevent reprisals and intimidation against those cooperating with the United Nations, we receive cases of environmental defenders subjected to reprisals and intimidation due to their critical engagement, including for instance participation in COP 26. Countries must ensure their effective participation, including through peaceful assembly and the protection of civic space, and the protection from reprisals, remedies and accountability.