ELEMENTS OF THE RIGHT TO WATER

The right to water and the right to an adequate standard of living are intrinsically linked. Enjoyment of the right to water is an essential component of the fulfilment of the right to an adequate standard of living (food and housing) and the right to health. Without equitable access to clean water, these other rights are not attainable.

The right to water is implicit in Article 11(1) ICESCR because its realisation is linked to the realisation of rights such as the right to food, the right to adequate housing, the right to health, the right to earn a living and the right to take part in cultural life. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stressed the importance of the right to water in its General Comment 15: 

The right to water contains both freedoms 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. By contrast, the entitlements include the right to a system of water supply and management that provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the right to water.

General Comment 15 acknowledges that while the adequacy of water may vary according to different conditions, three factors apply in all circumstances: 

Availability:

Each person has the right to a water supply that is sufficient and continuous for personal and domestic uses, such as drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, personal and household hygiene.

Quality:

The right to water means that not only are people entitled to a sufficient and continuous supply of water, but they are also entitled to water of adequate quality. Water for personal or domestic use must be safe and free from microorganisms, chemical substances and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health. Furthermore, water should be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste for personal or domestic use.

Accessibility:

The Comment provides that water and water facilities and services must be accessible to everyone, without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the state party. It identifies four overlapping dimensions of accessibility:

Physical accessibility:

water and adequate water facilities and services must be within safe physical reach of all sectors of the population, which is defined as ‘within the immediate vicinity, of each household, educational institution and workplace’. Water should be of sufficient quality, culturally appropriate and sensitive to gender, life-cycle and privacy requirements;

Economic accessibility:

water, water facilities and services and the direct and indirect costs and charges associated with securing water must be affordable for all; and

Non-discrimination:

access to water and water facilities and services should be realised, in law and in fact, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds – race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Information accessibility is defined as including the right to seek, receive and impart information concerning water issues. 

Finally, it is important to note that the right to water has also been recognised as a human right in several instruments, such as Article 14 CEDAW and Article 24 CRC. Article 24 CRC, which refers to the right to ‘the highest attainable standard of health’ of children, expressly states that the state ‘shall take appropriate measures’ to provide clean drinking water.