General Assembly Adopts Resolution Recognizing Access to Clean Water, Sanitation

General Assembly Adopts Resolution Recognizing Access to Clean Water, Sanitation
as Human Right, by Recorded Vote of 122 in Favour, None against, 41 Abstentions
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/ga10967.doc.htm

By a vote of 122 in favour to none against, with 41 abstentions, the General Assembly today adopted, as orally revised, a resolution calling on States and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to developing countries, in scaling up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

By a text on the human right to water and sanitation, the Assembly expressed deep concern that some 884 million people were without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation. Bearing in mind the commitment to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it expressed alarm that 1.5 million children under five years old died each year as a result of water- and sanitation-related diseases, acknowledging that safe, clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights.

Introducing the text, Bolivia’s representative said the human right to water had not been fully recognized, despite references to it in various international instruments. Lack of access to water killed more children annually than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, while the lack of sanitation affected 2.6 billion people, or 40 per cent of the global population, he pointed out. The upcoming summit to review progress on the Millennium Development Goals must provide a clear signal that water and sanitation were human rights, he emphasized, reiterating that the right to drinking water and sanitation was essential for the full enjoyment of life.

Hinting at differences over whether the Assembly should have taken action on the text, the representative of the United States said before the adoption that his delegation would abstain from voting. The United States, which had called for the vote, had hoped to join a consensus that would uphold the process under way at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, he said. Instead, the text could undermine that work because it described the right to water and sanitation in a way not reflected in existing international law. Moreover, the text had not been drafted in a transparent manner, he said, noting that the legal implications of a declared right to water had not yet been fully considered in the Assembly or in Geneva.

Some delegates, speaking before the adoption, expressed regret that a vote had been called in the absence of consensus, saying they viewed the draft not as a threat to the “ Geneva process” on water and sanitation, but rather as one of its components. Some expressed regret that the text had provoked division, despite awareness of the importance of access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Germany’s representative said the text included important elements of the work going on in the Human Rights Council and of the independent expert on the subject.

Other delegates, speaking after the adoption, welcomed the resolution’s treatment of important issues, with Egypt’s representative saying he had voted in favour on the basis of an understanding that it did not create new rights, or sub-categories of rights, other than those contained in internationally agreed human rights instruments. Acknowledging the need to set aside controversial questions of international water sources and transboundary water, he said the Egyptian Government trusted that the text would bring such questions to the fore and add impetus to the Geneva process.

Also speaking on the resolution were the representatives of Spain, Hungary, Brazil, Turkey, Portugal, Argentina, Norway, Guatemala, New Zealand, Chile, Australia, Costa Rica, Botswana, United Kingdom, Colombia, France, Japan, Russian Federation, Peru, Singapore, Belgium, Pakistan, Netherlands, Mexico, Ethiopia, Canada, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Equatorial Guinea, Albania, Yemen, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The Assembly also heard from a representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine.

Action on Draft Resolution

Introducing a draft resolution on the human right to water and sanitation (document A/64/L.63/Rev.1), the representative of Bolivia said that human right had not been fully recognized, despite references to it in various instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and others. Each year, more than 3.5 million people died from diseases spread by contaminated water, he said, pointing out that the lack of access to water killed more children annually than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. One of every eight people lacked access to drinking water, and each day, women spent more than 200 million hours on transporting water.

Meanwhile, lack of sanitation affected 2.6 billion people, or 40 per cent of the global population, he continued, stressing that, more than any other human rights issue, sanitation raised the concept of human dignity. Proper sanitation could reduce by more than one third the number of children’s deaths from diarrhoea. Half of all hospital beds were occupied by people suffering from diseases caused by a lack of water and sanitation, he said, adding that the upcoming Millennium Development Goals Summit must provide a clear signal that water and sanitation were human rights.

The draft resolution urged States and international organizations to provide resources and to foster the transfer of technology to developing countries, with a view to providing access to water and sanitation, he said, pointing out that the heart of the text lay in operative paragraph 1. The right to drinking water and sanitation was essential for the full enjoyment of life. It was not enough to urge States to comply with their obligations; they must be urged to protect the right to drinking water and sanitation. With that, he proposed an oral amendment to paragraph 1, changing the word “declare” to “recognize”.

The representative of Germany, speaking ahead of action, said that some 884 million people worldwide had no access to clean water and some 2.6 billion lacked access to adequate sanitation. Germany was committed to the Millennium Development Goals, including that of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2015, he said, adding that the right of access to both was recognized in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, alongside the right to food and others. Germany would vote in favour of the text and regretted that consensus had not been achieved, necessitating a recorded vote.

Unlike some, Germany saw the text not as a threat to the European Union-led “ Geneva process” on water and sanitation, but rather as another component of that process, he stressed. At the same time, Germany would have preferred that the text include more language proposed by the European Union. It nevertheless included important elements of the work going on within the Human Rights Council and that of the independent expert on the subject. Germany invited delegations to support and participate actively in the Geneva process in order fully to understand the right to water and sanitation.

The representative of Spain said his delegation had hoped that the suggestions proposed by the European Union would be included in the text, and that it would subsequently be adopted by consensus. Spain was pleased with the oral amendment put forward by Bolivia, which made it possible to better link the resolution with the work of the independent expert. Still, water and sanitation were components of the right to a suitable life under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, he said, expressing regret that proposals to include language on the independent expert’s work had not been taken into account. Nevertheless, Spain would vote in favour of the text, he said.

The representative of Hungary said her Government considered access to water and sanitation to be part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and that was why the Hungarian delegation would vote in favour, despite concerns about how it had been negotiated. The Geneva process should clarify States’ human rights obligations vis-à-vis water and sanitation, he said, adding that the overall aim of the Geneva process would indeed have been better served if the text had been adopted by consensus. Regrettably, it had provoked division, despite awareness of the importance of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, she said, reiterating the important role of the Geneva process and urging all States to participate actively in it.

The representative of the United States expressed his Government’s deep commitment to finding solutions to global water challenges, noting that water and sanitation would be an important focus at the upcoming Millennium Development Goal Summit. Safe and accessible water supplies furthered the realization of certain human rights, he said, noting that his country supported the work of the Human Rights Council’s Independent Expert on human rights obligations relating to access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The United States looked forward to receiving her next report, and to a more inclusive, deliberative approach to such vital issues in Geneva than had been seen in New York.

He said his delegation had hoped to negotiate and ultimately join the consensus on a text that would uphold the process under way at the Human Rights Council. Instead, the text fell far short of enjoying unanimous support among States and might even undermine the work under way in Geneva. It described the right to water and sanitation in a way not reflected in existing international law since there was no “right to water and sanitation” in an international legal sense, as described by the resolution.

Expressing regret that the text had diverted the Assembly from the serious international efforts under way to promote greater coordination on water and sanitation issues, he said it attempted to take a short cut around the serious work of formulating, articulating and upholding universal rights. It had not been drafted in a transparent, inclusive manner, and neither the Assembly, nor the Geneva process had yet considered fully the legal implications of a declared right to water. For those reasons, the United States had called for a vote and would abstain in the voting, he said.

The representative of Brazil said the right to water and sanitation was intrinsically connected to the rights to life, health, food and adequate housing. It was the responsibility of States to guarantee those rights to all citizens, and Brazil had been working within and outside its borders to promote access to water and sanitation, especially in low-income communities. Pointing out that treaty-based and non-treaty based human rights bodies were based in Geneva, she said the United Nations headquarters there was the best forum for the current discussion. Nevertheless, Brazil would vote in favour of the text.

The representative of Turkey, recalling that the Human Rights Council had recently created the mandate of the independent expert and passed a resolution on the same subject, said the matter was before the Council and the Geneva process was ongoing. The text prejudged the outcome of those discussions and Turkey would therefore abstain from the vote.

The Assembly then adopted the resolution by a vote of 122 in favour to none against, with 41 abstentions.

ANNEX
Vote on Human Right to Water

The draft resolution on the human right to water and sanitation (document A/64/L.63/REV.1) was adopted by a recorded vote of 122 in favour to none against, with 41 abstentions, as follows:

In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Against: None.

Abstain: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Greece, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Zambia.

Absent: Albania, Belize, Cameroon, Chad, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Swaziland, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan.