Manual on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for Water and Sanitation Practitioners

The Manual on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for Water and Sanitation Practitioners aims:

• to introduce the principles and concepts contained in the United Nations resolutions recognizing the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation (HRWS)

• to clarify the language and terminology used in the promotion of human rights, and

• to provide guidance on the roles and responsibilities for everyone who contributes to the progressive realization of the HRWS, and on how the human rights principles and actions can be incorporated into their essential functions.

The book focuses on the implications of new legislation and new components for existing legislation that address the human rights principles of equality, non-discrimination, accountability, participation, access to information and sustainability. This manual promotes informed decision-making by operators, managers and regulators in their daily routine, as well as to encourage them to engage actively in the national debates that are taking place in many countries where the HRWS is being translated into national and local legislation, policy and regulation. In most countries, creating such an enabling environment will, in fact, be the first critical step in the process towards the realization of the rights, followed by the allocation of roles and responsibilities to the various actors at national and local levels.

Introduction; Main operational principles; Setting the scene – context and contents of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Translating the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation into operational terms; Creating the enabling environment; Incorporating HRWS into the essential functions of service providers; Addressing sensitive practices, dealing with challenges and avoiding pitfalls.