The right to water?

Everyone needs water: to drink, or to wash with. Most people get it from their tap, pump, or communal well. But when for some reason nothing comes out of the tap – or the well goes dry – what starts as an inconvenience can become a disaster.

As the world’s population approaches seven billion, more and more people are finding it harder to get clean water – and it’s not going to get any easier to get it to them. Clean water is something we all think we have a right to – but do we? And if we do, who should make sure we get it? Danielle Morley is Fresh Water Action Coordinator at the UK charity WaterAid. She says that while the right to water is not legally considered a human right, the United Nations is considering water’s place in international law.

“The UN’s human rights committee defined a right to water and recognized that it is implicit in international human rights law. That debate has been taken even further. Another council has adopted a resolution that there is not yet a right to water and sanitation, but that all governments are bound by human rights obligation to ensure access to drinking water and sanitation.”

So who’s responsible?
While national governments may be obligated to provide water, they usually pass responsibility down to local municipalities. Those local governments are often short of funds, expertise and equipment – meaning that in many parts of the developing world, access to water remains uneven between rich and poor people.

One possible solution was privatisation of water. Companies, many of them international corporations, would take over the distribution of water and ensure access through a profit incentive. But numerous court cases and local rejection of privatisation has dissuaded firms from getting involved in water projects, according to Morley.

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Source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide

For more information on water conservation, visit www.nuprana.com