'Water is a Human Right... But it Can Have a Price'

Published on by in Social

'Water is a Human Right... But it Can Have a Price'

Catarina de Albuquerque, former UN special rapporteur, on getting water recognised as a human right and why involving the private sector is a no-brainer.

zDjK7QU.jpgThe first time Catarina de Albuquerque made a presentation at World Water Week, people did not like what she had to say.

It was 2009, she was just a year into her role as UN special rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and delegates did not like her suggestion that people should pay for water.

“They were hoping I was going to say that as water is a human right, it should be free and the private sector should not be involved,” says de Albuquerque. She made her presentation, saying that water should be affordable, and the floor opened for questions.

“That’s when the disaster started,” says de Albuquerque. “I think the NGOs were in shock. They were saying: ‘How can you say that water can have a price? You cannot sell human rights.’”

Water can have a price as long as people are not excluded, responded de Albuquerque, and drew parallels with other human rights. There is a right to food, for example, but people will still pay for it in a supermarket. The same goes for health; it’s a recognised human right, but medicines still come with a price.

These days, de Albuquerque feels more at ease in the sector. In November 2014, she was appointed executive director of Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), a global partnership working to strengthen political leadership to increase access to water and sanitation. The sector seems to have warmed to her too; earlier this month she received the Global Water Award at the IWA World Water Congress, in recognition of the role she has played as “the driving force behind the recognition of the human rights to water and sanitation”.

Global water crises are the biggest threat the planet will face over the next decade, according to the World Economic Forum. But the complexity of this problem makes water a particularly knotty issue.

On one hand, we face rapidly worsening shortages of freshwater – Nasa satellite data shows that freshwater from 21 of the world’s largest 37 aquifers is being withdrawn faster than it can be replenished. On the other, out of a global population of 7 billion, 663 million people still lack access to water and 2.4 billion live without a toilet.

The competing demands for finite water resources are so great that in April, a high-level panel of 11 heads of state was convened to help meet the sustainable development goal (SDG) on water.

AgCli37.jpgThe involvement of the private sector, however, still divides water and sanitation professionals. Some see it as a necessary means to bridge the gaps in funding and implementation, while others are concerned that profit-making organisations will exclude the poorest from essential services.

In a former life, de Albuquerque was a “simple human rights lawyer” working in her home country of Portugal. When she heard about the role of special rapporteur she simply applied “with no specific expertise in water and sanitation issues”, and despite being warned against it.

“Friends of mine at the UN told me: ‘Oh, don’t apply for the water mandate. It’s new, it’s weak, the right has not even been recognised.’” But de Albuquerque is not one to fear a challenge. “I thought that was even more interesting. I could make the mandate bigger, stronger, richer and ensure that the rights were recognised,” says de Albuquerque.

When de Albuquerque came to the end of her second and final term as special rapporteur in December 2014, the right had been recognised, she had the biggest budget of all other special rapporteurs – “I like to ask for money” – and she was undertaking missions and taking complaints from those whose right had been violated – something some states objected to when she began.

Today, de Albuquerque advocates for the political prioritisation of water, sanitation and hygiene on a global level, and establishes strategic partnerships with other initiatives and sectors.

There are 52 country partners of SWA at present, and the nature of democracy means that de Albuquerque’s work is never done. “Just when we manage to convince one set of ministers to prioritise water and sanitation, there are elections – which is a good thing – and we have to convince and work with the next ministers. It’s never-ending work, a never-ending story.

Read full article at: The Guardian

Media

Taxonomy