1. Ways to realise the human rights to water and sanitation
Overview Presentation for 2015 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference
Presented by
Faraj El-Awar
UN-Habitat

2. 2
Indicators of achievement Indicators of achievement
• UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/292 of July
2010 explicitly recognized the human right to water and
sanitation.
• Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/18/1 of
September 2011 put particular emphasis on practical
solutions with regard to the implementation of the human
right to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Background: The Human Rights to Water
and Sanitation

3. 3
Indicators of achievement
Financing and economic instruments:
• Allocations for water, and particularly for sanitation, is inadequate in
many countries.
• 77% of countries indicating that available financing is insufficient to
reach coverage targets for sanitation (2014 GLAAS Report).
Technology:
• Limited coverage of network systems.
• Out-dated infrastructure as a result of low investments.
Governance:
• Weak and unenforced legislations.
• Poor management.
Capacity Development:
• Limited capacity for development and maintenance of water and
sanitation services.
• Limited skilled human resource.
Implementation Challenges

4. 4
Addressing Challenges :Developing and Using Tools
Indicators of achievement

5. Case Studies
1. Mapping access to water at the neighbourhood level (Nairobi)
Objectives: To establish baselines of coverage
- To understand intra-city inequities
- To help target the neglected areas
- To inform
- Local stakeholders and decision makers (loc
auth, nat govts and utilities)
- International Devt Community
= for pro poor policies/prioritization of investment
needs
Methodology: disaggregating statistics from city level to
neighborhood level, through satellite image analysis +
household inquiries and producing set of interactive maps as
basis for GIS and MIS
Way forward: replication to test methodology in Fez,
Morocco. Proposal to upscale in other countries with other
operators together with SIWI

6. Case Studies
2. WOPs to improve access to sanitation for the Poor, example of Indah Water Konsortium
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-mentor) and PDAM (Medan, Indonesian, mentee)
Aim: to increase the no of households connecting to Medan’s city sewerage system
Cost: 32,000 USD
Duration 8 months
Result: more than 4000 new connections
Impact: capacity raised in PDAM to improve sanitation strategy and management on
behalf of the community

7. 7
Case Studies
3. Costs, Benefits and Financing of Post-2015 WASH Targets, By Guy
Hutton, World Bank
Indicators of achievement
Summary:
• Ongoing study is to estimate the global costs, benefits and financing
to meet the proposed target of reaching universal basic WASH
access by 2030.
• World Bank leads the study, with WHO, UNICEF and other partners.
• The study estimates costs based on the incremental costs of
extending services to the unserved as well as the costs of
maintaining coverage for the already served.
• Objective is to better inform decision making on the selection and
financing of WASH interventions (at global and country levels).
Lessons Learned:
• Economic evidence has proven to be important in emphasizing to
policy makers the importance of WASH.
• It is expected that the economic case for universal WASH access will
strengthen the case for including WASH within the water SDG

8. 8
Case Studies
4. Case Study of Girls and Women in Nigeria (G–WIN) Project, By
Sarah Reng-Ochekpe, Minister of Water Resources, Nigeria
Indicators of achievement
Summary:
• G-WIN is an innovative project aimed at empowering girls and
women and make them leaders in water management.
• It is part of the Federal Government Agenda to make Women
and Girls more productive by alleviating the long distances walk
in search of water for domestic purposes or from unsafe
sources.
• The project which is currently being piloted in the rural and
semi-rural areas has commenced with 1st Phase, in 2 LGAs in
each of the 4 states of Abia, Bauchi, Osun, and Plateau out of
the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria
Lessons Learned:
• Continued advocacy, sensitization and mobilization and training
“make women leaders in water management”.

9. 9
Case Studies
5. The creation of an independent regulatory body for the water
sector (ERSAR), By Luis Simas, The Water and Waste Services
Regulation Authority, Portugal
Indicators of achievement
Summary:
• The implementation in Portugal of the drinking water quality legal
framework 20 years ago could only guarantee 50% of safe water, which
meant that the other 50% were not controlled or were not complying with
the national standards. After a decade, the levels of safe water increased to
84%.
• However Portugal was very far from the 99% of safe water which is
internationally considered as the level of excellent drinking water quality.
• Pursuing this goal it was established a new regulatory model for drinking
water quality taking into account the European Drinking Water Directive
98/83/CE and 10 years after its implementation the safe water is now on
98% and new tools, like water safety plans approach, are being
implemented to reach the 99%.
• It is important to highlight that one of the decisions that made a difference
in this evolution was the creation of an independent regulatory body for the
water sector (ERSAR).
Lessons Learned:
• Political will for independent regulation coupled with international
networking are success factors in the creation of an independent regulatory
body for the water sector (ERSAR).

10. 10
Background Issues/Questions for discussion
Indicators of achievement
• What are the implementation challenges and issues (financing, governance, technology,
capacity development) that need to be addressed to realise the human rights to water
and sanitation?
• What would be the best/key tool/s for financing, governance, technology, capacity
development to be used to contribute to the realisation of the human rights to water and
sanitation?
• What are some of the obstacles you have encountered when implementing the financial,
governance, technology and capacity development tools for realising the human rights to
water and sanitation? What are the solutions you have identified to overcome them?
• What are the conditions for success to replicate and effectively implement these tools in
a different context (geographical, hydrological, institutional, etc.)?
• How do you see the role of government in overcoming the obstacles and implementing
the tools for realising the human rights to water and sanitation?