The 7th MDG (7C) focused on halving the proportion of the population without access to clean water and sanitation services is not a reality for many vulnerable people in rural dryland areas and post-conflict countries. The right to access to water is key to achieving environmental sustainability, overall peace, and a scalable economy worldwide

1. Human Rights and Sustainable Goals
THE SIXTH BUDAPEST HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM
The Right to Access to Water for Sustainable
Development and Stability in Dry-Land Areas in Time of
Climate Change
7- 8 NOVEMBER 2013
www.gwiwater.org | Valerie Ndaruzaniye

2. FOCUS OF PRESENTATION
I.
Defining the Human Right to Water
•
Human Rights Council Resolution on the Human Right to Access to Water and
Sanitation
•
MDG 7
II.
Water Availability
III.
Water Insecurity:
•
Water Access: Possible Future Scenarios
•
The Case of Ex-Combatants
•
Ex-Combatants and Economic Livelihood
•
Ex-combatants: Challenges for Socio-Economic Reintegration
•
Women in Remote Drylands
•
Some Hope
•
Reaching Rural People for Capacity Building
•
Sustainable Development
IV.
Moving Forward
•
Human Right to Water
•
Post-MDGs Policies
•
Policies at the Local and International Levels
www.gwiwater.org
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3. I. Defining the Human Right to Water
1. Human Rights Council Resolution on the Right to
Access to Water and Sanitation
2. MGD 7
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4. The Human Rights Council Resolution
A/HRC/RES/15/9 of September 2010
• “the human right to safe
drinking water and
sanitation is derived from
the right to an adequate
standard of living and
inextricably related to the
right to the highest
attainable standard of
physical and mental
health, as well as the right
to life and human dignity.”
• The General View: the
human right to access to
water and sanitation is seen
as a “third generation
human right”
• Human right to access to
water and sanitation is the
basis from which all other
rights and development
can be realized

5. The 7th MDG (7C) for Environmental
sustainability
• The right to access to water is key to achieving
environmental sustainability, overall
peace, and a scalable economy worldwide
• The 7th MDG (7C) focused on halving the
proportion of the population without access
to clean water and sanitation services is not a
reality for many vulnerable people in rural
dryland areas and post-conflict countries

6. II. Water Availability
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8. III. Water Insecurity
1. Water Access: Possible Future Scenarios
2. The Case of Ex-Combatants
3. Ex-combatants and Economic Livelihood
4. Ex-combatants: Challenges for Socio-Economic
Reintegration
5. Women in Remote Drylands
6. Some Hope
7. Reaching Rural People for Capacity Building
8. Sustainable Development
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9. 9

10. Water (In)security
• Increasing consumption: between 1900 and
1995, the consumption of global freshwater
rose six fold, more than twice the rate of
population growth
• Approximately 700 million people in 43
countries are suffering from water stress and
scarcity
• 80% of diseases in developing countries are
said to be linked to poor water and sanitation

11. 11

12. 12

13. Percentage of RURAL population using improved drinking water
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
ALGERIA
LYBIA
EGYPTE
SAHARA
OCCIDENTAL
MAURITANIE
MALI
NIGER
CHAD
ERYTHEE
SENEGAL
GAMBIE
SOUDAN
DJIBOUTI
B-F
GUINNE BISSAU
NIGERIA
GUINEE
SIERRA
LEONE
LIBERIA
BENIN
TOGO
GHANA
COTE D’IVOIRE
ETHIOPIA
ETHIOPIA
RCA
CAMEROON
SOMALIA
UGANDA
GUINEE EQUAT.
GABON
KENYA
RWANDA
RDC
BURUNDI
CONGO
TANZANIA
MAURITIUS
< 50 %
> 50 & < 70%
> 70 & < 90%
> 50
< 90 %
MALAWI
ANGOLA
MOZAMBIQUE
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA
BOTSWANA
MADAGASCAR
Source : Global Water Institute 2010 www.gwiwater.org
SWAZILAND
SOUTH AFRICA
Drawn Map based on data from the UNICEF 2009 Report
LESOTHO
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15. 15

16. Water Abundance and Populations
• With its 5400 km³ of renewable resources -10% of the
world water represents one of the major development in
Africa - 40M ha of irrigation potential & 1.4M of
hydropower potential
• About 69% of African population lives in conditions of
relative water abundance
• Yet only 62% of Africans had access to improved water
supply in 2000 despite the considerable improvements
during the 1990s. Of this number, 70% live in rural areas
and are currently without access to safe drinking water
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17. Scenarios for Future Water Challenges
• By 2025 about 600 M people will
suffer water scarcity (<1000
m³/capita/year)
• By 2025 most African countries will have
exceeded the limits of their economically
usable, land-based water resources
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18. 18

19. 19

20. The Case of Ex-Combatants
• “Ex-combatants” - Young men and women previously
directly involved in armed conflict, as either government
fighters or militia members
• Many ex-combatants were forced to join armed forces as
children, and are uneducated and unskilled
• Ex-combatants generally left their homes and land to
participate in war efforts, and upon return to their
communities, they often turn to farming for their
economic livelihood, but find their land either destroyed
by erosion and degradation or confiscated by war
commanders
• Ex-combatants often do not know techniques for restoring
their environment, and thus are not able to recreate their
farm and build a life

21. Ex-Combatants and Economic
Livelihood
• Ex-combatants are disproportionately affected by water
scarcity because they depend upon water and the
climate for their economic livelihood
• Ex-combatants are also not likely to be part of the
political process, and are not able to voice their
circumstances to decision makers
• Few political decisions do not consider excombatants, especially women, as a case of high
importance
• Ex-combatants are particularly vulnerable to
discrimination, racism and xenophobia, which can
further interfere with their ability to safeguard the ecosystem on which they depend

22. Ex-Combatants: Challenge for SocioEconomic Reintegration
• “Human development is about freedom. It is
about building human capabilities –the range of
things people can do, and what they can be. …but
people are restricted in what they can do with […]
freedom if they are poor […] discriminated
against, threatened by violent conflict or denied a
political voice.” Human Development Report
2005 (UNDP 2005)
• Africa counts more than 300,000 ex-combatants
without jobs

23. Women in Remote Drylands
• Rural women are responsible for collecting water
in approximately 2/3 of households in developing
countries
• African women spend about 60 billion hours per
year searching for water
• In Africa and Asia, women walk, in
average, between 4-6 kilometers a day to collect
water
• Rural women in remote drylands are not
reachable and therefore can hardly be considered
for their inclusion in decision-making processes

24. Some Hope
• Tremendous promotion of women in politics in
developing countries since the 1994 UN Convention in
Beijing
• With many women holding Parliament seats, the world
hopes to see results related to rural women’s
development and democratic participation
• Despite increases in the numbers of women in
politics, very few women have lead roles in formal
settings for climate-resilience discussions
• Clean water supply and climate negotiations and all
institutions linked to water industry remain maledominated

25. Reaching Rural People for Capacity
Building
• Capacity building activities are often held in
urban cities, thereby neglecting the rural and
isolated communities
• Farmers in rural areas are, however, eager to
learn new techniques in order to preserve their
water through ecosystem restoration, and
improved land management practices for
agriculture and livestock that can also improve
economic output and promote sustainable
development

26. Achieving Sustainable Development
• Brundtland Commission: “…the essential needs of the world’s
poor, are to be given overriding priority. …., protecting the
rights of the most vulnerable members of our society, is … the
best way… to protect the right of future generations to inherit
a planet that is still worth inhabiting.”
• Sustainable development cannot be possible if an adequate
standard of living is denied to a large part of the world’s
population
• The challenge of achieving sustainable development focuses
on human beings and their behavior and attitudes toward
their environment
• A balance needs to be reached between nature and people
and also among people themselves

27. IV. Moving Forward
1. Human Right to Water
2. Post-MDGs - Policy Proposal
3. Policies at the Local and
International Levels
www.gwiwater.org
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28. Moving Forward on the Human Right
to Water
• Human rights set norms for fair sharing and just
distributions of national economies including water.
Thus, ex-combatants and women in remote drylands
and rural communities should have their just share
• They should have equal treatment as those living in
urban areas in terms of water distribution and
sanitation services
• It is time to go beyond political recognition and high
level meetings and to take active steps to ensure that
the right to water is integrated into all aspects of the
development agenda, as the threat of climate change
heightens the importance of this development goal

29. Moving Forward on the Human Right
to Water
• Urgent need for decisions on matters that
include power-sharing, women’s
rights, refugee’s rights, equal water
distribution in sufficient quantity and
quality, land and property restitution to
returnees, ex-combatants’ rights, and right to
justice and reparations that can have a
profound effect on the lives of women and
ex-combatants, prospects for lasting
peace, and sustainable development in a
given country

30. The Post-2015 Agenda: Policy Proposals
• The post-2015 agenda must move forward
with clear objectives towards total insertion
and integration of those who are
discriminated against
• The Post-2015 agenda must ensure there is no
longer discrimination and inequalities in
access to water, sanitation and hygiene

31. At the Local Level: Policy Proposals
• Governments should make a clear and sound
commitment to address rural women’s and excombatants’ environmental security issues in
developing countries
• Environmental laws and poverty reduction strategies
should be sensitive to the specific concerns of women
in remote drylands and ex-combatants in post-conflict
developing countries, and respond equally to the
different impacts climate change has on vulnerable
groups
• Local and national governments need to reach out to
rural women in dryland areas and ex-combatants to
understand their specific circumstances, and tailor
policies to address their needs

32. At the Local Level: Policy Proposals
• Issues of women in rural drylands and excombatants in post-conflict developing countries
need to be integrated into all national
environmental policies
• Governments in post-conflict developing
countries themselves should place many more
educated women and ex-combatants within the
government structure, to spearhead initiatives
that promote the inclusion of these people within
the political process

33. At the Local Level: Policy Proposals
• Women and ex-combatants should be trained in the
management of natural resources and the environment
protection or ecological restoration and
maintenance, as they have the potential to be a strong
force for development
• Civil society has a fundamental role to play in holding
local and national governments accountable for
effective interventions to address water security and
sanitation problems
• Local organizations have the capacity to advocate on
behalf of the marginalized people, ensuring that these
voices are heard and that political will is mobilized

34. At the Local Level: Policy Proposals
• National strategies should provide guidelines for
acceptance and use of external funds, to ensure
resources support only proven, evidence-based
interventions that meet efficiently and effectively
the needs of these marginalized groups
• Such strategies should be cross-cutting by
including integrated interventions for and
requirements of all relevant ministerial
sectors, mainly legal and judicial, health and
education, social welfare, district
governments, and information services

35. At the International Level: Policy
Proposals
• Though it is important for national governments to
take the lead in protecting and promoting women in
rural drylands and ex-combatants, it is however
fundamental that donor governments and agencies be
supportive by contributing their fair share in terms of
financial and technical support
• Donor governments should ensure that all bilateral
environmental and development initiatives targeting e
special water needs for marginalized groups are
included in development projects

36. At the International Level: Policy
Proposals
• The international community can play a role
by not just grabbing the “low hanging
fruit”, but by targeting rural women and excombatants in development projects, and
focusing relief efforts to reach the most
vulnerable people

37. At the International Level: Policy
Proposals
• The international community should take concerted
action to promote women in rural drylands and excombatants through capacity building and public
awareness on issues related to climate change and the
increasing water insecurity
• Such an exercise should help women and excombatants feel confident that they are learning new
patterns useful for sustaining their own
ecosystems, increasing their crop
production, improving their socio-economic status and
societal stability

38. At the International Level: Policy
Proposals
• A cross-cutting program to address the water
challenges faced by vulnerable and
marginalized groups in developing societies
should be established urgently. Local
governments cannot do it alone. Therefore
the United Nations, and the European Union
with the support of other international
institutions, NGO and civil societies, must be
committed to the human right to water.

39. Thank you!
Information sources available at
www.gwiwater.org