Implementing an Evolving Human Right Through Water and Sanitation Policy

Water Policy, Vol. 15, 2013

18 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2012 Last revised: 9 Apr 2013

See all articles by Benjamin Mason Meier

Benjamin Mason Meier

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Georgia Kayser

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill

Urooj Amjad

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill

Jamie Bartram

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill

Date Written: November 15, 2012

Abstract

With water and sanitation vital to the public’s health, there have been growing calls to accept water and sanitation as a human right and establish a rights-based framework for policy reform. Through the development of international law, policymakers have increasingly specified water and sanitation as independent human rights. In this political development of human rights for water and sanitation, the authors find that the evolution of rights-based water and sanitation policy has reached a milestone in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s 2010 Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. By memorializing international consensus on the normative content of these interconnected rights and the corresponding obligations of national governments, states have provided political recognition for expanded efforts to realize human rights through water and sanitation policy. Examining the opportunities created by this UN Resolution, this article analyzes the implementation of the human right to water and sanitation through global water governance, national water policy, and water and sanitation outcomes. While obstacles remain at each step in the implementation of this right, the authors conclude that the UN Resolution could have lasting effects on public health through rights-based water and sanitation policy.

Keywords: human rights, global water governance, water and sanitation policy, United Nations, human rights indicators

Suggested Citation

Meier, Benjamin Mason and Kayser, Georgia and Amjad, Urooj and Bartram, Jamie, Implementing an Evolving Human Right Through Water and Sanitation Policy (November 15, 2012). Water Policy, Vol. 15, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2015424 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2015424

Benjamin Mason Meier (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( email )

CB 3435
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Chapel Hill, NC 27599
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919-962-0542 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.benjaminmasonmeier.com/

Georgia Kayser

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill ( email )

102 Ridge Road
Chapel Hill, NC NC 27514
United States

Urooj Amjad

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill ( email )

102 Ridge Road
Chapel Hill, NC NC 27514
United States

Jamie Bartram

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill ( email )

102 Ridge Road
Chapel Hill, NC NC 27514
United States

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