U.N. Council to Study Right to Water Obligations

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted on Monday a key decision (A/HRC/2/L.3/Rev.3) on human rights and access to water, requesting "the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, taking into account the views of States and other stakeholders, to conduct, within existing resources, a detailed study on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments, that includes relevant conclusions and recommendations thereon, to be submitted prior to the sixth session of the Council."

This very important for the promotion of the right to water because the right is viewed by many countries as "controversial." The study by the U.N. High Commissioner will provide countries with the opportunity to debate the right to water. Hopefully, the result will be great commitments on the part of governments and international aid agencies to support the implementation of the right.

This comes on the heels of the UNDP report calling water policies "water apartheid" because of the lack of service to the poor. The UNDP calls for the implementation of the right to water to address the inequitable distribution of resources in water services. This is good news and a welcome step on the part of the U.N. Human Rights Council.