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U.N. Expert Concludes Mission with Recommendations to United States
From left: United Nations Human Rights Officer Yoonie Kim; United Nations Independent Expert on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque; UUSC President Bill Schulz; UUSC COO Constance Kane; UUSC Program Manager for Environmental Justice Patricia Jones; and UUSC Manager for Public Policy and Mobilization Shelley Moskowitz
In conclusion of her 11-day mission to the United States, United Nations Independent Expert on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque focused her findings on five main issues: nondiscrimination, affordability, quality/safety, indigenous peoples, and official development assistance. She shared her preliminary recommendations for the United States government in a press conference on March 4, 2011.
After recounting experiences from her trip, de Albuquerque offered some of her preliminary conclusions about the human right to water and sanitation in the United States. She calls upon the United States to focus on access to water for the most "hidden and poorest segments of the population," both in the United States and abroad.
Read de Albuquerque's full press release.
Watch de Albuquerque speak about focusing on the greatest need:
De Albuquerque also calls on the government to adopt clear legal standards for the estimated 154,000 drinking-water systems in the United States, to ensure that priority is given to personal usage of water for drinking and sanitation. She also challenges us to look at our water systems holistically — not in isolation from agriculture, chemical, industrial, and energy sectors — with the understanding that we face a deteriorating infrastructure that will need to be rebuilt in a way that ensures the human right to water.
