Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

In 2006, the Global Justice Clinic, along with Partners In Health, Zanmi Lasante, and the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, embarked on a project aimed at examining violations of the right to water in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. Following several years of collaborative work on donor accountability and the right to health in the country, the four partner organizations decided to undertake a joint study, documenting the impact of the blockage of potentially lifesaving loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The loans were intended to substantially improve access to potable water in the region. Originally approved in 1998 to provide $54 million dollars in aid to the Haitian government, the loans were blocked in 2001, effectively shutting down all prospects for the projects to proceed. The devastating consequences of these actions prompted the collaborating organizations to seek avenues to highlight the connections between health, water, and human rights issues so evident in this case. To analyze the complex issues at play, the groups undertook multidisciplinary research that combined quantitative and qualitative methodologies to furnish solid proof of the violations experienced by the Haitian people. Based on a household survey of some 70 families, as well as interviews with hundreds of people in Port-de-Paix, the groups produced a report that analyzed the findings from the perspectives of both human rights and public health. The aim was to present the findings in a comprehensive manner to support real reforms on the ground, and to encourage greater collaboration across disciplines typically viewed as separate.

A public water pump at the Champs de Mars camp for the internally displaced population Port-au-Prince, Haiti

In June 2008, the groups published “Woch nan Soley: The Denial of the Right to Water in Haiti.” The report’s findings showed that conditions related to the right to water in Port-de-Paix were far worse than previously imagined, with little to no functioning public water sources and heavy bacterial contamination in water relied upon by community members. The resulting analysis and the broad range of concrete recommendations resulted in an extensive dialogue among different stakeholders.

Read the report in English, French, or Kreyol (summary). To read press releases or attendant articles related to the report, please click here.

Water sample tests positive for bacteria. North Department, 2017.

In 2011-2012, the Global Justice Clinic was commissioned by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation to undertake a study on how inequalities impact enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation, and how these impacts could be monitored and measured. This study served as the background report for the Working Group on Equity and Non-Discrimination of the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) led by UNICEF and the WHO. The Working Group was chaired by the Special Rapporteur and Professor Margaret Satterthwaite served as its rapporteur.

This Working Group was created by JMP to help provide guidance on ways to integrate attention to equality and non-discrimination in the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted in 2015. The Clinic team’s work included conducting interviews with water and sanitation specialists; research on key indicators, data-gathering methods, and analytical approaches to assessing inequalities; and legal analysis on equality, non-discrimination, and equity. This research was integrated into an expert paper, available here.

Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

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