Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation

There is growing interest in the contributions of human rights to efforts to extend access to water and sanitation, but little practical information is available at present on how this can be achieved. The Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation is designed to assist policy makers and practitioners in implementing the right to water and sanitation.

The Manual has been produced by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Programme and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

This essential publication, written in non-legal language, addresses the vital need to demonstrate how human rights can be practically realised in the water and sanitation sector. The Manual demonstrates that implementing the right to water and sanitation is not limited to legal recognition or allocation of funds. Rather, it provides the basis for practical reforms in many areas of water supply and sanitation and in water resource management that can help make the water and sanitation sector operate in a manner that is more pro-poor, accountable and inclusive.

The Manual will be useful for practical implementation as it:  
·      Explains the key components of the right to water and sanitation and their implications for governments.
·      Describes a range of practical policy measures that could be adopted by governments, in particular those in low-income countries, to achieve the right to water and sanitation in the shortest possible time.
·      Illustrates examples of policy measures that have been taken to achieve particular components of the right to water and sanitation.
·      Provides a checklist by which governments can assess their achievements in relation to the right to water and sanitation.
·      Describes the roles of other actors, in particular, individuals and communities in contributing to the achievement of the right to water and sanitation.

The full Manual and an executive summary are available for download at www.cohre.org/manualrtws.