The enforcement of water rights

The human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS) was explicitly recognized in a UN Resolution in 2010. Has this international recognition improved the ability of poor and marginalized people to secure access to water?

Lara Côrtes will discuss the cases of Brazil, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Peru, South Africa and Zambia. These countries have experienced significant attempts to enforce the right to water through litigation, legal reforms, the use of UN mechanisms, political mobilization, and increased attention given to vulnerable and previously neglected areas and groups.

The presentation explores whether the resolution has resulted in changes in the national frameworks concerning the human right to water, and in the way countries are reporting on this right to the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Lara Côrtes is a Project researcher (PhD law) at the Centre on Law & Social Transformation, Chr Michelsen Institute / UiB.

This presentation is a joint effort by Bruce Wilson og Camila Gianella, and is a part of the project: “Elevating water rights to human rights: Has it strengthened marginalized peoples’ claim for water?” at the Centre on Law & Social Transformation, Chr Michelsen Institute / UiB.