Constitutional Review of the Human Right to Water
We all need enough safe water to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases and to provide water for drinking, cooking, and personal and domestic hygienic requirements.
The human right to water, recognised by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) since 2003, is fundamental for human dignity and essential for realising other human rights. This interconnectedness is crucial, as “the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic uses”.
However, only 31 countries, 15.65% globally, have included the right to water in their constitutions, the majority of which (17 countries) between 2004 to 2015. Although some countries implicitly protect the right to water through the recognition of other human rights in their constitutions, such as the right to a healthy environment, health or to life, the human right to water may not be completely protected without explicit recognition at the highest national level.
Explicit recognition means that the right is clearly described and explained in the drafting of the article. In many countries, the right to water is mentioned in the constitution without any explanation, providing less protection.
Africa
Africa demonstrates a wide range of legal traditions and development levels so it is difficult to summarise. Political instability and conflict in parts of Africa may have hindered efforts to codify social and economic rights. However, progress has been made, with ten African countries recognizing the right to water since 2015.
America
The Latin America is the region with the earliest recognition of the human right to water, with countries recognising the right as early as the 1980’s. Today Latin America includes nearly one-third of the countries that recognise the right to water in the world (11 of 32).
Asia-Pacific
The countries in the Asia-Pacific region have widely differing levels of development and economic resources. Despite this, there has been some regional efforts to bring more attention to social, economic and water rights. The four countries in the Asia-Pacific who have included the right to water into its constitution include Fiji, Maldives, Nepal, and Thailand.
Europe
Slovenia is the only country in Europe that explicitly recognises the right to water in its constitution. Many European countries may not have the same drive to explicitly recognise the right to water since national or European Union laws cover it implicitly through other rights, or the right has been integrated into local policy, even if not at national level.
Globally, and despite progress since 2003, more than 84% of countries still lack a constitution that explicitly includes the human right to water. Given that 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water*, it is even more important than ever that countries make efforts to recognise this right at the constitutional level to provide a framework for greater fulfilment of the human right to water.
*JMP data through www.washdata.org
