Chapter 11: International co-operation The global crisis in access to water and sanitation is one of the central issues that the international community as a whole has pledged to address through the UN Millennium Declaration. Specifically, the Declaration undertook to halve, between 2000 and 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water. At the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, all governments further committed to halving the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. However, providing all those unserved with access to basic water and sanitation services poses considerable financial and technical challenges, particularly as the vast majority of people that lack access to these essential services live in developing countries, many of which, in particular the least developed countries, do not have sufficient financial resources and administrative capacity to provide for the right to water ad sanitation. International co-operation is often seen as relevant only in regard to development assistance. However, the right to water and sanitation is dependant on a number of international dynamics that are beyond the control of any one government. These dynamics include international trade and investment, economic sanctions, pollution of shared resources such as the atmosphere and transboundary resources, the use of transboundary resources and international armed conflict. The full realisation of the right to water and sanitation globally is therefore not possible without international co-operation in these areas. Governments can promote the right to water and sanitation in other countries by: 11.1. Increasing overall international development assistance for water and sanitation services that would benefit the poorest communities, and improving its predictability and effectiveness. 11.2. Focusing development co-operation on programmes and projects that particularly target lowincome areas and groups. 11.3. Ensuring that their development co-operation does not lead to impediments for any person’s access to water and sanitation, or other human rights. 11.4. Co-operating with countries sharing a watercourse to ensure that vital human needs are prioritised in water allocation and that basin-level action is taken to preserve water quality. 11.5. Co-operating with other countries to ensure that multilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements are designed and applied in a manner that supports, and does not interfere with, the realisation of the right to water and sanitation. 11.6. Where trade or financial sanctions are imposed by any country on another, ensuring that these sanctions do not impede access to water and sanitation. 11.7. Ensuring that water and sanitation facilities are not attacked in times of armed conflict and that reasonable precautions are taken to prevent any damage. 11.8. Establishing limitations on the level of greenhouse gas emissions that take into account their impact on water availability and displacement, and providing international assistance to groups facing drought and displacement due to climate change.
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executive summary