UNB, Dhaka :
Over 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation – the sanitation target under Goal 7 has been missed by one of the widest margins of all the 18 targets under the Millennium Development Goals Two United Nations experts on Friday welcomed the explicit recognition of the ‘human right to sanitation’ as a distinct right, together with the ‘human right to safe drinking water’ by the UN General Assembly, according to a message received here from Geneva.
The experts – the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation Léo Heller, and the Chair of the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, Waleed Sadi urged all Member States, in both their national budgeting and international development cooperation, to target the allocation of resources to sanitation in particular to the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals, as those living in urban informal settlements and in rural areas.
One billion people practise open defecation, nine out of ten in rural areas across the world. “The right to sanitation is an essential component of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably linked to the highest attainable standard of health, and integrally related to the human right to water,” Sadi said.
“Sanitation and water issues need to be approached comprehensively at many levels,” Heller said.
The experts explained that while sanitation does not necessarily have to be water-borne, Governments tend to focus on this type, rather than on-site sanitation such as pit latrines and septic tanks which are still widely used.
In the UN General Assembly resolution, adopted by consensus on 17 December, Member States recognized that ‘the human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity.’
“This is a significant step taken by all United Nations Member States to address the right to sanitation on an equal footing with the right to water,” Special Rapporteur Heller said.
“The Committee welcomes the full recognition of the right to sanitation by States, and highlights the importance of complying with principles related to non-discrimination, gender equality, participation and accountability in this regard,” Sadi stated.
Over 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation – the sanitation target under Goal 7 has been missed by one of the widest margins of all the 18 targets under the Millennium Development Goals Two United Nations experts on Friday welcomed the explicit recognition of the ‘human right to sanitation’ as a distinct right, together with the ‘human right to safe drinking water’ by the UN General Assembly, according to a message received here from Geneva.
The experts – the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation Léo Heller, and the Chair of the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, Waleed Sadi urged all Member States, in both their national budgeting and international development cooperation, to target the allocation of resources to sanitation in particular to the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals, as those living in urban informal settlements and in rural areas.
One billion people practise open defecation, nine out of ten in rural areas across the world. “The right to sanitation is an essential component of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably linked to the highest attainable standard of health, and integrally related to the human right to water,” Sadi said.
“Sanitation and water issues need to be approached comprehensively at many levels,” Heller said.
The experts explained that while sanitation does not necessarily have to be water-borne, Governments tend to focus on this type, rather than on-site sanitation such as pit latrines and septic tanks which are still widely used.
In the UN General Assembly resolution, adopted by consensus on 17 December, Member States recognized that ‘the human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity.’
“This is a significant step taken by all United Nations Member States to address the right to sanitation on an equal footing with the right to water,” Special Rapporteur Heller said.
“The Committee welcomes the full recognition of the right to sanitation by States, and highlights the importance of complying with principles related to non-discrimination, gender equality, participation and accountability in this regard,” Sadi stated.
