Léo Heller: 10 years of human rights to water and sanitation.
This July marks the 10th anniversary of the UN declaration recognizing water and sanitation as human rights. The UN Special Rapporteur on the subject, Léo Heller, who is also an advisory board member of ONDAS, spoke about the importance of this date in an exclusive interview.
WAVES: In your opinion, what opportunities does the UN system offer regarding the importance of the human right to water and sanitation?
Léo Heller: To a certain extent, the UN has been promoting these rights, especially through the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. But not only that, because increasingly some UN agencies are incorporating the human rights framework. There is still a space to be filled, in the sense of better incorporating this framework into the agenda of some agencies.
WAVES: What have these 10 years of work for the rights to water and sanitation meant? What has been the accumulated knowledge from this period?
Léo Heller: There has been progress, both internationally and in some countries and local authorities. Some countries have included these rights in their Constitutions or national legislation. In some, the water and sanitation sector has begun to incorporate the language of human rights and adapt services to its principles. Civil society working on this issue has also increasingly used human rights as a guide for its assessments and struggles. ONDAS is a great example in this regard.
WAVES: What are the challenges posed by the current situation?
Léo Heller: There are still many challenges to overcome before rights reach those who truly need them: populations living in vulnerable situations. An assessment of these 10 years shows that the pace of change in the water and sanitation sector is very slow. While access to services has improved during this period, this access still occurs with significant inequality and discrimination.
WAVES: How do you analyze the privatization of water and sewage services in Brazil?
Léo Heller: I believe that if the expansion intended by the proponents of the recently approved law and by the federal government occurs, it could lead to worrying situations regarding the country's compliance with legal obligations concerning human rights. International experience shows that in an environment of weak regulation and in countries without a consolidated institutional culture, the tendency of companies to maximize profits and the power asymmetry between companies and local authorities can lead to abuses regarding the human rights to water and sanitation.
Source: Waves
