With more than 2.5 billion people worldwide, one third of the total population, living without access to proper toilets, the United Nations General Assembly has recognised sanitation as a separate human right in a bid to curb a major source of deadly infections.
“It gives people a clearer perception of the right, strengthening their capacity to claim this right when the state fails to provide the services or when they are unsafe, unaffordable, inaccessible or with inadequate privacy,” said Léo Heller, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of safe drinking water and sanitation.
The Assembly adopted a resolution in December recognising the distinct nature of the right to sanitation in relation to the right to safe drinking water, while keeping the rights together. Heller said it would help governments and non-governmental organisations to specifically focus on what needs to be done to realise the right.
A recent UN study found that more than 443 million school days are lost every year due to sanitation and water-related issues. Inadequate sanitation facilities are a common barrier for school attendance, particularly for girls.
“It is hoped that this will have a direct impact on those women, children, people with disabilities, and marginalised individuals and groups who currently lack access to sanitation…an opportunity to highlight their plight,” added Heller. “The move to making sanitation its own human right means that we can directly address the particular human rights challenges associated with sanitation.”
In addition, Heller said that having sanitation as its own right means that there can be change in approach and understanding, demonstrating that sanitation is not solely tied to water.
Worldwide provision of clean water and sanitation is the sixth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in September as part of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
