WHO: A decisive role in moulding the right to water ?

The law areas of human rights law and environmental law converge when human health is affected by environmental degradation and/or excessive pollution. My analysis focuses on water as a shared resource deeply needed for human health as much as for the health of the environment. The right to water is at a crossroads between human rights – water is a prerequisite to the enjoyment of other human rights – and environmental rights – water is essential to and part of ecosystems (all living organisms need water to survive), biodiversity, soil nutrition (soil organisms need water to survive) and air (‘it plays an important role in heating and cooling of the atmosphere and in the day to day change in weather’). Safe water is essential to both human and environmental health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been a significant driving force in advancing global health improvement and indirectly environmental health. Why? Because WHO considers the environmental determinants of health to reach the highest possible level of health for all. It publishes standards and guidelines for water quality with a view to bettering human health and safer water for humans is also beneficial for the environment. The international recognition of the right to water, in 2010, by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution No 64/292, acknowledges water as a fundamental human right. This right is further defined in General Comment No 15 on the Right to Water, provided by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (UN CESCR) (2002). Issues related to water access, quality and availability have long been major concerns and they remain highly relevant: as part of Sustainable Development Goal No 6 (SDG 6), access to water should be guaranteed for all by 2030. Water and sanitation have always been part of WHO’s Agenda and the organization has a pivotal role in the implementation of SDG 6 through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene strategy. Such a role extends beyond the implementation of the right to water, the influence of the international organization is also visible in legal texts. WHO is cited as a point of reference in General Comment No 15 on the Right to Water. Additionally, it plays a significant part in the 1997 Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Considering all these elements, the presentation focused on the transformative role of WHO in shaping policies and regulations on the right to water and their implementation.