Realising the human rights to water and sanitation : a handbook

This Handbook is the product of six years of work by the first UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation. It explains the meaning and legal obligations that arise from these rights, translating the often complex technical and legal language into accessible information. This Handbook has been developed to:

• clarify the meaning of the human rights to water and sanitation;
• explain the obligations that arise from these rights;
• provide guidance on implementing the human rights to water and sanitation;
• share some examples of good practice and show how these rights are being implemented;
• explore how States can be held to account for delivering on their obligations; and
• provide its users with checklists, so they can assess how far they are complying with the human rights to water and sanitation.

The target audiences for this Handbook are governments at all levels, donors and national regulatory bodies. It provides information that will also be useful to other local, regional and international stakeholders, including civil society, service providers and human rights organisations. [authors abstract]