Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the light of General Comment No. 15 and the Sub-Commission Guideline

‘The right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation’ is an important tight, which is essential for the full enjoyment of life; and is closely linked with many other human rights like, right to life, right to food, right to self-determination, right to adequate standard of living, right to housing, right to education, right to health, right to take part in cultural life and right to suitable working conditions. The General Comment No. 15 in its ‘introduction’ quite rightly termed it as “a prerequisite for realization of other human rights.” This paper discusses the legal contents of this important right with the aim of bringing this important right further into the limelight of public discussions. Such discussion in tum will help to identify the gaps between existing national laws and policies governing access to safe drinking water and sanitation and the international standard. It will provide an overview of the existing laws and policies towards implementation thus encouraging human rights activists to litigate for the right to safe drinking water and sanitation both in domestic, and regional and international legal bodies to address violations. Another aim of this paper is to link human rights with development which in tum will broaden the human rights discourse and movement to include an equal focus on economic, social and cultural rights, along with civil and political rights. It will also help critically analyse whether laws and policies comply with international standards and also to recommend future changes to the law and the framework of implementation. Another aim of the paper is to stimulate further research on the extent to which existing laws and policies protect the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in order to recommend future potential improvements to such standards