II. The Many Interfaces Between SDG 6 and the Right to Water and Sanitation

There are several interfaces between SDG 6 and the right to water and sanitation. One can speak of a mutual nurturing process which is benefitting both the fulfillment of SDG 6 and respect for the right to water and sanitation. I will highlight this mutual nurturing process through four points:

1. 1. SDG 6 did not come out of nowhere. A number of international binding and non-binding instruments have played a critical role in its shaping. These include human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 24(2)) or the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Article 14(2)(h)). One should also mention the resolutions of the UN General Assembly,Footnote ⁵ of the UN Human Rights Council,Footnote ⁶ as well as general comments and reports of human rights bodies, especially the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.Footnote ⁷ This nurturing process is reflected in the content of SDG 6 which reiterates the human right to water and sanitation. However, interestingly, SDG 6 goes further by aiming for access to water in all settings, including schools, health-care facilities, work places, and other institutional settings. In other words, SDG 6 does not only focus on households and domestic settings and thus pushes further the boundaries of the right to water and sanitation.

2. 2. SDGs include a plural dimension. State and non-state actors are involved in their fulfillment.Footnote ⁸ This means that actors not traditionally involved in the promotion and protection of human rights are involved in the implementation of the SDGs. This is done through a target-oriented approach to which all actors have committed in one way or another. Looking more particularly at the private sector, various techniques are resorted to, such as the Corporate Water Stewardship promoted by the UN Water Compact,Footnote ⁹ as well as various types of public-private partnerships. The SDGs offer an experimentation ground for committing the private sector toward the satisfaction of both SDG 6 and of the human right to water and sanitation.

3. 3. The SDG approach contributes to the development and hardening of international law in terms of effectiveness. While there are examples of disconnection between the rule of law and development activities, there are also examples that show that the SDGs can go hand in hand with the promotion of the rule of law, as is the case in the water context. The objective, targets, and indicators as promoted by the SDGs are result oriented, with a specific focus on what is happening on the ground. If well conducted and implemented, they have a mobilization power that human rights can benefit from.

4. 4. There are of course weaknesses, as in the case of compliance. Several follow-up and review mechanisms have been put in place for tracking progress in the implementation of SDG 6.Footnote ¹⁰ But these have shortcomings. Briefly noted, it should be stressed that the follow-up and review processes are voluntary and country-led.Footnote ¹¹ No recommendations are made as a follow-up to their submission. There are also ambiguities regarding the measurement of the accessibility, availability, and affordability of drinking water.Footnote ¹² Some indicators need to be refined. Indeed, the Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) and agreed upon at the forty-eighth session of the United Nations Statistical Commission held in March 2017, did not contain an indicator dedicated to measuring access to hygiene.Footnote ¹³ That is why the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring ProgrammeFootnote ¹⁴ has proposed a new basic indicator which aims at measuring the “percentage of population with handwashing facilities with soap and water at home.”Footnote ¹⁵ At its fifty-first session in March 2020, the United Nations Statistical Commission included the newly proposed indicator for measuring access to handwashing facilities in the Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Footnote ¹⁶ Lastly, the 2030 Agenda did not provide for a follow-up and review mechanism aiming at ensuring that other stakeholders, such as private actors, align their activities and policies with the SDGs. It is a process approach that has been put in place. Checks and balances and peer pressure need to find their place to adjust and correct weaknesses. In addition, in the context of the mutual nurturing process I referred to above, one would hope that human rights bodies rely on the SDG reports when interacting with member states. These interactions could strengthen the SDG process.

III. Non-discrimination and Access to Water and Sanitation and SDG 6

In contrast to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs have a much stronger focus on inequalities. Goal 10 is dedicated to “reducing inequalities between and within countries.”Footnote ¹⁷ The 2030 Agenda further commits member states to “leave no one behind”Footnote ¹⁸ and outlines that SDG indicators should be disaggregated, where relevant, by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, and geographic location.Footnote ¹⁹ In the area of water, these features are crucial for ensuring access to water and sanitation for everybody.

The MDGs’ target aimed to halve the proportion of the population without access to drinking water and sanitation services by focusing on aggregate coverage. In a different way, the global indicators for SDG targets 6.1 and 6.2 play a key role in the elimination of discrimination and inequalities in access to water and sanitation by revealing and tracking inequalities through the use of data disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability, and geographic location in national contexts.

This means that significant inequalities in water and sanitation services should be overcome at the international level, but also within individual countries, in urban and rural areas, and in the various subnational regions. Marginalized communities and disadvantaged groups, such as women, children, or poor people, should be a focus of attention, notably taking into account that they are more susceptible to the impacts of pollution and water-related disasters.Footnote ²⁰

Race, ethnicity, and religion are also grounds of discrimination in access to water and sanitation, as illustrated in the case law of human rights bodies.Footnote ²¹ In some countries, indigenous peoples, pastoralists, and/or nomadic communities lack access to safe water and sanitation in disproportionate numbers.

Disaggregation of data is important in that it reveals the various forms of discrimination that may exist. However, disaggregated data alone does not automatically result in reduction of inequalities. Governments and other stakeholders need to take measures to tackle the inequalities that are revealed.Footnote ²² This is where non-discrimination—as understood in human rights terms—can help, in particular by highlighting the need for proactive actions for addressing and combatting inequalities.

IV. SDG 6 and the Accountability of the Private Sector

The role of both public and private actors is crucial when it comes to mobilizing financial resources. Indeed, while sustainable service delivery for water and sanitation relies primarily on domestic public resources and international development aid, private investments are critical to achieving universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030, as public resources, be they domestic or international, do not suffice. National governments and international financial institutions have been called upon by the UN General Assembly to improve the efficiency of existing financial resources, while increasing innovative sources of financing.Footnote ²³ There is a need for commitments from economic actors. They can do so as independent power producers or through partnerships.

The idea of encouraging commitments in one way or another to abide by principles or initiatives is important, as it pushes for accountability. Codes of conduct and other normative instruments, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,Footnote ²⁴ go in the same direction.

Two initiatives related to private companies and water governance have been developed by the UN Global Compact. First, one should mention the CEO Water Mandate, a public-private initiative launched in 2007 that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the SDGs.Footnote ²⁵ In particular, it gathers a number of business leaders to address global water challenges through corporate water stewardship. Upon signing the Mandate, companies of all industries and locations make a public commitment across six commitment areas and report annually on progress.Footnote ²⁶ These include: direct operations; supply chain and watershed management; collective action; public policy; community engagement; and transparency.

Second, the CEO Water Mandate developed and published in 2010 the Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy.Footnote ²⁷ This Guide aims to make a compelling case for responsible water policy engagement and to support it with insights, strategies, and tactics to do so effectively.Footnote ²⁸ The Guide is centered on five aspirational principles that underpin responsible engagement. First, responsible corporate engagement in water policy must be motivated by a genuine interest in furthering efficient, equitable, and ecologically sustainable water management.Footnote ²⁹ Second, responsible corporate engagement in water policy entails ensuring that activities do not infringe upon—but rather support—the government's mandate and responsibilities to develop and implement water policy.Footnote ³⁰ Third, responsible engagement in water policy promotes inclusiveness and meaningful partnerships across a wide range of interests.Footnote ³¹ Fourth, responsible engagement in water policy proceeds in a coherent manner that recognizes the interconnectedness between water and many other policy arenas.Footnote ³² Fifth, companies engaged in responsible water policy are fully transparent and accountable for their role in a way that ensures alignment with sustainable water management and promotes trust among stakeholders.Footnote ³³

These initiatives are based on commitments. However, a question remains as to the effects deriving from these commitments. Building on commitments through programs and activities is a way to take private operators at their word and to build effectiveness. A dialogue can then be engaged and accountability helps assess these commitments. Whether this is sufficient remains to be seen.