The Human Right to Water

1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84946-662-2
Verlag: Bloomsbury 3PL

Buch, Englisch, 378 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 573 g

The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council recognised the human right to water in 2010. This formal recognition has put the issue high on the international agenda, but by itself leaves many questions unanswered. This book addresses this gap and clarifies the legal status and meaning of the right to water through a detailed analysis of its legal foundations, legal nature, normative content and corresponding State obligations.
The human right to water has wide-ranging implications for the distribution of water. Examining these implications requires putting the right to water into the broader context of different water uses and analysing the linkages and competition with other human rights that depend on water for their realisation. Water allocation is a highly political issue reflecting societal power relations, with current priorities often benefitting the well-off and powerful. Human rights, in contrast, require prioritising the most basic needs of all people. The human right to water has the potential to address these underlying structural causes of the lack of access to water rooted in inequalities and poverty by empowering people to hold the State accountable to live up to its human rights obligations.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Winkler, Inga T

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Menschenrechte, Bürgerrechte
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltpolitik, Umweltprotokoll
• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Internationales Recht Internationale Menschen- und Minderheitenrechte, Kinderrechte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik
• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Internationales Recht Internationales Verwaltungs-, Umwelt- und Gesundheitsrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Introduction

I. Lack of Access to Water
II. The Question of Prioritisation

III. The Emergence of the Human Right to Water

IV. Scope and Outline of the Book

2 Background: Water Availability and Competing Demands

I. Water Availability and Quality

II. Competing Water Demands - A Challenge for Allocation

III. Conclusion: A Question of Prioritisation

3 Legal Foundations of the Human Right to Water

I. Human Rights Treaties

II. Customary International Law

III. General Principles

IV. Conclusion

4 Legal Characteristics of the Human Right to Water

I. Legal Nature of the Right to Water

II. Obligations Arising from the Right to Water

III. Normative Content of the Right to Water

IV. Conclusion

5 Human Rights Implications for Water Allocation

I. Introductory Remarks

II. Framework for Prioritisation

III. Different Water Uses and Their Link to Human Rights

IV. Conclusion: Priorities in Water Allocation

6 Benefits of Understanding Water as a Human Right

I. General Benefits of the Human Rights Framework

II. Possibility of Judicial Enforcement

III. Conclusion

7 Conclusion and Outlook

Bibliography

United Nations Documents

Conference Reports

General Assembly

Economic and Social Council

Commission on Human Rights

Human Rights Council

Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Human Rights Committee

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Committee on the Rights of the Child

Other Bodies

Miscellaneous Documents

Über Autor(innen)

Winkler, Inga T
Inga Winkler is a lecturer at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University and previously was the Legal Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation.

Inga T Winkler is a Legal Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation based at the German Institute for Human Rights. She is also a lecturer at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany.