FIAN International would like to thank the HLPE for the opportunity to comment on the V0 draft of the report “Water and Food Security” and commends the HLPE Project Team for this comprehensive draft.
FIAN International strongly supports the recommendation of this draft report to apply human rights to water and food security. In the following comments, we would like to focus on what kind of challenges this would bring.
The development of the human right to water has been indeed largely focused so far on safe drinking water and sanitation. The UN CESCR’s General Comment N° 15 (GC 15) on the right to water though has already identified other aspects of the right to water which have remained under-explored and under-developed. We refer to:
- The clear recognition in the GC that “water is required for a range of different purposes, besides personal and domestic uses, to realize many of the Covenant rights. For instance, water is necessary to produce food (right to adequate food) and ensure environmental hygiene (right to health). Water is essential for securing livelihoods (right to gain a living by work) and enjoying certain cultural practices (right to take part in cultural life)” (GC 15, paragraph 6).
- The inextricable linkages of the right to water to the right to the highest attainable standard of health and the rights to adequate housing and adequate food; and the holistic understanding of the right to water as the GC calls to see it in conjunction with other rights enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights, foremost amongst them the right to life and human dignity (GC 15, paragraph 3); and the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (GC 15, paragraph 4).
- The development of criteria to give priority in the allocation of water resources to the right to water for personal and domestic uses; and to the right to water in connection with the right to food and health to prevent starvation and disease as well as to meet the core obligations of each of the Covenant rights (GC 15, paragraph 6).
- The importance of ensuring sustainable access to water resources for agriculture to realize the right to adequate food giving particular attention “to ensuring that disadvantaged and marginalized farmers, including women farmers, have equitable access to water and water management systems, including sustainable rain harvesting and irrigation technology. Taking note of the duty in article 1(2), paragraph 2, of the Covenant, which provides that a “people may not “be deprived of its means of subsistence”, States parties should ensure that there is adequate access to water for subsistence farming and for securing the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.” (GC 15, paragraph 7).
- The importance of protecting natural water resources from contamination by harmful substances and pathogenic microbes; and the need to taking steps on a non-discriminatory basis to prevent threats to health from unsafe and toxic water conditions (GC 15, paragraph 8).
In our view, strengthening the interpretation and understanding of these aspects of the right to water and of its inter-linkages with other rights is at the order of the day for all the reasons laid down in the draft report, in particular to address power imbalances, competing demands and increasing water conflicts, as well as to make the management and governance of water for food security more democratic, sustainable and just. We recommend the HLPE team to further develop its recommendations building on these aspects spelled out in GC 15.
Following the example of the Right to Food Guidelines, we believe that the CFS could play again a catalytic role in several ways:
- It could contribute to deepening the interpretation of GC 15 by developing guidelines on the right to water in food security and nutrition with the aim to provide practical guidance about how to integrate water in national food security and nutrition strategies 1) reaffirming the importance of safe drinking water and sanitation for all people while paying attention to particular situations such as the case of access to safe drinking water of children, of plantation workers and people facing natural disasters and protracted crisis; 2) giving particular attention to ensuring adequate access to water for small-scale food producers and for securing the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, fishing and pastoralists communities; 3) increasing coherence and coordination among national authorities dealing with water, agriculture, environment, fisheries, livestock, nutrition, health; and among water and food security national strategies as well.
- It could request the Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Water, the Right to Food, the Right to Health, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment to address the issues mentioned above in their work and to report back to the CFS providing recommendations. They could specifically be requested to provide guidance on how to apply the Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations of States on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to, inter alia, trans-boundary water issues, water trade and the adequate regulation of transnational corporations and other businesses in the context of water and food security.
- It could acknowledge the resolution A/HRC/27/7 of September 2014 of the Human Rights Council and call the Council to continue strengthening the right to water and sanitation by supporting the development of other aspects of the right to water as contained in GC 15 in all its ongoing relevant processes, such as for instance, in the Open-ended Working Group on the rights of peasants and people living in rural areas.
Further remarks:
- The link between water, sanitation and reproductive and maternal health (including infant and young child feeding) is not sufficiently addressed – for example, water-related health complications during pregnancy or due to exposure to chemicals through breast milk (and their long-term impacts on the nutritional status of children) are not mentioned.
- Regarding the recommendation 3 on addressing water quality: As we have already stated in our previous submission, pollution of water sources and destruction of water bodies has been identified in our case work as one of the major obstacles to the realization of the right to food in conjunction with the right to water. Besides the recommendations contained in the report, it would be useful to look into the developments of environmental law when it comes to prosecute and sanction environmental crimes related to water pollution as one important measure to protect natural water resources from contamination by harmful substances and pathogenic microbes. Moreover, it would be useful to provide guidance on best practices about how states should support local communities in restoring and rehabilitating degraded eco-systems.
- The recommendation 10 on water governance should be strengthened by calling to apply a human rights approach to water governance. The recommendations to states, civil society, the private sector, international donors and the CFS should be revised accordingly. The Right to Food Guidelines and the Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests provide references how this could be done. The preface of the Tenure Guidelines in fact invites States to take into account the governance of water in the
implementation of the Tenure Guidelines. Particularly important in this context is the recognition and protection of customary land systems and the commons; and of the rights of indigenous peoples to land and territory and to Free Prior and Informed Consent.
Sofia Monsalve