Water Scarcity and the Recognition of the Human Right to Safe Freshwater

Abstract

Millions of people die each year from water \t\t\t\tscarcity, and with a growing population, escalating climate change, \t\t\t\tdeteriorating and non-existent sanitation networks, and continuing industrial \t\t\t\tpollution, the effects of water scarcity are predicted to intensify. Although \t\t\t\twater scarcity fails to register outside scientific fora, it is potentially \t\t\t\tmankind's greatest challenge. But, there is hope: improving sanitation \t\t\t\tnetworks, reducing pollution and instilling aggressive conservation tactics \t\t\t\twould allay the majority of the scarcity concerns. The first, most productive \t\t\t\tstep toward realizing any of these goals is for the United Nations to formally \t\t\t\trecognize a human right to clean freshwater - essentially a protected \t\t\t\tbirthright to access the minimum, daily amount of clean freshwater to ensure \t\t\t\tsurvival. Despite some deficiencies, the United Nation's Committee on Economic, \t\t\t\tSocial and Cultural Rights' General Comment 15 represents the best articulation \t\t\t\tto date of the right to water, and should be used as a model for any eventual \t\t\t\taddendum to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights \t\t\t\tor other covenant.

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