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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Private Water Operators, federated in AquaFed, will advance the implementation of the human rights to safe drinking water and safely managed sanitation in all its dimensions through two specific programmes

AquaFed - The International Federation of Private Water Operators (
Private sector
)
#SDGAction50504
Description
Description

Private Water Operators, federated in AquaFed, will advance the implementation of the human rights to safe drinking water and safely managed sanitation in all its dimensions through two specific programmes: OBJECTIVES 1. Supporting governments of the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership Priority Countries and others to access for all: Establishing new or working through existing national, local and regional multi-stakeholder partnerships to support leaders in these countries to rapidly scale up progress to achieve SDGs 6.1 and 6.2. Action will be focused through the five GAF accelerators. 2. Supporting the UN OCHCR to promote a human rights-based agenda: Strengthening private operator input on implementation of the human right to water and sanitation, in relevant institutional discussions at the UN, in international forums and on the ground, to support the UN OCHCR. This Commitment recognises that the 2030 agenda requires a massive deployment of resources and private water operators and public-private partnerships are a tool for governments seeking to achieve the SDG agenda. AquaFed, since 2006, has been one of the most engaged promotors of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, throughout the cycles at the Human Rights Council and working with the offices of C. de Albuquerque, L. Heller and P. Arrojo. AquaFed and its members have been key contributors to ALL the reports that the HRC and OHCHR have commissioned, including a landmark report recognising the validity of the option of using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and the private sector to deliver good quality public services. Doing so, in a broad coalition with non-state and STATE actors, has led to the recognition of the RTW and the RTS in the last 10 years. AquaFed has always been advocating for integration of the human rights agenda into the SDG framework. We believe robust governance is essential for the fulfilment of human rights. Robust governance promotes the inclusion of all people in decision-making and implementation of WASH services. It also promotes the inclusion of financial institutions, the private sector, civil society and the most water-intensive sectors, such as energy, agriculture and industry, in the development of local projects and policies. AquaFed’s members, private companies, are quite unique representatives from a business perspective. Our Members’ daily job is to implement the HRTWS. We will continue in the next decade to make sure this very valid option for governments to implement their public policies through PPP contracts is well understood and appropriately governed. GOVERNANCE: Our progress on the first objective will be measured directly through the SWA’s Mutual Accountability Mechanism. The second will be measured through subsequent collaboration work directly with UN OCHCR colleagues and the UN Water Roadmap on human rights to water and sanitation.

Expected Impact

If successful, the impacts will first be felt at institutional level first rather than on the ground, but we expect the benefits to flow into service delivery after 12-18 months. Objective 1 We expect that private operators, whether local or international, will be an established partner in multi-stakeholder process on water and sanitation. This means policymakers and public authorities will be able to benefit from private water operator expertise. As well as technical support and assistance, the operators should be able to have helped create an enabling environment for private operators and private companies to be included in WASH service planning and delivery. Another impact we hope to see quite quickly is better engagement between stakeholders in the countries, at least first at national level. This could and should quite quickly translate into more efficient and joined-up service delivery. Other positive impacts could be: • More efficient utilities • Greater focus on youth skills, training and development and overall capacity building • Stronger leadership from public authorities Objective 2 The expected impacts are set out more clearly in the UN Water roadmap. These are: 1. More and better multi-stakeholder engagement, advocacy and dialogues on HRWS 2. Strengthening of the alignment of UN-Water’s work with human rights framework 3. Promotion of practical implementation of HRWS through adoption of HRBA to water and sanitation 4. Strengthening of the synergy between the work of UN human rights mechanisms and other global processes on water and sanitation

Partners

- UNWATER - UN OCHCR - World Water Council - Sanitation and Water for All - Women for Water - World Youth Parliament for Water - Local authorities’ organisations (ICLEI & UCLG) - Non-state actors in all the regions and localities where PPP contracts are in operation - Development banks and organisations

Additional information

- www.Aquafed.org - AquaFed celebrates 10 years of the recognition of the RTWS - https://web.archive.org/web/20201130015851/http://www.aquafed.org/News/Entry/item/10-years-of-the-human-right-to-water-and-sanitation-78.sls

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Timeline
10 March 2023 (start date)
31 March 2030 (date of completion)
Entity
AquaFed - The International Federation of Private Water Operators
SDGs
Region
  1. Africa
  2. Europe
  3. Asia and Pacific
  4. North America
  5. Latin America and the Caribbean
  6. West Asia
  7. Global
Other beneficiaries

- Primarily, people living in SWA Priority Countries who currently do not have access or only partial access to safe water and sanitation. - Particularly women and girls who need action taken at every level, from governance and implementation, to end the inequalities that they face from a lack of water and sanitation. - Public authorities at local, regional and national level who could potentially benefit from the expertise of our members who operate in a wide range of countries (over 50 worldwide) serving 10% of the world’s population. - Utility managers trying to achieve , properly organised and funded, well-run and efficient utilities. - Young people opting for careers and skills development in the sector who need to be trained and integrated and need knowledge to be transferred from older generations .

More information
Countries
Chile
Chile
European Commission
European Commission
France
France
Indonesia
Indonesia
Senegal
Senegal
Contact Information

Thomas, Senior Adviser