ABSTRACT
As elaborated in the previous chapter the human right to water aims at guaranteeing that all people have the non-discriminatory right to and fair access of safe, sufficient and affordable drinking water in order to satisfy their personal needs (such as the preparation of food, the use of water for sanitary facilities and for domestic consumption). Safe drinking water means that the water quality must not risk peoples’ health. Affordable water means that the expenditure for water must not jeopardize the fulfilment of other basic needs that are guaranteed by human rights – such as the right to education and food. But these normative objectives are far from being attained. One billion people still lack access to sufficient water supply and about 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation is mainly a problem of the developing countries. Within these countries, rural and disadvantaged urban areas are of the most concern as they have minimum number of people with access to water and lack sanitation. From these staggering figures, it is obvious that the implementation of the human right to water and the fulfilment of internationally agreed targets aimed at to improving access to drinking water and sanitation requires considerable funds.
