Troubled Waters: Impact of the Private Sector in Implementing the Right to Water

Abstract

The United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report of 2006 indicates that as many as 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water. Since its acceptance as a recognized basic human right, the obligation to create of a framework for providing clean and safe drinking water to all human beings across the globe has fallen upon the respective Government Agencies. Yet, multinational corporations such as Veolia Environnement, Suez Environnement, Pepsi, Nestle and Coca-Cola are amongst the major private sector participants in global water supply systems. This trend is often seen in countries where the Governments choose to engage private corporations because of their inability to provide for the infrastructure and technical expertise required in building a public water supply system. Other instances where private participation is seen is where there is an obligation to employ private players in fulfillment of terms accepted in agreements with institutions providing loans for funding such projects. Another important reason for large-scale private participation is because water as a resource is the primary output product or is a prime resource in the supply chain of these industries.This paper attempts to firstly trace the evolution of the Right in the international law regime, in brief. Secondly, the paper attempts to ascertain the cost associated with the human right to water. Then, the paper explores the measures undertaken by international organizations in enforcing this right. The paper then examines methods such as privatization, public-private partnerships, concession agreements and international investment agreements with the support of international organizations such as the World Bank, and the outcome of such efforts. Finally, this paper explores how Corporate Entities- the private sector involved in construction of facilities and providing water utilities to the public on behalf of the government and the entities involved in packaging/bottling of water for commercial sales embrace the ‘right to water’, and the efforts in developing clear standards and metrics for what companies should/must do; ways to evaluate their compliance with these standards and the consequences of failure to comply.