A/HRC/54/32
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
20 July 2023
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fifty-fourth session
11 September–6 October 2023
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Fulfilling the human rights of those living in poverty and
restoring the health of aquatic ecosystems: two converging
challenges
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking
water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo Agudo
Summary
For the Special Rapporteur, getting drinking water to the 2 billion people without
guaranteed access to it, most of them severely impoverished, is only possible if progress is
made in restoring the good condition of the aquatic ecosystems that supply their water.
The present report focuses on the problems of pollution, overexploitation and
mismanagement of rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers, and their impacts on the human rights
to drinking water and sanitation. In particular, it shows how the toxic contamination of water
by heavy metals and other contaminants breaks not only the right to water but also the rights
to health and life of millions of people.
Given the magnitude of the harm, the Special Rapporteur suggests starting a debate
in the international community with a view to including these actions in the list of crimes
against humanity in order to hold the perpetrators accountable.
The Special Rapporteur states that the human rights to drinking water and sanitation
and the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment go hand in hand with
promoting climate change adaptation strategies to face the increasing risks of drought and
floods that climate change causes.
GE.23-13171 (E)