• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • WASH

    Léo Heller's last call for water and sanitation as a human right

    Leaving his U.N. special rapporteur role behind, Léo Heller shares his last message to the water and sanitation sector.

    By Rebecca L. Root // 11 November 2020
    Léo Heller, outgoing U.N. special rapporteur for the human right to water and sanitation. Photo by: Jean-Marc Ferré / U.N. / CC BY-NC-ND

    ALICANTE, Spain — As Léo Heller leaves his role as United Nations special rapporteur for the human right to water and sanitation, he has a parting message for the water and sanitation sector: It is imperative to fully incorporate the framework of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.

    Heller held the voluntary position for the maximum two terms, or six years, and was succeeded at the start of the month by Spanish professor and ecologist Pedro Arrojo-Agudo.

    As he steps away, Heller said some sector actors are still ignoring, or remain unconvinced, that the human rights framework — a set of principles that include the normative content of the right to water and sanitation and the general human rights principles — is important in producing better water and sanitation outcomes. Funders are also more focused on spending money rather than on how to adhere to the framework, he added.

    According to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights require  “a holistic understanding of access to water and sanitation” and “an explicit focus on the most disadvantaged and marginalized, as well as an emphasis on participation, empowerment, accountability, and transparency.”

    New UN special rapporteur on water backs predecessor in privatization row (Pro)

    After former U.N. special rapporteur for the human right to water and sanitation, Léo Heller, ended his term amid controversy about privatization, his replacement says it must be discussed.

    On a national level, Heller said adequate legislation and courts that safeguard water and sanitation from being treated as a commodity as well as autonomous regulatory bodies are what’s needed. “Policies and regulations and other institutional and legal activities need to be implemented to support a new mindset,” he said.

    Since 2010 — when the U.N. general assembly officially recognized water and sanitation as a human right — many countries, including Egypt, Mexico, Niger, and Somalia, have done just that by updating policies, creating new constitutional provisions, or passing specific legislation around the human right to water and sanitation. But many others have not. “At the national levels, providers, regulators, the ministries of water … in 10 years, most of them have not incorporated this framework appropriately,” Heller said, adding that there is a long way to go.

    Today, 1 in 3 people still lack access to safe drinking water and 4.2 billion people lack access to safe sanitation.

    Even UN-Water is among those entities slower to incorporate it, Heller said, but now that it’s working on a Roadmap to 2030 with clearer incorporation of the human right, he hopes that will change.

    “The other thing is to think beyond the household level. This is important because the water and sanitation sector uses the household as the unity of integration and for instance, public spaces and other spaces like workplaces, prisons, and others are not on the radar of the sector,” he said. For example, almost half of health care centers in the lowest-income countries have no clean water and 37% of schools don’t have a decent toilet on site.

    “There is a need to think more broadly, not only to implement services to those that can pay for the services, but to have universal access,” Heller said.

    • Water & Sanitation
    • Private Sector
    • Democracy, Human Rights & Governance
    • UN
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Rebecca L. Root

      Rebecca L. Root

      Rebecca L. Root is a freelance reporter for Devex based in Bangkok. Previously senior associate & reporter, she produced news stories, video, and podcasts as well as partnership content. She has a background in finance, travel, and global development journalism and has written for a variety of publications while living and working in Bangkok, New York, London, and Barcelona.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    WASHIndia-Pakistan conflict shows the need for better water agreements

    India-Pakistan conflict shows the need for better water agreements

    Sustainable Development GoalsExclusive: US seeks to gut UN development goals

    Exclusive: US seeks to gut UN development goals

    The Trump EffectUN appeals fall flat in face of Trump's budget steamroller

    UN appeals fall flat in face of Trump's budget steamroller

    The Trump EffectWhat African experts say must change about US foreign aid

    What African experts say must change about US foreign aid

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      The UN's changing of the guard
    • 5
      USAID's humanitarian bureau is under pressure and overstretched
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement