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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Rule of Law: A Propos SDG 6 on Access to Water and Sanitation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2021

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes*
Affiliation:
Professor of international law and international organization at the University of Geneva.
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Extract

The rule of law and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are mutually supportive. Respect for the rule of law is indeed crucial for development issues. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development itself acknowledges, through SDG 16, that access to justice and the rule of law foster sustainable development. The latter ensures that all individuals are treated alike, that they are entitled to the respect of human rights and that the rule of law informs the satisfaction of social, economic, and cultural needs as well as the development of public policies and the governance of competent institutions.

Type
Sustainable Development and International Law: Fragmentation, Disconnects, and the Challenge Of International Policy Coherence in Meeting the SDGs
Information
Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting , Volume 114 , 2020 , pp. 143 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The American Society of International Law.

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Footnotes

This contribution is part of a research project conducted at the University of Geneva and entitled “Corporations’ Responsibilities in Water Management and Protection: The Path Towards Action.” I would like to thank my colleagues Mara Tignino and Haoua Savadogo for their comments on earlier drafts of this contribution.

References

1 SDG 16 is available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16; Irene Khan, How Can the Rule of Law Advance Sustainable Development in a Troubled and Turbulent World?, 13 McGill J. Sustainable Dev. L. 211 (2017).

2 Markus Kaltenborn & Heike Kuhn, SDGs: Acceptance, Not Enforcement, D+C (Apr. 6, 2017), at https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/2030-agenda-largely-reflects-and-reinforces-existing-international-law.

3 GA Res. 70/1, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sept. 25, 2015). The Resolution was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly through raucous cheers and a standing ovation by representatives of the 193 UN member states. For further details, see United Nations Population Fund, Historic New Global Goals Unanimously Adopted by United Nations (Sept. 25, 2015), at https://www.unfpa.org/news/historic-new-global-goals-unanimously-adopted-united-nations.

4 UN-Water, Water and Sanitation Interlinkages Across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 16 (2016).

5 GA Res. 64/292, § 1 (July 28, 2010).

6 Human Rights Council Res. 15/9 on Human Rights and Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, § 3 (Sept. 30, 2010).

7 See, in particular, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 15 on the Right to Water (Arts. 11 and 12 of the Covenant), § 2 (Jan. 20, 2003).

8 United Nations, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, § 35 (2015).

9 Pacific Institute, Corporate Water Stewardship, at https://pacinst.org/corporate-water-stewardship.

10 GA Res. 70/1, Declaration, § 47 (Sept. 25, 2015).

11 Id., § 74.

12 World Health Organization, Safely Managed Drinking Water-Thematic Report on Drinking Water 22, 26, 32 (2017); Johanna Weststrate, Geske Dijkstra, Jasper Eshuis, Alberto Gianoli & Maria Rusca, The Sustainable Development Goal on Water and Sanitation: Learning from the Millennium Development Goals. Social Indicators Research, 143 Soc. Indicators Res. 795, 804 (2019); Programme Solidarité-Eau, WASH Services in the Sustainable Development Goals: Working Document 25 (Oct. 2016), at https://www.pseau.org/outils/ouvrages/ps_eau_wash_services_sdgs_2016_october2.pdf.

13 The global indicator framework was later adopted by the General Assembly on July 6, 2017 and is contained in the Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (GA Res. 71/313, Annex (July 6, 2017)).

14 The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) is the custodian of global data on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). For further details, see https://washdata.org/data.

15 Programme Solidarité-Eau, supra note 12, at 25.

16 GA Res. 71/313, Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, E/CN.3/2018/2, E/CN.3/2019/2, E/CN.3/2020/2, 7 (July 6, 2017) at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list.

17 GA Res. 70/1 (Sept. 25, 2015).

18 Id., Declaration, § 4.

19 Id., § 74(g).

20 UN-Water, supra note 4, at 9.

21 Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Fresh Water in International Law 153–55 (2013).

22 UN-Water, Eliminating Discrimination and Inequalities in Access to Water and Sanitation 31–32 (2015).

23 GA Res. 70/1, 27 (Sept. 25, 2015).

24 United Nations Office of the High Commissioner, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (2011).

25 See CEO Water Mandate, What is the Mandate?, at https://ceowatermandate.org/about/what-is-the-mandate.

26 CEO Water Mandate, Water Security Through Stewardship: An Action Platform of the CEO Water Mandate 2018–2020, 1, at Overview: 2018–2020 Action Platform Water Security Through Stewardship.

27 CEO Water Mandate, Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy (2010).

28 Id. at 12.

29 Id. at 36.

30 Id. at 37.

31 Id.

32 Id. at 38.

33 Id.