A/68/264 focused attention on improving access to sanitation facilities, 12 while far less attention is devoted to the collection and treatment of waste. In a report to the General Assembly on the human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, the Special Rapporteur noted that the definition of “improved” sanitation does not cover the proper discharge, treatment or reuse of human waste, and that as far as the water target was concerned, even though the target itself calls for access to drinking water that is safe, the way this is measured does not fully capture the dimension of water quality. She also noted that the accompanying indicator looks at “improved” water sources based on types of technology, which does not necessarily guarantee that water from improved sources is actually safe (see A/65/254, paras. 24 and 25). 25. Estimates show that sanitation coverage would be significantly lower if sewage treatment were taken into account as an additional criterion: according to that definition, 4.1 billion people lack access to sanitation. 13 The coverage rate may decrease even further when considering other types of sanitation facilities, such as pit latrines, and discounting of those that expose communities to harmful substances when pits are not adequately emptied and their content treated. 14 Similarly, when water safety is added into the equation, the number of people with access to safe drinking water has to be adjusted downward, with an estimated 1.8 billion people using unsafe water. 15 26. Recent developments indicate that the understanding of the importance of wastewater management is on the rise. In 2010, the General Assembly adopted resolution 65/153, which encouraged all States to approach the sanitation issue in a much broader context and encompass all its aspects, including wastewater treatment and reuse. Moreover, the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want” (see General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex), stresses the need to adopt measures to significantly reduce water pollution and increase water quality and significantly improve wastewater treatment. Most recently, the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda included in its report on a new global partnership for the eradication of poverty and the transformation of economies through sustainable development the recycling or treatment of wastewater as a target under its illustrative goal on access to water. 16 27. While ensuring access to sanitation facilities is a significant step that will bring huge gains in terms of privacy and dignity, the health gains will materialize fully only when human excreta are properly confined, disposed of and managed. __________________ 12 13 14 15 16 8/23 Malcolm Langford and Inga T. Winkler, “Quantifying Water and Sanitation in Development Cooperation: Power or Perversity?”, available from http://harvardfxbcenter.org/files/2013/06/ Goal-7_Langford-and-Winkler_Final_linked1.pdf. Rachel Baum, Jeanne Luh and J. Bartram, “Sanitation: A Global Estimate of Sewerage Connections without Treatment and the Resulting Impact on MDG Progress”, 1998, Water Institute, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, 2013). Ibid., p. 2,000. K. Onda, J. LoBuglio and J. Bartram, “Global Access to Safe Water: Accounting for Water Quality and the Resulting Impact on MDG Progress”, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 9, issue 3, pp. 880-894, Water Institute, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, 2012). Report of the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, p. 42 (available from http://www.post-2015hlp.org/the-report/). 13-41825