A/68/264 health benefits such as reductions in disease mortality independent from income levels and access to sanitation. 10 16. Large-scale contamination sometimes has visible direct impacts, but more frequently the impacts of inadequate wastewater management and water pollution are invisible and become manifest only in the long term. They affect not only the surrounding communities, but also those communities that are downstream from the source of pollution, resulting in an out-of-sight, out-of-mind phenomenon. Yet, pathogens in sewage and other contaminants cause a range of diseases, either through contamination of drinking water, through direct contact or through their entry into the food chain. Inadequate wastewater management restricts development, threatens livelihoods and increases poverty as a result of increased costs of health care as well as reduced productivity and educational opportunities. 17. Despite those negative impacts, it has sometimes been argued that development inevitably results in pollution and that developing countries have the right to pursue a path of development that includes pollution. However, the pursuit of economic development must not lead to violations of human rights, and the right to development cannot be invoked to justify violations of the human right to water or other human rights. Instead, development must be sustainable, balancing economic, environmental and social interests. In the case of Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India, 11 which dealt with untreated effluent discharged by tanneries, the Supreme Court of India underlined the importance of reconciling those interests. It acknowledged that the industry, which was generating foreign exchange and providing employment opportunities, was of vital importance, but stressed that the economy must not destroy the ecology, nor should it constitute a hazard to human health. 18. Others have argued that people themselves should decide whether to prioritize wastewater management and how to allocate scarce resources. While it is certainly true that communities themselves should make decisions in a participatory manner, this line of argument overlooks the fact that apart from one’s own human rights, one person’s lack of wastewater management mostly affects other people’s livelihoods and health. Whether or not to manage wastewater is not just a personal or community choice, but is a collective problem. In terms of participation, this issue points to the need to involve all those concerned in decision-making, i.e., communities living downstream and others affected by wastewater. On the part of the State, respect for human rights imposes an obligation to protect, which requires States to shield people from human rights abuses through the actions of non-State actors, including other individuals. The fact that one person gains access to sanitation must not be to the detriment of others through exposing them to the former person’s faeces. 19. Hence, the question that is sometimes brought up — whether people have a right to have their wastewater treated — may not be the main issue. What is more relevant is that others have the right to not to be exposed to the negative impacts of unmanaged wastewater. This is all the more true because not everyone is affected to the same extent. Individuals and communities that are marginalized, for instance people __________________ 10 11 6/23 Kartiki S. Naik and Michael K. Stanstrom, “Evidence of the influence of wastewater treatment on improved public health”, International Association on Water Pollution Research, Water, Science and Technology Journal, Vol. 66, Issue 3 (London, Cambridge University Press, 2012). Supreme Court of India, Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India, 28 August 1996 [1996], All India Reporter 2715. 13-41825