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party to comply with its obligations in relation to the right to water. This follows from
articles 11, paragraph 1, and 12, which speak of the right to an adequate standard of
living and the right to health, as well as from article 2, paragraph 1, of the Covenant,
which obliges each State party to take the necessary steps to the maximum of its
available resources. A State which is unwilling to use the maximum of its available
resources for the realization of the right to water is in violation of its obligations under
the Covenant. If resource constraints render it impossible for a State party to comply
fully with its Covenant obligations, it has the burden of justifying that every effort has
nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal in order to satisfy,
as a matter of priority, the obligations outlined above.
42.
Violations of the right to water can occur through acts of commission, the
direct actions of States parties or other entities insufficiently regulated by States.
Violations include, for example, the adoption of retrogressive measures incompatible
with the core obligations (outlined in para. 37 above), the formal repeal or suspension
of legislation necessary for the continued enjoyment of the right to water, or the
adoption of legislation or policies which are manifestly incompatible with pre-existing
domestic or international legal obligations in relation to the right to water.
43.
Violations through acts of omission include the failure to take appropriate
steps towards the full realization of everyone's right to water, the failure to have a
national policy on water, and the failure to enforce relevant laws.
44.
While it is not possible to specify a complete list of violations in advance, a
number of typical examples relating to the levels of obligations, emanating from the
Committee’s work, may be identified:
(a) Violations of the obligation to respect follow from the State party’s
interference with the right to water. This includes, inter alia: (i) arbitrary or unjustified
disconnection or exclusion from water services or facilities; (ii) discriminatory or
unaffordable increases in the price of water; and (iii) pollution and diminution of
water resources affecting human health;
(b) Violations of the obligation to protect follow from the failure of a State to
take all necessary measures to safeguard persons within their jurisdiction from
infringements of the right to water by third parties.27 This includes, inter alia: (i)
failure to enact or enforce laws to prevent the contamination and inequitable
extraction of water; (ii) failure to effectively regulate and control water services
providers; (iv) failure to protect water distribution systems (e.g., piped networks and
wells) from interference, damage and destruction; and
(c) Violations of the obligation to fulfil occur through the failure of States
parties to take all necessary steps to ensure the realization of the right to water.
Examples includes, inter alia: (i) failure to adopt or implement a national water policy
designed to ensure the right to water for everyone; (ii) insufficient expenditure or
misallocation of public resources which results in the non-enjoyment of the right to
water by individuals or groups, particularly the vulnerable or marginalized; (iii)
failure to monitor the realization of the right to water at the national level, for example
27
See para. 23 for a definition of “third parties”.