A/HRC/36/45/Add.1 autonomous governments to realize the human rights to water and sanitation. Improved communication and collaboration between all levels of government will lead to improved human rights results. 36. Another dimension of tension was observed around the independence of the Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority, whose role was at times challenged by the central Government and some local authorities. While the central Government wishes to play a larger role in key decisions, which may be essential for reconciling water policy with social and public policy, local authorities argued that their autonomy in providing essential water and sanitation services was sometimes undermined. In meetings with the central Government, the Special Rapporteur heard the view that the pricing system should be changed in order to ensure more equitable payment between people living in smaller communities, who were paying more due to higher retail tariffs, and people living in larger cities who potentially pay less for water and sanitation services. He also heard the view that the Ministry of the Environment should play a role in tariff setting, together with the Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority. 37. Given the above-mentioned tensions, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government of Portugal to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the institutional arrangements from a human rights perspective and with the active, free and meaningful participation of all stakeholders. The institutional framework of the Portuguese water sector and possible reforms, for instance, the 2016 National Commitment for the Sustainability of Public Water Services (see paragraph 58 below), need to take into account equality and nondiscrimination in the enjoyment of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, ensuring sustainability of services. B. Private sector participation 38. Until the 1990s, Portuguese legislation limited the participation of private companies in the water sector. Subsequently, the Portuguese water sector has been reshaped by a legal framework that affirmed privatization as a guiding principle of water provision in Portugal (Decree-Law No. 372/93). During the 1990s, the first generation of concessions mainly placed the burden of investment in infrastructure on the conceding entity. The participation of private companies grew during the 2000s, which led to the second generation of concessions, in which investments in infrastructure was the responsibility of the concessionary company. 39. In 2013, 19 public-private partnership municipal water concessions out of 27 in total were audited by the Portuguese Court of Auditors (Tribunal de Contas), a high court that is responsible for external oversight and auditing of the use and management of public expenditure. The focus of the review was the regulation and management of concessions for water supply services at the retail level. The Court aimed to examine the activity of the Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority as the regulator of the concession, identify the processes of contract revision, identify public spending involved in each concession and assess the effectiveness of concessions in terms of the quality of services. 40. Among its conclusions, in its first report of March 2014, the Court concluded that the majority of concessions consistently benefited the private sector to the detriment of municipal budgets and individual consumers. That was due to a lack of contractual provisions that would pass the risks of financial non-sustainability (such as those relating to the market, tendering, finances, construction and exploitation) on to the private parties, hence leaving those risks to be assumed by the public partner. 17 Furthermore, some contracts included clauses that guaranteed the private partner coverage from financial risks or even from operational risks resulting from increasing maintenance costs. 17 10 Tribunal de Contas, 2014, p. 8. Available from http://www.tcontas.pt/pt/actos/rel_auditoria/2014/2s/audit-dgtc-rel003-2014-2s.pdf.