A/70/203 sanitation within a fixed time-frame. Without this long-term commitment and planning, solutions that are considered to be short-term often end up being longterm solutions. Without suitable regulation, none of these services can be guaranteed to comply with human rights, for quality, affordability, safety or acceptability. 3. Individual on-site solutions 56. Individual households have various options for sanitation provision, many of which meet human rights standards in different contexts and circumstances, depending, among other aspects, on user engagement. These include pit latrines, ventilated improved pit latrines, septic tanks and different types of ecological sanitation, which are often based on the separation of faeces and urine, on limiting water use, and on the reuse of waste matter. Some options, such as hanging latrines and “flying toilets”, are not acceptable under any circumstances, as they do not ensure safety and contribute to the contamination of the environment. 57. In rural areas, for example, pit latrines may be acceptable if they are wellconstructed and emptied as necessary, or filled in and rebuilt elsewhere. Problems arise where these types of latrines are not well built, or risk contaminating the water table. Hygiene concerns will arise if these latrines are not regularly cleaned, which may be difficult where latrine slabs are poorly constructed. 58. In some countries, individual solutions are regulated by a State institution. For example, such regulatory bodies may define the necessary dimensions of a septic tank, the requirements for the construction of a pit or the minimum distance of a latrine from a water source or a water table to avoid contamination. 59. Even low-cost on-site solutions may still be unaffordable for people living in poverty, particularly owing to the associated maintenance costs such as pit emptying. For those populations living on very low incomes, household -level latrines may be inadequate or unaffordable unless significant technical and financial support is provided. While there has been considerable debate about sanitation marketing techniques to encourage people to invest in sanitation, the reality is that without subsidies, many of these on-site solutions are not affordable for households facing extreme poverty. 60. As long as on-site sanitation facilities are constructed, maintained and managed according to human rights standards and principles, there is no dichotomy between human rights and self-supply. However, some of these solutions may be inadequate, especially in terms of cleaning, maintenance and sludge management, which can have strong negative impacts on human health and the environment. In some countries, the State may not recognize its obligation to ensure that self -supply solutions comply with human rights obligations and are appropriate and affordable. States need to put appropriate systems in place, including regulation and financial support for those who need it. B. 1. Water Connection to a piped network 61. Treated water piped into the home is usually presented as the gold standard for access to water. Its emergence is also largely explained by the historical 15-12500 15/24