A/70/203 adequate standard of living for everyone, using the maximum available resources efficiently to achieve that goal. 90. In many instances investments in improved levels of service, such as piped water and sewerage, have only reached the relatively well-off. Some States may not have sufficient resources to build the necessary infrastructure at a scale that would ensure universal access. However, in some cases, the extension of piped systems to city-wide coverage can be achieved over time with appropriate legislation, planning and financial management. 91. How States balance these obligations, the solutions they adopt and how they reconcile meeting immediate needs with a long-term strategy of achieving an adequate standard of living depends on the context in each country, region and community. States must address these challenges through comprehensi ve planning, both for the short and the long term. 92. Any decisions on the adoption of certain technologies, types of services, management models and the prioritization between different measures must be taken on the basis of active, free and meaningful participation of all those concerned. South African courts have developed the concept of “meaningful engagement”, which stipulates requirements for the process of decision-making. In the context of sanitation services, a court ruled that meaningful engagement requires consultation with authorized representatives following the sharing of information and technical support, where necessary. 15 It also voiced concern that a majority within a community cannot approve arrangements in terms of which the fundamental rights of a vulnerable minority within that community will be violated. 16 In doing so, the Court highlighted the essential role of inclusion in participatory processes to avoid that the process is captured by the elite, better -off, majority group (see A/69/213). V. Implications for monitoring 93. Monitoring can play an important role in assessing whether States meet their human rights obligations. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights uses the concepts of core obligations and reasonableness to assess whether States comply with their human rights obligations. Human rights monitoring can provide detailed, contextualized analysis, using both qualitative and quantitative data. Indicators developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provide significant guidance for this process. Sectoral water, sanitation and hygiene monitoring in the context of development cannot fully monitor the progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. Yet, it can provide useful tools that support human rights monitoring. 94. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, particularly as it expands to monitor the sustainable development goals, is a useful tool for monitoring some of the aspects of service provision and relevant human rights criteria, including the combination between types of services and normative contents such as availability, quality, safety, accessibility, affordability and privacy. An important development __________________ 15 16 22/24 Western Cape High Court of South Africa, Cape Town, Beja and others v. Premier of the Western Cape (21332/10), judgement of 29 April 2011, para. 98. Ibid., para. 99. 15-12500