A/70/203 E/C.12/2002/11 and A/HRC/12/24) and of the former Special Rapporteur (see A/HRC/12/24), this section seeks to clarify the meaning of human rights standards and principles for sanitation, water and hygiene, in the light of different types of services. A. Human rights standards for sanitation 5. The human right to sanitation requires services to be available, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable. The former Special Rapporteur defined sanitation as a “system for the collection, transport, treatment and disposal or reuse of human excreta and associated hygiene. States must ensure without discrimination that everyone has physical and economic access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, which is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable, provides privacy and ensures dignity” (see A/HRC/12/24, para. 63). 6. Beyond an individual’s access to a latrine or toilet, sanitation also has an important public health dimension. Adequate sanitation not only guarantees an individual’s access, but also protects the human rights of others, including their rights to life, health, water and a healthy environment, by ensuring that the environment in which they live is not contaminated with faeces (see A/68/264). 1. Availability 7. A sufficient number of sanitation facilities has to be available. The necessary structures also have to be put in place to ensure the availability of services, such as policies programmes, institutions and sufficient personnel able to construct, maintain and manage the delivery of services. 2. Accessibility 8. Sanitation facilities must be physically accessible for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, health or educational institution, public institutions and places, and the workplace (see A/HRC/12/24, para. 75). Sanitation facilities should be designed in a way that enables all users to physically access and use them, including, especially those with special access needs, such as children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, pregnant women, parents accompanying children, chronically ill people and those accompanying them. Considering the needs of these individuals has implications for the entrance size, the interior space, handrails or other support mechanisms and the position of defecation, as well as other aspects. 9. Human rights require that where sanitation facilities are shared, including at the work place or health and other public institutions, there be a sufficient number of sanitation facilities with associated services to ensure that waiting times are not unreasonably long. Sanitation facilities must be reliably accessible to satisfy all needs throughout day and night, whether at home, the workplace or in public institutions. 10. Where the sanitation facility is not located on the premises, the path leading to it should be secure and convenient for all users. The risk of attack or assault from animals or people, particularly for women and children, must be minimized. Public or shared latrines in residential areas must be safely accessible in the night, as well 15-12500 5/24