A/71/302 processes needs to be part of the processes of development cooperation. 52 It is important to reiterate in that context that the right to active, free and meaningful participation and the right to information are key human rights principles. 62. At the same time, country ownership is intimately tied to respecting the sovereignty of the partner country, without imposing particular technological solutions and policies. It implies that the best way to achieve proj ect effectiveness must not be decided unilaterally by funders but must be led and fully and meaningfully endorsed by partner stakeholders. 53 63. In practice, it has been widely observed that conditionalities in loan and grant concessions are often leveraged in such a way as to deny the sovereignty and ownership of the beneficiary country. Even some organizations that are reluctant to accept certain controls over development aid recognize the unfair nature of conditionalities when funders impose their own consultants and suppliers or methods of work. 27 Furthermore, institutional reforms in the water and sanitation sector, often accompanied by privatization processes, are frequently included conditionalities that can have an impact on human rights in different ways, including the probable exclusion of the most disadvantaged. Another common type of conditionality in development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector is the implementation of full-cost recovery policies based on tariff collection. Such policies, when unaccompanied by appropriate safeguards, can raise serious concerns about lack of affordability and its adverse impact on the poorest populations. C. Legal, regulatory and policy frameworks 64. National contexts are relevant to the progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. A number of local factors, including corruption, regulatory frameworks and budgetary priorities, can affect the application of human rights principles and especially the sustainability of services. Corruption, for example, tends to add to the cost of water and sanitation utilities, increasing the price of utilities connections by as much as 30 per cent. 54 A poorly performing economy can make it difficult to finance services unless they are given a very high priority in the budgetary allocations of the given State or region. 65. Water and sanitation provision can be susceptible to a strongly commercially oriented agenda, regardless of the private or public nature of the provider, given the good prospects for profitability under natural monopoly conditions. However, an unregulated, commercially oriented agenda often is not responsive to social welfare and human rights considerations more broadly. Therefore, such services require regulation that is specifically rooted in the principles and normative content of the human rights to water and sanitation. Rates must be fair and affordable. Service providers must be transparent, act in good faith, refrain from rent -seeking and be efficient and effective. __________________ 52 53 54 20/24 InterAction, “Country ownership: moving from rhetoric to action” (Washington, D.C., 2011). See World Bank, “Comprehensive development framework: country ownership”, available from http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website01013/WEB/0__CON -5.HTM. Transparency International, Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008). 16-13590