A/71/302 cooperation in the water and sanitation sector carried out by States, multilateral agencies and (possibly) non-governmental organizations. Given that information on those experiences will be essential in complementing and validating some of the information provided in the present report, the conclusions and recommendations herein must be considered with attention to their preliminary character. 74. In line with the above, with respect to development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States and multilateral funders: (a) Openly discuss and identify obstacles to incorporating the human rights framework in all development policies, programmes and projects and identify best practices in overcoming such obstacles; (b) Develop measures and safeguards with the specific aim of ensuring human rights compliance throughout the project selection process; (c) Ensure that effective mechanisms are in place to allow individuals and groups whose human rights are negatively affected by development cooperation activities to lodge complaints and to hold development agencies accountable; (d) Make country ownership of development cooperation a priority and promote active, free and meaningful participation by relevant stakeholders in decision-making through the use of appropriate instruments; (e) Refrain from imposing conditionalities in the provision of loans and grants that risk undermining the enjoyment of the human rights to water and sanitation and compromising the partner country’s ownership of the related programme or project; (f) Design cooperation projects aimed at strengthening the legal, regulatory and policy frameworks of partner States, with a view to enhancing the sustainability of interventions; (g) Prioritize funding that actually benefits the poorest and most disadvantaged and seek to end disparities in access to services; (h) Correct the imbalance in funding of water supply and sanitation services, giving due priority to the sanitation sector and particular consideration to the related needs of the most disadvantaged populations, and adopt appropriate technology that takes into account the sociocultural characteristics of the target populations; (i) Incorporate capacity-building as a priority aspect of development cooperation, ensuring the integration of human rights principles and related normative content and the involvement of the main stakeholders directly and indirectly relevant to the adequate provision of services. In particular, recognize the value of other forms of cooperation that have demonstrated their positive attributes, such as public-public partnerships. 75. Regarding the High-level Panel on Water, the Special Rapporteur recommends that: 16-13590 23/24