A/HRC/24/44 police, and national human rights institutions, which are all important for accountability, are decreased.63 IV. Adopting measures compliant with human rights 57. This section illustrates the contribution that human rights, including the incorporation of sustainability, can have in providing safe and affordable water and sanitation to all, both in times of economic growth and in times of crisis. A. Use of well-targeted fiscal policies and devoting maximum available resources 58. States cannot expect to meet the obligation to progressively realize human rights with minimal investments in the water and sanitation sectors that merely enable countries to make “some” progress over time. Human rights standards demand that States invest the “maximum available resources” in the sectors. They also require the use of resources in ways that have the greatest possible impact on achieving universal realization of these rights, by prioritizing essential levels of access to the most marginalized. In times of prosperity, spending on water and sanitation has to include planning, independent monitoring, establishment of accountability mechanisms, and operation and maintenance, so as to enable the progressive realization of the rights even during times of crisis, hence preventing slippages and retrogression. 59. From a human rights perspective it is crucial to balance economic and social sustainability. The human rights framework does not require that water and sanitation services be provided free of charge, and State revenues have to be raised in order to ensure universal access to services. If everyone obtained water and sanitation at no cost this would actually harm low-income households by depriving governments and service providers of the revenue needed to expand and maintain the service, jeopardizing the overall economic sustainability of the system and the State’s capacity to protect and fulfil other human rights. However, implementing the human rights to water and sanitation has important implications as to how to raise revenues while ensuring social sustainability. They oblige States to ensure that the cost of accessing water and sanitation remains affordable and appropriately reflects the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups, and that there is a safety net in place for those who cannot afford to pay full costs. 1. Use of maximum available resources 60. The obligation of States to progressively realize the rights to water and sanitation through the use of maximum available resources, including through international cooperation and assistance, is essential to achieving sustainability. “Lack of resources” is sometimes invoked by States to justify insufficient and inadequate investments for the sector, when often the true reason is the lack of political will to prioritize social services, and in particular water and sanitation for the most disadvantaged. Thus it is important to assess whether maximum available resources are truly being devoted to the sectors by examining the national allocation of funds to areas such as the military, bailouts for banks, 63 16 See for example the situation in Spain: David Román, “Austerity adds to Spain’s jobless woes”, Wall Street Journal, 29 April 2012.