A/70/203 B. Targeting and prioritizing the most disadvantaged individuals and groups 82. Non-discrimination prohibits discriminatory treatment and discriminatory impact. Achieving substantive equality in the enjoyment of the human rights to water and sanitation is not just formal equality but actual equality in practice. It is not sufficient for States not to discriminate against certain groups or i ndividuals, but States must take positive measures to include everyone and to redress past disadvantage and reverse patterns of inequalities. Accordingly, equality and non-discrimination have important implications for priority-setting. 83. Such targeting and prioritizing requires States to take differences into account rather than treating equally what is unequal. Treating people who are unequal the same does not achieve equality, but instead reinforces disadvantage. For persons with disabilities, article 5, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities explicitly requires States to “take all appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided”. Where States adopt temporary special measures or affirmative action to achieve such prioritization and target disadvantaged groups and individuals, this is not discrimination, but rather a means to achieve substantive equality by redistributing power and resources. 84. Therefore, the key question to ask in order to achieve an equitable redistribution and to set priorities in policy-making and resource allocation is: who has been and who is being disadvantaged? Undertaking this analysis through the lens of equality and non-discrimination will demonstrate that the unserved and underserved are not randomly distributed. It will often point to communities in informal settlements, especially those that do not have security of tenure, as well as in remote rural areas. It will expose entrenched gender inequalities and the disadvantages and barriers faced by persons with disabilities, older persons and chronically ill people. It will point to patterns of neglect in service provision for communities that belong predominantly to indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities. It will bring discrimination on the basis of language, caste or religion to the fore. 85. Substantive equality requires prioritizing the provision of services to these groups and individuals who have been disadvantaged. Such redistribution is most obvious in relation to (material) resources and benefits, such as provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services. However, disadvantages and the necessary (re)distribution extend to the underlying structural factors, such as decision -making power, and the ability to make and exercise choices. Generally‚ a failure on the part of the State to ensure that the human rights to water and sanitation are met is also indicative of other failures, such as discrimination and inequalities in access to housing, health, food and education. 86. The obligation to target the most disadvantaged in order to achieve substantive equality provides a powerful tool for prioritization in policy -making, resource allocation and service provision. This prioritization is reinforced by the concept of core obligations used by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It requires States to ensure the realization of an essential level of the human rights to water and sanitation as a matter of priority (see E/C.2/2002/11, para. 37 and E/1991/23-E/C.12/1990/8, annex III). Hence States’ actions have to prioritize service provision to the unserved and underserved. Where parts of the population do not even have access to an essential level of service, States must prioritize this. 20/24 15-12500