Our work directly supports realisation of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation, engaging with global partnerships aiming to equip local governments to play their mandated roles, and working with civil society organisations on advocacy and social accountability approaches.
Beyond the Finish Line: Applying human right’s principles
Client: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
ISF-UTS is the research and learning partner for SNV’s Beyond the Finish Line program (2018-2022), which is part of DFAT’s Water for Women Fund. Beyond the Finish Line seeks to achieve equitable and universal access to safely-managed sanitation and hygiene in seven districts in Bhutan and Lao PDR, and to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of rural water supply services in two districts in Nepal.
ISF-UTS is working with SNV Bhutan to tailor and implement the Making Rights Real approach with their local government partners. Using the Making Rights Real approach as a guiding framework brings a structured approach to engagement with local government on critical questions of how best to support inclusive and equitable service delivery in situations with many competing priorities and demands on resources.
Making Rights Real
Local government is arguably the most important level of government for realising the human rights to water and sanitation.
This is where national plans will be put into action and good, sustainable services for water and sanitation are built, run and maintained. However, explaining the importance of the human rights to water and sanitation to local government officials may sometimes be challenging.
ISF-UTS collaborated with WaterAid, WASH United, Skat Foundation, UNICEF and End Water Poverty to develop communication materials about the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRTWS), targeted at local government officials and service providers, and building on materials developed by Catarina D’Albuquerque, former UN special rapporteur.
These materials include three documents - a pocket guide with basic ideas and principles, a manual explaining each step of implementing the SDGs, and a visual tool demonstrating the process of implementing the SDGs.
Research outputs and resources:
Manual (screen and print version)
Realising the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation - From Policy to Practice
The human rights to water and sanitation were officially recognised by the UN General Assembly in 2010, but for many communities these rights can seem far from daily reality.
To make the rights a reality, WASH practitioners need to increase their familiarity with the components and principles of the rights, and the legal mechanisms that can translate them into national frameworks.
In collaboration with WaterAid, WASH United, Skat Foundation, and End Water Poverty, ISF researchers designed and delivered workshops at key sector conferences on challenges and opportunities to support progressive realisation of human rights to water and sanitation.
Research outputs and resources: