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1、JAMAICAS RESPONSETHE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DECISION 2/104 HUMAN RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO WATERThe water policy of the Government of Jamaica, including implementing legislation, regulations, measures and mechanisms, governing access to water and sanitation is derived from the countrys tradi
2、tional and principled position that “water is life”. On the conviction that access to clean, safe drinking water and good sanitation is a critical pre-condition for economic development and a major index of the quality of life of the people, universal access to water and sanitation remain priority o
3、bjectives of the Jamaican Government.Acknowledging that over thirty countries and a billion people in the developing world are suffering the effects of water shortages, and that 12% of the population in the developed world uses 85% of the worlds water, the Government of Jamaica does not support any
4、call or action that would result in treating water as a commodity to be put on the open market for sale. As human life depends on the equitable distribution of water and its sustainability, water pricing and market forces could lead to a situation where water goes to those who can afford it. Jamaica
5、 supports the participation of private interests in national efforts to provide equitable access to safe water and good sanitation that is serviced as a need and not provided for profit or commercial gain. Taking note of the impact of economic globalization, including the dominance of corporate rule
6、 on the natural system; industrial production; and the global consumer market; the Government of Jamaica also supports international negotiation and agreement to implement an international water law that inter alia would define, unambiguously, water as a basic need to which access should become a hu
7、man right, subject to available resources; promote conservation; ban toxic dumping; tax and control industrial water use; regulate corporate agribusiness farming; and penalize corporate polluting.JAMAICAS VIEWS ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO EQUITABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING W
8、ATER AND SANITATIONExamination of the relevant international human rights instruments indicates that there are no provisions which explicitly speak to the equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. However, by virtue of certain provisions, it could be implied that there is a human right
9、 to access safe drinking water and sanitation. For example:o The Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not specifically address the matter. The Preamble speaks to the rights derived from the inherent dignity of the human person. Article 25 provides that “Everyone has the right to a standard of
10、living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services”o Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) speak to the continuous improvement of living conditio
11、ns. o the Preamble of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights speaks to the “inherent dignity of the human person.” o Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women addresses the needs of rural women and, in paragraph 2 (h), speaks to th
12、e right of women to “enjoy adequate living conditions” with specific reference to “water supply”. o Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. Article 27 also recognizes the right of the chi
13、ld to a standard of living adequate for the childs physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.o Article 2 of the ICESCR notes that each State Party “undertakes to take steps to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the r
14、ights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures” (emphasis added).o Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that: “(w)ith regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertak
15、e such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources.” It therefore remains that if there is a right to access safe drinking water and sanitation, it is not an absolute right. Acknowledging that there is at the present time no recognition in international law of the human right to wate
16、r, viz, that if, for any reason, safe drinking water is inaccessible to an individual, that individual, without more, could encounter difficulties in enforcing such a right in the courts, the Government of Jamaica reiterates that all governments of the international community should take the necessary steps, to the best of their abilities, to ensure that there is access to safe drinking water for all. JAMAICAS VIEWS O
