Happy Birthday: The Human Right to Water at 20

Abstract

The article reflects on 20 years of the human right to water since its recognition in the groundbreaking General Comment No. 15 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It traces the right’s late and only indirect legal recognition in human rights law, and portrays its normative content along the lines of water availability, quality and accessibility. As two important trends, the paper points to the growing link between water security and the human right to water as a consequence of climate change, as well as to the responsibility of corporations for the human right to water. It concludes that, while the two last decades were focused on the recognition of the right, the coming decades should concentrate on the right’s realization which is lagging behind, for instance in the field of groundwater protection.