Millions of children denied right to water

As Human Rights Day is celebrated tomorrow, millions will continue to be denied their right to dignity, with women, children and people with disabilities suffering most from lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

Almost two decades into democracy, about 7million children have no safe drinking water and another 6million are subjected to health and safety hazards because they have nowhere to relieve themselves except behind bushes and in pit toilets.

This emerged at Human Rights Commission public hearings on water and sanitation at the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, northern Johannesburg, yesterday.

Human rights commissioner Lindiwe Mokate said the figures presented a shocking picture considering the comprehensive legal framework surrounding human rights.

"The right to water and sanitation is inextricably linked to the right to equality, dignity, life and basic nutrition," she said.

According to the Department of Basic Education, more than 2000 of 24793 public schools have no access to water and 913 have no access to toilets. Substantially more use pit toilets.

Mokate told the hearing that the UN had urged member states to "put children first" in the allocation of resources and implementation of laws and policies.

"Considering the appalling situation in many homes and schools, it is clear that the rights of children to water and sanitation have not been fulfilled in the spirit of this interpretation," she said.

A Department of Water Affairs report shows that 1.4million households do not have access to sanitation, and for the 3.8million that do the infrastructure supporting it is crumbling.

The department has conceded that access to sanitation is regressing and the claims that 82% of households have access to sanitation does not give a true picture of the reality.

The report concedes that the government's poor planning and inadequate resources for both the capital costs and maintenance are among the causes of the failure to provide adequate sanitation.

"Based on the 2011 pricing structure, it is estimated that a total of R50.306-billion is required to [deal with] the range of challenges affecting the delivery of basic sanitation services," the report says.

The Midrand hearing follows those conducted in the poorest municipalities in all provinces last year.

The Human Rights Commission has come up with recommendations, including the establishment of a cabinet-level team to ensure cooperation between government departments.

It recommends that the team's mandate and terms of reference refer specifically to ensuring a human rights-based approach to service delivery.