How to make the right to safe drinking water a reality

Catarina de Albuquerque is CEO of Sanitation and Water for All, first U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation. Lionel Goujon is Head of the Water and Sanitation Division, French Development Agency (AFD).

Fifteen years ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a historic resolution recognizing, for the first time, the fundamental right to safe drinking water and sanitation.

This recognition, spearheaded by Bolivia and the country's then President Evo Morales, was a major achievement — both symbolic and political — for billions of people still deprived of essential services. And yet, despite this progress, this right remains a promise unfulfilled.

The UN resolution marked a turning point in global development policy, paving the way for the adoption in 2015 of a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) dedicated to universal access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. While its implications are particularly crucial for developing countries, developed countries are equally affected.

In 2020, the European Commission adopted an ambitious revision of its Drinking Water Directive, explicitly incorporating the right to safe water as a principle of social justice.

In France, the UN resolution led to the introduction of social water tariff experiments from 2019 onward. And for two years now, public authorities have been officially responsible for ensuring access to water for all, still a major challenge for vulnerable populations, especially in French overseas territories.

Globally, significant progress has been made, and hundreds of millions of people have seen their daily lives improve over the past fifteen years. However, these advances remain far too slow in light of growing needs and demographic pressure.

Today, around one in four people still lacks access to safely managed drinking water, and nearly half the world's population has no access to safe sanitation.

Access to water remains deeply marked by territorial, economic and social inequalities. Climate change, geopolitical tensions and rapid urban growth exacerbate this water insecurity and threaten the realization of this fundamental right.

It is now clear: legal recognition is not enough. The right to water will only become effective if significantly greater resources are mobilized.

Expanding and improving water and sanitation services requires massive investments. Yet public financing is stagnating or even declining in some contexts. Making the right to water effective must become a political priority, enshrined at the highest levels of national and international agendas.

States must reaffirm their leading role — not only by allocating more budgetary resources, but also by creating clear, stable legislative frameworks that encourage investment and promote equality.

There also needs to be greater involvement from public development banks, especially national ones. They have the tools, expertise, and long-term perspective needed to step in where private actors often fall short. They can help structure blended finance solutions, mobilize concessional resources, support sectoral reforms, and strengthen local service providers. By aligning their strategies with the SDGs, they can reduce inequalities and become catalysts for universal access.

Making the right to water a reality also depends on robust, well-managed public utilities capable of delivering quality, continuity, and inclusion. This requires a strong push for professionalization, cost optimization, technical efficiency and transparency.

A shared culture of performance must be fostered, supported by management and all employees. Only by achieving a certain degree of financial autonomy can operators extend their services to underserved populations without compromising their viability. Strong policies to promote the role of women in this still male-dominated sector can also contribute to better performance.

The right to water is not a utopia. It is a universal commitment, a matter of dignity and a pillar of sustainable development. Today, fifteen years after water and sanitation were first recognized as human rights, it is time to move from recognition to realization. This calls for bold political choices, significant investment and renewed governance.

Let's be honest: SDG 6 — ensuring access to water and sanitation for all — will not be achieved by 2030. It should not discourage us. On the contrary, it should fuel our determination.