A human right to groundwater?

International Community Law Review

Volumn 13, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 305-319

  Gavouneli, Maria ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS   (Greece)

Author keywords

draft articles on transboundary aquifers; groundwater; human rights; ILC; right to water

Indexed keywords

EID: 80051769467     PISSN: 18719740     EISSN: 18719732     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/187197311X582403     Document Type: Review

References (72)

1. UN GA resolution 64/292 "Te human right to water and sanitation", UN Doc. A/RES/64/292, 3.8.2010, available at: www.un.org.
2. Resolution II(a), Report of the UN Water Conference, Mar del Plata, 14-25.3.1977, UN Doc. E.77.
3. II.A.12, as approved by UN GA resolution 32/158; available at: www.ielrc.org/content/e7701.pdf.
4. Among which the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990) approved by UN GA resolution 35/18, UN Doc. A/RES/35/18, 10.11.1980; the International Year of Freshwater (2003) approved by UN GA resolution 55/196, UN Doc. A/RES/55/196, 1.2.2001;
5. the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' (2005-2015) approved by UN GA resolution 58/217, UN Doc. A/RES/58/217, 9.2.2004; all available at: www.un.org.
6. the 2006 Abuja Declaration: Declaration of the First Africa-South America Summit, paragraph 18, adopted at the First Africa-South America Summit (ASA), Doc. ASA/Summit/doc.01(I), 30.11.2006;
7. the 2007 "Message from Beppu": First Asia-Pacific Water Summit, Japan, 4.12.2007; the 2008 Delhi Declaration: paragraph 1, Tird South-Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN III), 21.11.2008.
8. Edith Brown Weiss, "Te Evolution of International Water Law", 331 RCADI (2009), pp. 163-404, at pp. 308-346.
9. As per Ambassador Solón of Bolivia, UN Doc. A/64/PV.108, GA 64th session, 108th plenary meeting, UN GAOR, 28.7.2010, p. 5a, available at: www.un.org.
10. Joyeeta Gupta, Rhodante Ahlers & Lawal Ahmed, "Te Human Right to Water: Moving towards Consensus in a Fragmented World", 19 RECIEL (2010), pp. 294-305.
11. UN GAOR, 63th session, Supp. No. 10, UN Doc. A/63/10, available at: www.un.org.
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13. UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water Report (GLAAS) 2010, UNI-CEF First Annual High-Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, 23.4.2010, Washington, DC; available at: www.who.int/water-sanitation- health/glaas.
14. The term 'improved' refers to services that meet some minimum level of quality standards in keeping with human needs, dignity and safety; WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, Progress on Water and Sanitation-2010 Update, available at: www.unicef.org.
15. Tus Erik Bluemel, "Te Implications of Formulating a Human Right to Water", 31 Ecology LQ 2004, pp. 957-1006.
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19. Marie Soveroski, "Environmental Rights versus Envi ronmental Wrongs: Forum over Substance?", 16 RECIEL (2007), pp. 261-273.
20. Tus Vassiliki-Maria Tzatzaki, The Right to Water, Ph.D. thesis, University of Athens, 2011 (in Greek, on file with the author); Knut Bourqauin, Freshwater Access from a Human Rights Perspective: A Challenge to International water and Human Rights Law (2008).
21. Rebecca Bates, "Te Road to the Well: An Evaluation of the Customary Right to Water", 19 RECIEL (2010), pp. 282-293, at p. 288.
22. See also Jordan Paust, "Te Complex Nature, Sources and Evidences of Customary Human Rights", 25 Georgia JICL (1995-1996), pp. 147-164.
23. Adopted by GA resolution 217 (III), 10.12.1948.
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25. General Comment no. 15 (2002), The Right to Water (arts. 11 and 12 ICESCR), CESCR, 29th session, UN Doc. E/C.12/2002/11, 20.1.2003, available at: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/comments.
26. M. Fitzmaurice, "Te Human Right to Water", Fordham ELR (2007), pp. 538-586;
27. Stephen Tully, "A Human Rights to Access Water?: A Critique of General Comment No. 15", 23 Netherlands HRQ (2005), pp. 35-63.
28. Dinah Shelton, "Human Rights and the Environment: What Specific Environ mental Rights have been Recognized?", 35 Denver JILP (2006), pp. 129-171, at pp. 151-153.
29. HRC resolution 7/22, 41st meeting, 28.3.2008, available at: ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/HRC/resolutions/A-HRC-RES-7-22.pdf.
30. Statement of Ms Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Independent Expert on human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, 1.10.2010, available at: www.ohchr.org?EN/News-Events/Pages/DisplayNews.
31. See also Michael J. Dennis & David P. Stewart, "Justiciability on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Should there be an International Complaints Mechanism to Adjudicate the Rights to Food, Water, Housing and Health?", 98 AJIL (2004), pp. 462-515. (Pubitemid 39073272)
32. See, among many others, Michael Bowman, "Towards a Unified Treaty Body for Monitoring Com pliance with UN Human Rights Conventions?: Legal Mechanisms for Treaty Reform", 7 HRLR (2007), pp. 225-249.
33. HRC resolution 16/2, The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/16/2, 8.4.2011, available at: daccess-dds-ny.un. org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/124/85/PDF/G1112485.
34. Draft articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers, with commentaries, text adopted by the ILC at its 60th session, YBILC II-2 2008, available at: untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/commentaries/8-5-2008.pdf.
35. Tus in Africa UNICEF, Code of Practice for Cost-effective Boreholes, 2010, available at: www.unicef .org/wash/files/Code-of-Practice-FINAL.pdf.
36. J. Brunnée & S.J. Troope, "Environmental Security and Freshwater Resources: A Case for Interna tional Ecosystem Law", YBIEL (1994), pp. 41-52.
37. Jona Razzaque, "Trading Water: The Human Factor", 13 RECIEL (2004), pp. 15-26; (Pubitemid 38615886)
38. Fabrizio Marrella, "On the Changing Structure of International Investment Law: The Human Right to Water and ICSID Arbitration", 12 RECIEL (2010), pp. 335-359.
39. Doc. A.51/49, available at: untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/ english/conventions/8-3-1997.pdf.
40. See also Tomer Broude & Yaval Shany (eds.), Multi-sourced Equivalent Norms in International Law (2011).
41. See, among many others, Stephen C. McCaffrey, The Law of International Watercourses (2nd ed., 2007);
42. Katak Malla, "Current State of the Law of International Watercourses: Progress and Paradigm Shifts (1815-2008)", 77 Nordic JIL (2008), pp. 461-508;
43. Joseph W. DellaPenna & Joyeeta Gupta (eds.), The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water (2009);
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45. Owen MacIntyre, "Te Emergence of an 'Ecosystem Approach' to the Protection of International Watercourses under International Law", 13 RECIEL (2004), pp. 1-14.
46. ICJ, Case concerning the Gab?íkovo-Nagymaros Project, Hungary v. Slovakia, Judgment of 25 Septem ber 1997, available at: www.icj-cij.org.
47. See also Alex Grzybowski, Stephen C. McCaffrey & Richard K. Paisley, "Beyond International Water Law: Successfully Negotiating Mutual Gains Agreements for International Watercourses", 22 Pacific McGeorge Business & Development LJ (2009-2010), pp. 139-154, at pp. 140-142.
48. ICJ, Case concerning Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay, Argentina v. Uruguay, Judgment of 20 April 2010, supra;
49. see also Ilias Plakokefalos, The Pulp Mills case, 26 TIJMCL (2011), pp. 169-183.
50. Stan Bernstein, "Freshwater and Human Population: A Global Perspective" , in Karin M. Krchnak (ed.), Human Population and Freshwater: US Cases and International Perspectives, Yale Bulletin 107, (2002), pp. 149-157, available at: environment.yale.edu/documents/.
51. Martii Koskenniemi, Fragmentation of International Law: Difficulties Arising from the Diversification and Expansion of International Law, Report of the Study Group of the International Law Commission, UN Doc. A/CN.4/L.682, 13.4.2006, available at: daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G06/610/77/PDF/ G0661077.pdf ?OpenElement.
52. Article V, The Helsinki Rules on the uses of the waters of international rivers, 20.8.1966, Report of the Fifty-second Conference, Helsinki 1966.
53. Article 14, The Berlin Rules on water resources, approved by ILA resolution 2/2004, 21.8.2004, Report of the Seventy-first Conference, Berlin 2004, pp. 337-411
54. Salman M.A. Salman, "Te Helsinki Rules, the UN Watercourses Convention and the Berlin Rules: Perspectives on International Water Law", 23 Water Resources Development (2007), pp. 625-640 (Pubitemid 350028152)
55. also available at: www.internationalwaterlaw.org/bibliography/articles/ general/Salman-BerlinRules.pdf.
56. London, 17.6.1999, UN ECOSOC Doc. MP.WAT/2000/1EUR/ICP/EHCO 020205/8Fin, 18.10.1999, available at: www.unece.org/env/documents/2000/wat/mp.wat.2000.1.e. pdf.
57. Helsinki, 17.3.1992, available at: www.unece.org/env/water/pdf/watercon. pdf.
58. The Protocol entered into force in August 2005; information available at: www.unece.org/env/water/status/lega-wh.htm.
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60. ; Alistair S. Rieu-Clarke, "Te Role and Relevance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses to the EU and its Member States", 78 BYBIL (2007), pp. 389-428.
61. Decision III/1 of the Meeting of the Parties, Amendment to the Water Convention, UN Doc. ECE/MP.WAT/14, 12.1.2004, available at: www.unece.org/env/ documents/2004/wat/ece.mp.wat.14.e.pdf.
62. Decision I/2 of the Meeting of the Parties, Review of compliance, UN Doc. ECE/MP.WH/2/Add.3 & EUR/06/5069385/1/Add.3, 3.7.2007, text available at: www.unece.org/env/documents/2007/wat/wh/ece.mp.wh.2-add-3.e.pdf;
63. Cesare Pitea, "Procedures and Mechanisms for Review of Compliance under the 1999 Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes", in Tullio Treves, Laura Pineschi, Attila Tanzi, Cesare Pitea, Chiara Ragni, Francesca Romanin Jacur (eds.), Non-compliance Procedures and Mechanisms and the Effectiveness of International Environmental Agreements (2009), pp. 251-262.
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65. Attila Tanzi & Maurizio Arcari, The UN Convention on the Law of International Watercourses: A Frame work for Sharing (2001).
66. See also Malgosia Fitzmaurice, "Te Relationship between the Law of Interna tional Watercourses and Sustainable Development", in Malgosia Fitzmaurice, David M. Ong & Panos Merkouris (eds.), Research Handbook on International Environmental Law (2010), pp. 605-636.
67. Adam D. Link, "Te Perils of Privatization: International Developments and Reform in Water Distri bution", 22 Pacific McGeorge Business & Development LJ (2009-2010), pp. 379-399;
68. Violeta Petrova, "At the Frontiers of the Rush for Blue Gold: Water Privatisation and the Human Right to Water", 31 Brooklyn JIL (2006), pp. 577-613.
69. See also the reaction of the pri vate sector: Aquafed-Te International Federation of Private Water Operators, News, 22 April 2011, available at: www.aquafed.org.
70. CSECR, General Comment no. 3, Nature of States Parties' Obligations (Art. 2(1)), 14.12.1990, para graph 9, UN Doc. E/1991.23; text available at: www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/94bdbaf59b43a4 24c12563ed0052b664? Opendocument.
71. Matthew Craven, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A Perspective on its Development (1995) (reprint 2002), pp. 154-161.
72. Stephen R. Tully, "Te Contribution of Human Rights to Freshwater Resource Management", 14 YBIEL (2004), pp. 101-137.