Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque

The present report presents the findings and recommendations of the independent expert on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation from her country visit to the United States of America from 22 February to 4 March 2011. In the report, the independent expert begins by outlining the international and domestic legal framework on the rights to water and sanitation. She then makes a general assessment of the enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation in the United States of America, looking specifically at the following issues: sanitation, safety, affordability and excluded groups. This assessment is then underpinned by an analysis of the right to nondiscrimination and equality. The last section examines United States official development assistance in the area of water and sanitation. She concludes the report with recommendations addressed to the Government.