International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights

(asked on 4th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his policy is on Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure people in developing countries have access to clean water.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 10th December 2020

The UK has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which includes Article 11(1) on the right to a standard of living. The UK recognises that Article 11 implies rights to water and sanitation. The UK has gone further to work with other countries on water and sanitation related human rights. At the 2020 session of the UN Human Rights Council, held from 14 September to 7 October, the UK joined with other UN Member countries in adopting the latest resolution on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation. This resolution was successfully adopted.

The FCDO is taking steps to ensure that people in developing countries have access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Since 2015, UK Aid funded programmes have reached over 60 million people with access to clean water or sanitation, and we continue to work in this area, not least in the context of the COVID-19 response and recovery.

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