IE Consultation May 2010
UNDP Water Governance Programme
Human Rights Based Approach to Improving
Water Governance
Regional Programme ECIS
Pilot Project Bondo, Kenya
HRBA – UN Common Understanding
• All programmes of development co-operation, policies and
technical assistance should further the realisation of human
rights…
• Human rights standards contained in, and principles derived
from, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other
international human rights instruments guide all
development cooperation and programming in all sectors
and in all phases of the programming process.
• Development cooperation contributes to the development of
the capacities of ‘duty-bearers’ to meet their obligations
and/or of ‘rights-holders’ to claim their rights.
HRBA principles identified:
• Universality and inalienability
• Indivisibility
• Inter-dependence and inter-relatedness
• Equality and non-discrimination
• Participation and inclusion
• Accountability and rule of law
ECIS Regional HRBA – Water Governance
Programme:
Objective: Access to WSS for all
• Cross-cutting programming in water governance &
right to water
• Project development support to countries
Focus:
• Accessibility
• Affordability
• Quality and allocation (availability)
• Transboundary waters
Target: marginalized and vulnerable groups
Outcomes aimed for:
• Water governance considerations incorporated into
national development frameworks
• Dialogues and processes at local, national and
transboundary levels better address key water and
sanitation challenges
• Improved protection and promotion of human rights,
as relevant to the water sector
Three steps:
Phase 1:
• Desk review of key challenges and country selection
• Baseline assessment, standard checklist
• Enabling environment, institutional framework
• Existing programmes and priorities
Phase 2:
• Country scoping mission, sector assessment, project
options
• Stakeholder consultations
• In-depth situation & gaps analysis
• Project options formulation
• Partnerships and resources mobilization
Phase 3:
• Project implementation, M&E, reporting
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
• Water rich, grave problems affecting water supply
• Infrastructure old and crumbling, water utilities heavily
indebted, local government is failing to perform.
• Services are not meeting citizens’ legitimate expectations
• Little civic culture of respect for the natural environment
• Awareness of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in
relation to the obligations of public sector very poorly
developed
BiH Interventions:
• Water Rights & Responsibilities Awareness Campaign /
Capacity Building (joint UNDP-UNICEF)
• Creating a Water Loss Detection Plan and training local
government personnel
• Improving water delivery of internally displaced persons
(IDPs)
Normative criteria:
• Availability: Water Loss Detection Plan
• Access: improved access to safe water for internally
displaced persons (IDPs)
• Qualtiy/safety: Water Loss Detection Plan
Cross-cutting criteria:
• Non-discrimination: identification of vulnerable groups –
targeting IDPs
• Participation: participatory design of awareness raising
campaign
• Accountability: improved understanding of rights,
responsibilities, redress mechanisms (assumption:
knowledge empowers action)
• (Impact: empowerment leading to better access)
• (Sustainability: through involvement & ownership )
Feedback so far:
• Positive on HRBA to improve water access and
governance
• Fits needs and priorities
• Innovative cross-practice water governance & human
rights
• Complements infrastructure focus
Water Governance Facility Pilot Project
Bondo District, Kenya
Initiative to improve accountability in water sector
• Establish feedback and complaint redress
mechanisms particularly at the local community
level
• Strengthen capacity of water actors to
understand and participate effectively in the
water sector reforms
• Improve information sharing and dissemination
to local level actors for effective engagement
with sector reform processes.
Partners:
• UNDP-Kenya
• Kenya Water and Health Organization
(KWAHO)
• Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Lake Victoria
South Water Services Board (LWSWSB)
• Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC)
• Kenya National Human Rights Commission
(KNCHR)
Issues:
• Poor access to safe water for domestic use
• Corruption (lack of information, bribery,
overcharging, theft, vandalism, etc.)
• Low capacity of both DBs and RHs to
implement sector reforms
Applying HRBA:
• Causality analysis: analysis of hierarchy of causes
• Role/patterns analysis: delineating the
relationship between claim holders and duty
bearers
• Capacity, gap analysis: identifying what constrains
ability of RHs to claim rights and DBs to fulfill their
obligations
• Identification of priorities for action
• Programme design
Process:
• Baseline assessment
• Governance regimes and actors
• Strengths and gaps in governance processes
• Capacity assessment
• Identify capacity gaps of RHs and DBs in
relation to RTW criteria and sector constraints
• Corruption and complaint/redress mechanism
assessment
• Low awareness, non-involvement, no redress
mechanism
Project Activities:
• Awareness raising campaign
• Capacity building
• Redress: platform for dialogue and complaint
line
Some results and impacts:
• Change in consumer attitude … entitlement
and responsibility … ownership and
empowerment
• Engagement of regulator and service provider
with consumer
• Improved relationships between regulator,
service provider, consumer towards
cooperation
Some challenges & shortcomings:
• Constraints of all-around weak capacities
• Sustainability issue: need to institutionalize
the dialogue platform and redress mechanism
• Generic issue: how to work with RBA and the
informal water service sector