We, the undersigned, express our strong support for the report on “The Privatisation of Water and Sanitation Services” of the United Nations (U.N.) Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Mr. Léo Heller. He will present the report to the U.N. General Assembly today. We also express deep concern about the attempts by a group of private water operators to undermine the independence of the Special Rapporteur and his work.

This new report is an important contribution to a debate that is crucial in current times. The role of private actors in the delivery of public services, including water and sanitation services, has been increasing in the last decades. In recent years, at least four other U.N. Special Procedures (extreme poverty and human rights , education , housing , and debt ) have written on this topic in their respective reports. Just this week, eight current and former U.N. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts met at a major event on privatisation gathering hundreds of people online, and five of them released an op-ed published worldwide on the importance of the issue of privatisation and human rights.

Read more:

The statement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P_DRp4Fm2uD6LlE4Wd2m51WXfEOHDkdj/view?usp=sharing

The report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vHMRyFol-uvQXCaoKaOFhLkKbXykMcfZ/view?usp=sharing

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