Rights-based indicators regarding non-discrimination and equity in access to water and sanitation

The declaration of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation by the UN General Assembly in 2010 is a significant achievement. Successfully implementing, enforcing and monitoring this right in various countries, contexts and scales will be an even greater achievement. Facilitating accountability for water and sanitation as a human right, The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights hosted a workshop to examine the translation of public health data into human rights indicators. Experts in water and sanitation policy and human rights law discussed and debated the challenges and ways forward in developing indicators for equity and non-discrimination that would assist with meaningful practice of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. The discussion was framed by three main questions: what should be measured, where to find this information, and what additional information is needed. The workshop was convened at The Water Institute's annual conference, Water and Health: Where Science Meets Policy on October 4, 2011.