The right to water and sanitation in post-conflict peacebuilding

On 26 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognized a human right to water and sanitation. The damages that an armed conflict causes to water infrastructure and sanitation services stand as great obstacles to the realization of this right. Taking a rights-based approach in post-conflict settings can benefit the water sector by providing international standards to which political and economic decisions may refer in the creation of water policies and decisions. International criminal tribunals and human rights courts also provide potential avenues to redress violations of the right to water and sanitation during an armed conflict.