A Framework to Assess and Monitor Human Rights to Water and Sanitation at the Municipal Scale: A Study case in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region

With the aim of contributing to the development of indicators for the evaluation and monitoring of the realization of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRtWS) at a municipal scale, an analysis of the experience gained in the municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil) is presented. By applying international guidelines and recommendations at the municipal level, a system of indicators and indices was developed focusing on the dimensions of the normative content of both rights, which can be addressed with quantitative measures—availability, physical accessibility, affordability and quality/safety—as well as the principle of equality and non-discrimination in access to rights. The indicators were aggregated into indices, which showed adequate for monitoring the HRtWS in municipalities, making it possible to analyze the progressive realization of rights. The system can be utilized by municipal and regional management as a useful tool for establishing sectoral and spatial priorities for governmental actions that promote the implementation of HRtWS.