Participation and the right to water – the Mazibuko case

Over one billion people lack adequate access to safe and secure water supplies, while over two billion lack adequate access to water for sanitation. In response to this crisis there has been an increasing focus on the recognition of the human right to water. In 2002 the UN Committee on Economic and Social Rights issued General Comment 15, declaring that a human right to water can be implied out of Articles 11 and 12 of the ICESCR.' This has also led to the growth of a global movement for an international treaty on the right to water.