Light through the storm: Safeguarding the human right to water in challenging landscapes in Africa

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Citation: (2018) 5(1) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 37
• Pages: 37-72
• Published date: 16 August 2019
• Author: Addaney, M.
• Date: 16 August 2019

37

LIGHT THROUGH THE STORM:

SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN RIGHT TO

WATER IN CHALLENGING LANDSCAPES IN

AFRICA

Michael Addaney,* Hlengiwe Dube** and Samrawit Getaneh***

Abstract

The poor regulation of water resources, particularly in Africa, has affected the

availability of and accessibility to quality water. The international community has,

through a soft and controversial approach, recognised the human right to water,

which is generally argued to entitle everyone to sufficient, quality, accessible and

affordable water for personal and commercial uses. Through a comparative approach,

this article discusses the evolving concept of and states’ practice relating to the

human right to water in Africa. Using the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR

Congo), Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe as case

studies, it examined the national regulatory frameworks for safeguarding access to

quality water for both domestic and commercial use. The article further explores

the challenges surrounding the legal protection and realisation of the right to water

in the context of mineral resources extraction in the selected African countries. The

article discovered obsolete laws and policies and weak institutional design and

capacity as the major challenges in protecting the right to water in the selected

countries. It therefore contends that while national regulation remains important in

promoting and safeguarding the right to water, policymakers should be primarily

mindful of its limitations in the face of institutional bottlenecks, implementation

gaps and socioeconomic realities. Accordingly, capacity-building initiatives should

aim to educate stakeholders in equitable water resources management and, generally,

recognise the close link between the right to water, wellbeing and other human

rights.

Keywords: Access to water, African human rights system, extractive

industries, environmental protection, human right to water

La mauvaise réglementation sur les ressources en eau, en particulier en Afrique,

a affecté la disponibilité et l’accessibilité à une eau de qualité. La communauté

internationale a, à travers une approche molle controversée, reconnu le droit

* MPhil (Pretor ia), MSc (Tamale), BSc (Kumasi) and PhD candidate at the Research Institute of

Environmental Law, School of Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. Email: appl.adm@gmail.com.

** MPhil (Pretor ia), BA (Witwatersrand) and consultant at the Women’ Rights Unit, Centre for

Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Email: hlengiwed@outlook.

com.

*** LLM (Pretor ia), LLB (Addis Ababa) and legal researcher at the African Committee of

Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Email: samrawitgetanew@

africa-union.org.

(2018) 5(1) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 37

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38 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW IN AFRICA VOL 5, NO 1, 2018

humain à l’eau, qui est généralement considéré comme garantissant à tous une

eau suffisante, de qualité, accessible et abordable pour des usages personnels et

commerciaux. A travers une approche comparative, cet article discute le concept en

évolution et la pratique des états concernant le droit humain à l’eau en Afrique.

Utilisant la République Démocratique du Congo (RD Congo), le Ghana, le

Nigéria, l’Afrique du Sud, la Tanzanie, la Zambie et le Zimbabwe comme cas

d’études, elle a examiné les cadres réglementaires nationaux pour garantir l›accès

à une eau de qualité. L›article explore en outre les défis entourant la protection

juridique et la réalisation du droit à l›eau dans le contexte de l›extraction des

ressources minérales dans les pays africains sélectionnés. L›article a découvert des

lois et des politiques obsolètes et une structure et une capacité institutionnelle

faible comme étant les principaux défis pour la protection du droit à l’eau dans

les pays sélectionnés. Il soutient donc que, si la réglementation nationale demeure

importante pour promouvoir et sauvegarder le droit à l’eau, les décideurs politiques

devraient avant tout tenir compte de ses limites face aux goulets d’étranglement

institutionnels, aux lacunes de mise en œuvre et aux réalités socioéconomiques. En

conséquence, les initiatives de renforcement des capacités devraient viser à éduquer

les parties prenantes à une gestion équitable des ressources en eau et, en général,

reconnaître le lien étroit entre le droit à l’eau, le bien-être et les autres droits

humains.

Mots-clés : Accès à l’eau, système africain des droits de l’homme, industries

extractives, protection de l’environnement, droit humain à l’eau

INTRODUCTION

Water is an essential resource that requires efficient regulation to satisfy

pressing varied needs in both nature and human beings.1It has been

reported that an estimated 1.8 billion people across the globe cannot

access potable water.2 The consequence of this situation is alarming

since most governments and private corporations in developing regions,

particularly in Africa, ignore the predicament of these people. An estimated

2 million people die annually with most of them being children below

the age of 5 who die due to diarrhoeal diseases.3 Most of these deaths

occur in sub-Saharan Africa.4 For instance, in the DR Congo, a country

endowed with vast water resources in Africa, it is reported that about

51 million of the population do not have access to safe drinking water.

1 Neil S Gr igg ‘Water as a connector among societal needs’ in Integrated water resource management

(2016) 1.

2 The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and

sanitation, A/HRC/24/44, 11 July 2013, section 2.

3 Philip J Landrigan et al ‘The Lancet Commission on pollution and health’ The Lancet

Commissions (2017) 1.

4 World Health Organisation ‘Safer water, better health: Costs, benefits and sustainability of

interventions to protect’ (2008).

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LIGHT THROUGH THE STORM: SAFEGUARDING THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER

IN CHALLENGING LANDSCAPES IN AFRICA 39

This country possesses an approximated 52 per cent of surface water

reserves in Africa. Conversely, DR Congo is associated with one of the

countries with the least access to water rates in the world with only 26 per

cent of the populace having access to potable water.5 Poor access to water

is regarded as one of the major factors that reinforce negative dynamics

that undermine sustainable development such as poverty, inequality

and underdevelopment in Africa.6 Particularly, the negative effects that

mining-induced water pollution can have on the affected communities

have been emphasised by experts.7

The challenges that extractive industries have on the availability,

accessibility and quality of water as a result of poor management of

hazardous chemicals and mineral wastes in Africa was also highlighted

by the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water

and sanitation.8 The prevailing circumstances of water pollution by

extractive activities make water one of the most affected resources by

mineral resources extraction in Africa. The poor regulatory frameworks

in most African countries therefore offer inadequate protection to water

resources and consequently affect the availability of and accessibility to

safe clean water for various users.

It is well documented globally that the environment and, particularly

water resources and water quality, has suffered as a consequence of rapid

economic development. Additionally, the adverse effects of climate change

and poor regulation of extractive activities especially in developing

countries especially Africa have significantly affected the quantity and

quality of water.9 Studies have recognised major environmental concerns

such as heavy atmospheric pollution, pollution of water and soil as well as

considerable ecological degradation and high risks for the environment

caused by poorly regulated extractive activities and unreasonable industrial

structure.10 The bold decision by the UN Committee on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR Committee) and the Human Rights

Council to recognise the human right to water in 2002 is of particular

importance to African countries.11

5 Andrés Zaragoza Montejano ‘In search of clean water: human rights and the mining industry

in Katanga, DRC’ (2013) 6, viewed 28 October 2017, from http://ipisresearch.be/publication/

search-clean-water-human-rights-mining-industry-katanga-drc/; United Nations Environment

Programme, The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment,

Synthesis for Policy Makers (2011) 41.

6 UN Special Rapporteur op cit note 2.

7 UN Special Rapporteur op cit note 2, para 37.

8 Ibid.

9 Michael Addaney, Elsabe Boshoff and Bamisaye Olutola ‘The climate change and human

rights nexus in Africa’ (2017) 9 Amsterdam Law Forum 5–28.

10 Montejano op cit note 5 at 10.

11 UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No15 (2002)

on the right to water (articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights) (2002) para 2.

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