Beyond consensus: Contesting the human rights to water and sanitation at the United Nations

Resolutions in the United Nations Human Rights Council and General Assembly provide clarification of economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights, and most of these resolutions pass by consensus. Yet these resolutions are more contentious than they appear. This article analyzes a case study of contes...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Baer, Madeline (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Human rights review
Year: 2022, Volume: 23, Issue: 3, Pages: 361-383
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Norm contestation
UNGA
Human Rights Council
Water and sanitation
and cultural rights
Social
Economic
Description
Summary:Resolutions in the United Nations Human Rights Council and General Assembly provide clarification of economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights, and most of these resolutions pass by consensus. Yet these resolutions are more contentious than they appear. This article analyzes a case study of contestation over resolutions on two ESC rights: water and sanitation. Drawing from theories of norms contestation, this article analyzes how the USA, UK, and Canada challenged the creation of the rights to water and sanitation as rights and as norms. An analysis of all resolutions, archival research, and interview data reveals that while challengers failed to stop water and sanitation from becoming legal human rights, they successfully delayed the process and weakened the normative aspect of the rights. The findings show that while powerful actors may not be opposed to ESC rights in theory, they worked to keep these rights weak and aspirational.
ISSN:1874-6306
DOI:10.1007/s12142-022-00655-3