The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The elements of the right to water must be adequate for human dignity, life and health, in accordance with articles 11, paragraph 1, and 12 of the Covenant (ICESCR). The adequacy of water should not be interpreted narrowly, by mere reference to volumetric quantities and technologies. Water should be treated as a social and cultural good, and not primarily as an economic good. The manner of the realization of the right to water must also be sustainable, ensuring that the right can be realized for present and future generations. While the adequacy of water required for the right to water may vary according to different conditions, the following factors apply in all circumstances: (a) Availability: The water supply for each person must be sufficient and continuous for personal and domestic uses. These uses ordinarily include drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, personal and household hygiene. The quantity of water available for each person should correspond to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Some individuals and groups may also require additional water due to health, climate, and work conditions; (b) Quality: The water required for personal or domestic use must be safe, therefore free from micro-organisms, chemical substances and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health. Furthermore, water should be of an acceptable colour, odour and taste for personal or domestic use. “Continuous” means that the regularity of the water supply is sufficient for personal and domestic use. In this context, “drinking” means water for consumption through beverages and foodstuffs. “Personal sanitation” means disposal of human excreta. Water is necessary for personal sanitation where water-based means are adopted. “Food preparation” includes food hygiene and preparation of food stuffs, whether water is incorporated into, or comes into contact with, food. “Personal and household hygiene” means personal cleanliness and hygiene of the household environment. Accessibility: Water and water facilities and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State Party. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions: 10 (i) Physical accessibility: water, and adequate water facilities and services, must be within safe physical reach for all sections of the population. Sufficient, safe and acceptable water must be accessible within, or in the immediate vicinity, of each household, educational institution and workplace. All water facilities and services must be of sufficient quality, culturally appropriate and sensitive to gender, lifecycle and privacy requirements. Physical security should not be threatened during access to water facilities and services; (ii) Economic accessibility: Water, and water facilities and services, must be affordable for all. The direct and indirect costs and charges associated with securing water must be affordable, and must not compromise or threaten the realization of other Covenant rights; (iii) Non-discrimination: Water and water facilities and services must be accessible to all, including the most vulnerable or marginalized sections of the population, in law and in fact, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds; and (iv) Information accessibility: accessibility includes the right to seek, receive and impart information concerning water issues. According to General Comment No. 6 (1995) of the Committee, the right to water is also inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12, para. 1) and the rights to adequate housing and adequate food (art. 11, para. 1).The right should also be seen in conjunction with other rights enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights, foremost amongst them the right to life and human dignity. Article 14 (2) of CEDAW provides responsibility to states to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular shall ensure to women the right: To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considered that this article obliges States Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure adequate living conditions in relation to water and sanitation, which are critical for the prevention of diseases 11